第511期:你和Native Speaker的英文表达到底差在哪?

 　　日常口语交流已经较为得心应手的你，有没有一个苦恼？那就是你的词汇量似乎还停留在“小学生”阶段，说的时候脑海里瞬间浮现的就是那么几个单词、短语。常常使用同样的表达，别说听的人，可能连自己都会觉得乏味而尴尬。

　　一种语言的魅力正在于它的丰富的内涵和变化。英语表达的多样性主要包括两个方面，一是单词和短语的多样性，比如优缺点的表达，学渣可能会说advantages and disadvantages，学霸会说pros and cons，而学神就使用了高级的merits and demerits。另一个是句式的多样性，包括陈述语序、倒装语序、部分倒装等等。想要完全掌握英语各式各样的表达，只怕对于母语为英语的人来说，也是一种挑战。今天我们分享的就是一个Native Speaker 讲述英语多样化表达带来的挑战。\

　　New Words

　　spice n.香料，调味品；趣味，情趣；

　　insomnia¹ n.失眠；失眠症；

　　subtle adj.微妙的；巧妙的；敏感的；

　　crayfish n.小龙虾；

　　angle vi. 垂钓；斜移；弯曲成一角度；从（某角度）报道；

　　razor shells n.竹蛏；

　　Variety is the spice of life, and because many words of modern English come from lots of different sources, French, German, Nordic languages, Latin, Spanish and even Hindi and Eskimo, speakers and writers have lots of choices when it comes to which words to use.

　　变化是生活的调味品，因为现代英语的许多单词来自不同的语种，法语、德语、北欧语言、拉丁语、西班牙语，甚至还有印地语和爱斯基摩语，所以说英语的人和英文作家在使用词汇时有很多选择。

　　For example:

　　Is this bed hard or solid?

　　Is he clever / intelligent / bright / smart ...?

　　This all makes English a rich language, but it can be frustrating².

　　例如：

　　这床硬吗？

　　他聪明吗？

　　这一切都使英语成为一种丰富的语言，但太丰富却可能让人沮丧。

　　My husband occasionally has a restless night, which involves getting up at 3 am and making tea or catching³ up on the ironing. Does he suffer from sleeplessness⁴ or insomnia? I would say sleeplessness because I know he was asleep by 10 pm and that it only happens about once every few weeks. On the other hand, I have been a poor sleeper⁵ since I was young; often not falling to sleep until 3 am or even later and then waking up again around 7am. So, I would say I have insomnia. In this case the choice is governed by the degree of sleeplessness. It is a subtle difference, but there is a difference.

　　我丈夫偶尔会有一个不眠之夜，包括在凌晨3点起床，泡茶或熨衣服。他是失眠（sleeplessness）还是患有失眠症（insomnia）？我会说只是失眠（sleeplessness），因为我知道他晚上10点就睡着了，而且每隔几周才发生一次而已。另一方面，我从年轻时就睡得很差；通常直到凌晨3点或更晚才入睡，然后在早上7点左右醒来。所以，我想说我才有失眠症（insomnia）。在这种情况下，词汇的选择是由失眠的程度决定的。这是个很细微的差别，但确实存在。

　　It is the same when it comes to describing interests and hobbies. Do you go fishing or angling? The latter is specifically for using a hook and line, but the more general term fishing covers everything, including lying on your stomach and pulling crayfish out of a stream or even catching razor shells on a beach armed with a packet of salt.

　　描述兴趣爱好也是一样。你去捕鱼（fishing）还是钓鱼（angling）?-后者是专门用于描述使用鱼钩和鱼线。更通用的捕鱼（fishing）则涵盖了一切，包括趴着从溪中拽出小龙虾，甚至在海滩上用一包盐钓到竹蛏。

　　OMG! I hear you cry. How can you, as a learner, be expected to learn all this? Well, I'll be honest. You can't. It is the sort of knowledge that comes when using the language, in real situations. So, even though it can be confusing, and for a while you may always choose the same word again and again, you will still be understood, and asking someone what something means is a great way of starting a conversation.

　　天哪！我听见你哭了。作为一个学习者，怎么能被期望学明白所有这些？好吧，说实话，你不能。这是一种在实际生活中使用时才能获得的知识。所以，尽管这可能会让人感到困扰，并且在一段时间内，你可能会一遍又一遍地使用同一个词，大家会理解的。而问别人某件事的意思是什么，是一个开启对话的好方法。

1 insomnia   

n.失眠，失眠症

参考例句：

• Worries and tenseness can lead to insomnia.忧虑和紧张会导致失眠。
• He is suffering from insomnia.他患失眠症。

2 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

4 sleeplessness   

n.失眠，警觉

参考例句：

• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness. 现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. 医生们对他的奇异的不眠感到疑惑。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

5 sleeper   

n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺

参考例句：

• I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
• But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。