現在還有多少人會去郵局寄紙質信件呢?據說,紙質報紙的發行量也在減少,因為越來越多的人都轉向網絡獲取新聞資訊了。所以,現在的紙質報紙也開始被人戲稱為snailpaper了。
It's 2013. The screens are winning adherents left and right. Print newspapers are turning into "snailpapers" that arrive at our doorsteps with news that is 12 hours late.
現在是2013年了。各類屏幕已贏得不同派別的集體支持,而紙質報紙正在變成“蝸牛報紙”。報紙送到我們門口的時候,那上面的新聞我們12小時前就已經知道了。
The word “snailpaper” is a play on snail mail: letters, bills, and other mail delivered physically and therefore much more slowly than e-mail. Slightly surprisingly, snail mail entered the language as far back as 1982. (Source: Word Spy)
“蝸牛報紙”這個詞是對“蝸牛信件”一詞的演繹,蝸牛信件指通過人工投遞的信件、賬單等,比電子郵件肯定慢很多。不過讓人有些意外的是,“蝸牛信件”這個詞早在1982年時就被收錄進常用語言詞條了。
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(中國日報網英語點津 Helen)