听播客学英语 247 get

 　　In English, we use the word “get” (or its past tense “got”) very often. Sometimes we say “get” by itself; sometimes we say “get” as part of a phrasal verb such as “get in” or “get up”. And we use get/got to mean many different things. If I “get” a newspaper, it means that I buy a newspaper. If I “get angry”, it means that I become angry. If I “get to London”, it means that I arrive at London. How confusing!

　　In the last podcast, I said that I was going on holiday to Germany. Here is the story of our journey.

　　We GOT UP very early, at 3am. We GOT DRESSED and had a quick breakfast. Then we GOT INTO the car. When we left home it was still dark, but as we drove southwards it GOT lighter¹. We GOT TO Dover a little after 7 o’clock, and GOT the ferry from there to France. Then we drove east and south through Belgium. We stopped at a motorway² service station near Brussels, where we GOT some petrol, and something to eat. At a little after 3pm we GOT TO Heimbach, a pretty little village in Germany for our holiday.

　　Now I will tell you the same story again, without using “get” or “got” (except in one place, where I cannot think of a different word to use).

　　We rose very early, at 3am. We dressed ourselves and had a quick breakfast. Then we got into the car. When we left home it was still dark, but as we drove southwards it became lighter. We arrived at Dover a little after 7 o’clock, and took the ferry from there to France. Then we drove east and south through Belgium. We stopped at a motorway service station near Brussels, where we bought some petrol, and something to eat. At a little after 3pm, we arrived at Heimbach, a pretty little village in Germany for our holiday.

　　Both these versions³ – the one with “get” and the one without “get” – are good English. But the “get” expressions in English are very common – people use them all the time in both spoken and written English. So don’t be afraid of them.

1 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

2 motorway   

n.高速公路，快车道

参考例句：

• Our car had a breakdown on the motorway.我们的汽车在高速公路上抛锚了。
• A maniac driver sped 35 miles along the wrong side of a motorway at 110 mph.一个疯狂的司机以每小时110英里的速度在高速公路上逆行飙车35英里。

3 versions   

n.译本( version的名词复数 )；版本；（个人对事件的）描述；（原物的）变体

参考例句：

• There are two versions of the game, a long one and a short one. 这游戏有两个版本，一长一短。
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》