taipan
taipan — 名詞
1. a person from a foreign country, especially Europe or the United States in the 1
大班
舊時在中國的洋行大老闆
a person from a foreign country, especially Europe or the United States in the 1800s or early 1900s, who owned or managed a large trading company in China or Hong Kong
Harper's great-grandfather worked as a taipan for a British tea company in Canton.
Harper 的曾祖父曾在廣州為一家英國茶葉公司擔任大班。
worked as a taipan for [company]
The old photographs showed taipans in white suits meeting with Chinese traders in Hong Kong.
那些老照片裡，身穿白色西裝的大班們正在香港與中國商人會面。
Few modern businesspeople in China use the old title of taipan anymore.
現在的中國商場上，已經很少有人使用「大班」這個老稱號了。
Devika read a novel about a Scottish taipan who built his fortune in Shanghai in the 1880s.
Devika 讀了一本小說，講述一位蘇格蘭大班在 1880 年代的上海累積財富的故事。
The museum exhibit explained how taipans controlled much of the trade between Europe and China.
博物館的展覽說明了當年大班如何掌控歐洲與中國之間大部分的貿易。
用法筆記
Frequently found in historical writing about 19th- and early 20th-century trade in East Asia. The word comes from Cantonese and is still sometimes used in modern business journalism to describe Western executives based in Hong Kong.
常見錯誤
2. a large snake from Australia whose poison is extremely strong and can kill a per
太攀蛇
一種劇毒的澳洲蛇類
a large snake from Australia whose poison is extremely strong and can kill a person very quickly
A taipan can inject enough poison in one bite to kill fifty adult men.
一條太攀蛇一口就能注入足以殺死五十名成年男子的毒液。
taipan + poison / bite / kill collocation
Farmers in northern Australia are told to watch carefully for taipans near their homes.
澳洲北部的農夫被告知要小心留意住家附近有沒有太攀蛇。
The zoo guide showed Esme the taipan's long, thin body and its small head.
動物園的導覽員帶 Esme 觀看太攀蛇細長的身體和小小的頭部。
The inland taipan is considered the most venomous snake in the world.
內陸太攀蛇被認為是全世界毒性最強的蛇類。
A person bitten by a taipan must receive antivenom as quickly as possible.
被太攀蛇咬傷的人必須儘快注射抗蛇毒血清。
用法筆記
Avoid confusing the snake sense with the business sense — they are completely unrelated in meaning. The snake sense arose because the snake was seen as the 'boss' of other snakes.