您現(xiàn)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(wǎng)英語點津版權(quán)說明:凡注明來源為“中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津:XXX(署名)”的原創(chuàng)作品,除與中國日報網(wǎng)簽署英語點津內(nèi)容授權(quán)協(xié)議的網(wǎng)站外,其他任何網(wǎng)站或單位未經(jīng)允許不得非法盜鏈、轉(zhuǎn)載和使用,違者必究。如需使用,請與010-84883631聯(lián)系;凡本網(wǎng)注明“來源:XXX(非英語點津)”的作品,均轉(zhuǎn)載自其它媒體,目的在于傳播更多信息,其他媒體如需轉(zhuǎn)載,請與稿件來源方聯(lián)系,如產(chǎn)生任何問題與本網(wǎng)無關(guān);本網(wǎng)所發(fā)布的歌曲、電影片段,版權(quán)歸原作者所有,僅供學習與研究,如果侵權(quán),請?zhí)峁┌鏅?quán)證明,以便盡快刪除。
    相關(guān)文章 Related Story
     
     
     
    本頻道最新推薦
     
    網(wǎng)癮戒除“訓練營” boot camp
    英國新內(nèi)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(zhèn)館之寶”英語怎么說?
    翻吧推薦
     
    論壇熱貼
     
    關(guān)于工資的英語詞匯大全
    關(guān)于職業(yè)裝的英語詞匯
    余光中《尺素寸心》(節(jié)選)譯
    中國譯協(xié)中譯英最新發(fā)布各類專業(yè)術(shù)語直譯
    功夫熊貓經(jīng)典臺詞雙語

     

    一本色道无码不卡在线观看| 无码专区6080yy国产电影| 亚洲免费日韩无码系列| 国产啪亚洲国产精品无码 | 久久久无码精品亚洲日韩蜜臀浪潮| av一区二区人妻无码| 成人午夜精品无码区久久| 制服丝袜中文字幕在线| 丰满人妻AV无码一区二区三区| 精品欧洲av无码一区二区14| 精品久久久久中文字幕日本| 久久久精品无码专区不卡 | 蜜桃成人无码区免费视频网站| 最近中文字幕完整版资源| 亚洲中文字幕无码一去台湾| 东京热无码av一区二区| 亚洲中文字幕无码久久综合网| а√天堂中文官网8| 国产精品中文久久久久久久| 无码人妻AⅤ一区二区三区水密桃| 无码永久免费AV网站| 日韩精品无码一区二区视频| 日韩精品久久无码人妻中文字幕| 四虎成人精品国产永久免费无码| 国产三级无码内射在线看| 无码中文人妻在线一区二区三区| 中文字幕人妻无码系列第三区| 中文字幕毛片| 久久久99精品成人片中文字幕 | 精品欧洲AV无码一区二区男男| 最近免费2019中文字幕大全| 亚洲中文字幕在线乱码| 亚洲av无码成人精品区| 亚洲Av无码国产情品久久| 免费无码婬片aaa直播表情| 精品无码综合一区| 免费无码国产V片在线观看| 久久久无码精品午夜| 亚洲一区无码精品色| 亚洲精品无码日韩国产不卡?V| 亚洲AV中文无码乱人伦在线视色|