英语语法：168 Concrete Versus Cement

Grammar Girl here. Today’s topic is “cement” versus¹ “concrete.”

Guest writer Sal Glynn writes:

Accuracy is important. You might think concrete and cement are interchangeable, but you'll quickly find that you're mistaken when some guy at Home Depot² rolls his eyes at you when you ask for the wrong thing. And if you're writing instructions for someone and you use the wrong word, it'll be your fault when things don't go so well. Yes, “cement,” and “concrete” have completely different meanings (1), and knowing what they are helps you use them well and maintain your dignity in home improvement stores.

The History of Cement and Concrete

Cement comes from the Latin word “caementum,” meaning rough-cut stone, while concrete is from the Latin word “concretus,” meaning to grow together or harden. Both words wandered through Middle English until they met in 1756, when John Smeaton used his version of cement in rebuilding the Eddystone lighthouse.

In 1824 Joseph Aspdin patented “Portland cement,” a powder made of limestone³ and clay. He called it Portland cement because when it was mixed with sand, gravel⁴, pebbles⁵, bits of rock, and water, the resulting dried concrete resembled the limestone from the English Isle⁶ of Portland.

This is the division: cement is a powder that is mixed with other materials and water to create the solid mass known as concrete. There is no such thing as a cement overpass⁷, a cement porch, or a cement pond. These are all concrete. If you stub your toe on concrete you'll yell like a Cretin. Get it? Concrete. Cretin.

And in case you were wondering, pavement is also not concrete. Pavement is a solid material made of sand, gravel, or crushed stone much like concrete, but the cement binder⁹ is replaced with asphalt or tar¹⁰.

Uses and Abuses of Concrete

Cement does have other meanings that don't relate to construction, for example,

Henrik and Daphne cemented their relationship by exchanging nose rings.

The transitive verb “cemented” means to bind⁸ or join together. Henrik and Daphne swap¹¹ nose rings to show they are more than casual friends.

The idiomatic¹² use of “cement” to mean “determined or unalterable” is wrong. For example, it would be wrong to say

Daphne’s opinions about firearm safety and tattoos¹³ were set in cement.

At best, that means Daphne’s opinions were set in powder. Since she refused to be swayed, her opinions were set in concrete.

That Other Kind of Concrete

Outside of building materials, “concrete” is the opposite of “abstract,” and means actual or specific things. An automobile¹⁴ is concrete, while justice is abstract. Here's how you'd use it in a sentence:

Henrik talked about building a summer home, but none of his plans were concrete.

Plans are abstract when they aren't specified¹⁵ or put in motion. Henrik needs to make a decision and get to work instead of sitting around talking.

[Web Bonus] More Concrete for the Curious

The French avant-garde “musique concrète” (2) began in the late 1940s with composer Pierre Schaeffer. The music ignores the abstract of sharps and clefs in composition and instead uses sound from objects like tin cans to power drills. These are recorded on tape and altered to create music. Noted¹⁶ recent composers in this genre¹⁷ include Steve Reich, Negativland, and Frank Zappa.

Concrete poetry (3) does away with old stuff like straight lines and syntax, and sets the words in kinetic¹⁸ aggregate¹⁹ of collage²⁰, different typefaces, graphics²¹, and calligraphy²² to create levels of meaning not previously²³ available from the printed page. Scottish artist and poet Ian Hamilton Finlay sculpts²⁴ his concrete poems. For more on concrete poetry, visit the Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry at www.rediscov.com/sacknerarchives/

Now that you understand the difference between cement and concrete, remember the quick and dirty tips is that you cement things together, and stub your toe on concrete.

Pet Peeve²⁵ of the Year Contest

In a month or so I'll be announcing the Grammar Girl Pet Peeve of the Year, and it will be based entirely²⁶ on your input²⁷. Let me know what irritated you the most about language in 2008 by leaving a comment on the transcript²⁸ for this episode at QuickandDirty Tips.com. It can be anything -- a phrase, a new word, an omission²⁹ – whatever it was that stood out to you as a problem with language this year. Again, leave a comment in the transcript at QuickAndDirtyTips.com.

The Dog Walked Down the Street: An Outspoken³⁰ Guide for Writers Who Want to Publish

This episode was written by guest-writer Sal Glynn, the author of the award-winning book The Dog Walked Down the Street, An Outspoken Guide for Writers Who Want to Publish. Find out more about Sal at his blog,。。。And I'm Mignon Fogarty, author of the paperback³¹ book Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, which makes a lovely and affordable³² gift. I think books in general make great gifts. I often to give books. But I guess that wouldn't surprise anyone!

That's all. Thanks for listening.
 

1 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

2 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

3 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

4 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

5 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

6 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

7 overpass   

n.天桥，立交桥

参考例句：

• I walked through an overpass over the road.我步行穿过那条公路上面的立交桥。
• We should take the overpass when crossing the road.我们过马路应走天桥。

8 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

9 binder   

n.包扎物，包扎工具；[法]临时契约；粘合剂；装订工

参考例句：

• The cloth flower snaps on with a special binder.这布花是用一种特殊的粘合剂固定住的。
• Purified water was used as liquid binder.纯净水作为液体粘合剂。

10 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

11 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

12 idiomatic   

adj.成语的，符合语言习惯的

参考例句：

• In our reading we should always be alert for idiomatic expressions.我们在阅读过程中应经常注意惯用法。
• In his lecture,he bore down on the importance of idiomatic usage in a language.他在演讲中着重强调了语言中习惯用法的重要性。

13 tattoos   

n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 )；归营鼓；军队夜间表演操；连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青，文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的胳膊上刺满了花纹。
• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的双臂刺满了纹身。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

15 specified   

adj.特定的

参考例句：

• The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。

16 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

17 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

18 kinetic   

adj.运动的；动力学的

参考例句：

• There exist many sources of energy both potential and kinetic.存在着许多势能和动能的能源。
• The kinetic theory of gases is the best known example.气体动力学理论就是最有名的例子。

19 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。

20 collage   

n.拼贴画；v.拼贴；把……创作成拼贴画

参考例句：

• A collage of coloured paper covers a table top.一副彩纸拼贴画盖在桌面上。
• He has used a mixture of mosaic,collage and felt-tip pen.他混合使用了马赛克、拼贴画和毡头笔。

21 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

22 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。

23 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

24 sculpts   

雕刻( sculpt的第三人称单数 )； 雕塑； 做（头发）； 梳（发式）

参考例句：

• The Tennessee River sculpts the east side of the Cumberland Plateau. 田纳西河刻蚀着坎伯兰高原的东部边缘。
• Stress sculpts the brain to exhibit various antisocial, though adaptive, behaviors. 压力陶铸下的大脑，虽能表现出各种适应性的行为，但却有碍人际关系。

25 peeve   

v.气恼，怨恨；n.麻烦的事物，怨恨

参考例句：

• She was in a peeve over it.她对这很气恼。
• She was very peeved about being left out.她为被遗漏而恼怒。

26 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

27 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

28 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

29 omission   

n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长

参考例句：

• The omission of the girls was unfair.把女孩排除在外是不公平的。
• The omission of this chapter from the third edition was a gross oversight.第三版漏印这一章是个大疏忽。

30 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

31 paperback   

n.平装本，简装本

参考例句：

• A paperback edition is now available at bookshops.平装本现在在书店可以买到。
• Many books that are out of print are reissued in paperback form.许多绝版的书籍又以平装本形式重新出现。

32 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。