每日单词：toll

toll /təʊl/

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 基本释义 

toll: A toll is a sum of money that you have to pay in order to use a particular bridge or road. Besides, a toll is a total number of deaths, accidents, or disasters that occur in a particular period of time.

n.通行费；代价；伤亡人数

 外刊例句 

In late may India passed two sad milestones in the struggle against covid­19. The official number of deaths from the pandemic crossed 300,000. Daily fatalities topped a record 4,500. Sadder still was the certainty that on both counts the true toll was many multiples higher. Across vast stretches of the country’s interior there is little testing for the virus, and therefore few “official” cases or deaths.

5月底，印度经历了抗击新冠肺炎的两个令人悲伤的里程碑。 据官方统计，死于新冠的人数超过了30万人，日死亡人数超过了创纪录的4500人。 更令人难过的是，可以肯定的是，在这两个数字中，真实的死亡人数要高出许多倍。而且在广袤的内陆地区，几乎没有对这种病毒的检测，因此很少有“官方”病例或死亡数。  

——《经济学人》

 追根溯源 

单词 toll，最初来自拉丁语 telos ，表示 'duty, tax, expense, cost,'，即“税，花费”的意思。

后来引申为 a tax or fee paid for some liberty or privilege, such as passing over a highway or bridge，即“过路费，通行费”；

后来战争爆发，这个单词又引申为 cost in life or health，表示“伤亡人数、付出的代价”。

 重点表达 

① death toll 死亡人数

The official death toll has now reached 7,000. 

官方公布的死亡人数现已达7000人。

② toll gate 收费站，收费口

Police spotted a suspicious vehicle passing a toll gate in New York City. 

警方发现了一辆正在通过纽约市某收费站的可疑车辆。

③ take a/its toll 逐渐侵蚀，造成损害

The recession is taking its toll on the housing markets. 

经济衰退使住房市场遭受着重大损失。