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177. We know that the past tense of the word ‘fix’ should be ‘fixed’. But why is the letter ‘x’ undoubled?
The rule is that onesyllable words that end with a single consonant after a single vowel letter double the consonant when we add to the basic form. So, for example, the comparative and superlative of some adjectives are as follows: big/bigger/biggest; fat/fatter/fattest. The past tense of the verb tap is tapped: Our teacher tapped her fingers on the desk and we all stopped talking. This spelling distinguishes the verb tap from the verb tape, where the consonant is not doubled: I taped that radio interview for you. In other words, the spelling rule has a phonological purpose. This rule does not apply to the letter ‘x’, because the vowel sound that precedes it is always short and there are relatively few words in the language ending in ‘x’, box and fix being typical examples: She boxed his ears. He fixed my car.
〖STHZ〗178〖ZK(〗〖WTHZ〗Im always confused when using the following sentences: ‘Welcome to England’, ‘Welcome you to England’ and ‘I welcome you to England’. Could you tell me how I can use ‘welcome’ correctly?〖ST〗〖WT〗[ZK)]Welcome? is used as a greeting: (You are) welcome! (Be) welcome to England. In these examples, welcome is an adjectival complement after the verb be, even if the verb be is not used. However, welcome can also be a transitive verb: He welcomed his guests warmly. I wish to welcome you. Dont confuse the use of welcome as a complement with the use of welcome as a verb: i.e. 〖KG2〗Welcome you to England* is wrong.
〖STHZ〗
179〖ZK(〗〖WTHZ〗Can you tell me why a girl can say that she has a ‘girlfriend’, while a boy cant use ‘my boyfriend’?〖ST〗〖WT〗[ZK)]It is true that a woman can refer to female friends as ‘girlfriends’, especially in the plural and especially in American English: Shes out with her girlfriends. However, in British English we refer to ‘a friend’ or ‘a woman friend’. ‘Girlfriend’ to refer to nonromantic relationships is not dignified because the terms ‘girlfriend’ and ‘boyfriend’ usually suggest a romantic relationship between members of the opposite sex: Have you met Toms new girlfriend? Have you met Jills new boyfriend? Because of these possibly sexual connotations, a male would not refer to a male friend as ‘my boyfriend’. Note, also, that many careful users of English avoid referring to mature women as ‘girls’ and mature men as ‘boys’. Sentences like ‘Shes a nice girl’, ‘Hes a nice boy’ to describe young people may sound patronizing.
180〖ZK(〗〖WTHZ〗When I was in writing class, my foreign teacher always told me not to use ‘for’ to begin a sentence. But Ive seen many times that kind of use of the word ‘for’ in foreign newspapers and novels. Can you explain this?〖ST〗〖WT〗[ZK)]Yes, I can. You are right. You can begin a sentence in English with ‘for’. Heres an example:
For the next ten months, Ill be working on a new project. Here, ‘for’ is a time preposition. But your English teacher is right, too, and perhaps you dont now recall exactly what he or she was saying. You cant begin a sentence in English using ‘for’ as an adverb in the sense of ‘because’. Here is an example:
Because there is little property on the market, rents are rising. (Not 〖KG2〗For there is ...*)
181．I have been studying English almost for ten years. I’m interested in English. But I always have some troubles in writing. Could you tell me how to improve my writing?
我学英语已经快十年了。我对英语有兴趣，但我在写作方面总有一些困难。您能告诉我怎样才能提高写作水平吗?
There are two basic things you have to do to write good English:
1) You have to understand that English is ‘a word-order language’. This means that word order is essential to the meaning of everything we say and write. The word order of an English sentence is fairly inflexible. With just a few variations, it follows this pattern:
Subject ｜ Verb ｜ Object ｜ Manner ｜ Place ｜ Time
In inflected languages (that is, languages in which the form of a noun tells us whether the noun is subject or object) the word order is unimportant. This is not the case in English. If we write ‘The policeman arrested the thief’, the meaning is very different from ‘The thief arrested the policeman.’
Changing the nouns round radically alters the meaning. In an inflected language, this change in word order would not have this effect. So you have to train yourself to follow the sequence S/V/O/M/P/T when you write.
2) To write good English sentences, you have to master sentence structure. Sentence structure is the way we show the relationship between ideas and events. This means you have to learn how to control three different types of sentence:
a) the simple sentence, which contains a subject and a verb: The taxi has arrived. My sister answered the phone. etc.
b) the compound sentence, where two or more simple sentences are joined by conjunctions like and, but, or, etc.: I phoned a number of times. No one answered. → I phoned a number of times, but no one answered.
c) the complex sentence, where two or more simple sentences are joined by conjunctions like since, when, as soon as, etc.: We realized that something had gone wrong. We saw him run towards us.→ We realized that something had gone wrong as soon as we saw him run towards us. Of course, there are other ways of making complex sentences as well. For example, we can use the -ing form: Seeing him run towards us made us realize that something had gone wrong. But the mastery of the written language depends on how well you can control its sentence structure.
要想写好英语，你要做到以下两个基本点：
1) 要知道英语是“一种词序语言”。这就是说，我们要说要写的意思，是通过单词的排列顺序来表达的。英语句子的词序是相当固定的。主要遵循如下次序(有少量一些变化)：
主语+动词+宾语+方式+地点+时间
在词形变化语言中(即在这类语言中，名词的形式可以显示该名词是主语还是宾语)，词序不重要。在英语中不是这样。如果我们写出The policeman arrested the thief，意思与The thief arrested the policeman迥然不同。
改变名词顺序使句意大相径庭，但在词形变化语言中，词序变化不会有这种作用，所以写作时你应掌握主语+动词+宾语+方式+地点+时间这一顺序。
2) 要写好英语句子，你需要掌握句子结构。句子结构是我们表示思想和事件之间关系的方式。这意味着你应学会如何掌握以下三种不同类型的句子：
a) 简单句，包括一个主语和一个动词：The taxi has arrived. My sister answered the phone.等等。
b) 复合句，由两个或两个以上的简单句通过and, but, or等连词组成：I phoned a number of times. No one answered.→I phoned a number of times ,but no one answered.
c)复杂句，由两个或两个以上的简单句通过since, when, as soon as 等连词组成：We realized that something had gone wrong. We saw him run towards us.→We realized that something had gone wrong as soon as we saw him run towards us.当然还有其他的复杂句组成方式，例如，我们可以用-ing方式：Seeing him run towards us made us realize that something had gone wrong.掌握一门语言的写作要看你对句子结构的掌握程度。
182. There is not a letter ‘o’ in the word ‘number’. I don’t know why it can be abbreviated to ‘No’. Would you please explain it to me?
‘Number’ can be abbreviated to No. or No and ‘numbers’ to Nos. This is actually an abbreviation of the Latin ‘numero’ (= No.).
183. I’ve often heard that it is unnecessary for Chinese English learners to use such clichés as ‘strike while the iron is hot’ and ‘call a spade a spade’ and ‘it goes without saying’, etc. Can I follow this idea?
The phrases you have quoted are idioms. A lot of learners think (mistakenly) that they have to use phrases like this in order to sound as if they are speaking idiomatic English. What you have heard about them is right. Phrases like this are completely unnecessary for communication. However, there’s no harm in using idiomatic phrases provided you do so appropriately and don’t just ‘drag them in’ in order to show off. The most costeffective route to sounding as if you speak idiomatic English is to learn what prepositions go with what verbs and whether a verb combines with ing or ‘to’.
184〖ZK(〗〖WTHZ〗Is it right to say: agree with someone, agree to something, agree on something with someone?〖ST〗〖WT〗[ZK)]Yes:
—I agree with you. (Not 〖KG2〗agree to you* 〖KG2〗agree you*)
—I agree to the proposal. (Not 〖KG2〗agree with*)
—Surely we can agree on this. (= about)
185〖ZK(〗〖WTHZ〗Whats the difference between ‘Which class are you in?’ and ‘What class are you in?’〖ST〗〖WT〗[ZK)]‘Which ...?’ always refers to a limited specified choice, so if I ask ‘Which class are you in?’ Im referring to ‘this class’ or ‘that class’, and perhaps one other. ‘What ...?’ refers to an unlimited and unspecified choice, so if I ask ‘What class are you in?’ Im referring to any number of possible classes.
186〖ZK(〗〖WTHZ〗Whats the difference between ‘world of English’ and ‘English world’?〖ST〗〖WT〗[ZK)] 〖ZK(〗〖WTHZ〗World of English〖ST〗〖WT〗 could refer to the people concerned with English studies:
The publication of this dictionary has had a great effect on the world of English studies.〖ZK)〗
〖LM〗
〖ZK(〗〖WTHZ〗English world〖ST〗〖WT〗 is so rare I cant think of an immediate context for it unless I adapt it to e.g. Englishspeaking world (= those people in the world who speak English as their native language):
This new dictionary has been well received in the Englishspeaking world.〖ZK)〗
187. Through more than ten years’ learning, I have learned about 8,000 English vocabulary. But now having a job not related to English, I find it more difficult to increase my vocabulary other than in education. I would like to ask you for the secret or skills in increasing vocabulary.
And: During my English study, I always find it one of the headaches to remember English words. Are there any other ways to extend my vocabulary as well as to work hard at it?
Read as much as you can and as often as you can, but choose reading texts which are near your level. This is the very best way to increase your vocabulary.
Look at publishers’ English Language Teaching catalogues and choose a vocabulary practice book that is the right level for you. Do the exercises.
〖ZK)〗 〖ZK(〗Invest in books like The Longman Language Activator and my own Right Word Wrong Word and use them as reference books. Both these books will increase your vocabulary skills.〖ZK)〗
〖LM〗
General Questions
188. As dictionaries are important in my English studies, how can I use them more effectively?
词典在我的英语学习中很重要，那么我怎样才能更有效地加以利用?
People tend to think that dictionaries just explain meanings and are rarely aware of the ‘range of services’ they provide. It’s desirable to own more than one good monolingual dictionary if at all possible, since together, different dictionaries give you a more rounded picture. However, the most important thing to do with a dictionary is really to use it, above all when you are reading. Use it till you truly know your way round it and enjoy what it offers you. Modern monolingual dictionaries provide some or all of the following services:
—British and American English variations
—spelling
—pronunciation
—structural information (for example, whether a verb is transitive or intransitive, whether it is followed by to or -ing; whether a noun is countable or uncountable, etc.)
—meaning (beginning with the most widely-used meaning)
—level of formality
—citations that a) bring out the meaning of the word b) are drawn from real use
—cross-references to other relevant entries
—usage notes
—compounds
To get the most out of a dictionary, you need to extend your awareness of what it can do. There are also a number of extremely interesting variations on the standard dictionary, such as The Longman Language Activator which help you to choose the right word or phrase to express your ideas.
人们一般都倾向认为词典仅仅是解释词汇的意思，却很少意识到它能给我们提供一系列的用途。如果条件允许的话，最好拥有一本以上的单语词典，因为不同的词典会提供更加全面的信息。然而，最重要的是在英语学习过程中，尤其是在阅读过程中，做到真正地使用它。力求做到熟练应用，并从中受益。现代单语词典有下列全部或部分用途：
——英国英语和美国英语的变体
——拼写
——音标
——结构上的信息 (例如：一个动词是及物动词还是不及物动词，它后面是接不定式to的形式，还是现在分词词-ing形式；一个名词是可数名词还是不可数名词，等等)
——词意(最通用的意思放在前面)
——语言的正式程度
——用来表明词意并从实践中汲取的例句
——互相参照条目
——使用方法
——复合词
当然，要想充分利用词典，你必须明白它能做些什么。标准的词典中有很多有趣的英语变体，比如The Longman Language Activator就是这样的词典，它可以帮助你选择有助于表达自己的思想的正确的词或短语。
189. What will help me better to improve my English: studying my old textbook, or reading a newspaper?
您能告诉我学习我的旧教材与读报纸相比，哪一种方式更有助于提高我的英语水平吗?
Even though you haven’t told me which textbook you are referring to, I would say that reading a newspaper is the very best thing you can do to improve your English. Don’t set yourself too much reading so you become discouraged. Read a little from a newspaper every day. It will put you in touch with a whole range of subjects in good modern English. Reading will consolidate and extend your knowledge of structure and vocabulary. It will also be a source of pleasure and information. It is unlikely that any textbook can match a newspaper for sheer range. However, you will probably need some kind of reference book (a grammar and a dictionary) to answer questions that may occur to you. And don’t throw your old textbook away! You may still want to remind yourself of things you may have half forgotten and your textbook will help you to do this.
尽管你没有告诉我你指的是哪种教材，我也要说阅读报纸是提高你英语水平的最佳方式。不要强迫自己读太多的东西，要不然，你会对学习英语失去兴趣的。每一天读一点儿报纸上的文章，这会使你接触到用纯正的现代英语所写的题材广泛的文章。阅读英语报纸无疑会巩固和扩大你的知识结构和词汇。它也是你获得快乐和信息的源泉。因此，就覆盖面而言，任何教材都是难以与报纸相比的。但你还是得备一些参考书(一本语法书和词典)以帮助解答你遇到的问题。你的教科书也别扔掉，因为你还需要教材来帮助提示你所遗忘的东西，你的教材可以助一臂之力。
190. I have been learning English constantly for more than 40 years, but I am still at intermediate level, or even worse. How can I make further progress?
Learning a language means learning a skill, not acquiring knowledge. You test your command of a foreign language by your ability to perform in it, not by how much you know about it. Performance refers to your ability to understand, speak, read and write. Knowledge refers mainly to grammar rules and vocabulary.
When we are trying to master a skill, sooner or later we arrive at our ‘ceiling’: that is， the best we can do. For example, I enjoy playing table tennis. But even if I were to spend the rest of my life practising, I would never reach the level of a Chinese world class player. I reached my ceiling many years ago and I have never improved since then. Of course, I dont know your individual circumstances, but it is quite possible that you have reached your ceiling in English. If so, you just have to accept this and be grateful it is as high as intermediate level and not still at beginners’ level.
191.How can I think, speak and write as an Englishman does? How can I get rid of the influence of my mother tongue when I speak English?
Don’t be offended by my answer. You can’t. You will always think as a Chinese and speak Chinglish. When you learn your mother tongue, you also acquire the ‘mental set’ that goes with it. And if I, as a native speaker of English, were to learn Chinese, I would never think, speak and write as a Chinese does. I would always speak Engchin (and probably very badly!). This means that though learners can understand different varieties of English, they will (unless they are quite exceptionally gifted and have exceptional opportunities at a young age) always speak the version of English that reflects their own culture. So, for example, French learners speak Frenglish, Spanish learners speak Spanglish, German learners speak Gerlish, and so on. When we learn our mother tongues, we learn the muscular movements associated with speaking our own language. That’s why native speakers of Chinese, for example, have particular difficulty with /l/ and /r/ sounds in English; native speakers of French have difficulty with //, so they say ‘ze’ for ‘the’; native speakers of German have difficulty with /w/, so they say ‘ve’ for‘we’; native speakers of Greek have difficulty with/ｄ/， so they say ‘dzam’ for ‘jam’, and so on. It is a considerable achievement to learn English to a reasonable standard, so be proud of your Chinglish and show off your skills! I would certainly be proud of my Engchin, if I had any!
192. I have been a mother for 5 months and been learning English for 12 years. Now I am eager to teach my baby English in his language learning period. Would you like to favour me with some suggestions?
我做母亲已有5个月了，学习英语也有12年了。现在我渴望在宝宝学语言的阶段教他学英语，您能否给我提些建议呢?
The language we speak is called our mother tongue or our native language: it is the language we learn initially and directly from our mothers. Mothers can only express their love and affection for their offspring by speaking to them in their own language. It is extremely important to make sure that your baby learns Chinese from you. Your baby will be extremely surprised and confused if you start making sounds which he/she doesn’t understand and you will find it very unnatural to be speaking to your baby in English. I suggest that you stick to Chinese for the first three years and then begin to teach your child English as if it were a game. The game should be for a short period only in a regularly recurring context, such as getting up in the morning, or sharing a meal. Alternatively, if you want your baby to learn English right from the start, you have to find someone else who will speak to the baby in English. In this way, the baby will come to associate Chinese with you and English with another speaker and will be bilingual right from the start. However, it is usual with children from a truly bilingual background that they will understand both languages without difficulty, but until they are 6 or 7, they will only respond in their mother tongue. This is normal and vital for the development of their personality. Don’t spoil your relationship with your baby! Don’t interfere with nature!
我们自己所说的语言叫做我们的母语：它是我们最先开始学习的语言，我们直接从母亲那里学到。 母亲们只能通过讲母语向自己的后代表达对他们的深情厚爱。因此，确保你的宝宝从你身上学习汉语是极为重要的。如果你一开始就说一些宝宝不甚理解的话，他一定会感到奇怪，甚至糊涂，你也会发现对你的宝宝说英语是极不自然的。因此，我建议前3年你坚持用汉语教育你的宝宝，其后以游戏的方式教孩子学习英语。游戏的时间不可过长，但要经常重复，比如在早晨起床时或在一起用餐时你可以选定个时间。如果你想让你的宝宝一开始就学习英语，你必须找一位可以对你的宝宝说英语的人。这样，你的宝宝就会用汉语与你交流，用英语与那一位交流，所以他一开始就接受双语教育。虽然对真正受过双语教育的孩子们来说理解两门外语并不是件难事儿，但直到六七岁他们仍然只以母语为交流语言。这对他们的个性发展是正常的，也是至关重要的。不要破坏你与宝宝间的关系，也不要干涉宝宝的天性。
193. How and where can we use the subjunctive mood?
The subjunctive is extremely rare in English and it shouldn’t worry you. We can nearly always manage without it. We used to use the subjunctive to refer to hypothetical situations. Here are a few of the more common examples:
〖ZK(〗after if: you will hardly ever hear the present subjunctive after if these days (If he be ...). We use the simple present instead: If he is ...
We still use the past subjunctive after if: If I were in your position ... But we can avoid this as well and say: If I was in your position ...〖ZK)〗
〖ZK(〗after adjectives like vital, essential, important: Its important that he see a doctor. However, we nearly always avoid this and say： Its important that he sees a doctor.〖ZK)〗
〖ZK(〗after verbs like propose and suggest: I suggest he see a doctor. Again, we often avoid this and say: I suggest he sees a doctor.〖ZK)〗
The conclusion is: dont worry about the subjunctive forms because they are increasingly archaic and you can express yourself very well without them.
194. How to study the prepositions well?
Prepositions are generally ‘small’ words we use in English to show relationships, mainly in space and time:
space: We ran across the field.
time: The plane arrived at 4.
A preposition is always followed by an object and is different from an adverb particle, which does not have an object:
We drove round the city. (round + object = preposition)
We drove round. (no object = adverb particle)
If you understand the basic principles behind the use of prepositions, you will find them easier to handle. When dealing with space, you have to understand that English draws a distinction between movement and position. The choice of preposition is often determined by the verb:
Movement: 〖ZK(〗I went to the station. Ive come from the station. (movement to and from)〖ZK)〗
Position: 〖ZK(〗I was at the station. I waited at the station. (position without movement)〖ZK)〗
To show position, we use at to show a point in space and in when referring to a larger area (especially place names):
Movement: John went to the kitchen.
Position: He is in the kitchen. (= inside that area)
Movement: John went to New York.
Position: He is in New York. (= inside a large area)
With some nouns, we can use at or in, depending on how we view them:
Ill meet you at the restaurant. (= a point in space, presumably outside the restaurant)
Ill meet you in the restaurant. (= actually inside it)
Learn the basic meanings of common prepositions (across, along, past, near, etc.) and then see how they are used with ‘movement verbs’ like go, fly, run, etc. and ‘position verbs’ like be, stay, wait.
Where time is concerned, you have to remember that we use:
at + time: Ill see you at six o’clock.
on + day: Ill see you on Monday.
on + date: My birthday is on May 13th.
in + month/year: Ill see you in January. Ill see you in 1996.
Once youve mastered these basic uses, note how other prepositions like before and after can be used to talk about time.
Really take time to master these basic uses. If you dont, you will be permanently confused by prepositions and might feel defeated by them.
195. What do you think about the idea that to master a foreign language one must forget his own native language?
有这么一种看法：掌握一门外语，必须忘记自己的母语。您是如何看待这一看法呢?
There is a great deal of truth in this idea, except I wouldn’t put it so strongly. I wouldn’t say you have to forget your native language (after all, that is quite impossible). I would say you have to discount your native language. Interference from your native language is the biggest barrier to acquisition. It’s natural for a learner to use the same ‘linguistic behaviour’ in a foreign language as he/she uses in the native language. For example, if in your own language you ask a question merely through intonation, you will want to do this in English: ‘You arrived here last night?’ instead of ‘Did you arrive here last night?’ In Chinese, you don’t have the same notion of tense as we have in English, so you want to say: ‘He go to school every day’ instead of ‘He goes to school every day.’
You don’t have the same notion of plural as we have in English, so you might say: ‘I can see two car in the street’ instead of ‘I can see two cars in the street.’
In order to produce the correct English, you have to discount the way you express yourself in Chinese. You then have to practise the correct way of saying something in English until you are fluent. In a sense, you have to unlearn the habits you have acquired in your native language in order to master the habit you need to speak a foreign language. This is very difficult and accounts for the different foreign varieties of English you hear round the world (Frenglish, Spanglish, Chinglish, etc.): the native language is asserting itself in English and ‘interfering’ with acquisition. Interference occurs in all areas: pronunciation, stress and intonation, grammar, vocabulary as well as in ways of thinking, ways of problem-solving. Even misunderstandings among nations are often the direct product of this kind of interference.
这个看法本身很有道理，我只是不愿过分地强调它罢了。我不能说你必须忘掉你的母语(毕竟那是很不可能的)。我只说母语的因素在你学习外语过程中应该降低。来自母语的干扰是你掌握英语的最大障碍。对一个外语学习者来说，把他/她用在母语中的“语言行为”用在外语中是很自然的。例如，如果在你的母语中疑问是通过语调来表示的，你在英语中也会这样做：
你会说You arrived here last night?，而不是Did you arrive here last night?。汉语里没有英语中时态这个概念，所以你自然会说He go to school every day，而不是He goes to school every day.
汉语中也没有英语中的复数概念，所以你会说I can see two car in the street，而不是I can see two cars in the street.
为了能够说出正确的英语，你不能把你的汉语表达习惯看得那么重。你必须练习正确说英语的方式，直到熟练为止。
从某种意义上说，你必须忘掉在母语中学到的习惯，这样才能更好地掌握一门外语。这很困难，也是你能听到各种英语变体的原因(法国式英语、西班牙式英语、中国式英语，等等)：自己的母语总会在英语中反应出来，并干扰你对英语的掌握。各个方面都有干扰：语音、重读与语调、语法、词汇以及思维方式、解决问题的方式，等等。即使民族间的误解常常也是这一干扰的直接产物。
196. The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English uses 2,000 words for all the explanations and examples in it. How are the words chosen and by what standard?
〖ST〗〖WT〗[ZK)]I dont know which edition of LDOCE you are using. The work was first published in 1978 and has gone into numerous editions. However, the principles behind the defining vocabulary were stated in the earliest version and can be found at the end of the dictionary, even in the latest edition of The Dictionary of English Language and Culture. I will quote only a fragment from the dictionary:
The Defining Vocabulary has been carefully chosen after a thorough study of all the wellknown frequency lists of English words. Furthermore, only the most common and ‘central’ meanings of the words in the list have actually been used in definitions. We have also used a special computer program that checks every entry to ensure that words from outside the Defining Vocabulary do not appear in definitions.
197. I bought many English materials such as 〖STHX〗21st Century, AAA English and TV Guide. How can I use them properly for my study?〖ST〗〖WT〗[ZK)]Just regard them as reading materials, like any other reading materials. This means you can use them for extensive reading, not bothering too much whether you understand all the words you read, but trying to get the meaning from the context. Or you can read them intensively, going through a whole text, or part of a text, word by word, preferably with a good monolingual dictionary. My own preference would be for extensive reading. Remember, the more you read, the more you will consolidate and expand what you know.
198. How to teach yourself English when you have no English courses?
若不上英语课，如何自学英语呢?
Difficult because there is no teach-yourself course I would recommend. Be extremely suspicious of any advertised courses that promise to teach you English in six weeks, etc. They always fail and the advertisers are liars. Why? Because though you can learn to say quite a bit in twelve weeks or less if you imitate what is on an audio-tape, you cannot learn to understand very much at all. Understanding fluent speech in a foreign language requires hours and hours of listening practice. Listening comprehension is the key to the command of any foreign language. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so difficult to learn on your own. There’s also another human reason why it’s difficult. Once you have bought a comprehensive self-study package, it requires enormous self-discipline to work through it. Only learners with exceptional determination are likely to do this. I think the future in self-study will lie with interactive materials, but what can you do in the meantime? Well, clearly you’re not an absolute beginner because you wouldn’t have sent me this question if you were. Listen to broadcast English (the BBC World Service). Watch English-language films on video. Read as much as you can and as often as you can. These activities will do wonders for your English.
我想这比较困难，因为目前没有什么自学教程可供推荐。那些刊登的允诺在6个星期内可实现英语速成之类的广告千万不可相信。那些速成课从不起什么作用，登广告的人是骗子。为什么呢?因为即使你在12个星期内跟着录音带模仿着说英语，虽然能说一些，但你不可能做到彻底地理解它们。理解流利的英语讲话需要长时间的听力练习。听力理解是掌握任何一门外语的关键。这也是为什么自学难度较大的原因吧!另外还有一个在于人的原因：一旦你买了一整套自学材料，你就得做到严格自律，持之以恒，仔细研读它们。只有那些意志特别坚强的学习者才能做到这一步。我认为将来自学要依靠交流性材料，但此间你该怎么办呢?无论如何，你能提出这样的问题，就证明你不是一个英语初学者。你可以听英语广播(如英国广播公司的全球广播)。看英语电影，尽可能地多读，这些做法会对你的英语产生很好的效果。
199. How can I learn so many idioms by heart?
如何才能掌握众多的英语习语?
You can’t, and you will be pleased to hear, you don’t need to. It’s a total waste of time to learn lists of idioms by heart. And even if you do, this will not improve your English at all. What is an idiom, anyway? When people are asked for examples of idioms, they often quote fixed phrases like: It’s raining cats and dogs, the pot calling the kettle black, to add insult to injury, and so on. If you’re interested in collections like this, consult specialized dictionaries like The Longman Dictionary of English Idioms (first published 1979). Even if you learnt this dictionary by heart, your English wouldn’t be much better. The dictionary is for you to consult when you hear someone use this kind of idiom and you fail to understand it. What you should be aiming at is not learning ‘idioms’, but acquiring a command of idiomatic English, which is a completely different matter. This means sounding as much as possible like a native speaker of English when you speak, rather than sounding like someone who is constantly translating from Chinese. To improve your command of idiomatic English, you need to remember that English is a word-order language: that is, the basic order is Subject ｜ Verb ｜ Object ｜ Manner ｜ Place ｜ Time. Any departure from this order makes your English sound unidiomatic and ‘foreign’. If, for example, you say ‘I speak well English’ instead of ‘I speak English well’, you will be breaking a fundamental rule in the English language. Another thing to remember is that English prefers phrasal verbs to ordinary verbs. We tend to say ‘Come in!’ when someone knocks at the door, rather than ‘Enter!’; we tend to say ‘Put out the fire/Put the fire out’ rather than ‘Extinguish the fire’. Phrasal verbs often have idiomatic uses, as well as literal uses: ‘Put the cat out’ is a literal use (= put it out of the house); ‘Put the fire out’ is an idiomatic use (= extinguish). You have to learn phrasal verbs as you encounter them in context. Towards the end of my Essential English Grammar, I list fifteen basic grammar rules. A command of these will ensure that your English sounds idiomatic. You will also see that this has nothing at all to do with learning fixed-phrase idioms by heart.
你做不到这点，也没有这个必要。这么说你可能会很高兴。费尽心思死记英语习语表简直是浪费时间。即使你做到了，它们对你的英语学习也无济于事。什么是习语呢?当人们被问起有关习语的例子时，他们总是引用一些固定短语，例如：It’s raining cats and dogs, the pot calling the kettle black, to add insult to injury，等等。如果你对此感兴趣，你可以查一些专门词典，如The Longman Dictionary of English Idioms(1979年第一版)。即使你背下了这本词典，你的英语也不见得长进多大。这本词典是在你听到不能理解的习语时供你查找用的。你现在的任务不是学习这些习语，而是掌握地道的英语，这与学习习语是完全不同的事。这就是说，所说的英语听起来要尽可能像以英语为母语的人所说的那样，而不是在不断翻译汉语。因此，要想学好地道的英语，你就应当记住英语是一种词序语言：即它的基本结构是主语+动词+宾语+方式+地点+时间。如果偏离了这种格式，那么你所说的英语就不是那么地道了，甚至有点儿像“舶来品”。例如，如果你把“我的英语说得很好”说成I speak well English，而不是I speak English well，那么你就违背了英语的一个最基本的规则。另一点值得我们注意的是：在英语中短语动词比普通的动词用得更普遍。当某人敲门时，我们更倾向于说Come in!，而不说Enter!我们倾向说Put out the fire/Put the fire out，而不说Extinguish the fire.短语动词通常有习语的用法，也有按字面意义上理解的用法：Put the cat out 就是字面用法(=把它放在房屋外);Put the fire out是一个习语用法(=使熄灭)。你必须掌握这些短语动词，因为在文中你会经常遇见它们。在我所著的Essential English Grammar的最后，我列举了15条最基本的英语语法规则。掌握了这些就可以使你的英语听起来更地道。你也会发现这与死记固定的英语习语毫不相关。
200. Some people in Western countries used to say that we Chinese are very serious people, and do not have much sense of humour. Do you agree? Do you think that the Western humour is quite different from the Chinese one?
一些西方国家的人士过去经常说我们中国人太严肃，缺乏幽默感。您同意这个说法吗?您认为西方式幽默与中国式幽默有很大的区别吗?
I do not subscribe to any idea of human stereotypes. As human beings, we share human characteristics universally. We all experience love, fear, hope, anger, etc. —yes, and we all laugh. The only differences between us are the ways we have been conditioned by the cultures we grew up in. This means that all human beings have the capacity to laugh, but they don’t necessarily all find exactly the same things funny. Humour is often the result of a clash between an idea or a situation and a culturally-defined expectation of what is correct or normal. Insofar as we have different value systems or ideas of normality, we have different ideas of what is funny. What we consider to be funny is the product of our cultural conditioning. Your question is actually two questions, so let me answer them one at a time: 1) No, I don’t agree that the Chinese don’t have a sense of humour. 2) Sometimes a ‘Western’ and a Chinese sense of humour will converge (we are all human) and sometimes a ‘Western’ and a Chinese sense of humour will diverge (we live in different societies).
我不敢苟同这种人的成见。作为人，我们拥有人类的共性。我们都有爱情、恐惧、希望、愤怒，等等——当然还有欢笑。惟一的区别就是我们分别在两种不同的文化氛围中生活，并且受其熏陶。这就是说，我们都有笑的本能，但不见得我们对同样的事都觉得可笑。幽默通常是一种理念或特定的场景与一种以文化取向为标准的正确与否的冲突的结果。因为我们有不同的价值观念，所以对某事物是否有趣也有不同的看法。我们认为有趣的事物是我们自己特定的文化所决定的。你所问的其实是两个问题，我分别解答它们：1)我不同意中国人没有幽默感的说法。2)有时，西方的幽默与中国的幽默可以相吻合（因为我们都是人），有时，西方的幽默与中国的幽默会有不同(因为我们生活在不同的社会中)。
201. How to differentiate formal from informal English?
如何辨别正式英语与非正式英语呢?
Formal English is generally written. We use it in business letters, when we’re writing reports, in public notices, etc. Informal English is generally spoken. We use it in conversation between friends, when we’re writing to a friend using a ‘spoken style’ and when we’re generally trying to be friendly. In An A-Z of English Grammar and Usage Geoffrey Leech quotes two examples:
An announcement is heard on radio:
Formal: ‘The police are attempting to discover the location of the missing vehicle.’
Informal: ‘What did it say?’ —‘It said they’re trying to find out where the car’s gone.’
Formal style often uses elaborate combinations of verbs and nouns deriving from Latin and Greek:
Our environmental awareness and protectiveness towards nature have increased.
Informal style is correct and standard, but avoids complex sentences, multi-syllable verbs and a ‘high-sounding’ tone: More than ever, we know we’ve got to look after nature.
正式英语通常是书面语，一般用在商业信函中或正式的报告、公开告示中等。非正式英语通常是口语体的，我们在与朋友交谈中用它，给朋友写信也用这种“口语体”，以显得亲切、自然。在An A-Z of English Grammar and Usage一书中，杰弗里•利奇引用了两个例子：
收音机上播放的通告：
正式体：The police are attempting to discover the location of the missing vehicle.
非正式体：What did it say?—It said they’re trying to find out where the car’s gone.
正式体通常使用来源于拉丁语、希腊语名词和动词的复杂搭配：Our environmental awareness and protectiveness towards nature have increased.
非正式体也是正确的、标准的，但它避免使用复合句、多音节动词和“高调”：
More than ever, we know we’ve got to look after nature.
202. What is the best way for Chinese students to learn English?
对中国学生来说，学习英语的最佳方式是什么?
I wish I could give you a simple, personalised formula, but I can’t. The best way for Chinese students to learn English is exactly the same as the best way all other students in the world learn English. Be clear about the following:
Learning a language is about acquiring skills, not acquiring knowledge.
To learn a foreign language, we need to master four primary skills:
—Understanding
—Speaking
—Reading
—Writing
Each of these primary skills consists of sub-skills: for example, listen and respond, listen and assimilate, listen and take notes, listen and translate simultaneously from one language into another. The development of the listening skill is fundamental and provides the basis for the acquisition of all other skills.
To master aural/oral skills (= understanding and speaking), we have to be able to:
—Understand
—Answer
—Ask
—Say
We then have to deploy these four activities in three main areas of discourse:
—Transactions (= doing business in a foreign language, like changing money in a bank or ordering food at a restaurant)
—Interaction (= the non-contentious exchange of information)
—Argument (= the exchange of ideas, sometimes contentious)
We can set out similar objectives for the reading skill and for the writing skill. But whatever culture we set out from (Chinese, Mexican or Ethiopian), the objectives will remain the same. Of course, there are phonological and grammatical problems which particularly affect speakers of Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, etc.), just as there are phonological and grammatical problems which particularly affect speakers of Spanish. These require specialized local training. However, the overall objectives do not vary according to the native language of the learner.
我真希望我能给你一个简单的、有针对性的办法，但我不能。对中国学生来说，学习英语的最佳方式与世界其他地区的学生学习英语的最佳方式一样。你必须了解：
学习一门外语是获得技巧，而不是获得知识。
学习一门外语，我们应该掌握四项基本技能：
——理解
——口头表达
——阅读
——写作
这些基本技巧中的每一项又包含许多小技巧，例如：听与答、听与吸收、听与记笔记、听与同声传译，等等。培养英语听力是根本，是获得其他技巧的基础。
要掌握听力/口头交际技巧，我们必须做到：
——理解
——回答
——询问
——说
然后我们可以以如下领域的交流安排这四项活动：
——交易(以外语为工具与人打交道，如在银行兑换现金或在餐厅点菜)
——互相交流(指非争论性地交流信息)
——辩论(交流思想，有时有争论)
在培养阅读技巧或写作技巧时，我们也可定下相似的目标。但无论我们来自何种文化环境(中国的、墨西哥的或是埃塞俄比亚的)，这些目标依然如此。当然，影响中国英语学习者口头表达有音位与语法上的因素(普通话、广东话，等等)，就像这两种因素同样也作用于西班牙的英语学习者一样。这就要求针对各地方的专门的训练。然而，总的目标并不因说话者的国籍不同而有所变化。
203. There are some differences between British English and American English in pronunciation, spelling, usage, etc. I always get confused. Would you please tell me the main differences between them? And which do you think is better and more standard?
英国英语与美国英语在发音、拼写、用法等方面有一些区别，我对此经常犯愁。您能告诉我它们之间的主要区别吗? 您认为哪种英语更好、更标准呢?
It’s all too easy to exaggerate the differences between British and American English. The first thing to understand is that they are exactly the same language. Speakers of American English have very little difficulty understanding speakers of British English and vice versa. The few differences there are can be summed up as follows:
phonological: This is probably the main and most noticeable difference. American English is spoken in a different way from British English. In general terms, to British English ears, American English sounds as though it is spoken through the nose. To American English ears, British English sounds as though it is spoken through the teeth.[ZK)]
lexical: There are a number of well-known differences: cookie (AmE) for biscuit (BrE), the trunk of a car (AmE) for the boot of a car (BrE) and so on. AmE uses drapes where BrE uses curtains, but AmE also has curtains. These differences are slight and well-documented. There are also slight spelling variations: color, traveler (AmE) for colour, traveller (BrE).
grammatical: These are mainly differences in emphasis. Both languages use have got, for example, but ‘I don’t have much time’ is probably preferred in AmE to ‘I haven’t got much time’. AmE sometimes uses the simple past where BrE uses the present perfect (‘Did you see Tosca yet?’ for ‘Have you seen Tosca yet?’). There are different combinations with have: a British English speaker is likely to say ‘I’m going to have a wash’ where an American-English speaker would say ‘I’m going to wash up (before a meal)’.
And that’s about it. You will find more extended lists in good student dictionaries. The latest (third) edition of the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English painstakingly itemises the differences, if you want detailed inventories. But, as I said, don’t over-estimate these differences. Neither version of English is ‘better’ or ‘more standard’. In British English, there is such a thing as ‘Received Pronunciation’ (= RP), which is a kind of standard most people can cope with. The equivalent in American English is ‘Standard American’, which fulfils precisely the same function. No matter what version of English you are exposed to as a learner, you are likely to end up speaking Chinese English, which is highly acceptable for the purposes of communication.
这个问题很简单，以至于不能简单地夸大它们之间的区别。首先我们必须明白它们是同一种语言。操美国英语的人几乎可以没有任何困难就听懂说英国英语的人士，反之亦然。它们之间的微小差别可总结如下：
从音位上说：这是最主要也是最显著的差别。美国英语的发音方式与英国英语的发音方式有些不同。总的来说，对操英国英语的人士来说，美国英语听起来像是用鼻子发音，对操美国英语的人士来说，英国英语像是在齿间。
从词汇上说：这方面有一些显著差别：饼干在美国英语中是cookie,在英国英语中是biscuit;汽车的车厢在美国英语中是trunk,在英国英语中是boot。美国英语用drapes 指窗帘，而英国英语用curtains指窗帘，当然美国英语中也可用curtains。这些区别是微不足道的，且有详细的记录。而且还有些细微的拼写上的变体：美国英语中的color和traveler，在英国英语中则是colour和traveller。
从语法上说：主要的区别在于强调方面。例如，这两种语言都用have got，但美国英语更倾向于说I don’t have much time，一般不说I haven’t got much time.美国英语倾向用一般过去时，而英国英语更倾向于用现在完成时(前者说：Did you see Tosca yet?，而后者说Have you seen Tosca yet?)。与have的搭配在两种英语中也有所区别：一位说英国英语的人更有可能说I’m going to have a wash,而一位说美国英语的人则说I’m going to wash up(before a meal)。
大致就是这些。你可以在较好的学生词典中发现更多的例子。最新的Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (第三版)系统地列举了二者的区别。但依我看来，不要夸大二者的区别。二者并无优劣之分。英国英语中有一种所谓的“标准音”(Received Pronunciation，简略成RP)的说法，这是大多数人可以接受的标准音。在美国英语中，同样也有一种“标准美国英语”(Standard American)的提法，职能同标准的英国英语一样能广为人们所接受。作为一名英语学习者，无论你接触的是哪一种英语，你的可能结果是讲中国式英语，讲中国式英语同样能达到交流的目的。
204. I’ve studied English for four years. I want to know about my English level. How can I test it?
我学习英语已有四年了，我想知道我的英语水平。我该如何检测它呢?
Without more information, I cannot advise you. How intensively have you studied English? i.e. How many hours a week? Have you been developing all four skills (understanding, speaking, reading and writing), or have you been concentrating on (say) reading? Have you been working with a teacher or on your own? What materials have you been using? And so on. Unless I know precisely what you have been doing, I cannot advise you about level. However, I would draw your attention to four different kinds of tests:
progress tests: These are administered frequently and tell students how they are getting on. These are often designed for students to complete on their own.
attainment tests: These are administered at the end of a period of study and tell students how well they have acquired what they have been taught. A school exam might use these.
placement tests: These are similar to attainment tests, but they enable teachers to place students in a class which is closest to their needs and level. A language school might use these.
proficiency tests: These tell students how well their English is in general terms. An employer might use these.
由于不太了解情况，我无法给你提出建议。你学习英语的力度如何?即：一周学习几个小时?四项基本技能(听、说、读、写)发展是否均衡?还是仅仅把精力集中在(比方说)阅读上?你是跟老师学习还是在自学呢?你所用的是什么样的学习材料呢?等等。如果我不知道你做了些什么，我怎么知道你的水平呢?然而，我可以请你注意以下四种测试：
进度测试：这种测验可以经常进行，显示学生们的学习进展情况。这些测试旨在使学生们独立完成这些测试。
成果测试：这种测验主要在一段学习结束后进行，以检验他们对所学的东西掌握了多少。学校测验可以采用这种形式。
级别测试：这与上述的成果测试相似，这种考试使老师们可以根据学生们的水平和需要把他们编在一个班里。语言学校可以采取此法。
水平测试：这种测试可以让学生们知道自己的英语水平。雇主通常可以采用此法。
205. In the course of learning English idioms, I feel they are interesting but difficult to deal with. Please give me some tips.
And a similar question: Id love to learn English idioms and proverbs, but some of them are out of date. So how can I distinguish them from modern and useful ones?〖ST〗〖WT〗[ZK)]If by idioms, you mean fixed phrases like ‘Its raining cats and dogs’, then you are absolutely right: they are interesting but difficult to deal with. Futhermore, they are unnecessary: learning lists of them wont improve your English one bit. If you learn lists of ‘idioms’, there is no way of knowing which ones are out of date and which ones are currently in use. My advice is to ignore ‘idioms’ altogether! What you should be aiming at is not learning ‘idioms’, but acquiring a command of idiomatic English, which is a completely different matter. This means sounding as much as possible like a native speaker of English when you speak, rather than sounding like someone who is constantly translating from Chinese. To improve your command of idiomatic English, you need to remember that English is a wordorder language: that is, the basic order is Subject ｜ Verb ｜ Object ｜ Manner ｜ Place ｜ Time. Any departure from this order makes your English sound unidiomatic and ‘foreign’. If, for example, you say ‘I speak well English’ instead of ‘I speak English well’, you will be breaking a fundamental rule in the English language. So forget ‘idioms’ and concentrate on developing idiomatic English.
206〖ZK(〗〖WTHZ〗Is it a good way to study English by reading more, not by studying more grammar?
〖ST〗〖WT〗[ZK)]Yes, it is. Any communicative or practical use of English is better than studying grammar for its own sake. You can never become fluent in a language by studying only its grammar, since you would not be getting enough practice in using the language. However, you cant ignore grammar completely either, because it is (to borrow a term from computers) the operating system of the language. Think of grammar as being a support system. When youre listening, speaking, reading or writing, you will have questions about the way the language is used. Most of your questions have grammatical answers. You therefore need grammar to understand the way the English language works. For example, if you make a mistake like 〖KG2〗I enjoy to go on holiday in the summer*, you need to know that ‘enjoy’ is one of a small group of verbs which is followed by the ing form and not by a toinfinitive. This grammatical knowledge might help you to avoid making the same kind of mistake in future. So use English as much as you can (speak, read and write) and look up any points of grammar when you need to. Whatever you do, dont study grammar in isolation.
207. Is it necessary to study slang?
有必要学习俚语吗?
No, it is not. In fact it’s quite a dangerous thing to do. When we’re learning a foreign language, we like to know exactly what native speakers say and we like to know all the rude words in the language. Slang is usually rude and impolite, but if you are a learner you don’t know just how rude or impolite. If you use slang or swear words when speaking to native speakers they might be quite shocked by what you say. Modern dictionaries clearly label certain words and expressions as ‘taboo’ to show that their use is rude or offensive in polite society. It’s fine to understand such words and phrases, but always avoid using them in case you give offence.
没必要。这其实是一件挺危险的事。我们在学外语时，希望确切地了解以此为母语的人是怎么说话的，我们也想知道这门外语中所有的粗鲁词语。俚语一般是粗鲁和无礼的，作为一个初学者，你不知道粗鲁和无礼的程度。在与以英语为母语的人说话时，你要是用俚语或脏词，他们可能会很震惊。现代词典把某些词或词组明确标明为“禁忌”，说明在礼仪之社会使用这些词是粗俗的或是令人不快的。理解这些词和短语是好的，但切忌使用，以免冒犯他人。
208. I have learned English for almost ten years. I am interested in learning English. But now I find it’s very hard for me to reach a high level. Could you please give me some suggestions?
And a similar question: I’m a graduate and I’ve taught myself English for ten years. Now I wonder how I can develop myself. That’s to say I don’t know how to arrive at a higher level. Can you give me any good advice? Thanks.
我学习英语将近十年了。学英语我有兴趣，但现在我发现很难达到高的层次。您能给我一些建议吗?
类似的问题：我是个大学毕业生，自学英语有十年了。现在我不知道如何提高自己的水平，也就是说，我不知道怎样才能达到一个更高的水平。您能给我一些好的建议吗? 谢谢。
Perhaps you have reached your ceiling and cannot go to a higher level. Learning a foreign language is not about acquiring knowledge, but about learning to perform a skill. Millions of people can drive a car, but only a tiny fraction of them can participate in rally driving. In other words, we all perform skills with different levels of ability and, sooner or later, reach our ceilings. Only a tiny fraction of those learning English will arrive at near-native proficiency. If, however, you feel you haven’t reached your level, then:
Listen to as much English as you can (e.g. the BBC World Service and the Voice of America).
Read as much as you can, choosing books which are at your level.
Choose self-study practice books like my Longman Advanced English Grammar to see how you get on with them.
Take every opportunity you can to speak English, either with native speakers or with people like yourself who want to practise their skills.
可能你已经达到了极限，不能进一步提高水平了。学外语不同于学知识，它是在学习一项技巧。数以百万计的人会开车，但他们中只有一小部分人能参加拉力赛。也就是说，我们都是在以自己不同的能力水平来演练技巧，或早或晚会到达我们的极限。只有一小部分学英语的人才能达到接近母语水平。但如果你觉得自己尚未达到应达到的水平，那么应该：
尽量多地听英语(如BBC全球广播和美国之音)。
尽量多地阅读，挑选适合自己水平的书。
挑选自学练习书籍来检验自己的进度，如挑选我编著的Longman Advanced English Grammar。
利用一切机会说英语，同以英语为母语的人说或同与你一样希望练习技巧的人说。