"fall prey to" 字面意为“成为…的猎物”,引申为 “遭受…的伤害/侵害;被…欺骗/蛊惑;沦为…的受害者”。强调主语(人或事物)被动地陷入负面处境,通常涉及疾病、骗局、诱惑、灾难或抽象的负面因素。
主语:可以是人(最常见)、事物(如计划、建筑、项目)或抽象概念(如希望、信心);
宾语:导致伤害的具体因素(疾病、骗子、事故)或抽象因素(诱惑、偏见、谣言)。
以下是不同场景的典型用法,帮助理解具体语境:
1、 健康问题(遭受疾病/伤痛)
He fell prey to a severe case of pneumonia last winter.(他去年冬天得了严重的肺炎。)
Many elderly people fall prey to chronic illnesses like diabetes.(许多老年人深受糖尿病等慢性病之苦。)
2、 欺骗/诈骗(被欺骗、上当)
Don’t fall prey to online scams promising "easy money."(别被网上“轻松赚钱”的骗局骗了。)
Thousands of investors fell prey to the fake cryptocurrency scheme.(数千名投资者沦为虚假加密货币计划的受害者。)
3、 诱惑/欲望(屈服于诱惑)
She fell prey to the temptation of buying expensive designer bags.(她忍不住买昂贵的名牌包。)
Teens often fall prey to peer pressure to try drugs.(青少年常因同伴压力尝试毒品。)
4、 灾难/破坏(被摧毁、破坏)
The ancient temple fell prey to vandalism during the war.(这座古寺在战争中遭到破坏。)
The farm fell prey to a swarm of locusts, ruining the crops.(农场被蝗虫群侵袭,庄稼全毁了。)
5、 抽象负面因素(被负面想法/观念左右)
Don’t fall prey to the belief that you’re not good enough.(别被“你不够好”的想法困扰。)
The project fell prey to budget cuts and was eventually canceled.(项目因预算削减而夭折。)
现在时:fall prey to(主语为复数/第一人称);falls prey to(主语为第三人称单数)
例:She falls prey to anxiety whenever she has exams.(她一考试就焦虑。)
过去时:fell prey to
例:He fell prey to a cold last week.(他上周感冒了。)
现在完成时:has/have fallen prey to
例:They have fallen prey to misinformation about the vaccine.(他们被关于疫苗的错误信息误导了。)
succumb to(屈服于,更正式):She succumbed to exhaustion after working 12 hours.(她工作12小时后累倒了。)
be victimized by(被…伤害):Many children are victimized by bullying at school.(许多孩子在学校被霸凌。)
be taken in by(被…欺骗):He was taken in by the con artist’s fake story.(他被骗子的虚假故事骗了。)
"fall prey to" 是一个表达“被动受害”的常用短语,尤其适合描述“无防备地陷入负面情况”。记住它的核心逻辑:主语→成为→负面因素的“猎物”,结合具体语境就能灵活运用啦!