VOA慢速英语--What’s the Alternative?

 

This week we answer a question we received in an email from Mohamad:

Question: Could you explain more about the meaning of the word "alternative?" Thank you.

Answer:

Dear Mohamad:

In general, the word “alternative” can be used to describe a choice between two or more things. Sometimes one alternative is not better or worse than another. Here, it is used as a noun and means the same as “choice.”

At U.S. restaurants, more customers now order alternatives to meat.

But sometimes you hear the word “alternative” when the speaker means one choice is better than the other. For example, some people now want to choose a fuel that is cleaner than oil to make electricity.

Power companies are looking for alternative sources of energy.

In that sentence “alternative” is used as an adjective; it modifies the noun “sources.”

You may also hear the word “alternative” when people talk about music. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a number of independent artists decided¹ they did not want large music corporations to control their music. They began making songs for smaller audiences.

The band called ‘Nirvana’ was one of the most famous alternative rock bands of the 1990s.

Here, “alternative” means something that is attractive to a few people, instead of to a large, general audience. It can be used the same way to describe fashion.

Young people who like hip-hop musicians wear their alternative fashion of loose-fitting pants and shirts.

Another common use for “alternative” relates to medical care. Alternative treatments are outside of the usual medicines and surgeries that doctors recommend.

People with stress-related diseases often try alternative treatments, such as meditation² and yoga.

As you can see, any time you have a choice between something that is normally accepted and a new and different thing, you can say there is an “alternative” to think about.

And that’s Ask a Teacher!

I’m Jill Robbins.

Words in This Story

adjective – n. a word that describes a noun or a pronoun

noun - n. a a word that is the name of something (such as a person, animal, place, thing, quality, idea, or action)

hip-hop – n. rap³ music

meditation – n. the act or process of spending time in quiet thought

yoga – n. a system of exercises for mental and physical health

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

3 rap   

n.轻敲，拍击，责骂，厉声说出，说唱音乐，谈话，最少量；vi.轻敲，敲门，表演说唱音乐，畅谈；vt.抓，抢，拍击

参考例句：

• I heard a rap on the door.我听到有轻轻的敲门声。
• Today we are going to rap about relationships.今天我们要聊聊关系的问题。