scarce學測 L3KK [ˈskɛrs] ｜ /ˈskɛrs/
稀少的；不足的·僅僅；剛剛
形容資源短缺，兼具罕見副詞用法
After the typhoon, fresh drinking water grew scarce all over the city.
颱風過後，全市新鮮飲用水都變得稀少。
一個畫面：差一點就摸不到
伸手撲空想拿的東西幾乎抓不到，數量太少
供不應求需要的人多，現有的量卻不夠分
分秒必爭時間只剩一點點，差一秒就錯過
義項
資源匱乏C1adjective稀少的；不足的
During a drought, water becomes scarce and people must save every drop.
乾旱時水變得稀少，大家必須省下每一滴。
scarce resourcesbecome scarce
分秒之差C1adverb僅僅；剛剛
She had scarce sat down when the teacher started the quiz.
她才剛坐下，老師就開始小考了。
片語
make oneself scarce悄悄開溜 →識相地悄悄離開
as scarce as hen's teeth母雞牙齒 →像母雞牙齒一樣罕見
grow scarce逐漸稀少 →數量漸漸變少
scarce resources資源見底 →供不應求的資源
你會不會這樣說？
Water becomes ___ during a drought. (scarce / scared)
看答案
scarce
scarce 意思是稀少，scared 是害怕，兩字只差一個字母。
'She had scarce sat down when the teacher started the quiz.' 這裡的 scarce 最接近哪個意思？(A) 稀少的 (B) 僅僅、剛剛
看答案
(B)
此句 scarce 修飾時間，表示僅僅、剛剛，而非形容詞的稀少義。
字族
scarcity 稀缺；短缺（名詞）・scarcely 幾乎不；僅僅（更常見說法）