VOA慢速英语2019--Trust or Believe?

This week we answer a question from Reza in Bangladesh. Reza writes:

Question:

"Trust me" or "believe me?"

When I try to make my friend understand I am right with what I say, which one should I use of these two phrases²?

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Answer:

Dear Reza,

Thank you for your question.

You can use either word to try to persuade your friend. But whether or not your friend accepts what you say likely depends on how long you have known³ each other. Trust usually comes with time.

Let's look at an example.

You tell your friend, "Believe me, I know how to pick the best-winning football team."

Here, you are using "believe me" to add force to your point. But in order to really convince⁴ your friend, you will likely have to show a few examples of how you have been right in the past. Until you prove it, he might not trust that you know what you are talking about.

Here is another example:

Your friend sells bicycles for a living. You know she is an expert on the subject. Her experience means⁵ your trust her opinon when she takes you to buy a bicycle.

"Reza," she says, "trust me, this is a really good bike for the price. If I were you, I would buy it."

She is also using "trust me" to add force to her point. But here, she is suggesting that you do not need to verify⁶, or check, to see if what she says is true. She has already earned your trust.

So your response may be:

"I trust you! If you think this bike is a good deal, then I am ready to buy it. I want it in red!"

We hope you trust us to answer your questions in Ask a Teacher!

Words in This Story

phrase¹ – n. a brief expression

convince – v. to cause (someone) to believe that something is true

1 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。

2 phrases   

n.短语( phrase的名词复数 )；成语；说法；乐句

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

4 convince   

vt.使确认，使信服；使认识错误

参考例句：

• It requires a lot of talking to convince him.要说服他很费口舌。
• I have given over trying to convince him.我已经不再试图说服他了。

5 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

6 verify   

vt.核实，查对；证明，证实

参考例句：

• Men were sent out to verify whether it was true. 几个人被派去查清事实。
• We will verify this with a copy of payment schedule.我们将按付款程序的副本进行核实。