 基本释义 adj. 严厉的，苛刻的 When countries have few cases, they can follow each one, tracing contacts and isolating them. But when the disease is spreading in the community, that becomes futile. Governments need to prepare for the moment when they will switch to social distancing, which may include cancelling public events, closing schools, staggering work hours and so on. Given the uncertainties, governments will have to choose how draconian they want to be. They should be guided by science. 当一些国家病例很少时，它们可以追踪每个病例以及接触者，并进行隔离。但当疾病在社区传播时，这就变得毫无意义了。政府需要准备好采取扩大社交距离的措施，这可能包括取消公共活动，关闭学校，错开工作时间等等。鉴于这些不确定性，各国政府将不得不选择他们想要采取的严厉措施。这些措施应该以科学为指导。 《经济学人》 追根溯源  这部法律如此严酷，以致历史学家说它不是用墨水写的，而是用血写的。后人将这部严苛的法律称为Draconian laws（德拉古法），用Draconian一词来形容严刑酷律。后来这个词首字母小写，词义也有所延伸，表示“严酷的、严厉的、残忍的”。 真题例句 In the 12th centuary weak governments might try to win legitimacy by being especially tough on crime. That could mean high prison populations and draconian punishments such as those adopted in the United States in recent years. 在12世纪，软弱的政府可能试图通过特别严厉地打击犯罪来赢得合法性。这可能意味着大量的监狱人口和严厉的惩罚，就像美国近年来采用的那样。 《2010年英语考研真题》 |
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