This week, we answer a question from a listener in China, who asks:
本周,我们将回答一位中国听众的问题,他问道:
What is the difference between sports and sport?
“sports”和“sport”之间有什么区别?
Dear VOA Fan:
亲爱的美国之音粉丝:
That is an interesting question.
那是个有趣的问题。
I'm sure you know that "sports" can be the plural form of the word "sport."
我相信你知道“sports”是“sport”这个单词的复数形式。
You may not know that we can use the word as a verb or adjective.
你可能并不知道我们可以把这个词用作动词或形容词。
More on that later.
稍后再详细介绍。
The simple answer is that in the United States, we use the noun "sport" to talk about any contest or game that involves physical activity.
答案很简单,在美国,我们用名词“sport”来谈论任何涉及体力活动的竞赛或游戏。
When we talk about "sports" we mean the plural form of the noun.
当我们谈到“sports”时,我们指的是“sport”这个名词的复数形式。
That is how we talk about basketball, football and baseball as a group.
那就是我们把篮球、足球和棒球当作一个组别谈论时的说法。
But if you are in Britain, or you speak British English, you would use the noun "sport" to talk about the same group of activities.
但如果你在英国,或者你说英式英语,你会用名词“sport”来谈论同一组别的活动。
I looked at the BBC News website and their top menu shows "Sport" for the news about Football, Cricket, Tennis, Golf and so on.
我浏览了BBC新闻网站,它们的顶部菜单用“Sports”来表示足球,板球,网球,高尔夫等球类的新闻。
Let's look at some examples. My son is a computer programmer. He says: I am not interested in sports.
让我们来看一些例子。我儿子是个电脑程序员。他说:我对运动不感兴趣(sports)。
A British person who shares my son's opinion would say, I am not interested in sport.
一个和我儿子观点相同的英国人会说:我对运动不感兴趣(sport)。
When getting to know someone new, a British person may ask: Do you do any sport?
当结识新朋友时, 英国人可能会问: 你玩什么运动(sport)?
That does not sound right to my American ears. I would ask, Do you play any sports?
那在我们美国人听来就不太对了。我会问,你玩什么运动(sports)?
You can also use the adjective "sport" to describe something.
你也可以用形容词“sport”来描述某事。
If you do not make money by fishing, that it, you only fish for fun, you are a "sport fisherman."
如果你不通过钓鱼赚钱,也就是说,你钓鱼只是为了好玩,那你就是一个“消遣性钓鱼的人”。
As a verb, "sport" means to wear something.
作为动词,“sport”的意思是穿戴着某物。
It is mostly used when someone is wearing something that is attention-getting.
它主要用于当某人穿戴着引人注目的东西时。
He is sporting a bright blue jacket in the photo.
照片中他穿着一件亮蓝色的夹克。
And that's Ask a Teacher!
以上就是本期《名师答疑》的全部内容!
I'm Jill Robbins.
我是吉尔·罗宾斯。