【《新概念英語》之父Alexander英語秘笈】——關於學習辭彙的一些建議

07-23

1. I want to enlarge my vocabulary, but once I saw so many new words, I was discouraged. Are there any good ways?

我想擴大自己的辭彙量，但當我看到那麼多生詞就灰心了。有什麼捷徑嗎?

If you』re a regular reader of this column, you will have read a lot of advice about increasing your vocabulary. Remember, your receptive vocabulary (= what you understand when you listen to English or read English) is far greater than your active vocabulary (= the language you use with confidence when you speak or write). There』s nothing better than listening to English and reading English as much as you can if you want to expand your vocabulary, but don』t attempt to do this if the level is too high for you. Read books which are below your present level. Additionally, there are numerous vocabulary practice books on the market which are quite suitable for self-study purposes. These can be useful in helping you to expand your vocabulary. Look up publishers English Language Teaching catalogues for suitable titles.

如果你經常閱讀本欄目，你應該已經讀到不少關於增加辭彙量的建議了。記住，你的接受型辭彙量(即你聽或閱讀英語時能理解的部分)比你的積極辭彙量(即你在說或寫時能自如運用的辭彙)要大得多。如果要擴大辭彙量，最好的辦法是多聽英語，多讀英語，但不要超出自己的水平。閱讀那些比你目前水平稍低的書。另外，書店有很多辭彙練習冊，很適合自學使用。這對增加你的辭彙量會有幫助。查閱出版社的「英語語言教學」目錄來尋找適當的題目。

2. I met many new words while I was reading. Which ones should I look up in the dictionary and remember?

在閱讀時，我經常碰到很多新單詞。哪些詞我應該查詞典並牢記它們呢?

Look up and remember only those words which prevent you from understanding the essential meaning of what you are reading. Try to guess from the context the meaning of other less essential words. It is impossible to remember the meaning of every single word you encounter and if you try to do this you will rapidly become discouraged. So be selective. 

你可以只查閱那些對理解文章基本大意有所妨礙的辭彙，並把它們記住。那些非至關重要的詞，你可以根據上下文的意思進行猜測。想記住你在閱讀過程中遇見的每一個單詞的意思是不可能的。如果你要這樣做的話，你將會很快泄氣的。所以你一定要有所選擇。

3. As dictionaries are important in my English studies, how can I use them more effectively?

詞典在我的英語學習中很重要，那麼我怎樣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.

人們一般都傾向認為詞典僅僅是解釋辭彙的意思，卻很少意識到它能給我們提供一系列的用途。如果條件允許的話，最好擁有一本以上的單語詞典，因為不同的詞典會提供更加全面的信息。然而，最重要的是在英語學習過程中，尤其是在閱讀過程中，做到真正地使用它。力求做到熟練應用，並從中受益。現代單語詞典有下列全部或部分用途：

——英國英語和美國英語的變體

——拼寫

——音標

——結構上的信息 (例如：一個動詞是及物動詞還是不及物動詞，它後面是接不定式to的形式，還是現在分詞詞-ing形式；一個名詞是可數名詞還是不可數名詞，等等)

——詞意(最通用的意思放在前面)

——語言的正式程度

——用來表明詞意並從實踐中汲取的例句

——互相參照條目

——使用方法

——複合詞

當然，要想充分利用詞典，你必須明白它能做些什麼。標準的詞典中有很多有趣的英語變體，比如The Longman Language Activator就是這樣的詞典，它可以幫助你選擇有助於表達自己的思想的正確的詞或短語。

4. How can I learn so many idioms by heart?

如何才能掌握眾多的英語習語?

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.

你做不到這點，也沒有這個必要。這麼說你可能會很高興。費盡心思死記英語習語表簡直是浪費時間。即使你做到了，它們對你的英語學習也無濟於事。什麼是習語呢?當人們被問起有關習語的例子時，他們總是引用一些固定短語，例如：It』s raining cats and dogs, the pot calling the kettle black, to add insult to injury，等等。如果你對此感興趣，你可以查一些專門詞典，如The Longman Dictionary of English Idioms(1979年第一版)。即使你背下了這本詞典，你的英語也不見得長進多大。這本詞典是在你聽到不能理解的習語時供你查找用的。你現在的任務不是學習這些習語，而是掌握地道的英語，這與學習習語是完全不同的事。這就是說，所說的英語聽起來要儘可能像以英語為母語的人所說的那樣，而不是在不斷翻譯漢語。因此，要想學好地道的英語，你就應當記住英語是一種詞序語言：即它的基本結構是主語+動詞+賓語+方式+地點+時間。如果偏離了這種格式，那麼你所說的英語就不是那麼地道了，甚至有點兒像「舶來品」。例如，如果你把「我的英語說得很好」說成I speak well English，而不是I speak English well，那麼你就違背了英語的一個最基本的規則。另一點值得我們注意的是：在英語中短語動詞比普通的動詞用得更普遍。當某人敲門時，我們更傾向於說Come in!，而不說Enter!我們傾向說Put out the fire/Put the fire out，而不說Extinguish the fire.短語動詞通常有習語的用法，也有按字面意義上理解的用法：Put the cat out 就是字面用法(=把它放在房屋外);Put the fire out是一個習語用法(=使熄滅)。你必須掌握這些短語動詞，因為在文中你會經常遇見它們。在我所著的Essential English Grammar的最後，我列舉了15條最基本的英語語法規則。掌握了這些就可以使你的英語聽起來更地道。你也會發現這與死記固定的英語習語毫不相關。

5. Is it necessary to study slang?

有必要學習俚語嗎?

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.

沒必要。這其實是一件挺危險的事。我們在學外語時，希望確切地了解以此為母語的人是怎麼說話的，我們也想知道這門外語中所有的粗魯詞語。俚語一般是粗魯和無禮的，作為一個初學者，你不知道粗魯和無禮的程度。在與以英語為母語的人說話時，你要是用俚語或髒詞，他們可能會很震驚。現代詞典把某些詞或片語明確標明為「禁忌」，說明在禮儀之社會使用這些詞是粗俗的或是令人不快的。理解這些詞和短語是好的，但切忌使用，以免冒犯他人。

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