內容簡介
一位聽眾想要瞭解 6 種形容 “臭” 的單詞有哪些不同。Foetid、stench、stink、odour、reek、pong 和 smelly 意義相近，但依據不同地區的語言習慣、詞性、場合和頻率等使用方式略有區別。如果你也想學習這些單詞的使用方法，就請接下來收聽本期 “你問我答” 節目。
文字稿
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Buli
大傢好，歡迎收聽 AYYBLOG 英語教學的 “你問我答” 節目。I’m Buli.
Phil
And I’m Phil. We have a question from one of our listeners.
Question
Dear AYYBLOG 英語教學: I would like to distinguish some words about “臭氣/臭味/臭的” —— foetid, stench, stink, odour, reek, pong, smelly. Thank you.
Phil
This is a brilliant question because, if you look for these words in a dictionary, you’ll find very similar definitions for each, and that means it can be difficult to know which one to use.
Buli
是的，問題中提到的這些單詞確實有一定區別。不光在含義、使用頻率和場合上，它們的應用還可能根據不同地區人們的語言習慣而有所不同。
Phil
So, let’s start with the biggest difference – almost all of these words always relate to a bad smell. But there is one exception. An ‘odour’ can be a bad smell, but it’s not always the case. And it can be used in spoken and written language.
Buli
“Odour” 既可以用在書面用語中，也可以用在口語裡，表達 “氣味” 或 “臭味”。讓我們來聽下面的例句。
Examples
When we smell a familiar odour, it can trigger happy memories.
（當我們聞到熟悉的氣味時，可能會勾起些快樂的回憶。）
Perfumers are always finding creative ways to produce sweet odours.
（調香師總是在探索創造性的方法來制作芳香的氣味。）
Body odour can be an embarrassing problem.
（體臭可能是一個令人尷尬的問題。）
Buli
上面的例子向我們展示瞭用 “odour” 表達氣味時，具體是香味還是臭味需要結合語境來判斷。比如 “sweet odour” 就可以表示 “芳香的氣味”，而 “embarrassing body odour” 就變成瞭 “令人尷尬的體臭”。除此之外，“odour” 也是在科學和技術領域最常見的表達 “氣味” 的詞匯。
Phil
OK. So, that’s ‘odour’, which is a noun. Now let’s look at an adjective, and that’s ‘smelly’. It’s fairly common, and it’s neither formal or informal, and it can be used in most contexts, but it does only refer to a bad smell.
Buli
形容事物是 “有臭味的” 時，“smelly” 是最常用的一個單詞。一起來聽接下來的例句。
Examples
Your food is really smelly. Can you go and eat that somewhere else?
（你吃的東西太難聞瞭，你能不能到其它地方吃？）
This room is quite smelly because it’s got a damp problem.
（這間屋子有些難聞，因為它有潮氣的問題。）
Buli
“Smelly” 的使用范圍非常廣泛，特別是搭配 “quite” 和 “really” 等表示程度的副詞時，可以更加準確地形容臭味的程度。在描述強烈的臭味時，我們還可以使用一個更精準的單詞：“foetid”。
Phil
The adjective ‘foetid’, which is usually spelled f-o-e-t-i-d in British English, is most likely to be found in descriptive writing – it’s quite formal. It is used to describe something that smells really bad.
Buli
“Foetid” 是書面用語，用於形容 “令人惡心的惡臭”，帶有一定的文學色彩。請聽例句。
Examples
After crashing through the trees, they came across a foetid swamp that they couldn’t cross.
（轟然穿過樹林後，他們偶然發現瞭一片無法穿越的惡臭沼澤。）
The beast’s breath smelled more and more foetid as they got closer.
（隨著他們愈發接近，那頭野獸的氣息聞著更加惡臭。）
Buli
例句中用 “foetid” 來形容神秘的沼澤和野獸的呼吸，聽起來就覺得太臭啦！那麼，同樣能用來表達臭味的單詞 “stench” 和 “stink” 又是如何區分的呢？
Phil
As nouns, ‘stench’ and ‘stink’ have a very similar meaning – they are both a very bad smell, and they are both often used with the adjective ‘overpowering’ – giving the idea that a stench or a stink is a smell that is so bad, it can stop you doing anything! The big difference between these two words is that ‘stink’ can be used as a verb. And that isn’t possible with ‘stench’.
Buli
“Stench” 和 “stink” 都可以用來指令你難以呼吸的臭味，比如 “an overpowering stench/stink（一股無法抵擋的臭氣）”。它們的最大區別就是 “stink” 還可以用作動詞，而 “stench” 則隻能作為名詞使用。請聽例句。
Examples
The pipe had burst and there was an overpowering stench. It really stank.
（因為管道發生瞭爆裂，所以那裡極其惡臭。實在太熏人瞭。）
Well done, you’ve got rid of the stink that was in here earlier.
（做得好，你把之前這裡的臭味除幹凈瞭。）
The factory gave off a terrible stench.
（工廠散發出一股難聞的惡臭。）
Buli
需要提醒大傢的是，“stink” 的動詞形式要比名詞形式更加常用。接下來，我們再來學習兩個同樣既可以做動詞，又可以做名詞的詞匯，“reek” 和 “pong”。
Phil
Yes. ‘Reek’ and ‘pong’ are both nouns and verbs for an unpleasant smell, or to smell unpleasantly. They are both more common in British varieties of English than other varieties. ‘Pong’ is quite informal, and they are both more likely to be found in speech than in writing.
Buli
“Reek” 和 “pong” 都在口語中更加常見。他們都可以表示 “令人不悅的氣味” 或 “散發出令人不悅的氣味”。其中，“reek” 在蘇格蘭地區的口語裡還有 “smoky（煙霧繚繞）” 的意思。蘇格蘭城市愛丁堡就擁有 “Auld Reekie” 的昵稱，因為城中曾經總是彌漫著各傢各戶的炊煙。來聽下面的例句。
Examples
There’s a nasty pong in the air. Something reeks in here.
（空氣中有種極其難聞的味道。有什麼東西在這裡散發著臭氣。）
The reek of rotting fish filled the kitchen.
（廚房裡充滿瞭腐爛的魚發出的腥臭味。）
You need to clean that. It really pongs!
（你得把那東西清理幹凈，它有臭味瞭！）
Phil
These are just some of the ways that we can talk about bad smells in English – you will find many more!
Buli
不知道本期節目是否解答瞭你心中的問題呢？你還可以隨時通過微博向我們提問。我們的微博賬號是 “AYYBLOG英語教學”。
Phil
You can also send us an email with your English language question. Our email address is: questions.. Bye!
Buli
Bye.
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