西班牙语

　　Like French, Spanish is another Latin-based language that has influenced English. A lot of this Spanish influence is especially noticeable in American English, so many of these words could be less common in British English.

　　和法语一样，西班牙语是另一种以拉丁语为基础的语言，对英语产生了影响。西班牙语的影响在美式英语中尤为显著，所以有许多词在英式英语中不很常见。

　　1. Guerrilla

　　游击队员

　　In Spanish, this word literally means “little war.” In both Spanish and English it can be used to describe an unofficial group of people fighting the government. In English, it’s most commonly used as an adjective, in phrases like “guerrilla warfare” or “guerrilla marketing.”

　　在西班牙语中，这个单词字面上表示小型战役。在西班牙和英语中它都可以用来描述一群和政府抗战的非正式组织人员。在英语中，它最常被用来做形容词，用在短语中，如游击战、游击营销。

　　Note that in Spanish, the “ll” sound is different than in English. As a result, in English this word sounds basically the same as “gorilla,” the animal.

　　注意在西班牙语种，“ll”的发音和英语中不同。所以，英语中的发音听起来基本上和gorilla(猩猩)这个动物的读音很像。

　　例句:

　　The guerrilla fighters took control of the capital of the country, which gave them control of the government.

　　游击队员控制了这个国家的首都，从而操控了政府。

　　2. Macho

　　男子汉，男子气概

　　This word describes a person who is very strong or masculine. It can also be used to describe a person who is arrogant about his manhood. It’s also been used in the name of a professional wrestler and a popular disco song from the 1970s.

　　这个单词描述一个非常健壮或阳刚气的人，也可以用来描述一个对自己的男子气质感到傲慢的人。它也被用在一个专业摔跤手的名字里，和一首二十世纪七十年代流行的迪斯科歌曲中。

　　例句:

　　Peter is a real macho guy, but that’s annoying sometimes. He says that “real men don’t cry,” but I think he’s wrong.

　　皮特真是一个非常有男子气概的人，但有时也让人恼火。他说“真正的男人不流眼泪”。但我认为他是错的。

　　3. Patio

　　天井，庭院

　　In English, “patio” generally describes an area outside a house which often has a table and chairs, but no roof.

　　英语中，庭院通常描述房子外面的区域，那儿经常会有一张桌子和一些椅子，但是没有屋顶。

　　例句:

　　It was very hot today, so we decided to go out to the patio to drink a cold glass of lemonade. There are some trees there, too, so the sun wasn’t as bad.

　　今天很热，所以我们决定出去到庭院里喝杯冷的柠檬饮料。那里也有一些树，所以太阳没那么毒辣。

　　4. Plaza

　　露天广场

　　A plaza describes a public open area in a city, which can sometimes be called a “square.”

　　露天广场描述城市里一个露天的公共区域，有时候会被称为广场。

　　“Plaza” is also used in the names of many shopping malls, corporate building areas or other large open areas. If you’re a native Spanish speaker, notice that the pronunciation in English has a vibrated “z” sound, not a soft “s.”

　　plaza也被用在许多购物商场、公司办公楼或其他大型露天场所的名字里。如果你的母语是西班牙语，注意英语中的发音里有一个浊辅音z，而不是一个清辅音s。

　　例句:

　　Victoria needed to buy some Christmas presents for her friends, so she went downtown to the new shopping plaza to check out some of the stores that were recently opened.

　　维多利亚需要给朋友买一些圣诞礼物，所以她去市中心新开的购物广场，逛一逛最近新开的商店。

　　5. Piñata

　　彩色礼品包

　　This is a happy word that describes a toy that is filled with candy. At parties, children take turns trying to break it open with a stick so the candy will fall out.

　　这是个快乐的单词，用来描述装满糖果的玩具。聚会上，孩子们会依次尝试用木棍打开它，这样糖果会掉出来。

　　例句:

　　We had a birthday party for our 3-year-old boy, but we thought he was probably too young for a piñata. We thought all the kids would get hit in the head with the stick.

　　我们为三岁的儿子举行了一次生日宴会，但是我们认为他可能年纪太小了，收不了彩色礼品包。我们认为所有的孩子会被木棍打到头。

　　6. Siesta

　　午睡，午休

　　A siesta is another name for “nap,” but it’s generally a nap that one takes in the middle of the day, especially after eating or while taking a break from work.

　　午睡是小睡的另一个说法，但它通常是中午的小睡，尤其是午饭过后或者是工作间隙的休息。

　　People often take siestas in hot countries because the middle of the day is when the heat is most intense. So it’s a good time to stay inside and sleep!

　　天气热的国家，人们经常在午睡，因为中午是最热的时候。所以很适合待在屋内睡觉。

　　例句:

　　Wow, since I ate that big plate of spaghetti, now I’m feeling super tired. I think I’ll take a quick siesta before I get back to work.

　　哇，由于我吃了一大盘意大利面，现在我感到非常疲累。我认为在回去工作前要先睡个午觉。

（编辑：何莹莹）