港珠澳大桥于2018年10月24日上午9时正式通车，成为连通粤港澳三地、服务大湾区生活和经济社会发展的新动脉。先敲黑板，划重点：港珠澳大桥的英语为：the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge，记清楚了哦，这可能今年考研极有可能出现的一个热词。
港珠澳大桥的开通也受到了各大外媒争先报道，今天选择了BBC, 卫报以及纽约时报的文章，一起来了解一下港珠澳大桥，并且学几个知识点：
我们先来看看纽约时报的报导：
China officially opened the world’s longest sea bridge on Tuesday after China’s leader, Mr. Xi , and local officials inaugurated the 34-mile structure, which crosses the Pearl River Delta to link Hong Kong with Macau and the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai.
世界上最长的跨海大桥周二在中国正式通车，此前，中国领导人习近平和当地官员为这座全长约55公里，横跨珠江三角洲，连接香港、澳门和中国内地城市珠海的大桥举行了开通仪式。
the Pearl River Delta 珠江三角洲，注意和长江三角洲区分：the Yangtze River Delta
Inaugurate表示为…举行落成仪式（或创建仪式）：· to officially open a building or start an organization with a special ceremony，举个例子：
- The new theatre was inaugurated by the mayor.
新落成的剧院由市长主持了开幕典礼。
另外，这个词还有一个常见的意思，表示：为（重要官员）举行就职典礼，举行就职典礼： to introduce a new public official or leader at a special ceremony，举个例子；
- He will be inaugurated as President in January.
他将于一月份就任总统。
The project, which includes sections of bridge and artificial islands linked by a four-mile tunnel west of Hong Kong’s airport, went billions of dollars over budget and was delayed by two years. Chinese officials expect the bridge to significantly cut driving time between the two sides of the Pearl River, helping to achieve their vision of a Greater Bay Area, as China calls the effort to knit the region’s cities more closely.
这座大桥由几段桥梁和人工岛，以及香港机场西边的一条长约6.7公里的海底隧道组成。项目超支近百亿元人民币，比预定工期推迟了两年。中国官员预计，这座大桥将大大缩短珠江两岸的行车时间，有助于实现官方的大湾区愿景，把珠江三角洲的城市更紧密地连结起来。
Greater Bay Area 大湾区
再来看看《卫报》的报导：
Officials are billing the55km bridge as a key part of the Greater Bay Area plan, a campaign to connectHong Kong and Macau to 11 Chinese cities to form a high-tech region to rival Silicon Valley.
[熟词僻义] Bill这里用作动词，表示：宣传某人或某物有某种特质或能力，把（某人或事物）宣传为…：If you bill a person or event as a particular thing, you advertise them in a way that makes people think they have particular qualities or abilities. 举个例子：
- They bill it as Britain's most exciting museum.
他们宣称它是英国最有趣的博物馆。 - The castle bills itself as the oldest in England.
这个城堡号称是英格兰最古老的城堡。
Rival这里也是用作动词，表示“匹敌，与…媲美”：to be as good or important as someone or something else，举个例子：
- The college's facilities rival those of Harvard and Yale.
这所学院的设施比得上哈佛和耶鲁。
最后我们再来看看BBC的报导，说完了港珠澳大桥积极的一面，我们再看看外媒还有什么看法：
Construction has been dogged by safety issues - at least 18 workers have died on the project, officials say.
这里有个很有意思的词“dog”，这可和狗没什么关系，而是用作动词，表示“困扰；折磨；纠缠”，举个例子：
- He had been dogged by bad health all his life.
他一生多病，备受折磨。
不过这种用法比较少见，大家了解一下即可。
There have also been concerns about the environmental impact.
Environmental groups say the project may have caused serious harm to marine life in the area, including the critically rare Chinese white dolphin.The number of dolphins seen in Hong Kong waters has decreased from 148 to 47 in the past 10 years and they are now absent from the waters near the bridge, according to the Hong Kong branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Is it going to recoup its costs? 能收回本吗？
The bridge, surrounding link roads and artificial islands cost a staggering $20bn to build- the main bridge alone cost $6.92bn.
讲解一个知识点：a staggering $20bn 形容词+数字，可以更好体现出这个数字给人的感觉。Staggering表示令人大吃一惊的;令人震惊的；Something that is staggering is very surprising. 举个例子：
- The cost was a staggering $10 million.
费用竟高达 1000 万美元。 - The results have been quite staggering.
结果非常令人震惊。
这样的例子还有很多，比如前段时间很火的《我不是药神》，票房成绩非常好，其中经济学人有一篇文章描写到这个现象时也用了这种“形容词+数字的形式：
- The film, which raked in a record $200m in its opening weekend on a budget of just $15m, is based on the true story of Lu Yong. Mr Lu was arrested in 2013 for peddling knock-off cancer drugs imported illegally from India.
这部成本仅为1500万美元的电影，在上映一周以来，票房创下历史新高--2亿美元。这部电影基于勇陆的真实故事，他于2013年因为非法贩卖从印度进口的仿制抗癌药而受到逮捕。
a record $200m，record这里是形容词，表示“创纪录的，历史新高的”。比如说Record high就表示“创新高”，相应的record low就表示历史最低点。
《我不是药神》这部电影2亿美元的票房成绩到底是什么个水平呢？作者在数字前面加上“record”就让读者一目了然，成绩是极好的，创下了新高。
Critics have called the bridge a "big white elephant" that guarantees no economic return. Others have said its main purpose is symbolic, ensuring Hong Kong is physically connected to the mainland.
A white elephant是一个俗语，表示华而不实的东西,沉重的负担，无用的累赘东西; 我们来看看维基百科的英英解释：A white elephant is possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is an object, building project, scheme, business venture, facility, etc., considered expensive but without use or value
小结
1. 港珠澳大桥：the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge
2. 为…举行落成仪式 Inaugurate
3. 大湾区 Greater Bay Area
4. 把（某人或事物）宣传为… Bill..as..
5. 珠江三角洲 the Pearl River Delta
6. 长江三角洲 the Yangtze River Delta
7. dog的熟词僻义：折磨；纠缠
8. a staggering $20bn 学习掌握形容词+数字的表达
9. 华而不实的东西,沉重的负担，无用的累赘东西： A white elephant
