Expectancy is the feeling in the air when everyone knows something is coming. It is waiting plus a little lean-forward — usually pleasant or exciting, sometimes just tense.

Expectancyexpectancy is指的是 when everyone knows something is coming當大家都知道有事要發生的時候 the feeling in the air瀰漫在空氣中的那種感覺。 It它 is是 waiting plus a little lean-forward等待再加上一點點探身向前的感覺 usually pleasant or exciting通常是愉快或興奮的 sometimes just tense有時候只是緊張。

It is an uncountable, rather literary word, and it almost never stands alone: you meet it in 'a feeling of expectancy', 'an air of expectancy', 'the room was full of expectancy'. You would find it in a novel or a news report describing a crowd, not in a text message to a friend.

It它 is是 an uncountable, rather literary word一個不可數、偏文學性的字 and it almost never stands alone而且幾乎不會單獨出現 you meet it in你會看到像 'a feeling of expectancy''a feeling of expectancy'（一種期待的感覺）、'an air of expectancy''an air of expectancy'（滿是期待的氣氛）、'the room was full of expectancy''the room was full of expectancy'（房間裡充滿了期待）這樣的說法。 You would find it你會看到這個字 in a novel or a news report describing a crowd出現在小說或描寫群眾的新聞報導裡 not in a text message to a friend而不是傳給朋友的簡訊裡。

The other place you will meet this word — and honestly it is the more common one — is inside the fixed phrase 'life expectancy', which means how many years a person is expected to live. There the word has no feeling in it at all; it is a cold statistic. Same word, two lives: one poetic, one from a government report.

The other place you will meet this word你會遇到這個字的另一個地方 and honestly it is the more common one老實說還更常見 is inside the fixed phrase 'life expectancy'是在固定用法'life expectancy'裡面 which means how many years a person is expected to live意思是一個人預期能活多少年。 There在這裡 the word has no feeling in it at all這個字完全沒有情緒 it is a cold statistic只是個冷冰冰的統計數字。 Same word同一個字 two lives卻有兩種樣貌 one poetic一個很詩意 one from a government report一個來自政府報告。

Note also that 'expectancy' is the feeling of waiting, while 'expectation' is the particular thing you think will happen ('my expectation was that she would win'). English keeps both, and they are not swappable.

Note also另外要注意 that 'expectancy' is the feeling of waiting'expectancy'是等待的那種感覺 while 'expectation' is而'expectation'指的是 the particular thing you think will happen你認為會發生的那件具體的事 ('my expectation was that she would win')（'my expectation was that she would win'）。 English英文 keeps both把兩個字都留著 and they are not swappable但不能互換。