2012年1月4日水曜日
如何让你的英语说得更生动
How to spruce up your English
把英语说、写得更生动比你想象还容易,只需要恰当的副词。
举几个例子:
(1) 与其说
Improving your English is easier than you think,
你可以说
Improving your English is incredibly easy.
(2) 与其说
Michelle speaks good English,
可以尝试说
Michelle speaks English perfectly.
也可以说
Michelle speaks English fluently.
(3) 与其说
I was surprised that the driver was not hurt in the accident,
不如说
Miraculously the driver escaped the carnage unharmed,
或者说
Astonishingly the driver was able to escape injury.
三个例子中前者和后者的区别,仅仅是一个恰当的副词,但其事半功倍的效果显而易见。下面是一些很简单的副词,在日常写作和谈话中恰当使用这些副词会让你的语言更引人注目:
absurdly 荒谬地
admittedly 无可否认地
astonishingly 令人惊讶地
certainly 的确
coincidentally 碰巧
curiously 奇怪的是
definitely 肯定地
evidently 明显地
financially 经济上说
frankly 坦率地说
fortunately 幸运地,辛亏
honestly 说真的
hopefully 但愿,我希望
in my opinion 在我看来
indeed 是真的
incredibly 极其,比想象更(好,坏,容易,等等)
interestingly 有趣地,值得一提的是
ironically 正话反说,出乎意料之外
luckily 幸亏
miraculously 不可思议地,奇迹似的
more importantly 更重要的是
mysteriously 令人费解
naturally 自然地,不用说
superficially 表面上看
surprisingly 令人惊讶地
technically 严格意义上说
theoretically 在理论上说
unexpectedly 出乎意料地
undeniably 无可否认地
把形容词构建为副词来用,是英语"生动化" 最简易的方法,一旦你掌握了这个语言诀窍,你的英语能力将会很快进入一个更高的领域!
如何让你的英语说得更生动(2)
告诉你一个秘密:把英语说和写得更生动比你想象还容易,只需一个恰当的副词。
我们知道,成语能生动化语言,但副词有同样的效用,而且比成语更容易学好。相比中文,副词在英语语法能发挥更大的、事半功倍的作用。请看下面例子:
与其说:
It seems so simple. I'm surprised you had so much trouble.
可尝试说:
It's hard to understand why a seemingly simple matter would cause you so much trouble.
与其说:
You handled the situation like a pro. Everyone was impressed.
不如说:
You handled the situation so expertly. No wonder everyone was impressed.
与其说:
John did not prepare for the interview. He appeared nervous.
你可以说:
John's nervousness showed he was not adequately prepared for the interview.
副词常是从形容词构出来的。构造副词的规则其实很简单:
beautiful => beautifully
Ann sang beautifully. Her singing brought the house down.
slight => slightly
Smiling slightly as she spoke Mary put her audience in a receptive mood.
slow => slowly
Drive slowly. It's better to be safe than sorry.
上面构造副词的方法有两个重要的例外:
例外(一):如果形容词最后的字母是 "y" ,构成副词要把 "y" 改成 "ily",如
busy => busily
Joe is busily cleaning the floor.
happy => happily
Happily everything turned out okay.
lazy => lazily
The dog stirred lazily, ignoring the commotion around it.
例外(二):有些形容词有料想不到的副词,如
形容词 good
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
副词 well
All is well that ends well.
注:第一个well 是形容词。
形容词 late
Better late than never.
副词 late
He came home late for dinner.
形容词 early
The early bird gets the worm.
副词 early
Anne rises early and jogs for 30 minutes everyday.
形容词 fast
Porsches are fast cars.
副词 fast
The horse runs fast.
形容词 hard
Marble has a hard surface.
副词 hard
Peter plays hard but also works hard.
切勿搞错:late 和 hard 的副词不是 lately 和 hardly。后两者与前两者的意思无直接相连!
Lately 的同义词是 recently(最近,近来);hardly 有 not 或 not much 之意。例:
Political discourse in America has become a lot less civil lately.
This is hardly the time to ask my boss about a pay raise.
副词是"生动化"语言最简易的方法,一旦掌握了这个诀窍,地道的英语指日可待。