learning a language

1、Para1When we talk about learning a language like English, Japanese or Spanish, we speak and think as though the language in question were a fixed unchanging thing. 當(dāng)我們談到學(xué)習(xí)一門語言比如英語、日語或西班牙語時(shí),我們講的和想的就好像所說的這種語言是固定不變的事物。1. in question：being talked about add： outofquestion:noproblemoutofthequestion:imposs

2、ible,notworthdiscussingWe expect to learn it as we learned geometry or how to ride a bicyclesystematically, and with clear ultimate success. Many people subsequently give up when they discover just what a misconception this is. They have in fact embarked on an activity that could last the rest of th

3、eir lives. 我們期望學(xué)習(xí)一種語言就像學(xué)幾何或?qū)W騎車一樣系統(tǒng)地學(xué)習(xí)，并最終取得顯著的成效。許多人發(fā)現(xiàn)這種觀念是種錯(cuò)誤后就放棄了學(xué)習(xí)。 實(shí)際上,人們要是學(xué)會(huì)一種語言，那他們就開始了一份持續(xù)終生的工作。1. ultimate:adj.last,furthest,basic e.g. :Theultimateresponsibilitylieswiththepresident.最終的責(zé)任在于總統(tǒng)。last:comingafterallothersinorderortime.e.g.thelasttrain,lastyear,thelasttimefinal:last,cominginthee

4、nd;(ofdecision,offer,etc.)cannotbechangedterminal:attheendorlimitofsomething,e.g.aterminalillness晚期病癥eventual:(ofevent)happeningatlastasaresult,e.g.theeventualsuccess2. embarkon/upon:tostart,takepartinembark：v.  1. go on board 上船或飛機(jī) e.g: TheyembarkedatParisforNewYork.他們從巴黎出發(fā)前往紐約。  2. set o

5、ut (on an enterprise or subject of study) 從事，著手e.g: Lets embark on a world tour讓我們開始一次世界旅行。The experience makes them realize that they are not only going to have to work very hard indeed if they want to succeed, but also that they arein many casesbarely masters of the language they call their own &q

6、uot;mother tongue".學(xué)習(xí)語言的經(jīng)歷使他們意識(shí)到如果想要成功不僅要努力工作,而且還意識(shí)到在，在許多情況下,即使是他們自己所謂的母語，他們也并沒有精通。Para 2Studyinganylanguageis,infact,anendlessvoyage.Eachofthethousandsoflanguagescurrentlyusedintheworldisacomplexaffair.其實(shí)，學(xué)習(xí)任何語言就像是一次永無止境的航行。目前世界上所使用的數(shù)千種語言中的任何一種都是復(fù)雜的。Manylanguagesdohaveastandardform-particularl

7、yonpaper-andthisiswhatwelearn,buttheyprobablyalsohaveavarietyofregionaldialectsandsocialstyles,andmanyaretheproductsofthehistoricalminglingofotherlanguages.雖然許多語言的確有他的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)形式，尤其是書面語，這也就是我們所學(xué)習(xí)的語言。然而，他們也可能有各種各樣的地區(qū)方言和社會(huì)風(fēng)格，而且許多語言是在歷史上與其他語言混合的產(chǎn)物。1. Mingle：If things such as sounds, smells, or feelings mingle

8、, they become mixed together but are usually still recognizable. 混合e.g：Now the cheers and applause mingled in a single sustained roar.這時(shí)歡呼聲和掌聲匯聚成了一陣經(jīng)久不息的轟響。Another meaning：At a party, if you mingle with the other people there, you move around and talk to them. 交際e.g：Guests mingle while enjoying cake

9、, punch and other treats.來賓們一邊享受蛋糕、混合飲料和其他食物，一邊相互交談。TheEnglishlanguageisjustsuchahybrid.ItbeganitscareerjustundertwothousandyearsagoasaformofancientGerman, collidedwithaspecialkindofoldFrench, asaformofancientGerman, collidedwithaspecialkindofoldFrench, was subjected to several waves of Latin and a

10、flood of Greek,and since then has acquired bits and pieces of every other language that its users have ever been in contact with.英語就是這種混合的語言。大約在兩千年前開始演變成這樣的。在最初它是一種古德語，接著與一種特殊的古法語相碰撞，然后受到幾波拉丁語和大量的希騰語浪潮的沖擊。以后，英語又從與人們使用的其他每一種語言接觸中獲得了多多少少的成分。2. Hybrid：a mixture of other things, especially two other thi

11、ngs. 【n.】混合物e.g：Such a hybrid would not only become easily transmissible between people, but packed with great killing power. 這種混合病毒不僅可以輕易在人類間傳播，而且會(huì)集結(jié)很大的殺傷力?！綼dj.】Hybrid混合的，雜交的e.g:However, the yield level of hybrid rice had been stagnated for almost 20 years.但近二十年來，雜交水稻的產(chǎn)量水平一直處于徘徊不前的局面?！緑.】hybridize

12、混合，雜交3. collidewith：come into (violent) contact with,encounter沖突；抵觸；碰撞e.g:Liberty requires the ability to use one's body and property in any manner, as long as those actions do not collide with the liberty of others. 自由要求每個(gè)人都有使用自己的天賦和財(cái)產(chǎn)的能力，只要這些行動(dòng)和其他人的自由不發(fā)生沖突。e.g:Racing up the stairs, he almost c

13、ollided with Daisy.他沖上樓梯，幾乎與戴西相撞。Collide： If two or more moving people or objects collide, they crash into one another. 碰撞e.g:Two trains collided head-on in Ohio early this morning.兩輛列車今天早晨在俄亥俄州迎頭相撞?！綼dj.】collisional 碰撞引起的collisionless 無碰撞的【n.】.collision （意見，看法）的抵觸，沖突4. Be subjected to：to cause sb./

14、sth. to experience or undergo sth. 受到；經(jīng)受E.g:Women and girls may also be subjected to sexual exploitation by those mandated to protect them.婦女和女孩也會(huì)成為那些受命保護(hù)她們的人進(jìn)行性掠奪的對(duì)象。Another meaning：to be liable to sth.e.g:Train are subject to delay after the heavy snowfalls.To be depending on sth. As a condition E

15、.g:The plan is subject to the directors approval.a flood of:great quantity or volume 一大批e.g:A flood of tributes from fans, who were unaware of his illness, also appeared on the web. 那些沒有意識(shí)到他得病的粉絲們的贊揚(yáng)之詞如洪水般涌滿了網(wǎng)絡(luò)。5. in contact with:to keep communication with sb. 接觸；與有聯(lián)系E.g:According to specialists an

16、addict is a person who cannot control himself or herself when being in contact with the thing that is the consequence of his/her addiction. 根據(jù)一些專家的認(rèn)為，這些上癮者是由于他們跟接觸事物的時(shí)候無法控制自己從而就導(dǎo)致了他們上癮的結(jié)果。Para 3 A second common misconception about language is that words have fixed and clear meanings. This is fortuna

17、tely or unfortunately far from true. Take even the apparently simple and specific English word man. It seems clear enough; it refers to "an adult male human being". Of course it does, but just consider for a moment the following sentences: 1)There are several men missing in that chess set.

18、2)The boat was manned entirely by women and children. 關(guān)于語言的第二種常見誤解是單詞意思固定清楚。這種想法 無論不幸還是有幸 是遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不正確的。舉個(gè)十分簡(jiǎn)單和具體的英語單詞"man"為例。似乎足夠清楚，指的是"成年男子"。當(dāng)然的確如此，但是考慮一下下列句子： 1) 那副象棋缺了幾顆棋子。 2) 這艘船全由婦女和小孩掌舵。 1. 區(qū)別: general,common, ordinary, usualgeneral: affecting all or nearly all, not special, loc

19、al or particular一般的e.g. The price of food is a matter of general interest.食品價(jià)格是一個(gè)普遍關(guān)心的問題。common: belonging to, affecting all or nearly all members of a group or society共同的e.g. It is a flower common in rice fields.。這是一種常見于稻田的花。常見的：如通常發(fā)生的，習(xí)慣的ordinary: normal, usual, average普通的e.g.She is in ordinary dr

20、ess.她穿著平常的衣服。usual: such as commonly happens, customary常見的e.g. Tea is the usual drink o f English people.茶是英國人常喝的飲料。2. There are several men missing in that chess set.man: n. a playing piece that we can move in a game of chessThe boat was manned entirely by women and children.man: v. to supply men o

21、r people needed in operational posts.e.g. The General manned the assault troops with his bravest soldiers.將軍用最勇敢的士兵率領(lǐng)突擊部隊(duì)。Para 4 You might argue that these sentences are somewhat unnatural; certainly, they do not represent the everyday core meaning of the word man. They are, however, legitimate exte

22、nsions of that core meaning, the second being especially interesting because it is a verb and not a noun, and suggests that we expect adult male human beings to serve as the crews of ships, not women and certainly not children.你可能爭(zhēng)論這些句子有點(diǎn)不自然。是的，它們不是單詞"man"的日常用法， 而是其中心意義的合理延伸。尤其有趣的是在第二個(gè)句子中它

23、作動(dòng)詞用而不是名詞。這表明我們期望成年男子做水手，而不是婦女當(dāng)然更不是小孩。1. 區(qū)別 legitimate legal lawfullegitimate: lawful, reasonable合法的法律允許的，依法的He is a criminal who runs a legitimate business as well.他是一個(gè)經(jīng)營合法生意的罪犯。lawful: allowed by law, according to law合法的Protesters must only use lawful methods of opposing the government.抗議者必須使用合法的反

24、對(duì)政府的方法。legal: connected with, authorized or acquired by the law法律：與法律聯(lián)系、授權(quán)或取得的The marriage was legal under Swiss law. 根據(jù)瑞士法律，婚姻是合法的。Part of the pleasure and genius of language may well arise out of this slight "misuse" of words. 語言中的一些樂趣和天賦很可能是由這種單詞的細(xì)微差別的誤用而產(chǎn)生的。1. this slight "misuse&

25、quot; of words: slightly deviant, but probably more creative, use of words as it is not in strict accordance with the conventional, time-honored meaning of the words.（課文注解第7點(diǎn)）稍微有些偏離，但可能更有創(chuàng)造性，因?yàn)槭褂脝卧~并不嚴(yán)格按照傳統(tǒng)的、古老的單詞含義。2. may well: reasonably, probablygrammatical point well can be used after can, could,

26、 may, might with the meaning of "justifiably, reasonably, probably".I might well consider it later. ( = I'll probably consider it later. )我可能稍后再考慮。I can't very well leave now. ( = It's not good for me to leave now.)我現(xiàn)在不能離開。After all, if you call a person a cat or a cabbage, no

27、literal identification is intended, but a great deal of meaning is nevertheless conveyed.別忘了，如果你叫一個(gè)人"貓"或"卷心菜"，雖然你不是表達(dá)字面意思，但它們會(huì)被曲解成許多意思。 1. after all: 畢竟；別忘了He didn't do well in the work. After all, it was his first try.他能做出明智的決定。畢竟，他不再是個(gè)男孩了。After all, you are a student now, a

28、nd you should study hard.別忘了，你現(xiàn)在是個(gè)學(xué)生，你應(yīng)該努力學(xué)習(xí)。2. identification：the act of designating or identifying something 鑒別，識(shí)別The identification of the crash victims was a long and difficult task. 鑒別墜機(jī)意外傷亡者的工作費(fèi)時(shí)而且困難重重。 3. convey: v. to express, make known to another person傳達(dá)e.g.Please convey my best wishes to

29、 your mother.請(qǐng)向你母親轉(zhuǎn)達(dá)我最美好的祝愿。Para 5 A third misconception about language claims that every language is -or should be-equally used and understood by all its practitioners everywhere.關(guān)于語言的第三個(gè)誤解是: 每一種語言都被或應(yīng)被各地的所有使用者同樣地使用和理解。 Certainly, users of the standard forms of English in the United Kingdom generally understand their equivalents in the United States;the degree of si