內容簡介
聽眾 Terence 來信詢問單詞 “plunge”、“plummet” 和 “slump” 之間的區別。這三個詞都可以作名詞和動詞，用來描述 “人或物體的位置突然下降”，它們也都能被用在談論數據、金錢、商業等抽象的語境中表示 “暴跌”。聽 “你問我答” 節目辨析這三個近義詞的用法。
文字稿
（關於臺詞的備註: 請註意這不是廣播節目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能沒有體現錄制、編輯過程中對節目做出的改變。）
Beth
Hello and welcome to Question and Answer of the Week, with me, Beth.
Jiaying
And me, Jiaying. 本期節目中我們要回答的問題來自聽眾 Terence，問題是這樣的：
Question
I would like to know the nuance between ‘plunge’, ‘slump’ and ‘plummet’. All these words mean ‘暴跌、暴降、猛跌、猛降’ except ‘plummet’. Please can you also talk about some other synonyms to ‘plunge’? Thank you.
Jiaying
Thank you for your question. 包括 “plummet” 在內的這三個詞之間主要有三個共同點。第一，從含義上看，它們都可以翻譯成 “突然下降”。
Beth
Secondly, they can all be nouns and verbs.
Jiaying
第三，從用法上看，它們都可以用在談論數據、金錢和商業的語境中。
Beth
And they all have a quite literal or physical meaning, which we will explain soon.
Jiaying
先來對比一下 “plunge” 和 “plummet” 作動詞時的區別。這兩個詞都可以用來描述 “人或事物的位置突然下降”。
Beth
‘Plunge’ is very often associated with water, though it doesn’t have to be.
Jiaying
“Plunge” 作動詞時，所描述的人或物體通常但不一定是 “突然落入水中”。比如：“plunge into a lake（縱身跳入湖水中）”、“plunge something into water（將某物投入水中）”。來聽兩個例句。
Examples
As soon as we got too hot, we plunged into the pool to cool down.
（我們一覺得太熱，就跳進遊泳池裡涼快一下。）
To stop the eggs from continuing to cook, plunge them into ice water.
（為瞭防止雞蛋繼續加熱，把它們放入冰水中。）
Beth
‘Plunge’ is similar to ‘plummet’ in that it means to literally move or fall down, but ‘plummet’ is not normally associated with liquid.
Jiaying
That’s right. “Plummet” 所描述 “急劇下降” 的人或物體通常不會 “落入水中”，而是 “突然跌倒或墜落在地”。聽兩個例句。
Examples
She had a nightmare that the plane crashed and plummeted to the ground.
（她做瞭一個噩夢，夢見飛機墜毀，摔落到地面上。）
Buildings shook and rocks plummeted down the mountain during the earthquake.
（地震時建築物搖晃，巖石從山上墜落。）
Beth
Similar words to ‘plummet’, when it means things or people moving downward, are ‘tumble’ or ‘drop’.
Jiaying
接著我們來看一看 “plunge” 、“plummet” 和 “slump” 在談論數據、金錢和商業等抽象意義的事物時的用法。
Beth
Yes. All three words, ‘plunge’, ‘plummet’ and ‘slump’ can mean decrease suddenly and are commonly used with nouns like ‘share’, ‘price’ and ‘income’.
Jiaying
這三個動詞都可以表示 “（數值、數字）暴跌，驟減”，常與這三個詞搭配使用的名詞有 “share”、“price” 和 “income”。
Beth
Similar words could be ‘nosedive’ or ‘tumble’. Listen to these examples.
Examples
Share prices have plunged since the director of the company left.
（公司董事長離職後，股價暴跌。）
House prices have plummeted in the last two months.
（過去兩個月房價暴跌。）
Sales have slumped by more than 50% in the last six months.
（在過去的六個月裡，銷售額下降瞭50%多。）
Jiaying
“Plunge”、“plummet” 和 “slump” 作名詞時該怎麼用呢？
Beth
Well, ‘plunge’, ‘plummet’ and ‘slump’ as nouns are commonly used in phrases like ‘there has been a plunge in’ or ‘there was a plummet in or a slump in’ something.
Jiaying
沒錯。在這些句型中，“in” 的後面跟名詞或名詞短語，用來具體說明是什麼數值出現瞭 “驟降”。來聽三個例句。
Examples
There is always a plunge in the prices of winter hats in spring and summer.
（冬帽的價格總會在春夏兩季大幅下降。）
Since the dress code was relaxed, there has been a plummet in sales of office wear.
（自從著裝要求放寬以來，職業裝的銷量直線下降。）
There has been a slump in the price of mobile phones.
（手機價格已經大幅下降。）
Jiaying
最後，我們來仔細看一看問題中的第三個詞 “slump”。剛剛我們講過，“slump” 同樣可以用來談論抽象意義上的 “（數值）驟降”。但它在談論人或物體時，常常描述 “一個人因疲勞或生病而沉重地倒下”。
Beth
It’s also used when a person leans or bends forward, if they’re sad, for example.
Examples
She went very pale and slumped onto the floor.
（她臉色蒼白，跌倒在地。）
After lunch, my grandad slumped in a chair and didn’t wake up for hours.
（午飯後，爺爺倒在椅子上，一下睡瞭好幾個小時。）
Jiaying
補充一點，名詞 “slump” 還可以指 “蕭條期”。
Beth
Yes. There could be an economic slump for a few months or years, or a football team might feel down after a slump of losses.
Jiaying
好瞭，總結一下：在描述具體實物時，“plunge” 和 “plummet” 都可以用來表示 “人或物體突然向下移動，位置驟降”，但 “plunge” 常用來表示 “突然落入水中”，而 “plummet” 則常用來表示 “突然墜落在地”，“slump” 隻能用來表示 “一個人跌坐、重重地倒下” 或 “低頭垂肩地坐”。
在描述抽象數值時，“plunge、plummet” 和 “slump” 都可以用來表示 “銷售額、收入、價格等數值暴跌”。此外，隻有名詞 “slump” 可以指 “蕭條期”。
Beth
Remember, if you have a question about the English language you’d like to ask us, please send us an email. Our email address is: questions.
Jiaying
你也可以通過微博向我們提問。我們的微博賬號是 “AYYBLOG英語教學”。Bye, everyone.
Beth
Bye!
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