Undergrowth
发音 Pronunciation
/ndoθ/
释义 Definition
指森林或树林中生长在大树下面的低矮植物、灌木和草丛。通常指那些在高大树木的树荫下自然生长的茂密植被。
例句 Examples
The path through the undergrowth was narrow and hard to follow.
穿过灌木丛的小路又窄又难走。
As they pushed deeper into the forest, the undergrowth became so thick and tangled that every step required effort.
当他们深入森林时,林下灌木丛变得如此茂密纠缠,每走一步都需要费力。
词源 Etymology
由 under(下面)和 growth(生长物)组合而成,最早出现于17世纪的英语中。字面意思即"生长在下面的东西",形象地描述了在高大树木遮蔽下生长的低矮植被。growth 源自古英语动词 growan(生长),加上名词后缀构成。
相关词汇 Related Words
文学作品引用 Literary References
- 罗伯特弗罗斯特(Robert Frost)的诗作《未选择的路》(The Road Not Taken)中写道:"And both that morning equally lay / In leaves no step had trodden black",描绘了林间小路与周围灌木丛的意象,与 undergrowth 的场景密切相关。弗罗斯特在诗中直接使用了"undergrowth"一词:"And be one traveler, long I stood / And looked down one as far as I could / To where it bent in the undergrowth."
- 托马斯哈代(Thomas Hardy)在《远离尘嚣》(Far from the Madding Crowd)中多次使用该词描绘英国乡村的自然景观。
- 约瑟夫康拉德(Joseph Conrad)的《黑暗的心》(Heart of Darkness)中用该词描写非洲丛林中茂密的林下植被,营造出压迫而神秘的气氛。