VOA名师答疑2023 heritage和inheritance的区别

Hello!

大家好!

This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question from Noura about the difference between "heritage¹" and "inheritance."

本周《名师答疑》，我们回答诺拉提出的问题，即heritage和inheritance有什么区别。

Hi VOA learning³ team, would you please help me to understand the difference between "inheritance" and "heritage?"

你好，美国之音学习团队，你能帮我弄清楚inheritance和heritage有什么区别吗？

And in which situations we use each of them?

应该在什么情况下使用这两个词呢？

Thanks, Noura.

谢谢，诺拉。

Dear Noura, thanks for this question!

亲爱的诺拉，谢谢你的提问！

"Heritage" and "inheritance" are similar words.

heritage和inheritance很相似。

They are both nouns⁴, and share some meaning.

它们都是名词，意思有相同之处。

Both represent something passed down through generations.

两者都代表代代相传的东西。

The big difference in these two words is how we use them and their associations⁵.

这两个词最大的区别在于如何使用它们，以及它们会产生怎样的联想。

Let’s start with "heritage."

先从heritage说起。

Heritage can be property, traditions, customs, or culture passed down through generations.

heritage可以是世代相传的财产、传统、习俗或文化。

"Heritage" is something you get just by being born.

是你因出生而获得的东西。

Heritage is tied to the history of a person, group or nation.

它与一个人、一个群体或一个国家的历史有关。

For example, many Americans who are born in the U.S. have heritage from other countries.

例如，许多在美国出生的美国人都有其他国家的遗传。

I have Italian heritage, for example.

例如，我有意大利血统。

My great-grandfather was born in Italy.

我的曾祖父出生在意大利。

But, I was born to Americans in the United States, so I have American heritage also.

但是，我的父母是美国人，我在美国出生，所以我也有美国血统。

Another example is when we talk about language:

另一个例子是当我们谈论语言时：

Heritage speakers of a language learn the language from talking to their parents at home instead of just at school.

祖语使用者通过在家里与父母交谈来学习这种语言，而不是仅靠在学校学习。

"Inheritance" can be an action or a thing.

inheritance可以是一个行为，也可以是一件事。

It is something passed down by one person to another, usually through death.

它是一个人传给另一个人的东西，通常是通过死亡来传承。

Often this is property or money from a family member, like in this example.

通常情况下，这是家庭成员的财产或金钱，如下面的例句所示。

My inheritance from my grandmother includes a little house on the coast.

我从祖母那里继承的遗产包括在海边的一栋小房子。

But, inheritances are not always welcomed!

但是，遗产并不总是受欢迎的！

Listen: My inheritance from my new job is an old, dirty office.

请听：我在新工作中继承下来的是一间又旧又脏的办公室。

And a brief note on the word "inherit²."

再对inherit这个词简单讲两句。

Inherit is a verb.

inherit是一个动词。

It can mean either receiving something from someone at birth or when someone dies.

可以表示在某人出生时或在某人去世时从他人那里得到的东西。

When you are born, you receive or inherit physical and mental traits⁶ from your parents or ancestors.

当你出生时，你得到或者说遗传了你父母或祖先的身体和精神特点。

Like in these examples: She inherited⁷ her blue eyes from her father.

就像下面这些例子所示：她的蓝眼睛是从父亲那里遗传的。

I inherited my father’s poor eyesight.

我遗传了父亲糟糕的视力。

We can also use inherit in the same way we talk about inheritance, but as a verb.

我们也可以像使用inheritance一样使用inherit，但要将其用作动词。

The brothers will inherit their mother’s house when she dies.

当兄弟俩的母亲去世后，他们将继承她的房子。

Please let us know if these examples and explanations have helped you, Noura!

请让我们知道这些例子和解释是否对你有帮助，诺拉！

And that’s Ask a Teacher.

以上就是本期《名师答疑》。

I’m Faith Pirlo.

我是费思·皮尔洛。

1 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。

2 inherit   

vt.继承(金钱等)，经遗传而得(性格、特征)

参考例句：

• He intended that his son should inherit his business.他打算让他的儿子继承他的生意。
• We must inherit in a critical way.我们要以批判的方式继承。

3 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

4 nouns   

n.名词；名词( noun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns. 法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Nouns join to form compounds. 名词和名词结合构成复合词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 associations   

n.协会( association的名词复数 )；联合；联系；（思想、感觉、记忆等的）联想

参考例句：

• Do you belong to any professional or trade associations? 你参加了专业学会或行业协会没有？
• Colleges may be accredited by regional associations. 学会是否合格可由地区各协会作出鉴定。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 traits   

n.人的个性，显著的特点，特征( trait的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We do not know which behavioural traits are inherited and which acquired. 我们不知道哪些行为特征是遗传的，哪些是后天养成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His generosity is one of his good traits. 慷慨大方是他的好品质之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 inherited   

adj.通过继承得到的，遗传的；继承权的v.继承( inherit的过去式和过去分词 )；经遗传获得（品质、身体特征等）接替（责任等），继任

参考例句：

• She had not inherited her mother's forgiving nature. 她没有承袭她母亲的宽厚天性。
• She inherited a fortune from her father. 她从她父亲那里继承了一大笔财富。