■ claim

1) 这个单词，无论作为名词或是动词，基本意思都是“伸张（固有权利）”、“要求（实现权利）”、“（按照权利）追索（应得的利益）”。

• insurance claim保险报销
• His claim for a disability allowance was rejected.他申请残障补助被拒绝了。
• He claimed to be the owner of the hotel.他声称自己是该旅馆的所有人主。
• He claimed diplomatic immunity.他声称自己享有外交豁免权。
• They're going to claim compensation.他们要去要求赔偿损失。

但是这个单词用得越来越多，词义逐渐扩大，后来，声称有某个对说话者自己有利但与权利不相干的情况，也用 claim，这种用法，有人反对，但相当流行。

• They claimed their city was the best place to live.他们声称，他们那座城市是最适宜居住的地方。
• Their efforts were not so unsuccessful as is often claimed. (Noam Chomsky, Columbia Forum, Winter 1969)他们的努力，尽管常常有人说并不成功，但是情况不见得如此。
• He accuses Britain and the West of consistently siding with the forces of White repression in southern Africa in defence of what they claim to be the "free world". (Times Literary Supplement, Aug. 27, 1971)他指责英国和西方为了保卫自己所说的“自由世界”而一贯同南部非洲的白人镇压势力站在一起。

claim 还可以表示“声称（某个理由）”。

• The time for claiming ignorance as an excuse may be coming to an end. (US News & World Report, May 19, p.44)拿不知晓作为借口，这样的时代可能快要结束了。

意义再扩大，主语可以是一场天灾人祸，claim 表示“索取”，直接宾语是生命财产或其他方面的损失。

• The conflict has claimed casualties over the years.这场冲突，多年来一直造成伤亡。
• The earthquake claimed many lives.地震使得许多人丧生。
• It began with reports of mice and moldy plaster, but after two weeks of outrage, the scandal over poor conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center has claimed several careers — including the secretary of the Army's. (The Washington Post, Feb. 3, 2007)事情开头时只不过是有关耗子和发霉石膏的报道，但是经过两个星期的公愤之后，有关瓦尔特·里德陆军医疗中心条件恶劣的丑闻，打破了好几个人的饭碗，包括陆军部长的饭碗。

2) 但是，在新闻用语中，claim 有“自称某事是自己所为”的意思，尤其用于有关恐怖行为的新闻中。

• Two truck bombs set off in quick succession sheared off the fronts of UN offices and a government building in Algeria's capital Tuesday, killing at least 26 people and wounding nearly 200 in an attack claimed by an affiliate of al-Qaida. (The Associated Press, Dec. 12, 2007)星期二在阿尔及尔首都，两枚先后紧接引发的卡车炸弹，炸掉了联合国办公处和一座政府建筑的正面，杀害了至少 26 人，炸伤了大约两百人，这次袭击，“基地”组织的一个附属单位，声称是它干的。