20091119 English - What a Language (1)

English - What a Language!

English is a strange language - and some parts of it are stranger than others

Anyone who has attempted to learn the Endlish language knows its inherent difficulty. Some of it makes no sense at all - rules that apply in one situation do not apply in another. Apparent opposites can actually mean the same thing!
Take these words and phrases for example:

- A house can burn up as it burns down because burn up means to consume and burn down means to destroy.

- Fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing. Both mean little chance of something happening although the former is more of slang usage.

- Flammable and inflammable mean the same thing. We now see flammable written on vehicles carrying combustible material, so it's clear the contents can burst into flames.


Perhaps people make the assumption that the prefix in- means not; whereas, in inflammable, it actually means into.

- Look and see mean almost the same thing also, but overlook and oversee are opposites.
- An alarm clock goes off by going on.
- We recite at a play but play at a recital.
- People come from up north and down south, but neverfrom left west or right east.
- Cleave can mean both split apart and stick together. There is neither pine nor apple in pineapple, and there is no sense in English!



inherent adj. 固有的/與生俱來的
=> a natural part of it
eg: People appreciate the inherent beauty of Chinese characters.
eg: This actor seems to have an inherent talent for capturing his audiences' attention.
eg: There are several inherent weaknesses in the computer system that need to be improved.

assumption n. 假定/設想/擔任/承擔
eg: Don't make the assumption that Frank is not a good worker - find out for sure.

recital n. 背誦/朗誦/當眾吟誦/獨奏會/獨唱會
=> a performance of some kind
eg: Everyone enjoyed Buth's piano porformance at the recital.

recite v. 背誦/朗誦
=> say something

cleave v. 切開/劈開/
eg: The cook used a large knife to cleave the chicken breast in two.
eg: A man and his wife should cleave together and rely on one another.
eg: He used an ax to cleave a long in half.
eg: The butcher cleaved the bone and added it to the soup for flavor.

cleave v. 緊緊地抓住/堅手
eg: Mary cleaves to the principles of fairness and honesty.

fragile adj. 易碎的
combustible adj. 易燃的
=> can burn and provide heat/power
eg: The combustible materials need to be stored separately in a colder temperature.
eg: Gasoline vapor is very combustible, so all gas stations forbid smoking.


overlook v. 看漏/忽略
=> miss the detail
overlook + Ving
eg: My calculation was wrong because I overlooked one tiny point.

oversee 監視/監督/管理/看
=> in charge of a project or a group of people

go off (警報、鬧鐘)突然響起
go on 持續運作

//== Chat Room ==//

hot or cold

slow down 慢一點/慢下來
= slow up 慢上來

hot adj. 時髦的
cool adj. 時髦的

colorfast adj. 不褪色的
=> the colors don't run
run 流失

trim v. 修剪
=> take off a little bit
eg: trim one's nail 剪指甲

trim a Christmas tree
=> 裝飾點綴聖誕飾





//== Grammar on the Go ==//

Perhaps people make the assumption that the prefix in- means not; whereas, in inflammable, it actually means into.
=> the first idea: Perhaps people make the assumption that the prefix in- means, "not"
=> the second idea: in "inflammable" it actually means "into."
=> These two ideas contrasts each other
=> so the writer just the conjection "whereas" to join the two ideas together

whereas
=> contrast two different ideas

eg: Martha loves to go shopping on weekends, whereas her sister prefers to stay at home.
eg: Thomas spends three hours every night doing his homework, whereas his roommate usually spends less than 30 minutes.