核心畫面

You can picture the ground right after a storm or a bomb has gone through: things that used to stand up are knocked flat, and what is left is bare, open, changed. The word is not about one broken thing but about a whole scene that has been levelled.

風暴或炸彈掃過之後的那一片地:本來立著的房子、樹、招牌全被壓平,剩下攤開來的一片空。devastation 講的不是更多收起風暴或炸彈掃過之後的那一片地:本來立著的房子、樹、招牌全被壓平,剩下攤開來的一片空。devastation 講的不是「壞了一點」,而是整個景象被夷平之後留下來的那個樣子——你站在那裡,會先說不出話。

One branch

被夷平之後的樣子

兩個意思共用同一張畫面,差別只在被夷平的是外面的地方,還是裡面的人。

widespread destruction · noun · C2

Very great damage to a place, when buildings, land, or many things there are badly hurt or ruined.

毀滅

原始詞典資料2 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,原文照列,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

devastationnoun/ˌdɛ.vəˈsteɪ.ʃən/

  • 1

    The act of devastating, or the state of being devastated; a laying waste.

    • Perhaps as startling as the sheer toll was the devastation to some of the state’s well-known locales. Boardwalks along the beach in Seaside Heights, Belmar and other towns on the Jersey Shore were blown away. Amusement parks, arcades and restaurants all but vanished. Bridges to barrier islands buckled, preventing residents from even inspecting the damage to their property.
  • 2

    lawWaste or misapplication of the assets of a deceased person by an executor or administrator; devastavit.

資料來源:英文維基詞典 English WiktionaryCC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。