（双语文稿）如何提升词汇量（一）

Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we talk about how you can improve your vocabulary.
你好!本周的“问老师”节目，我们将讨论如何提升词汇量。
Question
问题
Many VOA Learning English fans write to us with this question: What is the best way to improve my vocabulary?
许多美国之音英语学习的粉丝写信给我们问这个问题:提升词汇量的最好方法是什么?
Answer
回答
This is a good question, VOA fans.
美国之音的粉丝们，这是个好问题。
Many learners think the best way to improve their vocabulary is to learn the definition of many words. But this is not necessarily the best way to improve. The best way is to fully know a word.
许多学习者认为提高词汇量的最好方法是学习许多单词的释义，但这未必是最好的提升方式，最好的方法是完全了解一个单词。
To know a word, we must know its form, meaning, and usage. Today let's talk about the form of a word. In the coming weeks, we will talk about meaning and usage.
要了解一个单词，我们必须知道它的构成、意义和用法。今天我们来谈谈单词的构成。在接下来的几周，我们将讨论它的含义和用法。
The form of a word can relate to how it sounds, is written and what its parts are. Knowing the sounds of a word includes recognizing it when it is spoken and being able to say it correctly. This includes the individual sounds and also how the sounds may change when people are saying the word quickly. For example,
一个单词的构成与它的发音、书写方式和组成部分有关。了解一个单词的发音包括在它被说出来的时候识别它并能够正确地说出来。这包括单个的发音，以及当人们快速说单词时，这些发音是如何变化的。例如,
It's nice to meet you.
很高兴认识你。
When some people say this sentence at a natural speed, they might make a /ch/ sound at the end of the word "meet" and the beginning of the word "you" although the words' spellings do not suggest this.
当一些人以自然语速说这个句子时，他们可能会在单词“meet”的末尾和单词“you”的开头发出/ch/音，尽管单词的拼写并没有这样的暗示。
This sound change does not affect the meaning of the words. But it might cause you trouble when you are trying to understand the sentence.
这个音的变化并不影响单词的意思，但是当你试图理解这个句子时，它可能会给你带来麻烦。
In English, stress is important to the sound of a word, and it can even decide whether a word is a noun or a verb.
在英语中，重音对一个单词的发音很重要，它甚至可以决定一个单词是名词还是动词。
For example, the word spelled r-e-c-o-r-d can be thought of as two words. When we stress the first part of the word, RE-cord, it is a noun. When we stress the second part of the word, re-CORD, it is a verb. What appears to be one word is really two parts of speech. This is part of knowing what form a word takes.
例如，record这个单词可以被认为是两个单词。当我们重读单词的第一部分RE时，它是一个名词。当我们重读单词的第二部分CORD时，它是一个动词。看似一个词实际上是两个词性。这是了解单词是如何构成的一部分。
The form of a word also involves its parts. It is important to recognize the root word in addition to prefixes or suffixes. These are added beginnings or endings, which change the meaning of the word's root.
一个词的构成也包括它的组成部分。除了前缀或后缀外，重要的是要识别词根。这些添加的开头或结尾会改变单词词根的意思。
For example, knowing that the word "addition" includes recognizing the verb "to add" plus the suffix –t-i-o-n, which suggests a state or an action. Knowing the word "untrue" includes recognizing the base word "true" and the prefix -un, which means "not."
例如，要知道“addition”这个单词就要识别出动词“add”和后缀-t-i-o-n，tion表示一种状态或行为。要知道“untrue”这个词，就必须识别它的词根“true”和前缀“un”，后者的意思是“不”。
When we look at English words in this way, we can see that our vocabulary expands by understanding a word's form.
当我们以这种方式看英语单词时，我们可以看到我们的词汇量通过理解单词的构成而扩大。
As we saw in the word "record," the same word can work as two parts of speech.
正如我们在单词“record”中看到的，同一个单词可以有两种词性。
VOA fans, the best way to improve your vocabulary is to really "know a word," its form, meaning, and usage, not just a definition.
VOA粉丝们，提高词汇量的最好方法是真正“了解一个单词”，了解它的构成、含义和用法，而不仅仅是一个释义。
Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
你有关于美式英语的问题吗?给我们发邮件至learningenglish@voanews.com。
And that's Ask a Teacher.
这就是“问老师”。
I'm Gena Bennett.