BEC重點詞彙:afford
Afford
[əˈfɔːd]
vt. 承擔得起;支付得起 ;提供
Afford = af-(同ad-,去,往)+ -ford(同forth,往前),即推動前進,能夠承擔費用或代價,引申為負擔得起。
Afford在商務英語裡出現頻率較高,常見表達形式有can afford買得起,有能力負擔、afford to do sth負擔得起做某事,有經濟條件做某事,afford to wait等得起。片語舉例如afford the cost of inaction承擔無所作為的後果、afford the expense負擔費用、afford the monthly charge支付每個月電話費、afford education負擔教育。
我們來看2個例句:
We cannot afford to drop behind our competitors.
我們可擔當不起落後於競爭對手的後果。
Only the rich can afford these houses.
只有富人能買得起這些房子。