张道真编《现代英语用法词典》阅读体会

badnumber

作者在序言里说：“这书如何使用，不同人可作不同考虑......一般来说，通读一遍是有好处的，虽然不可能都记住，但可以留下较深印象，以后查考比较方便，在运用语言时可比较自觉。阅读时不宜象看小说一样一溜而过，最好是细嚼慢咽不抢速度。如果可能的话，还可把某些例句译为汉语进行对比。要发展听说及写作能力的人，最好做些记忆工作，以加深印象......”我就照他说的，通读了一遍。这套书共5本，5000多页，如果真象他说的那样“细嚼慢咽不抢速度”，恐怕要好几年才能读完。我没那个耐心，只是走马观花“一溜而过”，即使是这样，还是花了将近两星期才读完。是否留下“较深印象”不敢说，倒是有些体会值得一说。
这本词典最大的特色就是例句多。例句对于理解词汇的确切含义和用法确实有很大帮助。记得我对common和ordinary，accurate和precise的区别，就完全是通过研读多条例句而理解的。但是光有例句也不行，总还要先知道词的释义。这本辞典的释义用的是中文，对于某些名词，中文释义简明扼要，比英文释义方便，但是对于动词和形容词就不好说了。
中文和英文几乎完全对应的例子不是没有，比如：
命悬一线When he was ill, his life hung by a thread.
这就是几乎完全对应，用中文释义并不影响理解。
) t% S* k- ~8 {% }9 y. \但这样的例子毕竟是少数。比如论持久战on protracted war，这个protract如果光从中文释义来理解，恐怕就不够precise了。这时候就要查英语释义了，比如韦氏的解释是to prolong in time or space : CONTINUE。
0 [+ D  z2 u2 x; f* k这个解释应该既accurate又precise了吧，但看了这个释义，或者背熟了这个释义甚至连同例句，你就真的理解了，能用了？我是还感觉似懂非懂的。
" N0 W/ c6 Y! v5 K. `: d问题出在哪里？就是没有“感觉”。回想学习汉语的经验，那些词汇是怎么掌握的？最初或许是在课本上学到的，似懂非懂，然后在练习中，考试中用到，即使做对了，但自己写文章，仍然没有把握用。一直要到某天在某本书上看到一个例句，严格说是在某个段落，某个故事，总之是比句子更大的context里看到这个词，忽然“有感觉”了，从此，才算真正理解，并能运用了。
; D) {' r. S* P) R# B: r所以我觉得学活用词汇，光是中文释义不够，加上英文释义，也不够，加上例句，也不够，需要更大的context，争取接触多了，在某个context中忽然获得了“感觉”，这才能掌握。
先说这些，有机会再写。

1209991128

为啥我看到的只有一本1000多页的？哪里来的五本？

pan

I recommend a more ... practical way of practicing your English.

; |1 D$ H4 U- N' {4 ^) N4 qWrite whatever you want to say in English. Be it your feelings about relationship with your boy/girlfriend, your regret about a mistake you made, or in this case, your review of a book that you think is worth the time.
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Try it, and you'll enjoy it.

) Y5 R+ o9 x- J2 CPan.

218218

1209991128 发表于 2021-2-19 12:01
. }( {7 z5 M* G* S0 {' l为啥我看到的只有一本1000多页的？哪里来的五本？

1 [8 s5 _2 x; q& P6 v老版的是5本

1209991128

218218 发表于 2021-2-21 15:32
7 d# l7 Z2 P5 I' c8 K, r老版的是5本

* L  R" O5 W, P7 _3 O7 O( `. Y新版好像只有英文例句，没有中文译文？

ksandkm

新版好像只有英文例句，没有中文译文？

littlebush123

有没有电子版的？张道真也是海归一枚，那个年代的学者，治学普遍很严谨，应该还是靠谱的

badnumber

pan 发表于 2021-2-21 08:53
I recommend a more ... practical way of practicing your English.
; W5 R0 b/ e6 c1 |1 R
Write whatever you want to say in ...

) {& Z3 N$ f( m; V: O- sThank you for your comment. "Once upon a time", I kept a short diary every day for around half a year. But it didn't seem to significantly improve my written English. Later I found out it's because my vocabulary, not words that I can only recognize but words that I can use in speaking and writing, was still limited. So writing practice alone is not enough to improve my writing. That's why I attempted to enlarge my "working" vocabulary in a couple of ways, including reading word usage dictionaries. But it didn't seem to work. Now I'm exploring more ways.

badnumber

littlebush123 发表于 2021-2-27 15:07
; r7 x/ {" G6 ~  N) {. m有没有电子版的？张道真也是海归一枚，那个年代的学者，治学普遍很严谨，应该还是靠谱的 ...

论坛里有扫描版（重排本，5000多页缩印为1700多页）

pan

badnumber 发表于 2021-2-28 22:23
  l2 `% \! O: O* ^Thank you for your comment. "Once upon a time", I kept a short diary every day for around half a y ...

Hi Badnumber,
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It's a nice surprise to receive a message that is written in English here. I had decided not to participate in any discussions, but your message made me change my mind.
7 E/ E" i7 Z, d+ o3 u; m/ H9 ~
# b" l2 D* O2 `9 t, cIn my previous message I meant to point out that one has to keep using what he learns in everyday communications; that's how we keep the language fresh and alive. By "using the language" I referred to chatting with others, by way of voice chatting or "thumbs-chatting", and by writing on a forum such as this one. It's different from reading and hearing all by yourself. I am not saying reading and listening is not important; it's just that you still have to strike a balance between "inhaling" and "exhaling".

4 e/ L* `1 e! t2 E( ]& _8 M3 I; T  WThat explains for your frustration about keeping a diary-writing habit not being the most helpful way. Writing a diary is still helpful, actually, but that is hardly better than a monologue, a soliloquy; you're your own audience. Therefore, the solution to that issue is staring us in the face: talk to or write to someone, rather than yourself, someone who can talk you back or write you back, preferrably a native English speaker. Go as deep into the subject as your English would allow. You will practice what you have learned, and will pick up new expressions along the way.
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$ R5 ~' N$ W/ e' u2 iAnyway, it's my humble learning experience talking. It has worked for me like a charm, and I hope you'll find it helpful, too.

Pan.

badnumber

pan 发表于 2021-3-1 08:50
1 C  z% y7 S9 Z6 wHi Badnumber,
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+ y4 D$ f8 d/ Y! y; W6 PIt's a nice surprise to receive a message that is written in English here. I had d ...

, O$ C! a- c0 [8 c3 V( YI think you have a point in the importance of communicating with others in English rather than a monologue.
Actually I have to use English in my daily work and I think my English is sufficient to deal with the routines. But I know my English is just a bit above the elementary level and would like to make it better, not for materialistic purpose but just for kind of self-satisfaction. Or I may say that I don't quite like English, but after all I did spend a lot of time learning that, which somehow ties me with English.

pan

Well, from the way you delve so deep in those heavy tomes, I'd say you seem to have a passion in English.

! ~/ n6 T6 X9 |" u' L4 H. OI can say unabashedly that I love the language, but I balk at the idea of poring over such books. :D

Anyway, whatever tickles your fancy.

$ `) x" D* C: k  GPan.