[scode type="green"]paucity
n.少量；不足；缺乏[/scode]
音标：/'pɔːsɪtɪ/
英文释义：
If you say that there is a paucity of something, you mean that there is not enough of it.
例句：
①Even the film's impressive finale can't hide the first hour's paucity of imagination.
这部电影的结局可圈可点，即使这样也无法掩盖前一个小时想象力贫乏的缺憾。
②The paucity of fruit was caused by the drought.
水果缺乏是由于干旱造成的。
③They closed the restaurant because the paucity of customers made it uneconomical to operate.
他们关了这家餐馆，因为客流量稀少，经营亏本。
拓展：
这个单词最常见的搭配是“a paucity of”。这也是一个外刊中的高频词，《经济学人》一篇关于探索外空的文章也出现了这个表达：
[scode type="green"]on a whim
一时的兴致;心血来潮;突发的奇想[/scode]
英英释义：
A whim is a wish to do or have something which seems to have no serious reason or purpose behind it, and often occurs suddenly.
例句：
①We decided, more or less on a whim , to sail to Morocco.
我们多少有点心血来潮，决定航海去摩洛哥。
②I bought the encyclopedia on a whim .
我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
《经济学人》一篇关于青少年叛逆的文章 How to rebel in China 也出现了这个表达：
