TPS News

Correct best answer: Replace “naive” with “native.”

“Explorers were inoculated against typhus by generational immunity, but the bacterial disease swept through the native population like a rapacious scourge.”

It can be argued that primitive tribes or societies indeed are “naïve” in the sense that they are unaware and unsophisticated. Therefore, the argument goes, using “naïve” in the sentence is not inaccurate. Yet the word is not the appropriate one because it mostly has to do with knowledge and mindset. The bacteria attacked vulnerable bodies, not innocent minds. Even if they had known what was happening to them, the natives had no bodily defenses. Therefore, the proper word in this context is “native” to differentiate the victims from the New World visitors carrying death-dealing bacteria. Choosing words that are almost correct is a poor second choice.
有人認為，原始部落或社會確實是 “naïve”（天真的），因為他們不明世事、思想單純，所以，這句話用 “naïve” 似乎也沒有錯。然而，“naïve” 一字並不恰當，因為這個字多半描述知識或思想，但是細菌攻擊的是缺乏免疫防備的身體，而不是單純的心智；即使當地人知道疫病的原因，身體免疫力也無法抵抗。因此，根據前後文，應該使用 “native”（當地的）一字，區別受害者與帶來致命病菌的新世界探險家。有些詞彙儘管與正確的詞彙相去無幾，但仍然不是理想選擇。