同事聚餐，外教 Lawrence 被我们哥儿几个给灌高了，无意间吐露出他来中国工作的原因~“I used trapped in a humdrum but so-so paid job. It's pretty dull to me! ”(我曾经被困在一份枯燥单调但薪水一般的工作中。对我来说太无聊了!) 我们听完都取笑他“难道现在的工作你就不觉得沉闷厌倦吗？一样还是拿着这样 so-so 微薄得可怜的工资......”
唉，现实生活中的你，是不是也和我一样面对着这样的困局而苦恼纠结着呢？得嘞，咱还是言归正传学英语吧，刚才 Lawrence 这句话里用了两个与“枯燥乏味”相关的词儿——dull 和 humdrum，其实英语和华语一样，都是一门博大精深的语言，有着丰富的词汇，所以以后大家再碰到想要表达乏味无聊时，就不会只会用一个"boring"了~
dull [dʌl]
adj. 枯燥无味的；沉闷的；无聊的；不明亮的；迟钝的；枯燥的；乏味的
humdrum ['hʌm.drʌm]
humdrum life / job / existence etc.
(尤指艰难或无聊的)生活/工作/生活方式; 枯燥的；乏味的 ; 单调的; 无聊的；令人厌倦的
【En】
boring and ordinary, and having no variety or interest.
乏味的，平凡的，没有变化或不感兴趣的。
If you describe someone or something as humdrum, you mean that they are ordinary, dull, or boring.
如果你形容某人或某事为humdrum，你的意思是他们是普通的、沉闷的或无聊的。
having no excitement, interest, or new and different events.
没有刺激兴奋、兴趣或新鲜的、不同的事件。
not interesting or exciting.
无趣的或不刺激的。
● Life is never dull when Elizabeth is here.
伊丽莎白在的时候，生活从不乏味。
● a dull movie
乏味的电影
● The weekly meeting tends to be deadly dull (=very dull).
每周的例会往往是枯燥无味非常沉闷的。
● It sounded pretty dull to me.
我觉得这听起来很无聊。
● They are both nice people but can be rather dull.
他俩都是好人，但有时却很沉闷。
● I felt she found me boring and dull.
我觉得她认为我既无趣又沉闷。
● ...a lawyer, trapped in a humdrum but well-paid job.
一名律师，被困在一份单调但报酬丰厚的工作中。
● the prisoners' humdrum routine
囚犯们单调的日常活动
● The documentary lasts for more than two-and-a-half hours, and there is scarcely a dull minute.
这部纪录片持续了两个半小时以上，几乎没有一分钟是枯燥无聊的。
● Last week we had a hurricane. Never a dull moment running a hotel in the Caribbean (=it's always interesting or exciting).
上周时我们还遭遇了一场飓风。在加勒比海经营一家旅馆从来都不会乏味无聊的。
【Scenario Example 场景示例】
● We lead such a humdrum life/existence.
我们的生活／日子过得真是乏味。
● I just watched a dull movie and called it a night early.
我刚看了一部无聊的电影，就早早睡下了。
● For years, he's plodded away at the same dull routine job.
多年来，他一直在干着同样单调乏味的例行工作。
● Most of the work is fairly humdrum.
这工作大部分都相当单调。
● He's pleasant enough, but deadly dull.
他很和善，但太乏味。
● The text was dull and formulaic.
这篇课文枯燥无味，陈词滥调。
● Their lives were, and are, humdrum.
他们的生活过去和现在都很单调。
● Those books seem rather dull beside this one.
与这本书相比，那些书似乎都很枯燥。
● The ponderous reporting style makes the evening news dull viewing.
沉闷冗长的报道风格使晚间新闻看起来显得很乏味。
● Occasional holidays abroad were the only things that brightened up her otherwise humdrum life.
偶尔到国外度假是唯一能使她原本单调的生活增添光彩（愉快起来）的事情。
● Going to night school might improve your chances of getting out of that humdrum job.
上夜校可能会增加你摆脱那份单调工作的机会。
● How I wish all this was over and I could get back to my humdrum routine.
我多希望这一切都结束了，我可以回到我那单调的日常生活中去啊。
● She wrote dull, respectable articles for the local newspaper.
她为当地的报纸撰写一些枯燥乏味的、一本正经的官样文章。
出处：见配图水印
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