内容提要：超过四分之三的英国民众会拿常见单词或地名没辙。研究人员发现，espresso和prescription便处在最难读的单词之列。

More than three-quarters of British people struggle with common words and place names, with espresso and prescription among the most difficult to pronounce, according to researchers.

超过四分之三的英国民众会拿常见单词或地名没辙。研究人员发现，espresso和prescription便处在最难读的单词之列。

A new study has revealed that 82 per cent of British people regularly trip over the words, with women getting most tongue-tied by every day terminology. And place names can be particularly confusing, according to the study commissioned by London railway station St Pancras International.

一项新研究已经发现有82%的英国人经常会读错单词，女生则通常会在日常生活术语的读音上犯难。地名也非常让人纠结。这项研究是由伦敦的圣潘克拉斯国际火车站操作执行的。

TONGUE-TIED? TRY TESTING THE 10 TRICKIEST WORDS TO PRONOUNCE：

舌头打结？试一试这十个读音最令人纠结的单词吧！

1. Ely Mispronounced by 59% of people EE-lee NOT Ee-Lie

1. 59%的英国民众将Ely读错，实则应读为“EE-lee”，并非“Ee-Lie”。【Ely是英国剑桥郡沼泽地区教区总教堂所在城市的名字】

2. Keighley (West Yorkshire town) 40% keith-lee NOT ki-lee or kay-lee

2. 40%的英国民众把Keighley(西约克郡某城镇的名字)要么错读成"ki-lee"，要么读成“kay-lee”，实际应读成“keith-lee”。

3. Sherbet 40% shur-but NOT sher-burt

3. 40%的英国人把Sherbet(果汁牛奶冻)错读成“sher-burt”，实际应是“shur-but”。

4. Et cetera 34% et-set-ter-eh NOT ecc-set-ter-eh

4. Et cetera(诸如此类)被34%的英国民众错读为“ecc-set-ter-eh”，应该读为“et-set-ter-eh”。

5. St Pancras 33% Saint Pan-krass NOT Saint Pan-kree-ass

5. 33%的英国民众将St Pancras(前面提及过的车站名)错读为"Saint Pan-kree-ass”，应该读为"Saint Pan-krass“。

6. Espresso 26% ess-press-oh NOT ex-press-oh

6. 26%的英国人把espresso(意式浓咖啡)错读为“ex-press-oh”，实际正确的读音是"ess-press-oh“。

7. Bruschetta 25% Brew-sket-a to be truly Italian NOT Brew-shet-a

7. Bruschetta(上图所示的意大利烤面包)被25%的英国人错读成“Brew-shet-a”，实际意大利读音应该是“Brew-sket-a”。

8. Often 24% (traditionally offen, although off-ten has become increasingly common in the UK)

8.发Often的音是，24%的英国人会读错，之前通常发为“offen”，不过把它读成“off-ten”已经在英国变得更加常见。

9. Prescription 21% Pruh-skrip-shun NOT per-skip-shun or pro-skrip-shun

9. 21%的英国民众错把处方这一单词prescription读成“pro-skrip-shun”，实际发音应为“Pruh-skrip-shun”。

10. Greenwich 16% Gren-itch NOT Green-witch or Green-itch

10. 16%的人把Greenwich(格林尼治，伦敦一地名)读错了——正确应读为“Gren-itch”，而非“Green-witch或Green-itch”。

The study found a quarter of British people (23 per cent) feel so worried about getting words like these wrong they even ask someone else to say them.

研究还发现四分之一(23%)的英国人会因为自己这么把单词读错而特别着急，他们甚至会请其他人来读。

(来源：沪江英语)