VOA慢速英語: 出什么事了？（雙語）

發(fā)生什么事了？

Now, the VOA Learning English program, Words and Their Stories.

這里是美國之音慢速英語的詞語掌故。

The English language has a number of hard-working words. People use these words in many different ways and in many different expressions.

英語中有很多多詞義的詞匯。不同的使用方式、不同的短語中單詞表達的意思也不同。

One such example is the word matter. As a matter of fact, matter can mean just about anything. When talking about science, matter is the material or substance that things are made of.

用“matter”來舉例說一下，實際上，matter 可以指代任何事情。我們談到科學時，matter就是構成萬物的物質。

In fact, matter could be one of the most useful words in the English language. But that is just a matter of opinion. Actually, it is more than that. Matter is one of those words that matter a lot.

實際上，在英語中，matter是最有用的一個詞匯之一。這只是一種觀點而已，不僅僅如此，matter確實是個非常有用的詞匯。

Let us take a minute and really get to the heart of the matter – in other words, let’s get to the most important part. Or it could be what we call a matter of principle.

讓我們花點時間來真正地了解matter的核心內容部分，換句話說，我們進到最重要的部分，或者可以說是原則性的問題。

Let’s say someone claims that you owe them $50. But you don’t. A friend might say, “Well, you could pay him the $50. It’s not that much money. Then you won’t have to hear him complain anymore. But if you do not owe him the money, do not pay him the money. It’s a matter of principle.”

假如有人聲稱你欠他們50美元，但事實上你并沒有欠他們錢。一個朋友或許會說：“好，你給他50美元，錢數(shù)目也不是很多，然后就不用再聽他抱怨你欠他錢了。但是假如你不欠他錢就不用給他錢，這是原則性問題。”

Your friend raises a good point. It’s not the amount of money that is important. It’s a matter of principle.

你的朋友提出一個不錯的觀點，這不是錢多錢少的問題，這是個原則性問題。

Now, let us get back to two more scientific meanings of matter. Scientists say that dark matter makes up most of our universe. And when people talk about gray matter, they are talking about the brain.

現(xiàn)在我們來看看關于matter在科學領域的兩個詞義?？茖W家說黑暗物質是構成宇宙的最主要的物質。人們談論灰白質時，則是指大腦。

Be Careful How You Ask, "What's The Matter With You?"

但是要小心這個詞匯：“你是不是有問題？”

There is another way to use the word matter. But be careful with your choice of words.

單詞matter還有另一種用法，所以要小心詞匯的選擇。

If you ask someone “What’s the matter?” it shows you are concerned about the other person. You usually ask someone “What’s the matter?” if the person looks angry or worried.

如果你問某人“你怎么了？”這表示你關心另一個人。倘若一個人看起來生氣或者擔心，通常你會問“出什么事了？”

But saying, “What’s the matter with you?” has a completely different meaning. And it usually sounds rude or offensive.

但是說：“你是不是有問題？”意思則完全相反，通常包涵粗魯或者冒犯的意思。

In fact, when you say, “What’s the matter with you?” you are not really asking what is wrong with the person. You are suggesting that the individual did something wrong or stupid. So be careful with that one!

實際上，當你說：“你有什么問題？”時，真正的意思不是問這個人出什么事了，你的意思是在暗示別人出了些問題或者做了些蠢事。所以要小心使用這個句子。

Another expression that could sound rude is to say, “It doesn’t matter to me.” Here, it depends on the context, or situation, and how you say it.

另一個聽起來粗魯?shù)谋磉_是：“對我來說沒什么關系。”這取決于語境、情境還有你表達的方式。

Here are two examples. Let’s say you tell someone that a friend just got a big raise at work and will be making a lot more money. That person answers with, “It doesn’t matter to me.” Here, it means he or she does not care. And it sounds rude.

這里有兩個例子。假如你告訴某人：一個朋友剛升職了，會掙更多的錢，那個人就會回答：“這跟我有什么關系。”這里他的意思就是這件事與他無關。而且聽起來有點粗魯。

But saying, “Oh, you pick where we eat dinner. It doesn’t matter to me.” does not sound rude or offensive.

但是說：“你選擇在哪兒吃飯吧，這對我來說都行。”這句話就沒有粗魯或者冒犯的意味了。

In this context and tone of voice, “it doesn’t matter” shows you are easy-going and are willing to do what the other person wants.

這個對話內容中：“怎么著都行”表明你很容易相處，可以遷就別人的意愿。

No matter how you slice it … no matter how you look at it … no matter what you say … matter is a very hard-working word.

不管你怎么你怎么看…不管你怎么想…不管你怎么說…matter 是個使用非常廣泛的詞。

Now, it is time to take matters into your own hands. Try using these expressions with the word matter.

現(xiàn)在需要你自己來掌握一下matter的使用表達。試著用帶matter的詞語來練習。

It’s only a matter of time before you will become an expert on the use of matter. And as for this program … this matter is closed.

只是時間的問題，經過一段時間的練習，你就能熟練使用帶matter的各種短語、句子。今天的節(jié)目就結束了。

You can find more Words and Their Stories on our website,learningenglish.voanews.com. I’m Jonathan Evans.

你可以訪問我們的,learningenglish.voanews.com網站，來學習更多的詞語掌故。我是喬納森·伊凡斯。

And I’m Anna Matteo.

我是安娜·馬特奧。

Go to our website and practice using these matter expressions in the comment section. Or simply practice by saying what matters most to you.

訪問我們的網站，在評論留言版塊用這些有關matter的短語練習?；蛘哂脀hat matters most to you句型說一下對你最重要的事來練習。