關鍵字彙：
enduring/ ephemeral/ eternal/ evanescent/ everlasting/ fleeting/ interim/ lasting/ makeshift/ perennial/ permanent/ perpetual/ perpetuate/ provisional/ tentative/ transient/ transitory
A. 與短暫相關的單字：
1. 描述美好事物或情況的稍縱即逝，可用transient、ephemeral或transitory。其中，ephemeral還可以指動植物或被創造出來的東西「生命短暫的」。此外，transitory的意思偏重在「非永久」，而不是短促。有時，它所暗示的短暫甚至可能是好的：
•Youthful beauty is transient.
•Very unfortunately, their marriage was an ephemeral joy, lasting but a day.
•My other writings are very ephemeral, but this book will be remembered for ever.
•Most flowers are ephemeral.
•We hope the shortage of supplies will be transitory.
•The transitory nature of what we call reality was seriously questioned by the 20th-century philosophy.
•Peace between the two countries was only transitory.
2. 強調時間的持續很短很短，短到有如驚鴻一瞥，用fleeting：
•I caught a fleeting glimpse of her as she ran down the road.
•For a fleeting moment, she nearly wanted to kill him.
•Hearing what I said, he revealed a fleeting look of confusion and anger.
•Stop worrying; let's just grasp the fleeting hours of happiness.
3. 在文藝氣息較為濃厚的作品中，可能用evanescent表示短暫，可譯為「曇花一現的」：
•The evanescent reception of Rudyard Kipling's poetry was a very particular case in the history of English literature.
•In the evanescent rays of the sunset, the entire western skyline was bathed in an orange-red hue.
4. 安排等「用做權宜之計的」，用makeshift；計畫等「試探性的」、「嘗試性的」，用tentative：
•This is just a makeshift arrangement of the furniture; I will change it all when the floor has been cleaned.
•Your tentative plans sound plausible.
5. 強調只為當下考量，至於是否持續則有很大變數，也就是「臨時的」， 用provisional：
•The schedule is only provisional.
•They entered into a provisional agreement after a long negotiation.
•The Tibetans set up a provisional government in India.
6. 說明文件、措施等純為應急所作或採取，但其實還不夠完整或完善，用interim：
•An interim certificate was issued to the student.
•The interim report of the organization emphasized the need of recruiting more volunteers, but the final version made no mention of it.
•This was an interim measure to help those in need.
B. 與永恆相關的單字：
嚴格說來，真正的永恆或許只有在靈魂的世界或宗教層次才有可能。所以，英文中即使是像everlasting或eternal所形容的情況都往往不是永遠，只是一段長時間。另一方面，冒險和改變才是西方傳統的主要思維模式。因此，西方人對於永恆的憧憬也不如生長在東方世界的華人或印度人等。在這樣的文化背景下，對於英文中幾乎所有帶有「永恆」意涵的字都同時可以用來指那些沒完沒了的壞情況就不難理解了。
1. 英文中，最接近「永恆」真義的字要算everlasting和eternal，前者較正式，可能也更有宗教味。不過，不要忘記它們同樣都可以用在負面描述的語境，也同樣都可以指一段長時間：
•He believes in everlasting life.
•Their contributions to music have earned them an everlasting place in history.
•I wish someone would invent an everlasting light bulb.
•These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.
•I'm tired of your everlasting quarrels.
•Rome has been called the Eternal City.
•I believe Kevin is one of my eternal friends.
•The company is engaged in the eternal search for a type of cars that will lead the market.
•Will you two never stop your eternal arguing?
2. 在表示永恆或近於永遠的字當中，最具文學氣息的莫過於perpetual，它較常用來形容一種負面狀態或情況。不過，和它相關的動詞perpetuate（使…永存）則有比較對等的用法，也就是修飾正負面情況的頻率差不多：
•They live in perpetual fear of being discovered.
•He has hard, cold eyes, and his mouth is set in a perpetual sneer.
•The old lady is a perpetual student.
•The perpetual snows of the mountaintop are highlighted in the documentary.
•The play Hamlet alone may be enough to perpetuate Shakespeare as one of the greatest playwrights the world has ever produced.
•The monument was built to perpetuate the memory of a great statesman.
•Increasing the supply of weapons will only perpetuate the violence and anarchy.
•Current policy only serves to perpetuate the old racial tensions.
•Our goal is to perpetuate the skills of traditional furniture design.
3. 相對於transitory強調「非永久」，permanent則強調「非暫時」，也就是一時半刻不會改變：
•She's looking for a permanent place to stay.
•Are you looking for a temporary or permanent job?
•She entered the United States in 1994 as a permanent resident because of her marriage to a US citizen.
•This coat can give permanent protection against heavy rain.
•The disease can cause permanent damage to the brain.
•Our office is in a permanent state of chaos.
4. perennial、lasting和enduring都強調持續的時間很長，長到好像不會結束。lasting可以寫成long-lasting，enduring則較少用於負面修飾：
•The perennial beauty of the island has lured so many tourists from abroad.
•Harry Potter is a perennial favorite with teenagers.
•We face the perennial problem of not having enough workers.
•Money is a perennial source of disagreement among couples.
•Politics provides a perennial subject of argument.
•Few observers believe that the treaty will bring a lasting peace to the region.
•The tablets make you feel better for a while, but the effect isn't (long-)lasting.
•The teacher left a lasting impression on most of the students whom she has ever taught.
•He has a lasting sorrow over his beloved daughter's death.
•I hope to have enduring memories of all who have been kind to me.
•The enduring appeal of cartoons was expected from the very beginning.
•The dancer's debut has already established her enduring popularity.
留言列表
