Reader's question: Ling said going through all the proposals was tedious for the committee but still "far from stressful". This was because most proposals "struck a chord" with her, she said. Could you explain “strike a chord”? Chord is a music term, referring to the resonating sound of a set of three or more different notes played simultaneously. Literally if something strikes a chord, it resonates (produces a sound). Metaphorically, if something strikes a chord with someone, it evokes a response in them as though it reminds them of some familiar experience. This idiom is so overused that it has become a cliché. Movies and books, for example, are said to be striking a chord with their audiences all the time. To this, there’s an equally overused Chinese equivalent. That is none other than 引起共鳴。 Use it, along with its Chinese equivalent, sparingly. Related stories: 本文僅代表作者本人觀點,與本網(wǎng)立場無關(guān)。歡迎大家討論學(xué)術(shù)問題,尊重他人,禁止人身攻擊和發(fā)布一切違反國家現(xiàn)行法律法規(guī)的內(nèi)容。 About the author: Zhang Xin has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column. |
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