词汇大师(Wordmaster)--Interview with an English Learner

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: an interview with one of our listeners in Iran.

RS: Atefeh is a university student. She's studying English literature, so she reads a lot of classic books. But, like any young person, she's also tuned¹ in to the latest slang.

AA: How do we know? Well, when we began our conversation and asked her "what's up?" instead of saying "not much, just relaxing," this was her reply:

ATEFEH: "Just chillin'."

RS: "Just chilling -- is that what you just said?" [llaughter]

ATEFEH: "I learned this from your program."

RS: "Well, what do you like about studying English? What is it, is it a ... "

ATEFEH: "Oh, no, actually I love the language. I love studying anything in English, actually any program on TV that is in English I watch it and I love it."

RS: "And it's something that you are obviously very good at."

ATEFEH: "Thank you. It's interesting to know that there is a big paper on my wall, and I write every new word that I learn every day. And I try to memorize them and memorize their usage, and then I highlight the words that I learn."

AA: "What are a few new words you've added to that wall."

ATEFEH: "Well, for example, 'bleak² mood,' B-L-E-A-K M-O-O-D."

RS: "Ah, bleak mood."

AA: "What do you think that means."

ATEFEH: "It means a cold and cheerless behavior, actually, a kind of [inaudible.]"

RS: "That's right."

AA: "That's a ... "

RS: "That's a great expression. I mean, that's a very descriptive way of describing how somebody feels. If it's bleak, it's definitely not, it's definitely ... "

AA: "Where did you hear bleak mood?"

RS: "Or read."

ATEFEH: "I read it in a book. The book was called 'Chicken Soup for the Soul.'"

RS: "'Chicken Soup for the Soul' ... "

AA: "That's a very popular series of books."

ATEFEH: "Yes."

AA: "So what's another word that's on your wall?"

ATEFEH: "A beautiful word that was very funny to me was 'bunny.'"

RS: "Bunny ... "

ATEFEH: "B-U-N-N-Y."

RS: "OK, like a rabbit."

AA: "A rabbit."

ATEFEH: "Yes, a rabbit for a child. Actually a child uses this word, I think."

RS: "You know, another thing that you might be interested in is that sometimes, incorrectly, we say 'well, that's a bunny rabbit.' We use both of those words together -- that's incorrect in English because ... "

AA: "It's redundant³."

RS: "... it's redundant. A bunny is a rabbit."

AA: "Now is there another word or two from your wall that you ... "

ATEFEH: "Yes, there's another expression: 'not to be on speaking terms.'"

RS: "'Not to be on speaking terms.' Now what do you think that means?"

ATEFEH: "Well, it means that we're not talking to each other anymore, we're not friends anymore."

RS: "Right, and somebody might say, 'well, why didn't you say hello to him?' and you would say?"

ATEFEH: "We're not on speaking terms."

AA: "That's right."

RS: "'We're not on speaking terms.' Exactly. Now, your English is quite good and you were telling us a little bit about how you are actually getting to a higher level. You have your wall where you write your expressions, and you also read a lot."

ATEFEH: "Yes, you know, actually I'm studying English literature, and they have emphasis on the literature actually, the literary works, Shakespeare's works or other things. But the phonology is very difficult for me. But I think I have to improve my GE, I mean General English. That is quite -- it's not that difficult, because I love it."

AA: "Oh, well that's good to hear."

RS: "It's been delightful⁴ talking to you."

AA: "Yes!"

RS: "Keep going with that wall. It sounds like you could definitely paper your house with new English expressions."

ATEFEH: "My Mom is always complaining about the wall. She says that 'you're just making the wall dirty, the room ugly,' such things."

AA: "Wait, you don't write on the wall itself, do you? You're writing on a piece of paper, or ... "

ATEFEH: "It's a paper."

RS: "Well, tell your mother that Avi and I say that you should keep those papers up there because you'll learn English more fluently."

ATEFEH: "OK, my Mom is hearing you!" [laughter]

AA: An English literature student named Atefeh, on the phone with us from Iran. She says that once she graduates, she wants to go on for a master's degree and then a Ph.D.

RS: We wish her luck. And we'd like to invite other listeners to tell us their strategies for learning English. We will share the responses in a future Wordmaster program. Our e-mail address is。。。。。。。。。。.

AA: And, if you'd like help learning English, you can download over three hundred of our segments at voanews.com/wordmaster. With Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi Arditti.

 

1 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

3 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。

4 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。