against Angela Merkel's party.

反對安格拉-默克爾的政黨。

Hello, I'm Rob and this is BBC News Review,

你好，我是羅伯，這裡是BBC新聞評論。

and joining me today is Neil. Hello Neil.

今天加入我的是尼爾。你好，尼爾。

Hi there, Rob. If you want to test yourself

你好，Rob。如果你想測試自己

on the vocabulary that you learn in this programme,

你在本課程中學到的詞彙。

there's a quiz on our website at bbclearningenglish.com

在我們的網站bbclearningenglish.com上有一個小測驗。

but for now, let's hear a news report on that story

但現在，讓我們聽聽關於這個故事的新聞報道

about the German elections from the BBC:

關於德國選舉的BBC報道。

So, as you have heard, there's been an election in Germany

所以，正如你們所聽到的，德國舉行了一次選舉

and the Social Democratic Party have narrowly won that election.

和社會民主黨以微弱優勢贏得了這次選舉。

They got more votes than any other party,

他們得到的選票比其他任何政黨都多。

but it's not as simple as that.

但這並不那麼簡單。

The parties are now trying to form coalitions with each other

各黨派現在正試圖相互結成聯盟

and whoever does that successfully

而誰能成功做到這一點

will be able to form the next government of Germany.

將能夠組建德國的下一屆政府。

The one thing we do know is that Angela Merkel

我們所知道的一件事是，安格拉-默克爾

will no longer be the chancellor after sixteen years.

十六年後將不再擔任總理。

OK. And we've got three words and expressions that we can use

好的。我們有三個詞和表達方式，我們可以使用

to talk about this news story, haven't we, Neil?

談論這個新聞故事，不是嗎，尼爾？

So, that's 'pivotal', 'usher in' and 'vie'.

所以，這就是 "關鍵"、"迎來 "和 "爭奪"。

OK. Well, let's have a look at our first news headline, shall we?

好的。好吧，讓我們看看我們的第一個新聞頭條，好嗎？

Yes, OK. Here we go.

是的，好的。我們來了。

The first headline is from CNBC and it reads:

第一個標題來自CNBC，內容如下。

OK. So, that's 'pivotal' – important and influential.

好的。所以，這就是 "關鍵"--重要和有影響。

Yes and we spell that P-I-V-O-T-A-L

是的，我們拼的是P-I-V-O-T-A-L

and it is an adjective,

而它是一個形容詞。

but perhaps a good way to try and understand and remember this word

但也許是嘗試理解和記住這個詞的一個好方法

is if we look at the first part of it:

是如果我們看一下它的第一部分。

the word 'pivot'. What's a 'pivot', Rob?

'支點'這個詞。什麼是 "支點"，羅伯？

This is more used, I thought, in sort-of technology and mechanical things:

我想，這更多地是用在某種技術和機械的東西上。

a 'pivot' is a central point, isn't it,

一個 "支點 "是一箇中心點，不是嗎。

where everything else moves around it?

在那裡，其他一切都圍繞著它移動？

That's right, yes. That's exactly it: a central point where something else

這就對了，是的。這正是它：一箇中心點，其中有其他東西

moves around in a machine, or a device of some kind, is a 'pivot'.

在機器中移動的，或某種裝置，是一個 "支點"。

But we use this figuratively very, very often

但我們非常、非常頻繁地使用這個比喻。

to describe something that is important

描述重要的東西

and can change direction at that point.

並能在這一點上改變方向。

So, for example, an election victory is a 'pivotal' moment

是以，舉例來說，選舉勝利是一個 "關鍵 "時刻

because things can change from that point.

因為事情會從這一點上發生變化。

And we hear that word 'pivotal' used with other words,

我們聽到 "關鍵 "這個詞與其他詞一起使用。

don't we, like 'figure' or 'role'?

不是嗎，像'人物'或'角色'？

That's right. We can describe someone

這就對了。我們可以描述一個人

as having a 'pivotal role' in something else.

作為在其他方面具有 "關鍵作用 "的人。

So, let's take a simple sporting example.

是以，讓我們舉一個簡單的體育例子。

Everybody knows who Christiano Ronaldo is:

每個人都知道克里斯蒂亞諾-羅納爾多是誰。

he has played football for Manchester United,

他曾為曼聯隊踢球。

for Real Madrid, for Juventus –

為皇家馬德里，為尤文圖斯-

he's back at Manchester United now –

他現在回到了曼聯 -

  of course his own country, Portugal.

當然是他自己的國家，葡萄牙。

And in every single team, he has played a 'pivotal role'.

而在每一支球隊中，他都發揮了 "關鍵作用"。

It means he has been the really important person,

這意味著他一直是真正重要的人。

who has created change around him.

他創造了他周圍的變化。

OK. So, 'pivotal'... 'pivotal' is an important thing.

好的。所以，"關鍵"...'關鍵'是一個重要的東西。

So, for example, if I was in the office and I change the type of

是以，舉例來說，如果我在辦公室裡，改變了

biscuits that we started eating in the office, would I be playing

我們開始在辦公室裡吃的餅乾，我會不會在辦公室裡玩？

a 'pivotal role' in the future of biscuit-eating in the office?

在辦公室吃餅乾的未來中起著 "關鍵作用"？

Well, Rob, we all know that biscuits are very important to you,

好吧，羅伯，我們都知道，餅乾對你來說非常重要。

but that's... that's not something that all of us share.

但那是......那不是我們所有人都能分享的東西。

So, it would be... it would sound strange to

所以，這將是......這聽起來很奇怪，因為

describe the change of biscuits as 'pivotal' because we use

將餅乾的變化描述為 "關鍵"，因為我們使用了

that word to describe things that are serious and important.

這個詞用來描述嚴肅和重要的事情。

OK. Great. Let's have a summary now of that word:

好的。很好。現在讓我們對這個詞做個總結。

Well, as many of you know, Brexit played a 'pivotal role'

好吧，正如你們許多人所知，英國脫歐發揮了 "關鍵作用

in the history of the UK

在英國的歷史上

and we talked about it quite a lot on News Review.

我們在《新聞評論》上談了很多。

Where can people watch those videos again, Neil?

人們在哪裡可以再次觀看這些視頻，尼爾？

All they need to do – all you need to do is click on the link below.

他們所需要做的--你所需要做的就是點擊下面的鏈接。

Great. Let's now have a look at your second headline.

很好。現在讓我們來看看你的第二個標題。

OK. My second headline comes from the BBC –

好的。我的第二個標題來自英國廣播公司--

News Online – and it reads:

新聞在線》--內容如下。

So, 'usher in' – that's: make something important start to happen.

是以，"迎來"--就是：讓重要的事情開始發生。

That's right and it's a phrasal verb.

這是正確的，它是一個短語動詞。

It's made up of two words. The first one is usher: U-S-H-E-R.

它是由兩個詞組成的。第一個是usher。U-S-H-E-R。

And the second part is 'in': I-N.

而第二部分是'在'。I-N。

So, together we have 'to usher in' as a... as a phrasal verb.

所以，我們一起把 "迎來送往 "作為......作為一個短語動詞。

Now, I think an 'usher' of – someone who shows people

現在，我認為一個 "引導者"--向人們展示的人

into a theatre or cinema. They show you to your seat.

進入劇院或電影院。他們帶你到你的座位。

That's exactly right, Rob, yes. We have the role or the job of 'usher',

那是完全正確的，羅伯，是的。我們有 "引導者 "的角色或工作。

and that's a person, perhaps as you said – the cinema or the theatre.

而那是一個人，也許正如你所說的--電影院或劇院。

Also at a wedding, you could be asked to be an 'usher':

另外，在婚禮上，你可能會被要求成為 "引導員"。

that's somebody who, kind of, shows people around,

那是一個人，有點像，帶人参觀。

tells them where to go and what to do.

告訴他們該去哪裡，該做什麼。

And it's that sense of direction: giving somebody direction,

而且是那種方向感：給別人指明方向。

which is the same here as a verb.

這在這裡和動詞是一樣的。

So, we say to 'usher something in'

所以，我們說要 "迎來送往"。

means that something has changed at that point

意味著在這一點上已經發生了一些變化

and there is a new direction.

並且有一個新的方向。

And we can talk about all different situations, can't we?

而且我們可以談論所有不同的情況，不是嗎？

For example, today the weather has changed. It's started raining.

例如，今天的天氣發生了變化。開始下雨了。

The wind started blowing. It, kind of, means the end of summer.

風開始吹了。它，某種程度上，意味著夏天的結束。

So, the rain has 'ushered in' a new season.

是以，這場雨已經 "迎來 "了一個新的季節。

Absolutely. Yes, the rain... the rain has arrived

絕對的。是的，雨......雨來了

and it seems to have 'ushered in' the autumn finally.

而且它似乎終於 "迎來 "了秋天。

It's been pretty warm up until now in the UK.

直到現在，英國的天氣一直很暖和。

Also we can talk about great world events 'ushering in' changes.

我們也可以談論偉大的世界事件 "迎來 "了變化。

The most obvious one of course, over the last year and a half –

當然，最明顯的是，在過去一年半里--

almost two years, is the Covid-19 pandemic.

近兩年來，是Covid-19大流行病。

It has 'ushered in' so many changes in the way we lead our lives:

它在我們的生活方式中 "迎來 "瞭如此多的變化。

just one example is the way we work.

只是一個例子，我們的工作方式。

People like you and I, Rob, who work in offices:

像你和我這樣的人，羅伯，在辦公室工作。

we've been working from home, largely,

我們一直在家裡工作，基本上是這樣。

and it seems like the Covid pandemic has 'ushered in'

而且似乎Covid大流行病已經 "迎來 "了

a new era of home-working.

一個在家工作的新時代。

Indeed. And also in history, there have been technological changes

的確如此。而且在歷史上，也有過技術上的變化

that have 'ushered in' other developments,

迎來了其他的發展。

such as the invention of the jet plane

如噴氣式飛機的發明

that 'ushered in' a new era of travel around the world.

迎來了世界各地旅行的新時代。

Absolutely. All sorts of technological developments have

絕對的。各種各樣的技術發展已經

'ushered in' great change: the internet, smartphones, but as you say

迎來了巨大的變化：互聯網、智能手機，但正如你所說的那樣

jet airplanes cut the length of time it took to travel places overseas

噴氣式飛機縮短了去海外旅行的時間

by a huge amount and it changed the way that we lived our lives.

巨大的數量，它改變了我們生活的方式。

OK. Very good. Well, I think we should now 'usher in'

好的。非常好。好了，我想我們現在應該 "迎來 "了

a summary of that phrase.

這句話的摘要。

Absolutely.

絕對的。

Now, 'usher in' was an example of a phrasal verb.

現在，"迎來送往 "是一個短語動詞的例子。

You can learn lots more about phrasal verbs in English Class with Dan.

你可以在Dan的英語課上學到更多關於短語動詞的知識。

Where can people watch English Class, Neil?

人們在哪裡可以看到《英語課》，尼爾？

All you need to do is click on the link below to get Dan:

你所需要做的就是點擊下面的鏈接來獲得丹。

an English Class on phrasal verbs.

一個關於短語動詞的英語課。

Great stuff. OK. Let's have a look at our third headline now please.

偉大的東西。好的。現在讓我們來看看我們的第三個頭條新聞。

OK. Our third headline comes from the Guardian and it reads:

好的。我們的第三個標題來自《衛報》，內容如下。

That's 'vie' – compete with others to gain superiority.

這就是'vie'--與他人競爭以獲得優越性。

Yes and here's one to pay attention to:

是的，這裡有一個需要注意的問題。

the spelling is V-I-E.

拼寫是V-I-E。

The pronunciation is 'vie', but the spelling is V-I-E,

發音是'vie'，但拼寫是V-I-E。

so it doesn't look like it sounds unfortunately.

是以，不幸的是，它看起來並不像它的聲音。

And 'vie' is something we do on a big scale.

而'爭奪'是我們在大範圍內做的事情。

So, we wouldn't compete together, maybe,

所以，我們不會一起競爭，也許。

just to go and get the kettle to make a cup of tea.

只是去拿水壺泡杯茶。

No. That's right. Yes, as we said, we've talked...

不，這是對的。是的，正如我們所說，我們已經談過...

we're talking about elections here. When we use the word 'vie',

我們在這裡談論的是選舉。當我們使用'vie'這個詞時。

it gives a sense of competition, which is serious and important.

它給人一種競爭的感覺，這是嚴肅而重要的。

You 'vie for' something or you 'vie to become' something.

你 "爭奪 "某些東西，或者你 "爭奪成為 "某些東西。

You 'vie to become' the leader of your party

你 "爭相成為 "你的黨的領袖

or you 'vie to become' the next government.

或者你'爭當'下一屆政府。

Sports teams would 'vie with' each other to become the champions.

體育隊會互相 "爭奪"，以成為冠軍。

And so we use it in that sense. It's probably...

所以我們在這個意義上使用它。這可能是...

Can... can we also say that they can be 'vying' to be – for example,

可以......我們是否也可以說，他們可以 "爭奪 "成為--比如說。

the football teams be 'vying' to be top of the table.

足球隊要 "爭奪 "榜首。

Yes. So, it's a verb and we can use it with an '-ing' form.

是的，所以它是一個動詞，我們可以用"-ing "形式來使用它。

But, again, be careful because the spelling changes.

但是，還是要小心，因為拼寫會改變。

It's a short word, V-I-E,

這是一個簡短的詞，V-I-E。

and we lose the 'I-E' when we're using it with the '-ing' form,

當我們與"-ing "形式一起使用時，我們失去了 "I-E"。

so 'vying' becomes V-Y-I-N-G.

所以'vying'變成了V-Y-I-N-G。

Neil, 'vie' – it's a very small word, isn't it?

尼爾，"vie"--這是一個非常小的詞，不是嗎？

Yes. Well, we just said that we use it to talk about really important things,

是的。好吧，我們剛剛說過，我們用它來談論真正重要的事情。

but it's a little... it's a little word and I think because of...

但它是一個小... 它是一個小詞，我想因為...

because of its size, it gets overused.

因為它的大小，它被過度使用。

So, as we said, you and I talking about competition –

是以，正如我們所說的，你和我在談論競爭 --

we wouldn't say: 'We are vying with each other.'

我們不會說：'我們在互相爭奪'。

Or: 'Let's vie with each other to get to make a cup of tea.'

或者說："讓我們互相爭奪泡一杯茶的機會。

It sounds too...

這聽起來太...

it sounds too formal for an informal or unimportant situation.

對於一個非正式或不重要的場合來說，它聽起來太正式了。

So, the reason headline writers like this word and the reason we see it

是以，標題作者喜歡這個詞的原因和我們看到它的原因是

a lot in the press is that it's short and people – journalists like

很多新聞報道都說它很短，人們--記者們喜歡

short words to go into headlines because you can get more of them in.

短小的字可以放入標題中，因為你可以得到更多的字。

Yeah, OK. So, a short word with a lot of importance.

是的，好的。所以，一個簡短的詞，有很大的重要性。

That's right. That's right.

這就對了。這就對了。

Good. Let's have a summary:

很好。讓我們做個總結。

Now, Neil, do you think you could recap the vocabulary

現在，尼爾，你認為你可以複述一下這些詞彙嗎？

that we've talked about today please?

我們今天談的是什麼？

Absolutely. So, first of all, we have:

當然可以。是以，首先，我們有。

'pivotal' – important and influential.

'關鍵'--重要和有影響。

We have 'usher in' – make something important start to happen.

我們有 "迎來送往"--使重要的事情開始發生。

And 'vie' – compete with others to gain superiority.

而'vie'--與他人競爭以獲得優勢。

OK. There's three words and phrases you can use to talk about

好的。你可以用三個詞和短語來談一談

the German elections and you can test your understanding of these

你可以測試你對這些的理解。

in a quiz on our website at bbclearningenglish.com.

在我們的網站bbclearningenglish.com上進行測驗。

Don't forget we're all over social media as well so check us out.

不要忘了我們在社交媒體上也有很多人，所以請關注我們。

Right, well, that's all for today. Thanks so much for watching.

好了，今天的節目就到這裡。非常感謝您的收看。

See you again next time. Bye-bye!

下一次再見。拜拜!

Goodbye.

再見。