Understatement

    轻描淡写

    悬疑侦探片《窃听风云2》最近是影迷的热门话题。请看本报周五的报道：

    To say that Hong Kong people are passionate about the stock market may be an understatement. According to business reports, the majority of Hong Kong residents invest in shares, with some taking such big risks that they are essentially gambling with their life savings. So the subject of the share market is dear to the hearts of many Hong Kong people, which makes creating a thriller surrounding this an incredibly clever idea.

    报道中的understatement (名词)是“轻描淡写”，动词是understate，反义词是overstate (夸大)。Understatement也是一种修辞手法，对应另一种修辞手法hyperbole (夸张)。请看例句：

    She has understated her difficulties. 她只是轻描淡写地提到她的困难。

    It’s an understatement to say he’s foolish — he’s quite mad. 说他愚蠢是说轻了 — 他相当疯狂。