英语词汇实用小百科 中国式过马路Jaywalking

John: Welcome to this week’s edition of Round Table’s Word of the Week. I’m John Artman

ZHY: 大家好，我是赫扬，又到了一周一次的英语词汇小百科板块了。这个礼拜我们要聊一聊jaywalking, “jaywalking”中文应该叫“中国式过马路”，我觉得这个把意义传达的非常的直接。

John: Right, so Chinese crossing the street. In English, “jaywalking” is the illegal or reckless pedestrian crossing of a roadway. So, for example, people crossing between intersections² without yielding to drivers or starting to cross at a crosswalk at a signal intersection¹ without waiting for a permissive indication to be displayed.

ZHY: Well, that’s nicely put. 几乎每天都会发生，我们看到在路上不看红绿灯直接闯马路，而且还有一个很有中国特色的一点就是一大窝峰的人一起过马路。

John: And interestingly enough, the earliest use of the word “jaywalker” in print was in the Chicago Tribune in 1909 whereas the earliest citation³ was in the Oxford⁴ English Dictionary in 1917. And, so it was actually originally used as part of a deliberate effort by people trying to automobiles⁵ to redefine streets as places where pedestrians⁶ do not belong.

ZHY: 我们可以看到这个词的背景。

John: So, actually, the word “jaywalk,” that’s J-A-Y-W-A-L-K, is actually a compound word derived⁷ from the word “jay,” which in this case means an inexperienced person, and the word, of course, “walk.”

ZHY: Ah, OK. “jay”这个词看来还有表达没有经验的人的意思，虽然对于我们的中国听众来说，很多时候一说到 “jay”，我首先想到的就是周杰伦，或者是Modern Family 里面的那个老爷爷，他也叫Jay, 不过这里还有其他的含义。

John: Yes, exactly. So “Jay” is actually a very old word that’s not used in at least American English. I’m not quite sure about in theUK, but Looking at jaywalking in other countries, so in theUnited Statesusually state laws require that drivers yield to pedestrians at crosswalks and at many other locations. However, there are sometimes when pedestrians are supposed to yield to cars.

ZHY: When you say yield, you mean by giving way to the other party. Yes. 但是在中国的话，车子给人让路的这种情况还是比较少的，所以从某种含义上讲，也可以说中国式过马路就是因为车子都不让人，那人又过去，怎么办呢？只好寻求互相的帮助然后一起冲过去。

John: Interestingly enough, in theUnited Kingdomand many other countries do legally recognize jaywalking. They do not actually have any formal regulations for drivers and pedestrians, except for Zebra, Pelican⁸, and Puffin crossings.

ZHY: 本周的英语词汇小百科就到这啦，这周你学会了这个新词 “jaywalking” 了吗？

1 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

2 intersections   

n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集

参考例句：

• Traffic lights have been placed at all major intersections. 所有重要的交叉路口都安装了交通信号灯。
• Intersections are of the greatest importance in highway design. 在道路设计中，交叉口占有最重要的地位。 来自辞典例句

3 citation   

n.引用，引证，引用文；传票

参考例句：

• He had to sign the proposition for the citation.他只好在受奖申请书上签了字。
• The court could issue a citation and fine Ms. Robbins.法庭可能会发传票，对罗宾斯女士处以罚款。

4 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

5 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 pelican   

n.鹈鹕，伽蓝鸟

参考例句：

• The pelican has a very useful beak.鹈鹕有一张非常有用的嘴。
• This pelican is expected to fully recover.这只鹈鹕不久就能痊愈。