關鍵字彙:
bounteous/ dissipate/ economical/ eke out/ expenditure/ extravagance/ extravagant/ frugal/ frugality/ gratuitous/ improvident/ largess/ miser/ miserly/ munificent/ niggard/ niggardly/ overheads/ parsimonious/ pinch/ prodigal/ skimp/ solvent/ sparing/ spendthrift/ squander/ stingy/ subsistence/ thrifty
1. 「花費」(spending)較正式的說法是expenditure;企業的經常性支出(尤其是英式英語)說overheads:
•You should limit your expenditures to what is necessary.
•May all countries on the globe some day use the least expenditure on the military and the most on the promotion of human welfare!
•The accountant suggested reducing some overheads.
2. 「浪費」,用動詞dissipate和squander,用形容詞extravagant、improvident和prodigal。3個字當中,prodigal的語氣最強、最具貶抑意味,improvident語氣則相對溫和,講一個人只知道花錢,不懂得為將來打算。至於名詞「浪費」,用extravagance;「浪費者」、「揮霍無度之人」是spendthrift:
•The young man quickly dissipated his inheritance.
•The prodigal son squandered the family estate.
•She is an extravagant woman, seldom buying things with a second thought.
•The rich man keeps warning himself not to become an improvident spender.
•The prodigal son squandered all his inheritance.
•The neighbors held no respect to the prodigal man.
•By living simply and avoiding extravagance, the couple saved enough for the trip.
•Even a poor boy may often behave like a spendthrift before his girlfriend.
•We were told that the spendthrift had lost his estate through gambling.
3. 「節省的」,用economical、frugal、sparing和thrifty,因為節省而能把債務還清,用形容詞solvent。名詞「節儉」,用frugality:
•She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.
•John has kept his frugal habits, although he has become rich.
•She is frugal of her money.
•The student, living away from home, was sparing in his expenditures.
•The farmer was thrifty and prosperous.
•By dint of very frugal living, he was finally able to become solvent and avoid bankruptcy proceedings.
•Frugality is a fine virtue many people have forgotten.
4. 「節省」的動詞可以用pinch,如果要強調由於某種目的或原因而導致可能節省過了頭,用skimp。另外,敘述為「貼補」微薄收入而省錢或額外兼差,用片語eke out;「最起碼的生活水平」或「僅能糊口的營生」,用subsistence:
•You have to pinch pennies if you are going to study abroad.
•The parents skimped on food and clothing for their daughter's tuition.
•The accountant ekes out his regular income by working evenings and Sundays.
•She eked out her small income by washing clothes for other people.
•In these days of inflated prices, his salary provides a mere subsistence.
•The family has lived at subsistence level for a long time.
5. 「慷慨的」用形容詞bounteous和munificent,兩個字都比generous正式。另外,「不求回報的」,用gratuitous;敘述「(在上位者)對需要幫助者的慷慨援助」,用largess(法文):
•The benefactor is famous as a bounteous giver.
•The munificent gift was presented to the bride.
•The kind man often offered gratuitous help.
•Lady Bountiful distributed largess to the poor.
6. 「吝嗇鬼」、「小氣鬼」、「守財奴」用miser或niggard;「吝嗇的」、「小氣的」,用stingy、miserly、niggardly或parsimonious。其中,stingy較不正式,語氣也較和緩;parsimonious是較為正式的用字,且強調小氣到連對自己都頗寒酸:
•The notorious miser/ niggard felt no sympathy at all for the needy.
•Tom is stingy in most cases, but he will give and help when he thinks necessary.
•John is a miserly guy, so don't expect he would reward you for the help.
•She had a niggardly husband who never gave her enough money for food.
•His parsimonious nature did not permit him to enjoy any luxuries.