英语单词大师：English Learner

 AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: we answer some listener mail.

RS: Faisal in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is stuck in traffic -- traffic terminology¹, that is. Faisal is taking an English course. It seems that one day, many of the students were late because of what they referred to as a "traffic jam."AA: Their British instructor², however, told them they were using the wrong term. She told them to say "traffic congestion³." Faisal says: "Now my question is what should I say when there are lots of slow-moving vehicles on the roads?" He wants to know if there is a difference between British and American terms.

RS: Well, we can't speak for the British, but most Americans in causal conversation use the phrase "traffic jam."AA: Congested roads are such a part of life these days in many communities, people who are late will often just say "traffic," and other people will know what they mean. Traffic congestion" is more formal and more likely heard in news reports.

RS: Our next stop is a question from Noureddine Boutahar, an English teacher in Morocco who has designed a number of activities to teach about the present perfect tense. He says, "But a colleague of mine told me that the following one is not correct:

AA: "I'd like to show my students a picture of the famous Moroccan athlete Said Aouita, who has stopped practicing, and tell them to give sentences in the present perfect about his experience.

RS: He goes on to say that the sentences would be: "He has broken 5 world records. He has worked for Athletics⁴ Australia. He has coached many famous athletes. He has played football.' Are these sentences," he asks, "appropriate and correct?"RS: Well, it depends. Since you point out that Said Aouita no longer trains competitively, then the present perfect might not be the most appropriate tense. The present perfect suggests a lack of completion. Take your example "He has broken 5 world records." That might imply that he is still trying to break world records. A way to avoid that situation is to just use the past tense: "He broke 5 world records."RS: Now, as with so many things in English, there could be exceptions. If we were writing a report about his accomplishments⁵, then we might say: "In his lifetime he has done many things. He has broken 5 world records, he has coached many famous athletes. But now ... " and you could go on from there.

AA: Noureddine, don't feel bad if you find the present perfect tense confusing, as you tell us. Our friend Lida Baker⁶, the English teacher in Los Angeles, says learning it is something her students always wrestle⁷ with.

LIDA BAKER: "One of the basic meanings of the present perfect tense is to talk about things that began in the past and continue up to the moment of speaking. So an example of that would be something like 'I have lived in Los Angeles for 25 years,' 'she's been a teacher since she was 25 years old.' So cases where the action began in the past and continues until this moment, that's one way in which we use the present perfect tense."RS: Another way is when an event has happened in the past, and there is a good chance that it may happen again. You can find Lida's complete explanation on our Web site, at voanews.com/wordmaster.

A follow-up question from Noureddine: "Sorry for bothering you once again," he says, "but I wonder if you could possibly tell me the difference between the words 'inhumane' and 'inhuman⁸.'"AA: That's a little easier to explain, although the distinctions between inhumane and inhuman are kind of subtle. Inhuman suggests not human -- either literally¹⁰ or metaphorically¹¹. Inhuman would describe a Martian. But it could also be used to describe a person who seems to lack any human kindness.

RS: Inhumane suggests cruel or uncaring, either toward other people or towards animals. For instance, "That farmer treats his animals very inhumanely." In real life, that farmer could get in trouble with an organization that works to promote the protection of animals: the Humane⁹ Society of the United States.

AA: Our last question comes from Cassius Abreu in Brazil. "I usually use the words 'I think ...' when I want to express my opinion about some subject. What's the difference between 'I think' and 'I do think'? Is there some rule about it?"RS: Well, we don't know if there is a rule, but we do know that when you want to make an opinion clear -- or emphasize one position as opposed to another -- then one way you can do that is to say "I do think."AA: And I do think that's Wordmaster for this week. Our e-mail address is [email protected], and you can find all of our segments posted at voanews.com/wordmaster. Go to the bottom of the page and click on the link for the Lida Baker segments. Her explanation of the present perfect tense aired in August of 2004. With Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi Arditti.

1 terminology   

n.术语；专有名词

参考例句：

• He particularly criticized the terminology in the document.他特别批评了文件中使用的术语。
• The article uses rather specialized musical terminology.这篇文章用了相当专业的音乐术语。

2 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

3 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

4 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

5 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

7 wrestle   

vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付

参考例句：

• He taught his little brother how to wrestle.他教他小弟弟如何摔跤。
• We have to wrestle with difficulties.我们必须同困难作斗争。

8 inhuman   

adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的

参考例句：

• We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
• It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。

9 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

10 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

11 metaphorically   

adv. 用比喻地

参考例句：

• It is context and convention that determine whether a term will be interpreted literally or metaphorically. 对一个词的理解是按字面意思还是隐喻的意思要视乎上下文和习惯。
• Metaphorically it implied a sort of admirable energy. 从比喻来讲，它含有一种令人赞许的能量的意思。