英语导读1000句[39]:Languages

Section 39
Languages

Language is one of the major forms of communication between people.
Speech and writing are the main components¹ of a language.
By introducing grammar into language, we make it easier to communicate.
The structure of language is different between languages.
Word order, tense, noun and verb forms may vary.
Some languages, like French and German, give nouns a gender².
Others may change the verb according to gender.
Some, like English, do not give genders³ to either noun or verb.
The number of words used in a language varies considerably⁴.
In English, there are as many as almost 2,000,000 words which can be used.
Only about 60,000 are used daily and in fact 10,000 words are enough to communicate well in English.
One of the difficulties with language is that it is rarely static.
That is language is always changing as cultures meet and exchange ideas.
New words enter our languages every year, most are technical or scientific.
The variety of languages in the world makes it more interesting than if we all spoke⁵ just one language.

1 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

2 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

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。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

3 genders   

n.性某些语言的（阳性、阴性和中性，不同的性有不同的词尾等）( gender的名词复数 )；性别；某些语言的（名词、代词和形容词）性的区分

参考例句：

• There are three genders in German: masculine, feminine and neuter. 德语中有叁性：阳性、阴性和中性。 来自辞典例句
• Japan was fourth among the genders of foreign students. 日本在二十个留美学生输送地中列第四位。 来自互联网

4 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。