12/08/2005

[Podcast]What's up in Taiwan


此podcast主要是給 foreigners 聽的,藉由幾位旅人的台灣經驗讓其他人對 Taiwan 有進一步的認識。

有關該網站和show host的小簡介,可聽聽第一集的podcast。

網址: http://whatsupintaiwan.blogspot.com/

11/25/2005

我是今天的BBC Learner of the day


可能因為我有訂閱他們的newsletter,所以我也才有收到數月前他們寄的email,內容說徵求英語學習者的照片還有一些資訊,我就"隨手"寄了我的存在電腦的照片……,直到昨天他們來信告知我說我將會是今日的"BBC每日一位學習者",要沒他們提醒我早也忘了這檔事。

這可是我第一次上"國際網頁",會不會紅啊?哈哈哈哈,想太多。

ps看我的留言多狗腿呀……。

pps點照片會放大

11/24/2005

I'm lovin' it.


"I'm loving it"是麥當勞的廣告詞,但從文法的角度上似乎不合文法。

國中時大家都學到love, know等這些字是不能用進行式,也就是說不能寫loving, knowing,當麥當勞以這句做為廣告的slogan時,讓我們這些學英語的人實在一頭霧水。The Bob and Rob Show-Contractions有提到麥當勞的I'm lovin' it的用法,他們二者都認為這是不合文法(not grammatical),麥當勞只是為了要引人注目(stands out),只是現在美國愈來愈多人也這麼說,可見麥當勞或是廣告的威力不容小覷,台灣早有明顯的例子

在看過幾個版(1, 2, 3)討論這個用法之後,我來憑著瀏覽後的印象做個小小的彙整。

(1)I'm loving it是口語的表達,年輕人為主要使用族群,有人建議別研究

(2) 真要用它的話,後面常常接動作而不接人,如:I'm loving the movie. I'm loving KFC.但是講這句話的時候,你的人必須是在"事發現場",當你在看電影時,你漸漸的覺得影片"不錯看"時,你就可以用第一句,而不是你在學校和同學聊到 該電影時用的。

(3)I am loving my new job as supervisor.的loving 用enjoying來代替=>I'm enjoying my new job as supervisor.(我開始喜歡/逐漸喜歡我當supervisor的新工作)

(4)除非你很確定你的用法正確,否則就避免使用這類的用法。



不少人在Urban Dictionary給"I'm loving it"和"I'm lovin' it"下的定義都是負面的,例如:
mcdonald's new slogan. actually, according to maddox, who brought us the best page in the universe, defines it as an anagram. If you get rid of contractions, the letters in 'I am loving it' can be rearranged to form the truth 'ailing vomit'

什 麼意思呢?意思是說把I'm lovin' it裡省略的字全補上後,也就是這句還原為I am loving it,將每個字母重新拆開組合後,得到的是”ailing vomit"(身體不舒服,想吐!),這才是I'm lovin' it的真正涵義,好像在嘲諷麥當勞的感覺。

以 上都是來自網路上的資料,而在看過這些討論之後,我覺得時代在變,語言也在變,過去不能用的,並不表示現在、未來不能用,可是既然我並非native speaker of English,我就會盡量少使用這些用法,像我常常看到有人寫"Hi guys"、"you guys"、 "wanna"、"gonna"等,以前我也會用,但現在我很少在用,可以去說,可以知道這些字的意思,但在寫的時候最好盡量少用,尤其我們英文學習者是 在學英文,最好一開始就學standard English,而且從一而終

11/23/2005

A Christmas Carol 聖誕頌歌


再過一個月就是聖誕節了,所以我也為應節慶而換了"佈景",不覺有些許聖誕味嗎?

剛才我在這篇超多!英文學習網站連結百匯裡萬中選一,選到了Kid's Corner,正如簡介中提的該網站提供了幾篇童話故事,網頁上方有故事,下面則是收聽。我聽了一則The Tale of Two Bad Mice,後來將網頁往下拉時,看到了狄更斯最著名的童話故事"A Christmas Carol"!因為這則故事,所以有兩個英文單字是我們都要知道的:

(1) scrooge
(2) Humbug!

Scrooge是書中的主角,一毛不拔,非常小氣,所以這個字被引用來形容所有的吝嗇鬼。而Humbug是Scrooge的故事裡的台詞,意思為鬼扯。

我覺得錄音裡的聲音十分生動,還有音效喔,膽子較小的人要避免月黑風高的時候一個人聽…。

該網站好像沒有提供文字版,不過我們仍可到Literature.org--A Christmas Carol這裡閱讀此篇故事。

日後我會不定期的看看那眾多連結的網站,有特別的、實用的、棒的網站再來這裡和各位分享,謝謝。

Have a good one!

神奇聽力通10 分鐘 -- 聽寫練習 ( 立即體驗英文進步神速的快感 )

Yahoo!奇摩電子報名家報裡哈啦雙語週報234期

神奇聽力通是特別針對有心增強英語聽力的讀者所設計的單元
本單元獨特的錄音方式能有效幫助您突破英文聽力的障礙!

給自己一份寧靜,按下CD十分鐘後, 保證你驚訝這一趟神奇之旅 !

關鍵字提示
carry on 持續……
advice 忠告
seriously 認真地
excuse 藉口


線上聽寫練習

(對話內容請點該電子報的連結)



做完這個驚訝的神奇之旅後,我有幾個想法:

(1)對話內容非常適合初學者來練習哦!

(2)錄音裡解說人員說要培養我們聽英語的注意力,沒錯,完全正確,聽英語要集中精力去聽,加上聽寫並重,更甚者可以一字不漏完全聽清,才是至境界。

(3)我沒忘記Oh, he doesn't.的 oh 後面要有","一個逗點。

(4) 這一句"But he sure likes to run his mouth and tell other people what they should be doing."裡的"sure"不是有副詞"surely",為什麼用sure,好像不合文法?奇摩的解釋是......(自行去看)thefreedictionary的解釋是說它是非正式用法,意同於surely 和certainly。

11/22/2005

NPR This I Believe: There is No God



Beginning in 1951, radio pioneer Edward R. Murrow asked Americans from all walks of life to write essays about their most fundamental and closely held beliefs. Half a century later, NPR, Atlantic Public Media and This I Believe, Inc. are partnering to recreate 'This I Believe' on the air and online.

一九五一年,廣播先鋒Edward R. Murrow要求所有美國人民寫出關於他們自己最根深蒂固且堅信不移的信念的文章。半個世紀後,NPR Atlantic Public Media 和 This I Believe, Inc 合夥再度在空中和線上建立'This I Believe'。

雖然常聽人家說人有個心靈的寄託是好,然而美國專業魔術師/喜劇演員 Penn Jillette 卻在他的文章裡說他相信沒有神,他在相信沒有神之後,反而有更多空間去相信那給予他最美好人生的人間的

There is No God

Listen to this story... by



'This I Believe' 的 Essays裡可以聽/看更多文章,除了可以看看別人相信什麼主張什麼,因為是essays,所以有一定的起承轉合,至少文章和結構不會"二二六六",再來還可以順便想想看,what is your belief?

be akin to

上星期刊載在聯合報裡紐約周報的文章(A Novel, by Someone, Sells Millions in China),文章內容講一本在中國熱賣名為"狼圖騰(Wolf Totem)"的書和作者,還有作者覺得此書吸引消費者的原因。有趣的是原文章有提到一位製片人Peter Jackson買下書的版權要拍成電影,可是後來做了更正

For the author, the wolf is akin to the soul of the Mongolian grasslands, a worthy rival to man as well as a symbol of heaven itself.


另一篇是NY Times-Ugly Images of Asian Rivals Become Best Sellers in Japan(亞洲敵人的醜陋之像成為日本暢銷書)
They also point to Japan's longstanding unease with the rest of Asia and its own sense of identity, which is akin to Britain's apartness from the Continent.


akin的中文解釋

akin:adjective {after verb}
similar; having some of the same qualities:
- They speak a language akin to French.

11/18/2005

大學生破英文 many people接is

My English is very "pool."這句大學生寫的英文讓人啼笑皆非又憂心。英文老師今天說,大學生對最基本的動詞竟然霧煞煞,「他有」"he has" ,常常寫成"he have",中式英語更是常見。學者們認為,學生不夠踏實學習,老師不懂怎麼教英文,也是關鍵。

為期三天的第十四屆中華民國英語文教學國際研討會,邀來許多國內外學者演講,台下來自全台的各級英語教師;談的都是苦惱教不好學生英語。中學老師嘆,升學主義的機制扼殺學生學習英語的興趣。

世 新大學人文社會科學院院長、國內英語教育權威李振清無奈地說,現在大學生常主詞動詞的單複數不分、也搞不清楚動詞。例如:他有"he has"寫成"he have"、很多人"many people"後面動詞是「are」,學生會寫成"many people is"他必須努力學習"He must study hard."寫成"He must to study hard."。她應該來這"She should come here.",寫成"She should comes here."

李振清指出,學生寫作也容易受到中文干 擾,「失去注意力」學生會寫成"lose your attention",而不會想到是"can't pay attention to";每當學生用到「雖然」(although)的時候,幾乎所有的學生習慣的加「但是」 (but)。

世新大學英語系講師王毓芝也 說,學生常拼錯動詞,例如「放」的動詞(put),過去式還是put,學生卻愛寫(putted)、「做」的英文(make)過去式寫成(maked)、 學習(study )寫成(studyed)。她還說,有些時候學生的濫英文真令人哭笑不得,例如「我英文不好」,應是"My English is very poor."學生卻寫成"My English is very pool (水池)."

學好英語不難

{1}運用免付費英語網站,如網路語言學習資源中心 (http://llrc.eng.ntnu.edu.tw)。

{2}多看報章雜誌,例如紐約時報 (聯合報每周一有紐時周報)。

{3}看電影學英文,像「明天過後」、「西雅圖夜未眠」,很值得看。

{4}每天多寫文章,養成習慣。

(世新教授學者李振清、南加大教授柯樂生提供)

11/02/2005

超多!英文學習網站連結百匯

轉自批踢踢英語教室版的精華區,75%-80%的連結來自英文網站,連結並非全部都是OK的,有些網站已關閉。


作者: sovereignty (*戀戀東海*) 看板: Eng-Class
標題: [轉錄] 數百個學習英文的好站
時間: Thu May 26 05:17:02 2005
※ [本文轉錄自 Nature_high@ptt2 看板]

Grammar 英文文法

1、Grammar Guide:
http://www.grammarstation.com/grammarguide/Gguide.html
你不確定你寫的句子文法對不對嗎?Grammar Guide可以幫你改喔!

2、Grammar Quizzes: http://www.hkhs.kh.edu.tw/course/english/grammar_test/grammar_test.html#
由小港高中葉博士所設計的英文文法測驗,可針對自己較不足的部分加強訓練。

3.、Grammar Help:
http://www.ruthvilmi.net/hut/help/grammar_help/
裡面提供英文各種詞性的用法及規則,還有各種題目可供練習。

4、Grammar Bytes:
http://www.chompchomp.com/
提供了許多handouts給學生及老師使用,但有規定不可以拿來作商業營利用途。

5、Grammar Lady:
http://www.grammarlady.com/
裡面有詳細的文法,還有Q&A可供同學解決個人的問題。

6、Pop-Up Grammar:
http://englishplus.com/grammar/
這個網站包羅萬象,包括教授教導如何寫書信及標點符號的用法,非常實用。

7、Grammar Now:
http://www.grammarnow.com/
有許多文法上的技巧,還有專門回答疑問的空間和對特殊字詞的定義及解釋,對讀者 助益良多。

8、Daily Grammar:
http://www.dailygrammar.com/
提供了很多的基本詞性及文法的句子供你去參考,讓你學習如何辨別及組合句子,對 英文寫作很有幫助。

9、English-Zone:
http://www.english-zone.com/grammar/
有各式各樣的題目供你去練習,還有程度的區分,讓你循序漸進,不過有的需要註冊。

10、English Grammar:
http://grammar.englishclub.com/
對許多的詞性、有哪些字、用法,都以表格解釋整理的相當的清楚,尤其句子詞性對 照的方式,一目了然,讓我們能輕易的學會文法。

11、Grammar Slammer:
http://englishplus.com/grammar/
提供了書信的寫法、句子結構、符號、及大小寫的用法,是其它網站比較少的,值得 我們去深入學習。

12、Guide to Grammar and Style:
http://newark.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/
編者Jack Lynch把他分成若干個系列,不但有介紹從基礎文法開始介紹,也有較高階 的文法。我們亦可以直接連接到屬於自己國家的網站。

13、Grammar Help:
http://www.ruthvilmi.net/hut/help/grammar_help/
這一個網站是專門為了文法而設的,將我們日常生活上的動詞、名詞…等加以統整。

14、The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation:
http://www.grammarbook.com/
提供許多相關文法的測驗,有SUBJECTS AND VERBS, PRONOUNS, ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS等。

15、Fundamentals of English Grammar: Description and Use:
http://www.engl.niu.edu/dhardy/grammarbook/title.html
以下拉式的選單,讓讀者快速地search想要的資訊,也提供了非常詳盡的文法介紹。

16、Self-study Grammar Quizzes:
http://a4esl.org/q/h/grammar.html
已分好難易程度,一進入便可找到自己適合的分類,進去做題目後可以馬上知道結果 。

17、the Internet Grammar of English:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/home.htm
包含解釋、測驗,測驗可以選擇自己想測試的項目;資訊提供的主要對象為大學生。

18、Guide to Grammar and Writing:
http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/textonly.htm
以活潑的畫面提供文法及寫作技巧,是個不錯的網站。

19、ESL Quiz Center:
http://www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/quiz/
提供英文學習的問題測驗,包含文法的。

20、英文動畫文法:
http://www.grammarfree.com.tw/tw/
中文的介面,用動畫的方式介紹文法。

21、Better English:
http://www.better-english.com/
包含許多測驗當場寫當場改很有挑戰性。

22、Mind your grammar:
http://www.edict.com.hk/vlc/grammarcourse/grammarcontent.htm
由edict語言學習網站所提供的文法學習和測驗,測驗時按下所選的答案馬上可知對或錯。

23、Language sites on the Internet:
http://pw1.netcom.com/~rlederer/rllink.htm
各種類別的網站都可在這找到。

24、Guide to Grammar and Writing:
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm
畫面活潑提供文法、寫作、論文等資源,還有題目可以練習。

25、Grammar Check:
http://www.grammarcheck.com/thanks.htm
把自己的email輸入系統會提供文法幫助。

English Listening & Speaking

1. American English Pronunciation Practice:
http://www.manythings.org/pp/
想要知道相似英文單字發音的差別嗎?那就來這裡聽看看吧。聽完有練習可以做,看 你學到多少。

2. Audio Bible :
http://www.audio-bible.com/bible/bible.html
這是一個包含聖經所有內容的網站,讀者每選擇任一個章節,就可以在螢幕上看到所 選章節的內容,配合RealPlayer撥放全部內容。

3. Bond and Pond quiz:
http://www.wordskills.com/general/bond_game.html
有點饒舌的聽力測驗,還蠻不錯的。

4. Book-Pop:
http://www.web-pop.com/flashindex.html
這裡提供童話故事,點任何一篇進入後有故事內容,也有插圖,右上方點listen就可以了。

5. California Distance Learning Project:
http://www.cdlponline.org/news.html
點選一個主題後,可以看到一個目錄,中間有news story,進去之後即看到整篇文章 ,按右上方喇叭圖案收聽。回到前一頁可以做練習題,有字彙,選擇題,排列組合題 等。難度中等。

6. CNN Stories:
http://www.literacynet.org/cnnsf/archives.html
線上新聞閱讀及收聽、收看的網站,由CNN San Francisco bureau所提供,左方有練 習題,整體難度頗高。有文章讓聽者對照,聽起來沒那麼吃力。

7. Easy way memorizing Essential English Expressions in Virtual Spaces:
http://aids.hallym.ac.kr/d/shin/vrt/efield.html
一個適合初學者的網站,這裡都是簡單的英文句子,沒有中文。

8. English as Second Lauguage:
http://esl.about.com/cs/listening/
有初級、中級、進階程度。在"beginner level learning" 點一下,會進入另一個頁 面,再點選想要聽的主題。有測驗,答案在方框裡。左方有一個Quizzes and Tests, 可以找到Listening Quizzes。

9. English Campus Weekly Highlights-Improving Your Listening Skills
http://www.hkedcity.net/article/weekly-highlights/listening-skills/
一些不錯的短文,使用Audio來訓練聽力,還有一些Video來增加對學英文的印象。有 一些小測驗可供練習。

10. English Conversation:
http://vlc.polyu.edu.hk/conversation/
左方有六個不同的話題,如directions, greetings or weather,難度不高。

11. English Listening (Ohio ESL)
http://www.ohiou.edu/esl/english/listening.html
有Audio和Video的設備來幫助增加英文的聽力,這個網站還針對學習者的程度來對內 容做不同的分級。還提供了其他聽力練習的網站連結。

12. English Listening Lonuge:
http://www.englishlistening.com/
分為會員與非會員。講的速度稍慢,適合對英語字彙有基本認識的初學者或中等程度。提供scripts對照,也有答與問。

13. English Listening Room
http://www.manythings.org/el/
這個網站裡面有提供一些英文歌,用RealPlayer撥放,每聽一首歌,就有一個歌詞填空的練習,可練習聽力,適合在閒暇時候瀏覽。

14. The English Professor:
http://www.theenglishprofessor.com/
是一個初學者的網站。如果自認基礎沒打好,就來逛逛吧。有字母發音練習、數字練 習、還有你基本認字及動詞,每種聲音可以反覆收聽。

15. Everyday English:
http://www.everydayenglish.com/
這個網站提供的資源不多,不過它將聽力影像化,適合英語初學者,聲音檔案可以下載。

16. Everyday English in Conversation:
http://www.focusenglish.com/dialogues/conversation.html
難度中等,左方目錄有eating, emotions, fashion, friendship等等,可以挑選自己感興趣的,有些練習採填空方式進行,可以選擇聽一句或整個對話。

17. Exercises in Using English for Academic Purposes:
http://www.uefap.co.uk/listen/listfram.htm
因為提供的是屬於較學術方面的資源,難度頗高,聽力測驗是採聽完一段把整段的字寫下來。

18. Global English:
http://www.globalenglish.com/
可加入會員,不過它有免費的資源。在Skills Center裡面,有字彙、聽力、文法、說四項練習,聽力方面它是以兩人對話及圖片呈現。

19. History Channel Speeches:
http://historychannel.com/speeches/index.html
這個網站有很多歷史性的演講,左方有目錄供點選,是有關政府或娛樂的演講(有一 小段文字可以閱讀),唯一的缺點是下載的速度有點慢。

20. Interactive Listening Comprehension Practice:
http://www.iei.uiuc.edu/current/lcra/index.html
四個聽力練習,困難度有點高,有練習題,如果不知道哪裡答錯了可以按它的show time, 可以知道每題的答案大概在那個時刻出現了。

21. Intermediate English Course:
http://www.englishbos.com/IIsa/interm_listening.php
簡單的英文句子,適合初學者學習。

22. Kid's Corner:
http://wiredforbooks.org/kids.htm
這裡提供了幾篇童話故事,有愛麗絲夢遊仙境等,網頁上方可點故事,下面則是收聽。有幾篇故事還有日文、法文、德語。

23. Learning Oral English Online:
http://www.rong-chang.com/book/
只有10個簡短的實用對話,可以選擇收聽全部或者是點選你想聽的句子,它的字全部在螢幕上。

24. Lost and Found Sounds:
http://www.npr.org/programs/lnfsound/stories/index.html
有點奇特的一個網站,這裡你會聽到一些很少聽到的東西,並有其他線上收聽節目。供休閒娛樂用。

25. Monthly Idioms:
http://www.comenius.com/idioms/
每月更新的idioms, 提供釋義和一小段情境對話,可以在上面的框框點選之前的 idioms.

26. The Moonlit Road:
http://www.themoonlitroad.com/
喜歡鬼故事或folktales嗎?那你就不要錯過這個網站。有每月更新的鬼故事、如果你不想聽一個storyteller講故事,那就點選 read the story吧。

27. OM Audio:
http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/omaudio/contenidotematico.htm
約十幾個日常生活對話,不難懂,有scripts。

28. Pulse of the Planet:
http://pulseplanet.nationalgeographic.com/ax/todays_index.html
提供與生態環境相關的文章,線上全文閱讀(每日更新)。

29. Randall's English Listening Lab:
http://www.esl-lab.com/
進站就有個清單,可選擇簡易、中等或困難程度。 每一個聽力練習還有小測驗(選擇題),會自動計算分數。這裡值得推薦的是script的單字會加底線,底下有單字的意 思及例句、還有聽力填空及解釋每一題的答案。

30. RealOne Guide
http://home.real.com/
這是個不錯的網站,包括新聞、娛樂、電影、音樂等內容。除了聽之外,還有影訊畫面。

31. Specialized English:
http://www.spotlightradio.org/visitors/scraudio.asp
進入左方的Listen & Read後,有幾則文章,篇幅蠻長的,沒有練習題,不過可以聽聽單字的發音。

32. Working in English:
http://www.grand.k12.ut.us/esl/home.html
適合給工作需要用到英文的人收聽,用的單字容易,對話也很短。

33. Voice of America:
http://www.voanews.com/index.cfm
線上新聞閱讀及收聽的網站,沒有練習題,新聞會每日更新,難度中上。

34. 線上英語教室:
http://www.linguist.com.tw/ENGClass/default.htmu04
採會員制,非會員只能試聽每個單元的第一個章節,會費是一年3000元整,不限次數上網。內容有實用對話、實用句庫,進階課程等。

35. 鮑佳欣英語教室:
http://www.justtalk.com.tw/default.asp
包括聽力、閱讀、文法與情境對話等單元,如果國中kk音標沒學好,這裡有外籍教師發音的kk音標練習。還有英文小技巧,說明一些經常會混淆的發音或說法。

Reading

1. Aesop's Fables
http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/aesop/aesopsel.html
伊索寓言集錦,簡短故事中,告知讀者寓意。

2. Antimoon.com
http://www.antimoon.com/
有別人的經驗教我們如何學英文,網站上有類似討論區的地方,以英文呈現,能回應和發表文章。
3. CDLP News Stories
http://www.cdlponline.org/news.html
豐富的新聞故事,聞張簡短,並有摘要;測驗題目多樣化,是一個學習的地方。

4. ELC Study Zone
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/index.htm
將測驗分等級的網站,有文法、閱讀理解等,有些部分有附測驗題目,讀的都是小故事,簡單易懂

5. English Club English Reading
http://reading.englishclub.com/
短篇故事閱讀、經典故事閱讀(分成三個等級,由簡到難)、新聞文章閱讀和測驗。不過不知道的單字需要自己去查。

6. The English Server Fiction Collection:
http://eserver.org/fiction/
這裡有從世界各地蒐集來的短篇小說,其中有小說、雜誌、評論、戲劇、詩集、獎項(普立茲諾貝爾文學獎),從這裡可得知並學習各領域的知識。

7. English Works! Reading Exercises: http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/exercises/main/reading.html
這裡是幾個故事閱讀,有填空練習。

8. JonhsESL
http://www.johnsesl.com/templates/reading/
網頁右方有幾個故事,閱讀全文後讀者可以點選最下方 take the quiz接受測驗。

9. LPSS English Language Website
http://lp.hkcampus.net/~lp-eng0/
這是一個學習網站,包含各種學習資源:閱讀和寫作以及文法等等,還有"fun"提供遊戲(Ma及笑話和線上字典。

10. My Own Resources
http://www.miguelmllop.com/index.php
網頁左方區塊下會看到intermediate和 advanced,點選後可以看到reading comprehension texts,進入後就會看到許多短篇閱讀故事,故事會提供問題讓讀者思考。

11. On-line Lessons - Reading Skills
http://eslus.com/LESSONS/READING/READ.HTM
幾則有趣故事的閱讀測驗,有不同題形的題目,可以練習做做看。

12. Phrasal Verbs Demon
http://takeoff.to/phrasalverbs
這是一個針對動詞片語學習的網,在每一篇章(新聞故事或歌曲)都會有詳細的解釋和例子,還有Practice和Games可以練習並加深其印象。

13. Short Stories Contents
http://www.missthistlebritches.com/short_stories_contents.htm
提供許多短篇故事全文閱讀的連結,讀者有興趣可以再自行找尋相關資料。

14. Soon Online Magazine
http://www.soon.org.uk/page24.htm
介紹許多方法如何去改進你的英文,其中在閱讀部分(Read It),有許多短篇故事及詩選。這一些篇章非常有趣,可以喚起讀者在這一方面的興趣。

15. World Wide School Library
http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/catalogs/bysubject-top.html
收集很多作品的線上圖書館,有文學、哲學、宗教等方面的作品,讓讀者線上閱讀全文。

16. 線上英語教室
http://www.linguist.com.tw/ENGClass/main.htm
此網站提供的是閱讀與會話,在閱讀的方面由基本的動詞和形容詞等等開始介紹起,再將幾個大句型說明清楚。並提供小文章給站友閱讀,最棒的就是每一個比較重要的單字都會加以註解還有整理相關聯的字彙。

17.網路英語教室
http://www.englishfree.com.tw/tw/teaching
提供國中到高中的英語課程閱讀,還可以按朗讀課文練習聽力,另有線上辭典、動畫學英語等。

Writing

" A Guide for Writing Research Papers
http://webster.commnet.edu/apa/apa_index.htm
這個網站主要是在教我們如何寫研究性論文,列出同學常見的問題(如:如何引用文章等)並回答。

" Guide to Grammar and Writing
http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
指出寫作常犯的錯誤或是不當的用字,並有文法教學和寫作指導。網站還有其他相關部分,內容實用。

" Guide to Writing and Research
http://www.umuc.edu/prog/ugp/ewp_writingcenter/writinggde/welcome.shtml
一本專門指導寫作的電子書,網頁上分有數個章節教導大學寫作,共分為八章從寫作的程序到指定文章的撰寫都有詳細的指導與說明。有興趣的人還可以自行列印。

" Hamilton College - Writing Center
http://www.hamilton.edu/academics/resource/wc/index.html
提供線上講義的網站,講義的內容大多是以條列式的呈現。

" Online Technical Writing
http://www.io.com/~hcexres/tcm1603/acchtml/acctoc.html
介紹科技寫作,這個網頁呈現的是線上教科書,有科技寫作的方法和指引。

" OWL Online Writing Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/index.html
實用的寫作網站,提供講義自行列印,內容有教授文法、標點、拼字及一些常犯錯誤測驗。

" Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
http://www.powa.org/
內容詳盡,一步步帶領你邁向寫作之路。主要是要幫助讀者的文章結構更完整,不同目的的文章有不同的結構。

" Strunk, William. The Elements of Style
http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html針對寫作需注意的事項加以說明,並有例子輔助,讓讀者學到什麼東西該寫,什麼不該寫。

" Student Home
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/llc/writecenter/web/wc_web/school/index.htm
網站中介紹寫作過程和技巧(如文法),申請工作所必須填寫的履歷表有什麼要注意的地方等,準備一個口頭報告等。

" The Writing Seminar
http://webware.princeton.edu/sites/writing/Writing_Center/WCWritingRes.htm
同樣地,一步步地指導寫作方向,從開始著手去寫、發展論點、避免常犯錯誤、引言、平行句法等都有詳細說明。

" University of Richmond Writer's Web
http://writing.richmond.edu/writing/wweb.html#structure
也是一個教大家寫作的網站,並提醒同儕之間互相比較學習需注意的地方。

" English Club English Writing for ESL Learners
http://writing.englishclub.com/
一些拼音的規則和標點符號使用的解說,在右方的essay & resume center可以找到很多資源。履歷表還有好幾個不同工作需要的履歷表範本。

" Writing machine - Academic Writing
http://ec.hku.hk/writingmachine/
介紹學術寫作,比較特別的是他有一些部分提供的範文當你把滑鼠游標移過去時,會出現一句的摘要。

" The Nut and Bolts of College Writing
http://www.nutsandboltsguide.com/nb-home.html
分為幾個主要部分像寫作如何幫助思考,如何把段落變成一篇essay,寫作最常犯的十個錯誤等。

" 中國茶電子文學雜誌
http://www.mychinesetea.net/enghome.htm
一個中文介面的網站,分為寫作前的準備、撰寫段落的要點、寫文章的要點、標點符號的運用四大類,針對自己的弱點按部就班的學習。

Vocabulary and Idioms

1. Alice英文天地:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Thebes/4302/
提供日常用語、生活美語、等一些實用的東西,附有中文解說。

2. Building a Better Vocabulary:
http://cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/vocabulary.htm
教導如何學習字彙的網站,介紹一些字首字根並提供一些好站連結,還有文法及寫作的相關介紹。

3. Business English Vocabulary Online:
http://uk.cambridge.org/elt/nibe/vocabulary/
介紹商業英語字彙,有15個units,將單字標示詞性及英英解釋。

4. Common Errors in English:
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/
首頁編者做了一個簡單的介紹什麼是錯誤?瀏覽完可連結至他所列出來的英語單字常犯錯誤和會拼錯的字,很實用的一個網站。

5. Common Expressions:
http://abcasiapacific.com/englishbites/idiom/!a.htm
諺語及片語學習,英英解釋和例句。內容豐富值得一看。

6. English Idioms:
http://home.t-online.de/home/toni.goeller/idiom_wm/
諺語內容很豐富的網站,按照字母順序編排,查片語有解釋和例句,值得一看。

7. English Language Cyber Center: http://humanities.byu.edu/elc/student/idioms/idiomsmain.html
一些實用諺語,解釋詳盡,提供例句還有可愛的插圖。

8. English Online:
http://www.englishonline.net/word.html
每日提供一個單字和諺語,有解釋和例句。

9. Englishpage.com Vocabulary Exercises:
http://www.englishpage.com/vocabulary/vocabulary.html
頁面有一個目錄可以選擇,介紹生活美語常用字彙,提供對話填空練習。

10. English Vocabulary:
http://vocabulary.englishclub.com/
提供一些生活上常用的字彙,如顏色、電腦等等。網頁下方另有其他東西如測驗、遊戲等。

11. English Zone:
http://www.english-zone.com/idioms/idioms.php

12. ESL Idiom Page:
http://www.eslcafe.com/idioms/id-mngs.html
一些諺語,照字母順序排列並標明重要性,越常用的註明星號越多。

13. GoEnglish.com Idiom Dictionary:
http://www.goenglish.com/Index.asp
這個網站其實是在推薦一本諺語的書,不過有把一些實用諺語列出來並加上例句。

14. The Idiom Connection :
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/6720/
從A到Z、顏色、衣服、數字等的實用片語,有例句來使意思更明嘹。

15. Learning English! BBC World Service: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/news/index.shtml
這裡可以點選每月故事,線上收聽、閱讀、學單字。主題分為新聞、工作、音樂、運動。還查的到1999年的故事。故事裡單字會加粗,下面有英英解釋。

16. MyWordaDay:
http://www.mywordaday.com/
每日一字,介紹單字不同的意思,還有單字的來源,最後會有一個實際的例子。

17. Psycho Proverb Zone:
http://proverb.taiwanonline.org/
照字母順序的諺語,有些還有標明是那位名人說過。

18. Self-study Idiom Quizzes:
http://a4esl.org/q/h/idioms.html
一個提供很多線上測驗的地方,考考你對諺語的意思了解多少。測驗下方的框框即附 上答案。

19. Stanley's Proverbs:
http://home.kimo.com.tw/7320853/
這個網站收集了很多諺語,像一些中國的諺語,在這裡可以找到類似的英文,值得一看。

20. TOEFL Vocabulary Workshop:
http://www.southampton.liunet.edu/academic/pau/course/webroot.htm#act
從a-z挑出一些單字介紹字首字根,網頁中可以查詢到其他字首和字根的來源及解釋。

21. VLC Pictorial Idioms Corner:
http://www.edict.com.hk/vlc/idioms/default.htm
網站內容有圖片諺語、諺語測驗、諺語遊戲,點選idioms directory可以看全部諺語 。

22. Vocabulary:
http://www.vocabulary.com/
網站圖文並茂,有一些別出心裁的主題,在這裡學的到比較難的單字,可惜資源不夠豐富。

23. Vocabulary for Learners of ESL:
http://www.fis.edu/eslweb/esl/vocab/index.htm
網站內容分成幾個主題,有比較簡單或比較難的字彙,或是知道一些有關科學、地理、數學方面的單字,測驗有拼字、配合題,填空題等。

References & Dictionaries英漢//英英

1. 翻譯小精靈即時線上翻譯系統
http://diction.amasoft.com.tw/
由一家翻譯軟體研發公司承隆科技所提供的線上服務,可進行英漢漢英雙向查詢、整句翻譯、及中文名字音譯的查詢,單字只有英英註解,沒有例句。

2. 精萃詞庫
http://www.pristine.com.tw/resources/lexicon.php
以中文、英文或拼音查詢辭彙。本網站由精粹有限公司提供,非會員最多檢索五次,五次以後,系統會請你註冊,註冊是免費的。

3. 顏氏美語
http://www.onlinedict.com/
查詢英文單字,提供英文例句、中文解釋跟片語,是個不錯的網站,編者顏元叔教授曾任教於台大。

4. AllWords.com
http://www.allwords.com/
查單字可以找以什麼開頭或結尾,有發音,找一個動詞就會連它的名詞宇形容詞一起出來,很實用喔。也附英英解釋。

5. Cambridge線上字典
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
只能查英文單字,不過有非常詳盡的英英解釋及英文例句,單字有不同意思時,也有一樣的功能。強力推薦!

6. Wordsmyth
http://www.wordsmyth.net/
查詢單字後,會出現單字發音、簡短的意思及同義字,雖然沒有例句,同義字也幫助不少,動詞提供過去式、現在式,及進行式。

7. Bartleby
http://www.bartleby.com/61/
單字可以聽發音,較多的英英解釋、動詞提供過去式、現在式,及進行式。

8. Merriam Webster
http://www.m-w.com/
單字為英英解釋,提供單字發音。

9. Rhyme Zone
http://www.rhymezone.com/
查單字還可以找到押韻、相似的單字,英英注釋。

10. 線上電子字典
http://www.ee.tku.edu.tw/~rexchen/cdict/cdict.html
由淡江大學電機系所提供之資源,附英漢、漢英之功能。查詢單字只有中文意思。

11. Oxford Dictionary
http://www.askoxford.com/
在左上方輸入欲查詢單字,出來的是簡短的英英釋意,無例句。

12. 同義字字典
http://thesaurus.reference.com/
key in單字後可選擇查詢單字意思或同義字查詢,是個實用的網站。

其他

13. High-tech Dictionary
http://www.computeruser.com/resources/dictionary/index.html
查詢電腦專業用字的網站,很實用。

14. FOLDOC
http://foldoc.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/index.html
可查詢電腦用字,有簡短的例句。

15. Webopedia
http://www.pcwebopaedia.com/
找電腦用字,有詳細的英英解釋。

16. Picture Dictionary
http://www.pdictionary.com/
看圖片學習英文單字,另有其他四國語言。

17. Edupass
http://www.edupass.org/english/dictionary.phtml
美國和英國英文單字之間的不同還有文化差異。

Newspaper&Maganizes 英文報紙與雜誌

1、 網路英語教室
http://www.englishfree.com.cn/tw/
用簡單的動畫學英文非常有趣學英文沒壓力。

2、 線上英語教室
http://www.linguist.com.tw/ENGClass/default.htm
對話、句庫、閱讀等課程分門別類很有系統的英文學習方法。

3、 學習加油站
http://content.edu.tw/senior/english/tp_tt/main.htm
透過趣味英文、字迷設計等有趣的方法,在簡單的方法中無形學英文。

4、 EZ Talk http://www.eztalk.to/
結合當下時事和英文學習是個很有實用的網站。

5、 大家說英語
http://www.letstalk.com.tw/
當期的雜誌內容都可以看到,文章左邊有難字的說明,文章難易度適合英文程度中等的同學,另外還有當日的廣播及電視內容可以線上收聽或觀賞。

6、 空中英語教室
http://www.studioclassroom.com.tw/
在網路上可以線上收聽廣播。首頁會有當月主題可以點選,有一兩個主題會提供文章內容,其他就只有討論題目,生字的顏色會不同,滑鼠移過去就有解釋,還有例句。

7、 長春藤解析英語
http://www.ivy.com.tw/
以系統化的方式提供同學學習著重在文章結構分析一進去會看到每日一句,點選下方的more…會看到閱讀測驗,會看到一篇文章,有練習題。如果加入會員後就可以有線上聽廣播服務。

8、 雙語學生郵報
http://www.studentpost.com.tw/
網站上有很多資源如每週評論、新聞話題、電影看板等。線上文章雙語閱讀(但只限於開頭部份)及收聽,在右方的資料庫可以找到過去曾出版過的文章。在這加入免費註冊行列就可以閱讀裡面的內容了喔

9、 讀者文摘
http://www.readersdigest.com/
各種不同類型如理財、家庭、健康等方面的文章都可在這裡看到左邊的Tools and Quizzes有許多東西等著你去發掘。

10、CHINA POST
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/
左邊有分類可以針對個別興趣去找娛樂、商業、健康等新聞不用買英文報紙就可以看到免費的台灣及全球英文新聞。

11、TAIPEI TIMES
http://www.taipeitimes.com/
不用買英文報紙就可以看到免費的台灣及全球的英文新聞。

12、TIME
http://www.time.com/time/
提供雜誌最新一期的消息,有商業、科技、娛樂、科學、運動、健康等。在這裡可以得知很多訊息,文章很生活化。

13、Discovery
http://www.discovery.com/
看Discovery頻道嗎?那你一定也會愛上這個網站!

14、國家地理雜誌
http://www.nationgeoagraphic.com/
介紹國家地理雜誌和國家地理頻道的內容,即使沒有買雜誌或是看電視都可以知道這一期所介紹的內容是什麼。可依自己的需求點取不同的連結做更進一步的了解。它也提供了照片讓我們除了文字之外還可以透過圖片來更加了解。

15、財政經總和周刊
http://www.etaiwannews.com/
以財政經新聞為主,還可在Study Zone中學習最口語的英文喔。

16、光華雜誌 Sino Magazine
http://www.sinorama.com.tw/ch/
這個網站有四種語言,提供很多資料像法政議題、大眾傳播、華人世界等文章,篇幅 都不會太長,有幾個較難獲不常見的生字需要對照中文。

17、華盛頓郵報Washingtonpost
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
這個網站依不同的性質將新聞分門別類,可以依照自己的需要選取。除了閱讀新聞外我們還可以聽線上的新聞,並提供相關新聞的照片作為參考。

18、The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
各類的新聞如旅遊、藝術、生活、等和即時的股市行情。可以瀏覽當期雜誌內容,也有讀者或是網友們的意見交流、社論。線上收聽新聞的話要先註冊。在這裡可以搜尋 到從1996~2003發生過的新聞。

19、People
http://people.aol.com/people/index.html
每日的藝文活動、明星動態,都可以在這裡看到。

20、Search Here
http://www.searchhere.com/
各類的文章都可以在這個網站上找到,甚至可以看到書的部分內容,提供多元化的資訊。

TESTS

甲、美國英語能力分級檢定協會定網站
http://aelca.24cc.com/
提供各種兒童暨青少年英語檢定的方法及方式等訊息可以測驗一下自己的實力。

乙、全民英語能力分級檢定測驗
http://www.gept.com.tw/
分為五種等級作訓練可以階段式挑戰自己。

丙、語言訓練測驗中心
http://www.lttc.ntu.edu.tw/
各種考試(如托福等)的相關詳細資訊可以在此找到。

丁、大同高中英語學習網
http://203.72.57.1/amcenglishtest/dock/
針對全民英檢的各種測驗但要先加入會員才能使用。

6、Aardvark's English Forum:
http://www.englishforum.com/00/interactive/
有不同程度的測驗測驗玩後馬上會給分數以及詳解,網站資源提供給ESL/EFL的師生參考,測驗部份分為文法、字彙。

7、Activities for ESL Students:
http://a4esl.org/a/v.html
這是一個有很多字彙測驗的網站,分為易、中、難三種程度。可以好好地訓練自己。

8、Comenius English Language Center: Idioms:
http://www.comenius.com/index.tpl
依照字母順序排列的一些諺語,有釋意、簡短對話;還有幾則寓言故事學習字彙,線上可做練習題例如是非題和配合題。

9、English as Second Language:
http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/blvocabularyquiz.htm
內有托福考試的試題、單字及其他測驗的考題喔!

10、English Exercises Online: http://wwwedu.ge.ch/cptic/prospective/projets/anglais/exercises/welcome.html
這裡所有的測驗分為五個等級,每個等級有各式各樣不同的題目,有心的同學可以挑戰看看。

11、ESL BLUES:
http://www.collegeem.qc.ca/cemdept/anglais/trouindx.htm#adj.htm
依照難易程度分為三級,有動畫的文法教學、文法測驗等很實用。

12、ESL Independent Study Lab:
http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss/toppicks/vocabulary.html
一個很棒的連結網站,可以連到不同網站提供的各式各樣字彙練習或測驗,還有諺語。建議可以仔細地 瀏覽過各個網站。

13、ESL Vocabulary Quizzes:
http://quizzes.englishclub.com/vocabulary.htm
字彙的測驗,分成三級,由簡單到困難,內容有關工作、錢、數字、顏色等。有些測驗題會附有圖片。

14、Interactive ESL Practice:
http://www.geocities.com/pccprep/qz.htm#links
簡易的字彙及文法測驗,字彙有圖片幫助記憶,文法提供練習題目。

15、Interesting Things for ESL Students:
http://www.manythings.org/
有單字、文法和閱讀測驗的網站,每個項目點選進去就可以看到練習題目。

16、Isabel's ESL Site:
http://www.isabelperez.com/grammar.htm#pron
提供豐富的字彙、文法及文化的練習題,每一個小測驗前面有標示簡單或非常簡單,可依照自己的程度點選。

17、Karin's ESL Party land:
http://www.eslpartyland.com/quiz%20center/quiz.htm
在Quiz Center裡提供很多方面的測驗,有字彙、文法、俚語等,做錯了還會講解喔。

18、TCM English Learning:
http://english.itcmedu.com/drills/exercises_4.html
可在這看到續多資源右下角的測驗區是免錢的。

19、Self-study Grammar Quizzes about places
http://a4esl.org/q/h/grammarp.html
題目內容大多是關於各地的風俗以這些題目出文法問題供練習。

Western Literature

·Aesop's fables
http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/aesop/
提供了許多伊索寓言故事,還提供線上字典的查閱。有趣的是它在一些寓言故事中,提供圖片和聲音的效果。而在每個寓言故事的結尾,給予一句故事所含意義,發人深省。

·Classical Drama Sites
http://www.webcom.com/shownet/medea/cldrama.html
這個網站對古希臘的歷史、人文背景有概括性的介紹,也介紹古希臘戲劇場景、人員的配置、劇作家生平梗概與其作品風格。雖無作品全貌,卻點出希臘故事裡英雄人物和眾神的事蹟。

·Drama Collection
http://eserver.org/drama/
這個網站介紹許多不同形式的plays,有 modern drama,classic drama等,多達數十部。可以留下你的評論與網友分享,並有其他與戲劇相關的網站連結。

·Drama Resources
http://www.dalton.org/groups/Rome/Rdrama.html
這裡有很多關於戲劇與古希臘的作品,以及一些近代名家的作品。

·English Language & Literature
http://www.utm.edu/vlibrary/english.shtml
有很多項目可供連結,可以找到有關prose, drama, fable的項目然後進入,還有資料庫可供參考。

·Incywincy
http://www.incywincy.com/default?p=55
這是一個搜尋引擎,可以根據提供的項目來尋找所需資料,例如選擇drama來看,會有許多關於drama的資訊、文章或簡介。

·Poetry and Prose of the Harlem Renaissance
http://www.nku.edu/~diesmanj/poetryindex.html
有很多當代作家的作品和prose,以及作者的生平介紹。

·The Prose Menagerie
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/5116/
有novels, stories, essays,poetries等許多作品,配合著文章的內容,還有許多優美的圖畫、照片等。還有許多相關網站的連結,可以留下你的評論或是給編者的建議。

·The Prose Poem: An International Journal
http://www.webdelsol.com/tpp/
網站的編排方式稍嫌刻板,第一次瀏覽的人可能會覺得有些枯燥,但只要仔細瀏覽過後,還是會發現其中有許多值得細讀的作品。

·Shakespeare Bookshelf
http://www.ipl.org/div/shakespeare/shakespeare.html
這個站中收錄許多莎士比亞的戲劇、詩、文等作品,對於有心研究莎翁的人而言,是個不能忽略的網站。

·Shuwu.com
http://shuwu.com/tp/english/1501.shtml
這個網站有不少的fable可供欣賞,另外有其他的主題如prose, novel等。

·Theatre Database
http://www.theatredatabase.com/index.html
介紹古希臘的戲劇,同時也介紹現代戲劇從古代~中古至近代的。

10/25/2005

禽流感

最近的禽流感又讓大家神經開始緊蹦起來,去年(2004年)年初時也一度造成恐慌,CNN互動英語雜誌第四十三期(2004/四月)的健康資訊站單元裡 (p70-71),就已以禽流感為主題提供了一些相關的資訊,內容包括何謂禽流感、病原、該病毒所造成的大流行、如何遏阻傳染、病患治療方式等。

在此我就放上該雜誌部份開頭,讓我們對禽流感有些初步認識吧。想知道更多的話,就請移駕到Wikipedia--Avian influenza

Avian influenza --or bird flu--is a type A influenza virus, much like that which regularly causes seasonal epidemics of the flue in humans. While bird flu has been known as an avian disease for more than 100 years, it has only been in the last seven years that there have been documented cases of bird-to-human infection, often with fatal results. As the number of outbreaks of avian-flu infection in human beings increases, global awareness of this disease is on the rise.

所謂禽流感,是一種A型流感病毒,它和經常造成人類季節性流感疫情的病毒頗為類似。禽流 感一百多年來一直被視為一種禽鳥疾病,但一直到七年前,才有記錄顯 示出現了人類遭禽鳥感染的病例,且往往造成致命的結果。隨著人類感染禽流感的疫情升高,全球對於這種疾病的關注程度也隨之提升。

9/24/2005

李敖中國北大、清大、復大演說英文翻譯

譯者在開頭先表明英文翻譯內容,可能和實際講演內容有出入。
I was working off an imperfect transcription (see Xinzhoubao; in Chinese) that contained some things that were obvious errors. Therefore, this translation contains some guesses by me as to what was really said.
Li Ao's Speech At Beijing University 北京

Li Ao's Speech At Tsinghua University 清華

Li Ao's Speech At Fudan University 復旦

9/23/2005

Have a good one!

常聽到這句話,什麼意思咧?

這裡有解釋:

*施孝昌(中國時報-英文學習)"
在美國Have a good one.是一句很制式的說法,上班的人要回家,通常不會靜稍稍,自個兒東西一拿就走,一般都會沿途見人就說再見。再見的說法很多,Have a good one.的one 指的是day, night, evening,看離開的時間是白天、晚上或傍晚而定,也就是在回家時,祝福同事朋友,當天剩下的時間過得愉快。

Hey guys, have a good one. I'm out of here.

嘿,各位,再見囉,我走啦。


除了Have a good one.之外,還可說:

Have a good day. (night, evening....)

Have a nice day.

Have a good one.

Take it easy.

Take care.

=>International EFL Cafe Basic English Communication Coming and Going

9/21/2005

Your comment counts.

好像是兩天前吧,我到elllo聽幾個對話,在聽完這裡對話之後,決定給該站站長(Todd)一個迴響。

我寫的內容大致是說我贊成他要以英文初學者為未來方向,也同意他給中高級以上的英文學習者的建議。

今天就收到elllo的站長的一個簡短回信:

F ,

Thanks for the letter and your thought. I promise more easy ones soon.

Best regards,

Todd

我認為網路上針對英文初學者設計的materials不是很多,無論如何,一定是比中高級以上程度的來得少。不過,很想了解英文初學者是否會願意花時間在ESL網站或是提升自己英文能力上面呢?

不過,我覺得對英文初學者來說,坊間的英語教學雜誌助益很大,認真的看和聽和讀和唸,包你大大進一步!

9/20/2005

同理心

September 19
An English Language Learner's Word of the Day


empathy

Pronounced: click here

Function: noun [noncount]

Meanings:
the feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions
Example:
He felt great empathy with/for/toward the poor.

the ability to share someone else's feelings
Example:
His months spent researching prison life gave him greater empathy towards/for convicts.

Note: Empathy differs in meaning from sympathy, which means "a feeling of sorrow or pity for someone's loss, grief, or misfortune" or "a feeling of support for something."

Examples:
There is a lot of sympathy for the families of the victims.
He expressed sympathy for the rebels.



To subscribe to the Learner's Word of the Day please visit: www.startsampling.com/sm/wod/learner_signup.html

9/19/2005

[VOA News]Millions Celebrate Asian Mid-Autumn Festival with Mooncakes

『不要讓嫦娥笑我們髒。』

By Heda Bayron
Hong Kong
16 September 2005

Millions of people in Asia are celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival by exchanging boxes of mooncakes. But in Hong Kong, the tradition is scoring some bad points from environmental groups.

Sales of mooncakes are soaring in Hong Kong before the Mid-Autumn festival. Bakeries are packed with consumers spoiled for choice. There are lotus seed mooncakes, egg yolk mooncakes, ice cream mooncakes, ham mooncakes, bird's nest mooncakes and dozens of other varieties.

As much as the flavors, packaging counts for mooncakes - the more expensive they are, the more elaborate their colorful wrappings and ornate tin boxes.

Janus Chan is the general manager of Kee Wah Bakery, one of the oldest mooncake makers in Hong Kong.

"It is a better season than last year," she says. "Something like double digit (growth) over last year's sales. The economy is recovering so people's confidence is coming back and they are willing to spend money to celebrate."

And sensing the demand, mooncake producers have raised prices by at least five percent.

The golden brown round pastries symbolize family unity and are exchanged as gifts during the festival, which has its origins in an ancient fable about the moon.

On Sunday night, thousands of people in Hong Kong will gather in parks for a moonlight picnic featuring mooncakes, and light colorful lanterns and gaze at the moon - a custom believed to bring good fortune.

But the massive consumption of mooncakes poses an environmental headache. The Hong Kong chapter of the environmental group Friends of the Earth says the packages for the millions of mooncakes Hong Kong residents buy would fill at least 100 swimming pools. If all that wrapping were piled up, it would be taller than three football fields.

Friends of the Earth is urging people to recycle mooncake boxes. It aims to collect 200,000 of them this year in its "Moonkick Action" recycling campaign.

Director Chu Hahn says mooncake makers are heeding the call. "In the past two years the producers in Hong Kong, they reduced more than 16 million packaging items," he explains.

This year, some bakeries even began using recycled materials. Mr. Chu hopes the trend will continue in the years to come, so that Hong Kong families can enjoy the full moon without littering the Earth.

9/16/2005

布希的字條



這幾天在網路上流傳的火熱

布希在安理會中寫給萊斯的一張字條,上面寫道:

I think I may need a bathroom break. Is this possible?

1000個常用字/100個常拼錯的字/2000個常使用的字

Vocabulary Workshop: 1000 Most Common Words in English

100 MOST OFTEN MISPELLED MISSPELLED WORDS IN ENGLISH 網頁上說你只要精通該網頁上的所有字的拼法,就能省去一半查字典的時間。

The most useful 2000 words in English學英文的人必備的字彙!

to/for

這裡有人提出問題:是To me 還是 For me?

回覆這個問題的人意思大致是這樣:若你是個人闡述自己意見的話,就用to me。倘若是有人和你在爭論或不同意見時,你要表達自己的看法時,就是for me。

當這兩個介系詞後面接的是人時(to John or for John),就有小小的差別。to用在某人收到像信件或紙條等的情形,但用for的話,則是對方會從該物品/服務獲得一些"利益"。舉例,我留一張小紙條to John,但我從法國買了個紀念品for John。

可是正如這裡的版友寫的,形容詞(adjective)後到底接 to 還是 for好像沒個準:
An opinion I heard from a native speaker was that a rule of thumb for the choice is "to a person" and "for a thing." But I don't know to what extent this rule can be generalized. I often come cross a writing where "to a person" and "for a person" are used in parallel. We can see one of such examples in the speech by Archbishop Harry J. Flynn:
As was the case for many of our foremothers and forefathers, emigration does not come easily. It did not come easy for the Irish, the Germans, the Scandinavians. It does not come easy to the Hmong, the Liberians, the Somalis, the Bosnians or the Hispanics.


來自西班牙的Alex也有問BBC Learning English這個to/for的問題,雖然解釋算詳盡,但卻沒有提到這兩個介系詞後面+"人(a person)"的使用方法。

Bush Speech Details Aid Programs for Gulf Region



在Hurricane Katrina重創美國New Orleans後,小布希對救援重建工作內容發表演說。

NPR提供的聲音檔在這一個網頁

VOA則有完整的演講內容。



接下來離題了。

有個反布希的人開了一個網站,主要在倒數布希卸任的時間,甚至給他發明了鑰匙圈,如此可時時提醒自己布希下台的時間近了,期待他下台的那天到來就好像期待著某個婚宴或是假期一樣快樂。

9/15/2005

台灣年鑑2004



這一段是Taiwan年鑑Two thousand four介紹的開頭……


Taiwan's democratization took another step forward with the 2004 presidential election in which Chen Shui-bian was re-elected for a second term over a united opposition ticket. Chen garnered 6,471,970 votes, 11 percent more of the popular vote than in 2000.

content,就到目錄區,在這裡將所有和台灣有關的人事物統統一網打進。如在平面媒體區裡把台灣大部分的出版報章雜誌,做了詳盡的介紹:
Taiwan's flourishing computer industry has generated a vast assortment of computer magazines for beginners, advanced PC users, video game players, industrialists, and even procurement personnel. Popular magazines in this category include PC Home 電腦家庭 for beginners, PC Office 電腦上班族 for office workers, and PC Gamer 電腦玩家 for video game enthusiasts.

 English-language periodicals and magazines that juxtapose Chinese and English texts are an entertaining way for Taiwan readers to learn a foreign language. The more popular periodicals in this category include Studio Classroom 空中英語教室, with articles for senior high school and university students, and Ez Talk 美語會話誌 and Let's Talk in English 大家說英語, which target those eager to improve their spoken English. Some of these magazines are also available with audiocassettes or CD-ROMs.

上月初警政署外國人在台生活諮詢服務網成立網站有個會話教室,我聽了幾句他們給的中文發音(好奇),覺得那個字正腔圓的發音跟這裡(隨便點一課來聽)的名叫"李華"的女聲好相似,會是同一個人嗎?

"Skype"的發音



知名軟體Skype的韻腳並不是押"皮",

押的是和"ripe"同樣的韻腳。

就發"sky"(天空)的音,之後以無聲的"p"結尾。

How do you pronounce the word Skype?

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Skype

9/14/2005

[MSNBC]過度使用耳機會使聽力受損

隨著愈來愈多需要直接"緊貼耳朵"的商品出現,如ipod和手機,還有可維持長時間的可充電電池,我們的耳朵在過度"使用"之下,聽力也因此受到了損害。


More headphone use leading to hearing loss
Young people, in particular, face increased risk of damage to ears


讀書運動都要聽iPod
Everywhere she turns, Angella Day sees people carrying portable music players, often with the ear buds stuffed firmly in place. "They're very widespread," says Day, a senior at Chicago's DePaul University who regularly listens to music on her own iPod while studying or working out. "So addicting."

What she and others may not realize is that many people their age have already damaged their hearing. And researchers fear that the growing popularity of portable music players and other items that attach directly to the ears — including cell phones — is only making it worse.

"It's a different level of use than we've seen in the past," says Robert Novak, director of clinical education in audiology at Purdue University in Indiana. "It's becoming more of a full-day listening experience, as opposed to just when you're jogging."

持久性可充電池讓我們聽的時間更久
With long-lasting rechargeable batteries, people who use portable music players also are listening longer — and not giving their ears a rest, says Deanna Meinke, an audiologist at the University of Northern Colorado who heads the National Hearing Conservation Association's task force on children and hearing.

到底聽多久才是安全的呢?
Meinke says a good rule of thumb comes from a study published in December: Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital determined that listening to a portable music player with headphones at 60 percent of its potential volume for one hour a day is relatively safe.


a rule of thumb:大致上

小發現

才才發現雅虎奇摩字典也可以發音。



多聽多健康……

Quiz--連字(Describing People)

這個也是english-at-home寄的newsletter裡的quiz。





Describing people

Some adjectives are made up of two words separated by a hyphen. For example, someone who is "old-fashioned" has "old" ideas, and doesn't like new concepts or new technology.

In this quiz, match the adjectives in List A with the adjectives in List B to form adjectives that describe people.

List A
big-
easy-
even-
heavy-
kind-
level-
mild-
narrow-
self-
soft-

List B
centred
going
handed
headed
headed
hearted
mannered
minded
spoken
tempered





答案我放在這篇的Comment裡。

9/13/2005

Corn dog


資料來源

Corn dogs are hot dogs dipped in corn batter, deep fried and served on a stick. Corn dogs were supposedly created in 1942 for the Texas State Fair by Neil Fletcher.

Corn dogs are an excellent source of calories, fat, cholesterol and salt.

9/12/2005

如何學好英文? 空中英語教室強調多讀

2005/08/27

有鑒於「全民英檢」在求職求學過程當中的重要性,擁有TESOL( Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages)教師資格的空中英語教室老師哈雀Liz Archer以她多年的教學經驗,分享了如何快速增進英語實力的各種訣竅。

她表示,每天至少花十分鐘聽及說英語,先聽一段英語,而後大聲的唸出來,這是訓練自己聽力說英文的基本功。此外每天要讀一段或一篇英語文章,因為讀的愈多、 寫出來的英文文章就愈流暢。

"cannot" versus "can not"

我印象很深刻的是我一個句子(I can not recall......)中的can not被劃掉,老師在上頭寫cannot,並註明one word -- 只有一個字。我從那時候起,就一直沒再寫can not,而是寫兩字併起來的cannot。

好奇怪,"長人"字典沒有說can not的用法是錯誤的,而英文用法大字典也只說cannot是英國用法,can not是美國用法。順帶一提,那位糾正我的老師,是來自UK的。

沒想到,cannot分不分開有沒有差的問題也被列為常問問題之一。(該網站的解釋是說cannot和can not的拼法都可以接受,但cannot是最普遍的拼法,can not是用在像can not only這樣子的情況。)

Languagehat.com:cannot解說的最詳細,他開頭先提到十一版的Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary把cannot這個字中開放了個空格,變成了can not,他說明了這兩者的不同:


The definition of cannot should be either "the negative form of can" (as the AHD has it) or a periphrasis like "is not able to." The only context in which can not, two words, occurs is as an emphatic alternative: "You can do it, or you can not do it." In that case, it is clearly two separately spoken words, with the not given special emphasis, and equally clearly it means something very different from cannot, namely "have the option of not (doing something)." The only acceptable form for the unabbreviated negative of can (or, if you prefer, for the expansion of can't) is cannot, one word.


給幾個句子來分別看看他所說的意思:
You cannot do it. 你不能做。
You can not do it. 你能不做。

I cannot smoke. 我不能抽煙。
I can not smoke. 我可以不抽煙。(我能不抽煙。)

再讓我們看看網路上面是怎麼說的吧…

下列的說明是取自這裡


最後這一個是取自這裡。

Tip: Cannot vs. Can Not

"Cannot" is always one word. Even though you can probably think of examples where you want to make it two words, don't. (Ex: You can go to the store, or you can not go to the store.) Try to rewrite it for more clarity instead.

What are you blogging about?

這是Englishbaby上週五的對話主題。


Listen to the Dialogue, Click Here.按此聽以下對話

Derek: Dave, do you have a blog?

Dave: No, I don't. I don't know how to start one.

Derek: You don't know how to start one? Yeah, well, they've got a few sites out there that host them and they give you pretty good instructions on how to start one. And then, you know, if it becomes really popular, you know, maybe you'll have people all across the country reading it.

Dave: Oh, that'd be cool. It'd be really cool. Do you have a blog?

Derek: Ah, no, I don't. I, ah, was thinking about starting one. Just, you know, news story or, you know, maybe a fictional town.

Dave: Yeah, that would be interesting. How do you go about starting a blog?

Derek: Um, you go to sites like, um, Blogger.com or Myspace or, you know, a few other places, and then start your own blog. And just start writing, adding pictures, you know, getting feedback. It's pretty cool.

Dave: Sounds nice. What do you think you should put on a blog to make it interesting?

Derek: Entertaining things, or, you know, very factual. I don't know. I've seen law blogs. And some people just really voice their opinion politically and have become really popular.

Dave: Yeah, I've read a few of those blogs. They seem really interesting. And blogs represent a…a good democratic media.

Derek: Definitely.

Dave: Anybody can post their thoughts.

Derek: Yeah, it's pretty nice to be able to do that.

9/11/2005

My Vocabulary -- 2

at fault (expression): responsible
I am at fault for our fight last night. I decided to have an argument and started being mean.

big-hearted (adj): generous; freely giving of time or money
He is so big-hearted to give you such a nice present!

pastime (n): a hobby, an activity people do to "pass the time"
My friend Michelle loves to read. It is her favorite pastime.

up in arms (expression): angry; upset about something
The customers were up in arms at the restaurant because they were out of fish.

sequal (n): second part; following part
I think it's rare that a sequal is as good as the original film.

9/10/2005

英文學習者面對的三大挑戰

以下內容是我翻自這篇文章,而該網站我在這裡介紹過,在此也鼓勵大家看原文就好了。 我相信,文章內容是多數外語學習者再熟悉也不過的了。

英文學習者面對的三大挑戰

(1)對學英文培養一份熱情

所有的英語學習者都想要講一口好英語,能流利的以英語和人溝通的想法也令其興奮。然而,他們通常不在乎學習英文本身的過程。對於多數的學習者來說,學英文就是義務-是件必須做但不想做的事,不見學習英文的樂趣。

簡而言之,多數學習者想要把英語講好,但不想要學英文。這是英文學習者面對的第一個也是最大的問題,因為一個人不喜歡學英文,是不會把英文學好的。如果你不愛英文,英文不會愛你。

如果你想要成為個成功的學習者,你必須喜歡學習過程的本身。你需要視花在英文上的時間是項樂趣和消遣,例如,你得喜愛:

●閱讀英文句子和思考句子結構
●從一本字典學習新字
●經由著查閱字典、文法指南、網路寫出一個正確的英文句子
●練習英語語音和字彙的發音

最好的是,學習英文應是你的嗜好。你該把自己視為個英文學習者-一個已經選擇將學習英文為自己最喜歡的娛樂活動之一的人。

(2)對你的生活做第一個改變

決定學習英文後,你的生活得做改變。舉例來說,決定每天花三十分鐘閱讀一本英文並持之以恆。要在你的生活做個微小但永恆的改變是非常難的,又加上假使學英文似乎並不是一件樂事。但,學習者應記住每天研讀英文十五分鐘的結果遠勝過一個月僅一次的全天候學習。

(3)對你的生活做進一步的改變

雖然第一個改變是最困難的,但每一個隨之而來的改變也非輕而易舉。許多學習者走出了第一步(例:每天開始閱讀一本英文書),然後就停在那裡了,不去投入其它以英文建立起的消遣性活動。

一個優秀的學習者會有一套娛樂活動(閱讀、看電視、練習發音、聽錄音帶等),並且依照其心情從中擇之。只有單一娛樂活動不算好,因為(1)你很快就會感到無聊,(2)那單一的娛樂活動僅能給予你狹窄的語言能力範圍。例如,閱讀英文能夠改善你的文法、字彙、閱讀理解力、寫作能力,卻不能改善你的發音。




Language learning: Myths and facts(語言學習的迷思和真相)
1. "The best way to learn a foreign language is to go to a foreign country" (到國外學外語真的是最好的方法嗎?)
2. "The best way to learn a foreign language is to speak it" (學習外語最好的方法是去"說"它嗎?)
3. "It is OK to make mistakes" (犯錯是OK的嗎?)
4. "As a beginner, you're bound to make a lot of mistakes" (身為初學者,你就必定得犯很多錯誤嗎?)
5. "You are a foreigner, therefore you will always have a foreign accent" (你是外國人,所以你就永遠得有外國腔?)
6. "If you didn't learn a foreign language as a child, you will never be fully proficient in its grammar" (倘若你不是從小開始學外語,你永遠無法全然精通其文法?)
7. "Studying pronunciation is not important" (研讀發音不重要?)


以上都是出自同一個網站的文章,因為該網站有商業性質,所以關於學習英語的一些經驗談是否有道理,就由閣下自己定奪。

我想到幾個月前看過一位曾待過台灣的外籍人士在網路上批台灣學生學英文不夠積極,不會獨立思考,好像輕輕鬆鬆就能夠學好外語,然而,他繼續寫道,學過外語的人應該知道學外語不是這麼簡單,是要下功夫的。

我覺得就看個人目的為何,假如我是工作上必備、或為了考試、或要出國留學、或為個人理想,好像就必須要臥薪嘗膽努力一點,假如對我來說可有可無,只是一項嗜好,應該就不用太苛求吧……。

9/08/2005

"when" versus "while"

英文解釋請看:參考資料1 + 參考資料2

UPDATE:中文有解釋了哦!快快來看吧…

以下是綜合那兩個英文網站的解釋,大致上有個情形:



"when" "while" 兩人都是一家人的情況==> during the time

當動作B發生,用這兩個字任一個帶出一個長時間正在持續的"背景"動作或情況(動作A)。

The prisoners escaped when/while the prison warders were eating their lunch.
When/While the prison warders were eating their lunch, the prisoners escaped.
<當嶽警正在吃中餐的時候,那群囚犯逃走了。>

Somebody broke into the house when they were playing cards.
While they were playing cards, somebody broke into the house.
<當他們正在玩牌的時候,有人闖入屋內。>

*when/while句子可置前或置後。

*可替換的另兩個字是"as""whilst",不過有時候聽來會挺文謅謅的。
As the sun went down, I sipped a rum and coke on the balcony.
<當太陽下山時,我在陽台上啜飲著蘭姆和可樂。>
I sipped a rum and coke on the balcony whilst the sun went slowly down on the horizon.






"when" "while"分家,只能用"when"的情況: ==> at the time

(1)"A"持續進行一段時間時,"B"發生了,"B"用"when"帶出。

I was asleep in my chair when Dora rang to say she wasn't coming home.
<正當我在椅子上睡著的時候,朵拉打電話說她不回家了。>

We were playing monopoly when the lights went off.
<正當我們在玩大富翁的時候,電燈熄滅了。>

(2)兩件事皆短時間同時發生

I thought of it (just) when you opened your mouth.
<當你開口時,我剛好想到它。>

When the lights went out, everybody groaned: "Oh no, not another power cut!"
<當電燈熄滅時,每個人抱怨著說:"不要啊!別再停電啦!">

(3)講到過去的某段時間

When
I was a little boy, power cuts were very frequent, but that was just after the war.
<當我還是個小男生的時候,停電是非常頻繁的,但那也僅是戰爭之後。>

When I was a child we lived in London (NOT While I was a child …)

His parents died when he was twelve (NOT … while he was twelve)






"when" "while"分家,通常偏用"while"的情況: ==> during the time

"A"和"B"動作維持較的時間或"A"和"B"兩者長時間的同時動作。

Dora left a message on the voice mail while I was asleep in the chair.
<朵拉在語言信箱留言的同時,我正在椅子上熟睡。>

While I was writing my Christmas cards, the children were decorating the tree.
<我在寫聖誕卡的同時,孩子們正在裝飾著樹。> OR 我在寫卡片,孩子們在裝飾樹。
*用「而」來想,就會用"while"。

I cooked the supper while Jenny did the ironing.
<我煮著晚飯的同時,珍妮在燙衣服。> OR 我在煮晚飯,珍妮在燙衣

While you were reading the paper, I was working.
<你在看報的同時,我在工作。> OR 你在看報,我在工作。






參考資料裡講到的大致就是這樣,while 動作是長時間(during that time),when 是短時間(at that time),while 不可指一點時間(a point of time),when可使用的機率應該比較大。

測驗:

He rang me up ________ he heard of it.
_____ I had finished my letter, I posted it.
I was about to start _____ it began to rain.
He was going to bed, _____ a letter came.
The case was heard yesterday, _____ her lawyer did his best to defend her.


答案:全都是when



再來一些例句:

When I arrived, he was talking on the phone.
When I got there, he had already left.
When it began to rain, I stood under a tree.
When I was in Chicago, I visited the museums.
When I see him tomorrow, I will ask him.

While I was walking home, it began to rain.

8/24/2005

Hogwash!

在分享這個字的字義之前,先來給一個今天我讀到的句子:

I read this a little earlier today and thought to myself what a load of....

a load of what? 一卡車的什麼東西?可能有人猜得出來最後接的是什麼字。

hogwash:
noun {U} INFORMAL

nonsense, or words which are intended to deceive:

- His answer was pure hogwash.

接著我在這裡的定義看到方才的"片語"--a load of xxxxxx--。

hogwash:
A load of BULLSHIT!!!
Oh, what a bunch of hogwash!

8/23/2005

美國國家標點符號節


很有趣,有人將8月22日訂為美國標點符號節。網站的標點符號圖片有連結,告訴你該標點符號的功用為何。

這裡則提供了標點符號的歷史,內容包括有English, Spanish, French, and East Asian。

The caesura sign (頓號 or ?? in pinyin: dun4 hao4), nicknamed sesame dot, is the Chinese equivalent of serial comma. It is shaped like a teardrop with the narrow sharp end pointing top-left and round end pointing bottom-right: 、 (it may be depicted on your computer in another font). In Japanese, the Chinese caesura sign is used as comma (serial or not).

8/19/2005

大寫小寫隨君寫

約在一年多前,我在BBS英文討論版看到有人寫到Mainland China,後來被不曉得從哪裡冒出來的Americans糾正,他們說應該是mainland China,M不用大寫。

後來在同一本單字書裡的例句,有大寫也小寫:


↑這個是大寫Mainland China


↑在句首,故大寫,沒問題。


↑小寫的mainland China


thefreedictionary給的是mainland ChinaWikipedia有Mainland China

有人就提出質疑了

8/18/2005

反分裂

有人建議將"anti-secession"改為"anti-separation"。

第56期CNN每月一字中對「反分裂」一詞有頗詳細的解說。



Taiwan's Response to the "Anti-Secession Law (so-called Anti-Separation Law)" and It's Impact on (the) Cross-strait Relations

兩岸政治用語的英譯:


anti的發音是有兩個,奇摩只給一個thefreedictionary只給一個,兩個給的都不同的發音,還是Webster Online的發音給的最詳盡。

8/16/2005

My Vocabulary -- 1

I've learned a lot of vocabulary from this website, more than one hundred words and expressions. From now on, I am going to post only five of them each time here in this blog to share with you all every now and then. Also, I can have a review of them.

All of the meanings and the example santances are given by the website.


AKA (expression) : also known as
This is my friend Joseph, aka Joey.

an awful lot (expression) : quite a lot
There are an awful lot of tourists in Hawaii in the winter.

baffled(adj) : confused
I'm baffled. Why are you here today? You normally don't come in on Tuesdays.

at fault (expression) : responsible
I am at fault for our fight last night. I decided to have an argument and started being mean.

on the level : as good as
I think Kobe Bryant's basketabll skills are on the level of Michael Jordan.



Some of the vocabulary and expressions are colloquial, so make sure you use the right word or expression in the right situation.

Related article: Englishbaby

"karaoke"的發音

當然這一個發音是有的,然而我常聽到的卻是這一發音,像這裡就只有後者的發音, 不似Webster Online給了三種發音

Karaoke combines two Japanese words: kara is short for karappo, which means empty, and oke is part of okestura, meaning orchestra. An empty orchestra, a mic and a singer - the major ingredients of karaoke.

Since its origination 20 years ago, Taiwan has also picked up on the karaoke craze. The Taiwanese have worked diligently over the past years, making karaoke their own.

Today, karaoke clubs and bars are one of the most popular forms of entertainment for the Taiwanese. It is difficult to travel through any city in Taiwan without being flashed down in the dark by bright neon lights luring passerbys Vegas-style.

摘錄自文章:At the Mic: Karaoke Television

該篇文章講述KTV在臺灣風行之情形,也呼籲到臺灣來的外國人都該去體驗一下。

8/15/2005

待續

好幾個星期前在電視上看到一則廣告,廣告主打某人的新節目,廣告分上下二集,上集先賣關子,電視觀眾欲知詳情,得待下回分解。故那個電視節目廣告的上集在最後一幕打了「To be contiune」三個大字,殊不知這裡頭有錯。

怎麼可以有兩個動詞("be" "continue")呢?

所以正確的說法應是:To be continued

「To be continuous」也不對,continuous是指不中斷的,既然不中斷,何需下集?

"It rained continuously last night."昨晚雨下個不停。



Review Question:
時間"9:48"和"8:20"以逆讀法表達該怎麼說?

Blogthings - Cool Stuff To Put In Your Blog

你想在你自己的網站或部落格放一些酷的東西嗎?Blogthings提供了很多的測驗,使用者可將測驗結果放在自己的網站上面,網站上的測驗內容有些是適合英美人士,有興趣的人可以去玩一下。


You are elegant, withdrawn, and brilliant.
Your mind is a weapon, able to solve any puzzle.
You are also great at poking holes in arguments and common beliefs.

For you, comfort and calm are very important.
You tend to thrive on your own and shrug off most affection.
You prefer to protect your emotions and stay strong.







You Are a Link Blogger!



Your blog is more about cool links than thougtful posts.
Better to be entertaining and breif than longwinded and boring!




Review Question:
如果用"a mile a minute"來形容一個人講話的樣子(to talk a mile a minute),是指那個人講話速度很慢的意思嗎?

8/14/2005

UP! UP!

有個兩個字母的單字比任何兩個字母的單字還要多意思,它就是"UP"!

請看這篇有趣的文章。

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meaning than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP."

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awake in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.

At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing:

A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!

To be knowledgeable of the proper uses of UP, look UP the word in the dictionary. In a desk size dictionary, takes UP almost 1/4th the page and definitions add UP to about thirty.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP . When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.

When it rains, it wets UP the earth. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so.............

I'll shut UP.....!



Quick notes:
(1) wrap up:結束
(2) "I'll wrap it up, for now my time is up." for = because


Review Question:
叫別人不要吞吞吐吐的,有話就說出來的一個"spit"開頭的三個字的片語是…?

語言的日新月異

Potty-mouthed? New English words are just lush

LONDON (Reuters) - Do chuggers bother you when you want to rock up to a restaurant with your cockapoo to hoover a supersized ruby murray?

Confused? Then you need to refer to the new Oxford Dictionary of English to understand a host of new words that appear for the first time in its latest edition.

Among the new entries are "potty-mouthed" (meaning using or characterized by bad language), "lush" (very good) and "scopophilia" (sexual pleasure derived chiefly from watching others when they are naked or engaged in sexual activity).

Some words, such as "demographic" (a particular sector of a population) have become commonplace but only now make it into the dictionary. They are joined by those emerging from new technology like "phishing" (fraudulently sending emails purporting to be from reputable firms to get individuals to reveal personal details).

Many of the new words are simply formed by mixing two others together, such as charity and mugger making "chugger" (someone who approaches passers-by in the street asking for donations for a charity) and "labradoodle" (a cross between a Labrador retriever and a poodle).

"To suit the pace of our lifestyle today there is a growing tendency to mix words together to make entirely new ones called blends," the dictionary researchers said.

They also said there were now 350 ways of insulting someone -- from "chucklehead" to "muppet" -- ten times more than there were complimentary expressions, while there were 50 words for good-looking women, there were only about 20 for men.

And for those without a dictionary to hand, "rock up" means arrive, "cockapoo" is a mix between a cocker spaniel dog and a poodle, "hoover" means to eat omething quickly, and "ruby murray" is rhyming slang for a curry.



See also Merriam-Webster Asks: What's Your Favorite Word (That's Not in the Dictionary)?



Review Question:
My main beef about the job is that I have to work on Saturdays.
這裡的beef的意思是?

8/12/2005

朋友是校長

可能有些人在拼"校長"(principal)這個英文單字的時候會和"原則"(principle)字尾弄混,這裡有個小小拼字記憶法,希望不會讓你更加混淆才好。:)

My pal is the principal.(我的好朋友是校長)

或『The lovely bones』一書裡的台詞:

"Your principal is your pal with principles."

The Grammar Bible』拼字小祕訣裡提供14個單字的記憶祕訣,如:

≡calendar→ I never lend my calendar. 我從來不把行事曆借給別人看。

≡all right→ It's the opposite of all wrong, not alwrong. all right是all wrong的相反,而非alwrong。(all right才是正確的字,不少人會拼成alright。是"I am all right."(I am alright.╳錯)

除了這些想知道更多記單字的祕訣嗎? Check this out! Lizzie教你背英文單字~~~~~英語怎麼那麼簡單!!   



Review Question:
若你要別人不再煩你,你該說什麼呢?「cut」開頭的…

8/10/2005

[washingtonpost]How to Learn Chinese in 2,200 Not-So-Easy Lessons

Update: 2005 / 08 / 11 (星期四)中文超難學 至少需兩千小時
如果你正在為死背英語單字而傷腦筋的話,《華盛頓郵報》記者馬修斯九日一篇感嘆中文實在太難學的報導,也許可以讓你稍微平衡一些。這位記者以他個人多年來苦學漢語的親身體會,向讀者介紹了他的經驗與感想。他鼓勵那些想學漢語的美國學生,因應中國的崛起,學習漢語應該和阿拉伯語一樣,列為美國人選學外語的最高優先。


Washington Post Staff Writer--Jay Mathews 半幽默的敘述他當年學習中文的情形,並語重心長的告訴想學中文的人:學中文是條艱辛且漫長的路呀。

以下為摘錄,全文請見

But let me -- just this once because I don't like recalling the pain -- tell you that learning Chinese is not going to be easy.

Chinese culture -- its philosophy, its art, its code of conduct, its food, its literature -- is one of the wonders of human civilization. It is so humane and so productive that I share few of the fears that the rise of Chinese economic and military power inspires in some Americans.

But the Chinese, despite all their good points, have a very difficult and in some ways inefficient language. Those Americans ready to pursue the worthy goal of learning it should be ready for a long, hard march.

Unkind people are saying at this point: Mathews may have been too dumb or too lazy to master Chinese, but the Chinese themselves seem to be handling their language fine. That is true. It is one more indication of the drive and ambition of those 1.3 billion people that most of them have become fluent and literate in a spoken language that includes four tones and a written language based on ideographs that give few clues to pronunciation and sometimes drive typists mad.

But it is also true that having to learn thousands of ideographic characters instead of just the two dozen or so letters of the Western alphabet has forced Chinese education into a deep, narrow groove. Chinese students and teachers have grown accustomed to relying on memorization, the way they learned to read. There is less creative thinking in the schools as a result, some scholars think.

For more than a century the Chinese have been arguing among themselves over how to simplify the written language without cutting themselves off from one of the great literary mother lodes of the past 3,000 years. The invention of the digital computer and the Internet have eased the reproduction and transmission of written Chinese, but children in China, and non-Chinese high school and college students like I once was, have to pound the meaning of all those slants and dots and curves into their brains, and hope they stay there.

Take one small example. When I lived with my family in Beijing in the late 1970s and early 1980s, my six-year-old son got to be a pretty good reader. There wasn't much television to distract him, and as a budding baseball and football fan he loved to decipher the sports pages of the International Herald Tribune. When Chinese saw him reading the newspaper in the dining hall of the hotel where we lived, they were amazed, since their equally bright children needed much more time before they could handle a Chinese newspaper.

You can imagine, then, what it was like for me at age 19 when I took my first Chinese lessons in college.

Learning the spoken language was not so bad. It had few annoyances like gender and tense and verb changes based on rank. My first Chinese professor was Rulan Chao Pian, who used a system invented by her father, the legendary UC Berkeley linguist Yuen R. Chao. She and her father shared a mischievous sense of humor, although I did not think it was so funny at first. One of her first exercises was a short story made of words that used only one Chinese sound, shi (sounds like 'sure'). It was totally incomprehensible -- just as the sentence "Sure sure sure sure, sure-sure, sure sure sure" would be in English -- unless you got all the tones right or could see the characters.

Once I absorbed this sobering introduction to the maddening subtleties of Chinese expression, Pian handed me her father's textbook. He had a unique way of romanizing Chinese word sounds so we could learn how to pronounce them properly. Some Chinese language textbooks assigned the numbers one to four to each of the four tones, and you would pronounce the word based on which number was next to it. Some books used little marks going up, down or otherwise to indicate the high, rising, low and falling tones. Chao decided to give a different spelling of the same sound to indicate different tones.

There is a common Chinese sound that most American newspapers spell "zhang" (pronounced sort of like "jong"), under the standard pinyin romanization system used in China. Chao spelled that sound four ways: jang if it were first tone, jarng if it were second tone, jaang for third tone and janq for fourth tone. Different words required different spelling changes. Good old "wu," thankfully spelled that way in nearly every system, was u for first tone, wu for second tone, wuu for third tone and wuh for fourth tone.




Review Question:

"Advertising, it seems, is often a far cry from reality." 句中"a far cry from"是什麼意思?

Go figure.

解釋一The alt.usage.english FAQ

This expands to "Go and figure it out", and means: "The reasons for the fact just stated are unknown and possibly unknowable. You can waste your time thinking about what they might be, if you choose, but you're not likely to accomplish anything." (Kivi Shapiro)


解釋二Urban Dictionary

a remark made to something said that is typical or falls under Murphy's Law.

"The ONE day I call in sick at work, and the fucking boss, who happens to leave work early... sees me at the strip joint...go figure!!!"


解釋三TheFreeDictionary

a phrase used by itself as an interjection to mean "How can one explain that?", or to express puzzlement over some seeming contradiction.


解釋一和三的意思差不多,感覺很像「你自己去慢慢想吧!」

網路上有人將這個詞中譯為:你自己去琢磨吧。不過,這個譯句無法適用於各個go figure出現的場合。如:why have you changed your name? Hiding from all your girl friends???? Go figure !!

這裡有不少人給go figure下定義,大致就以下兩部分:

(1)有人說不能光從字面上解釋為go and find out,而是如同「解釋三」的意思,只是個感嘆詞,「Can you believe that?」「Well, what do you know!」感到疑惑、想不透時用。

(2)另一個用法就如同「解釋二」,指事情結果呼之欲出,不用多說了吧,你自己想也想得出來。

「Go figure」informal用法較偏向"How can one explain that?" "how did that happen?" "Wonder Why?"


Review Question:
"Life is a gas."是指生活很像聞瓦斯味一樣難受嗎?

8/09/2005

The Lovely Bones

English Daily 幾天前開始在網站上每天播放一點「The Lovely Bones」,當然從本網站首頁左下角每日更新即得知這個訊息。


逝者已矣,生者何辜??---話題書:【蘇西的世界】
原名為【The Lovely Bones】的【蘇西的世界】,在美國上市就佔據紐約時報(New York Times)排行榜60周的小說,2002年也在美國亞馬遜(AMAZON)網站排行榜終年不墜,全美銷售已有三百萬冊。【蘇西的世界】作者在書中一開始就告訴讀者主角蘇西遇害的過程,隨後在她的天堂俯視人間,以全知全能的視界觀看家人與友人經歷此事之後產生的變化:父親悲痛無比亟欲獨力緝兇,情緒失調而離家墮落,妹妹弟弟的成長蛻變,以及家人之間關係的變化。【蘇西的世界】是發生在一個孤立無援、受暴力侵襲的家庭中的故事,從一個家庭的變動為起點,處理的是個人面對悲傷的適應經歷,而非整個社會療傷的影射,但放大來看,或許可以幫助人們為一時之間無法找到答案的難題找到慰藉。書中人物的悲歡離合似乎也象徵美國整個社會在動盪中調整、適應的範本。


接下來要小小聲講。

有「eMule」軟體的朋友,可從這裡下載「英文文本」和「全書的朗讀版」。


Audio檔案共十個,一個mp3檔案約一小時多。

因為英文文本檔案不大,我已將它上傳到這裡,沒有上述軟體但想要閱讀或好奇的人,可以看看。



Review Question:
"It is a slang." (它是俚語。) 這句有,錯在哪?