Gaggle
“Gaggle”是名词,最初指一群鹅,现在也可以用来形容一群吵闹、混乱的人。这个词带有轻微的贬义,暗示人群的混乱和嘈杂。
- “A gaggle of geese flew overhead in a V formation.” (一群鹅以V字形从头顶飞过。)
- “A gaggle of reporters surrounded the celebrity at the airport.” (一群记者在机场围住了这位名人。)
- “The gaggle of children ran through the park, laughing and shouting.” (一群孩子在公园里跑来跑去,笑着喊着。)
“Gaggle”来自中古英语”gagelen”,意思是”咯咯叫”,是拟声词,模仿鹅的叫声。
“Gaggle”本身是一个完整的词根,没有明显的前缀或后缀。
在西方文化中,gaggle体现了对集体名词的丰富使用。英语中有许多特定的集体名词来描述不同动物的群体,gaggle是其中之一。这个词也反映了对群体行为的观察和描述。
- 名词形式: “gaggle”(一群),复数”gaggles”
- 固定搭配: “a gaggle of geese”(一群鹅),“a gaggle of reporters”(一群记者)
“Gaggle”可以联想”gag”(咯咯笑)+ “gle”,想象一群鹅在咯咯叫。
“As the school bus arrived, a gaggle of excited students poured out, their backpacks bouncing and voices chattering. The teacher tried to organize the gaggle into a line, but they were too excited to stand still.” (校车到达时,一群兴奋的学生涌了出来,他们的背包上下跳动,声音叽叽喳喳。老师试图将这群学生排成一行,但他们太兴奋了,无法安静地站着。)