本文经授权转载自微信公众号：田间小站
SAT GRE
外刊例句
- Officially, China is a paragon of fiscal rectitude: its annual deficits have averaged just 1.8% in the past half-decade.
从官方统计来看，中国是财政稳健的典范：过去五年其年赤字率平均仅为1.8%。
——《经济学人》 - He hadn't always been a paragon of perseverance.
他并非一直是坚持不懈的典范。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[noun] a person or thing regarded as a perfect example of a particular quality
[名词] 被认为是某一特定品质的完美典范的人或事物
深入解读
Paragon 是一个与单词 pagan （异教徒；异教徒的）有些容易相混淆的单词，两者可以一并联想记忆。
该词源自古意大利语 paragone （字面含义指“试金石”，喻指“检验标准”），16世纪40年代经古法语 paragon （典范、楷模）进入英语后也是用来表示“典范、完人、尽善尽美的模范”，侧重指在某一特定优良品质方面是至高无上和无与伦比的完美典范，比如：
- 儒雅的典范
a paragon of politeness - 他是一个臭名昭著的骗子，并不是她想象中的那种美德典范。
He was a notorious confidence man, not the paragon of virtue she had expected.
权威用例
发挥党和国家功勋荣誉表彰的精神引领、典型示范作用，推动全社会见贤思齐、崇尚英雄、争做先锋。
We will see that Party and state awards and honors play a guiding and exemplary role and that a public atmosphere prevails in which people emulate paragons of virtue, look up to heroes, and strive to become pioneers.
同近义词
- epitome: a person or thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type
- model: a person or thing regarded as an excellent example of a specified quality
- quintessence: the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class
