久久亚洲国产成人影院-久久亚洲国产的中文-久久亚洲国产高清-久久亚洲国产精品-亚洲图片偷拍自拍-亚洲图色视频

您現在的位置: Language Tips> Columnist> Zhang Xin  
   
 





 
From bill to billboard, geisha to wanted criminals
[ 2006-02-06 15:25 ]

From bill to billboard, geisha to wanted criminals 

From bill to billboard, geisha to wanted criminals

As Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn, I get a lot of questions asked about the English language, especially on how to build one's vocabulary.

Yes, vocabulary. That's what people are worried about, "my vocabulary is not big enough" being a constant refrain.

When you examine this, however, you find it is not that their vocabulary is small - today, a 25-year-old has done at least 10 years of English-language training at various levels - assuming they have done their due diligence required by an education system which emphasizes little other than vocabulary building.

It is, rather, that their working vocabulary is small. They may know the primary meanings of a word in the dictionary, but not the nitty-gritty of it when it comes to practical use.

The other day, I got a question from someone about Yao Ming, who plays for the Houston Rockets in the NBA. Yao, he read, had returned to the lineup after getting a clean bill of health after a foot injury. Yao had been out since December 18, 2005. He returned on January 31, 2006….

Anyway, he asked: "What's this 'bill of health' about? All I know is that you have to pay the bill after a meal at a restaurant."

"Or a telephone bill," when prompted what else he might know about the word "bill".

"I pay my cell phone bills on time," he said. "That's all I know about bills."

You see, it's not so much that one doesn't have a vocabulary, as that one has a vocabulary which's limited when it comes to usage.

A few people have been known to recite full dictionaries in a vainglorious effort to enlarge their vocabulary. Yet all they do is try to remember the most common explanations of a word, rather than its various usages in everyday conversation as well as in writing.

Take the very word "bill" for example.

A bill the waiter hands over to you after a meal is a list of particulars you may or may not have ordered. You often have to double check to make sure - That's why it's called a check in Britain. Joking aside, do check it before paying the bill and taking your leave.

Hence, a bill can be a list of things in other circumstances, such as in entertainment - it's a program sheet with details about who's performing, what is being shown in, say, a movie.

When Zhang Ziyi is said to "top the bill" in the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha", she is the leading actress.

The controversial movie about the lives of Japanese geishas has been cleared of distribution in China's mainland on February 9, but the government changed its mind, cancelling the release over the weekend, according to the Associated Press. (AP speculates that Chinese authorities might be worried that "the sight of Chinese actresses playing Japanese geishas would stir a backlash".)

In other words, "Geisha" has not been given "a clean bill of health", which is what Yao Ming got after missing 21 games.

"A clean bill of health", therefore, is an all-negative list of medical tests a patient has taken. Essentially, it's an official statement of "there's nothing wrong".

There's nothing wrong with Yao. The same can not be said of the "Geisha" in the view of the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV. At present, at least.

When you put a list of events in a printed notice, the "bill" becomes an advertisement, in the form of a poster, or a "billboard". The billboard is sighted everywhere in Beijing, by the street and atop buildings.

This just in:

"Since February 2004, Kansas City, Missouri, has erected 10 billboards with the names and photos of fugitives wanted for murder, along with a phone number for anonymous tips and the lure of cash rewards. Eight of the 10 have been captured, says Sergeant Craig Sarver of the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission, and "seven of those eight have been related directly to the tips from the billboards." (USA Today, February 3, 2006).

Having a vocabulary is basic to any attempt at mastering the English language. Having a flexible and lively vocabulary is a key to effective communication.

In other words, life is good if you are able to "foot all the bills". It is more exciting when you find yourself "billing and cooing" with someone else.

Like birds.

 

About the author:
 

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for future use in this column.

 

中國日報網英語點津版權說明:凡注明來源為“中國日報網英語點津:XXX(署名)”的原創作品,除與中國日報網簽署英語點津內容授權協議的網站外,其他任何網站或單位未經允許不得非法盜鏈、轉載和使用,違者必究。如需使用,請與010-84883631聯系;凡本網注明“來源:XXX(非英語點津)”的作品,均轉載自其它媒體,目的在于傳播更多信息,其他媒體如需轉載,請與稿件來源方聯系,如產生任何問題與本網無關;本網所發布的歌曲、電影片段,版權歸原作者所有,僅供學習與研究,如果侵權,請提供版權證明,以便盡快刪除。
相關文章 Related Story
 
 
 
本頻道最新推薦
 
網癮戒除“訓練營” boot camp
英國新內閣集體減薪 展減財赤決心
Cleaver attack kills 1, injures 5
拼爹游戲 competition of family background
上海世博會“鎮館之寶”英語怎么說?
翻吧推薦
 
論壇熱貼
 
關于工資的英語詞匯大全
關于職業裝的英語詞匯
余光中《尺素寸心》(節選)譯
中國譯協中譯英最新發布各類專業術語直譯
功夫熊貓經典臺詞雙語

 

主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产三级精品三级国产 | 国产欧美一区二区三区视频 | 一级做a爱| 日韩国产免费 | 亚洲精品区在线播放一区二区 | 国产成人微拍精品 | 韩国一级毛片大全女教师 | 国产一毛片 | 亚洲男人的天堂久久无 | 在线观看日本污污ww网站 | 日韩精品久久久免费观看夜色 | 国产高清在线看免费视频观 | 免费国产一级特黄久久 | 香蕉久久a毛片 | 高清精品女厕在线观看 | 日韩欧美在线视频 | 国产午夜精品久久理论片 | 国产成人aa在线观看视频 | 久久一二| 最新亚洲国产有精品 | 国产资源精品一区二区免费 | 国产韩国精品一区二区三区久久 | 一区二区播放 | 女人夜色黄网在线观看 | 日韩午夜片| 国产精品高清全国免费观看 | 在线观看视频国产 | 手机看片亚洲 | 亚洲综合日韩精品欧美综合区 | 国产成人cao在线 | 国内欧美一区二区三区 | 久草在线视频在线 | 国产福利拍拍拍 | 欧美一级爱操视频 | 久久国产美女免费观看精品 | 欧美一区二区三区精品国产 | 三上悠亚免费一区二区在线 | 全国男人的天堂网站 | 男女晚上爱爱的视频在线观看 | 国产成人精品一区二区三在线观看 | 深夜爽爽爽福利动态图 |