English Story

口语学习:不要把英语当成一种语言来"学" 二

英语纠错三步走,假如A的英语比B好,首先进行一次正常的对话,here we go:

A:hey,what's up?
B:i'm not happy,i failed in my final exam.
A:sorry to hear that,just try your best to make it in the make-up.
B:i am so scared,i don't know how to tell my parents,they will blame me.
A:easy does it,your parents have got good shoulders on their heads,i'm sure they'll let you off the hook.
B:hope so.

从上面的对话中我们可以看出A的用词很地道,算是一个高手了,相对而言,B说的就有点生硬,并且残存有少量的汉语思维,接下来A就要对B纠错了,这是口语练习中最重要的一个环节,以下是B的话(为了便于A同学接受,纠错部分我采用英汉结合):

(1)i'm not happy翻译过来是我不高兴,在汉语意境中,考试没考好时说我不高兴是可以的,但在英语中,如果别人没有惹到(offend)你,最好不要说你不高兴,否则别人会认为你是个怪人(weirdo),举手投足间都好像全世界欠了你似的,记住英语在表达情感方面是很细腻的,所以i'm not happy最好改成i'm a little bit down(我有点失落),当然了,假如你很失落,你可以说i'm terribly down,或者i'm extremely down,你也可以用very,但此时此刻very不能恰如其分地表达感情的强烈程度。

(2)i failed in my final exam,我期末考试没通过,这句话在语法上没有任何错误,但native speakers更喜欢用blow这个词,意为把....搞砸了,i blew my final(期末考试直接说成final就行了),这样一说是不是很生动呢?(blew发音的时候要带点感情色彩进去,重读加拖读,所谓拖读也就是夸张地拉长发音)

(3)i'm so scared,我很害怕,试没考好不敢给家长看一定是一种心虚的状态,所以你可以说i've got cold feet(我有点心虚),是不是更能表达你此时此刻的心情呢?i don't know how to tell my parents,我不知道该怎样告诉父母,典型的汉语思维,native speakers决不会这样说,在汉语中,把一件不好的事告诉别人有一个词儿叫"摊牌",英语中也有这种说法,break the news to sb about,所以这句话最好这样表达,i don't know how to break the news to my parents (about blowing the final),当然了,如果i don't know用多了感觉反胃的话你也可以说i've got no idea ...或 i don't have the slightest idea...来表达我真的不知道的意思。

(4)学英语一定要加感情在里面,这种感情说白了就是夸张,在国外假如你迟到了,教授会说i hate this!!迟个到都会让别人憎恨你,这对中国人来说是不得了的事,这以后关系还怎么处啊,迟个到就已经憎恨了,但事实上教授只是想表达我不喜欢的意思,英语交流中一定不要通过英汉互译来加强理解,因为那只会带来误解,在国外约会之前,如果关系好的话,邀请方会说,be on time ,or i'll kill you!!并不是说不按时就会杀了你,他们只是想表达“一定要按时哦”,所以为什么不夸张一点呢?they'll blame,他们会责备我,没有那种感情在里面,换成they're gonna kill me!(同理为了表达你非常害怕面对父母残暴的混合双打,kill重读加拖读)

(5)hope so,希望如此,同样为了更地道你可以说成finger crossed(说这句话的时候别忘了两手十指交叉,做虔诚状,老天保佑吧)

对英语不好的B同学来说,纠错完了要做的事就是把刚才的对话整理出来,带着感情勤加操练,形成反射后自然会脱口而出,试一试吧

A:hey,what's up?
B:i'm a little bit down,i blew my final.
A:sorry to hear that,just try your best to make it in the make-up.
B:i've got cold feet,i don't know how to break the news to my parents (about blowing the final).
A:easy does it,your parents have got good shoulders on their heads,i'm sure they'll let you off the hook.
B:finger crossed.