poor
adjective uk/pɔːr/ us/pʊr/
(NO MONEY)
A1 贫穷的，穷困的;拮据的
having little money and/or few possessions
Most of the world's poorest countries are in Africa. 世界上最穷的国家多数在非洲。
He came from a poor immigrant family. 他来自一个贫穷的移民家庭。
Opposite: rich
be poor in somethingB2 缺乏；在…方面贫乏
to have very little of a particular substance or quality
Unfortunately, Iceland is poor in natural resources. 遗憾的是，冰岛自然资源贫乏。
- More examples
- The demonstrators seemed to be from a complete cross-section of society - male and female, old and young, rich and poor.
- Because of debt repayments, the divide between rich and poor countries is continuing to grow.
- Fair trade, say Oxfam, is about giving poor people power.
- When he started he was just a poor boy from the slums - now he's a multimillionaire.
- We certainly don't lead a life of luxury but we're not poor either.
(BAD)
B2 粗劣的，蹩脚的;不好的
not good; being of a very low quality, quantity, or standard
a poor harvest 歉收
Last year's exam results were fairly poor. 去年的考试成绩相当差。
I was always very poor at maths at school. 我上学时数学一直很差。
Dad had been in poor health for several years. 爸爸几年来健康状况一直很差。
At last month's meeting, attendance was poor. 上个月的会议出席率很低。
- More examples
- This novel is available in large print for readers with poor eyesight.
- Teachers shouldn't have to take all the blame for poor exam results.
- The land is so poor here that it cannot support any crops.
- The match was abandoned at half-time because of the poor weather conditions.
- He was fired from his $165 000 job for poor performance.
(DESERVING SYMPATHY)
A2 [ before noun ]可怜的
deserving sympathy
That cold sounds terrible, you poor thing! 感冒似乎很严重，你这个可怜的家伙！
Look at that dog - the poor thing only has three legs. 看那条狗——可怜的家伙只有3条腿。
- More examples
- He neglects that poor dog - he never takes him for walks or gives him any attention.
- I hear poor old Frank's lost his job.
- The poor things were kept in small cages without room to move.
- The poor bird couldn't fly because it had a broken wing.
- You poor thing - you're all wet.
Idioms
be as poor as church miceidiom old-fashioned 穷得叮当响，不名一文
to be very poor
When we first got married, we were as poor as church mice. 我们刚结婚时穷得叮当响。
come/be a poor second, third, etc.idiom （价值、质量或重要性）远远比不上，远远落后
to be considered much lower in value, quality, or importance than the one, two, etc. other things or people mentioned
For Jackie, I'm afraid, money is always of first importance and the children come a poor second. 恐怕对杰基来说，金钱总是最重要的，而孩子们只是第二位的。
poor relationidiom （同类中）略逊一筹的事物（或人）；不受青睐的事物（或人）
something or someone similar to but less important than another thing or person, and that people do not consider equally valuable
The air force and navy were modernized but the army, very much the poor relation, was not. 空军和海军都已实现了现代化，而陆军却相形见绌。
poor
noun [ plural ] uk/pɔːr/ us/pʊr/
the poorC1 穷人
poor people considered together as a group
housing for the poor 为穷人提供住房