VOA慢速英语2018--怎样学更多的单词

How to Learn More Words

In English, we have a saying that goes, “Use it or lose it.” It means that if you do not continue to use a skill, you might lose the ability to do so.

We can say this about language learning, including learning new words. If you do not use the new words often, you might forget them.

Our reader Banin has a question today. Here it is:

Question

Hi. How can I improve my vocabulary? – Banin

Answer:

Hello Banin,

Great question! The answer will help many English learners. Here are four things you can do:

Read, read, read

Read...a lot! Look for news stories, websites, magazines and books on subjects that you enjoy. While reading, try to guess the meanings of new words from their context¹. Then, you can check the meanings in a paper dictionary or online.

If there are television shows or films that you love in English, watch them with English subtitles³ to learn new words and hear how we say them.

Write about it

But, don’t just read. Write! A great way to practice what you read is to write about it. For example, if you read a web story about the best fitness⁴ apps of 2018, write about it.

Another thing you can write about what is you did today. If you spent time with a friend or family member, went to an event, had a delicious meal or did something else, write about it!

Learn word forms

Here’s another great technique:

When you learn a new word, learn its other forms. For example, the word “sleepy” is an adjective. But it has noun, verb and adverb forms. You can make a word form chart in a note book or wireless⁵ device and write a sentence example for each form.

Use word association

Another powerful memory tool is word association: using your imagination to create mental images linked to new words. For example, when I say, "tasty” what food image do you see in your mind? Keep that food image in your mind and always mentally connect it to the word “tasty.” Then, the next time you try to remember the word "tasty," the mental image will appear.

And that’s Ask a Teacher.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

vocabulary – n. the words that make up a language

context – n. words that are used with a certain word or phrase and that help to explain its meaning

subtitle² – n. words that appear on the screen during a movie, video or television show and that are translations of what the actors are saying

practice – v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it.

app – n. a computer program that performs a special function

chart – n. information in the form of a table or diagram

1 context   

n.背景，环境，上下文，语境

参考例句：

• You can always tell the meaning of a word from its context.你常可以从上下文中猜出词义来。
• This sentence does not seem to connect with the context.这个句子似乎与上下文脱节。

2 subtitle   

n.副题（书本中的），说明对白的字幕

参考例句：

• His new book has a subtitle.他的新书有一个副标题。
• Ah!I don't know why they don't subtitle these movies.唉！我不知道这些电影为什么不打字幕。

3 subtitles   

n.说明字幕，印在外国影片上的对白翻译字幕，译文对白字幕；小标题，副标题( subtitle的名词复数 )；（电影的）字幕

参考例句：

• subtitles for the deaf and the hard of hearing 为耳聋和听力不佳者打出的字幕
• a Polish film with English subtitles 附有英语字幕的波兰影片

4 fitness   

n.适合，适当，健康，健身

参考例句：

• They're doing exercises to improve their fitness.他们为增强体质而做体操。
• No one questions her fitness for the job.没人怀疑她能胜任这项工作。

5 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。