olive branch 用法解析

“olive branch”的词源可追溯至古希腊神话与《圣经》经典文本，是西方文化中极具象征意义的表达。古希腊神话中，雅典娜向雅典城赠予橄榄树，象征和平、繁荣与智慧；《圣经》中，诺亚方舟在大洪水后放出的鸽子衔回橄榄枝，标志灾难终结与和平降临。短语字面意为“橄榄枝”，核心语义为“和平的象征、和解的提议或示好的举动；平安、和平或和平的信号提示”。核心逻辑是“通过主动的、带有善意的行为，化解冲突、修复关系或寻求合作”，强调行为的主动性与目的性——当事人通过“递出橄榄枝”，表达终止对立、寻求共赢的意愿。语域覆盖口语与书面语，正式场合（外交、政治、商务）使用更频繁，语气中性偏积极，带有“理性沟通、善意妥协”的隐含意味。如：

Despite this, many in the West are itching to extend an olive branch to the new president.

尽管这样，许多西方人还是急于向新总统伸出橄榄枝。

The two tech giants finally extended an olive branch to each other, agreeing to settle patent disputes through negotiation.

这两家科技巨头最终向对方伸出橄榄枝，同意通过谈判解决专利纠纷。

The school offered an olive branch to the striking teachers by promising to improve working conditions and raise salaries.

学校向罢工教师递出橄榄枝，承诺改善工作条件并提高薪资。

After their bitter argument, she sent him a handwritten letter as an olive branch, hoping to rebuild their relationship.

激烈争吵后，她寄给他一封手写信作为和解的表示，希望修复两人的感情。

The opposition party issued an olive branch to the ruling party, proposing a joint effort to address the economic crisis.

反对党向执政党递出橄榄枝，提议共同努力应对经济危机。

True friends don’t hold grudges—he apologized first and offered an olive branch by inviting her to dinner.

真正的朋友不会记仇，他先道歉并邀请她共进晚餐，以示和解。

The neighboring countries exchanged olive branches by lifting trade restrictions and resuming cultural exchanges.

两国通过取消贸易限制、恢复文化交流，互递橄榄枝。

He brought her favorite flowers as an olive branch, admitting he was wrong to ignore her feelings.

他带着她最喜欢的花前来示好，承认自己忽视她的感受是错误的。

The military commanders agreed to a ceasefire after one side offered an olive branch and proposed peace talks.

一方递出橄榄枝并提议和谈后，双方军事指挥官同意停火。

They decided to put their differences aside and accept the olive branch—planning a family trip to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

他们决定抛开分歧，接受和解的提议，计划通过家庭旅行庆祝结婚纪念日。

Lisa and Mary had a big fight over a misunderstanding. A week later, Lisa brought Mary’s favorite snack to school as an olive branch. Mary accepted it and they became good friends again.

丽莎和玛丽因为误会大吵了一架。一周后，丽莎把玛丽最喜欢的零食作为橄榄枝带到了学校。玛丽接受了，他们又成了好朋友。（2025年中考英语江苏卷）

After years of territorial disputes, the two countries finally decided to give each other an olive branch. They signed a cooperation agreement and promised to resolve future conflicts through dialogue.（2022年高考英语全国）

经过多年的领土争端，两国最终决定向对方伸出橄榄枝。他们签署了一项合作协议，并承诺通过对话解决未来的冲突。

After a long period of trade frictions, enterprises from the two countries finally exchanged olive branches and reached a mutually beneficial cooperation agreement, laying the foundation for the improvement of bilateral economic and trade relations.

在经历长期的贸易摩擦后，两国企业终于互递橄榄枝，达成了一项互利共赢的合作协议，为双边经贸关系的改善奠定了基础。

（2024年考研英语一（翻译）

需要牢记高频搭配“offer/give/extend an olive branch to sb”（向某人递出橄榄枝）、“exchange olive branches”（互递橄榄枝）、“accept an olive branch”（接受和解提议），短语为可数名词短语，可加不定冠词“an”或复数形式。