VOA慢速英语2021 名师答疑：strong的用法

This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Jack¹ who is in China.

本周的名师答疑节目，我们回复来自中国的杰克提出的一个问题。

Hello! We use the word "strong" to describe a person and a team. Can we use it to describe a country? 

你好，我们用strong这个词来形容一个人或一支团队。我们能用它来形容一个国家吗？

Dear Jack,

亲爱的杰克，

As you know, "strong" is an adjective². It describes something that has power or something that cannot easily be broken, damaged or destroyed.

正如你所知，strong是一个形容词。它用于描述具有力量，或是不容易被破坏、损坏或毁坏的东西。

You are right. English speakers use the word "strong" to describe a person or a team. We can also use it to describe a country. However, describing something with the adjective "strong" does not necessarily³ mean it is good. Strong can describe things that are good or bad.

你是对的。讲英语的人士用strong来形容一个人或一支团队。我们也可以用它来形容一个国家。然而，用strong来形容某个事物并一定就意味着它是好的。Strong这个单词可以用于描述好的或坏的（品质）。

In fact, almost anything can be strong. For example, people can be strong. But things like teeth, bones and muscles⁴ can be strong too. The wind can be strong. Here is an example:

实际上，几乎任何东西都可以用strong来形容。例如，我们可以说人很强壮。但是也可以说牙齿、骨骼和肌肉很强壮。也可以说风很大。例如：

The weather report says there will be strong winds tomorrow.

天气预报说明天会有大风。

"Strong" can describe feelings also. You can have a strong feeling about someone, some event or issue⁵. You may even feel you know what may happen in the future, like this:

Strong话也可以用于描述情感。你可能会对某人、某些事件或问题具有强烈的感觉。你甚至可能认为自己知道未来可能会发生什么，例如：

I have a strong feeling about our team winning⁶ the championship.

我有强烈预感我们团队会赢得冠军。

"Strong" can also be used to describe bad qualities. For example, imagine you painted a room and your friend comes in and says:

Strong也可以用于描述不好的品质。例如，假设你给一个房间刷好漆，你的朋友走进来说：

The paint smell is too strong. Open the window, please!

油漆味太浓了。请打开窗户！

"Strong" can mean something that is hard to fight against. Many students might understand this example:

Strong能表示难以抗拒的事物。许多学生可能会理解以下示例：

When I sit in the classroom for a long time, I have a strong desire to sleep.

当我在教室里坐了很久，我强烈渴望睡觉。

So, the adjective "strong" can be used to describe good things and bad ones, too.

所以，strong这个形容词可以用于描述好事，也可以用于描述坏事。

Well, Jack, we hope this helps to answer your question.

好的，杰克，希望这有助于解答你的疑问。

And to our listeners⁷ everywhere, what question do you have about American English? Send us an email at [email protected].

对于世界各地的听众，你对美式英语有什么疑问？请发邮件至 [email protected]。

And that's Ask a Teacher!

以上就是本期名师答疑节目的全部内容。

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 adjective   

n.形容词；adj.形容词的，用作形容词的

参考例句：

• Don't apply that adjective to me.不要用那个字眼来形容我。
• The adjective loose has several senses. 形容词loose有几个义项。

3 necessarily   

adv.必要地，必需地；必定地，必然地

参考例句：

• More work does not necessarily call for more men.增加工作量不一定就要增添人员。
• A voter must necessarily be no younger than eighteen.选民必须在18岁以上。

4 muscles   

n.肌肉( muscle的名词复数 )；（操纵他人的）力量；权力；肌肉组织

参考例句：

• I must take some exercise and loosen up my muscles. 我必须活动活动使肌肉放松些。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gosh! My muscles is going to ache all over tomorrow. 哎呀！明天我全身肌肉都会痛了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 issue   

n.出版，发行，（报刊等）期、号，论点，问题，结果， （水，血等的）流出；vt.使流出，放出，发行（钞票等），发布（命令），出版（书等）发给；vi.发行，流出，造成...结果，进行辩护，传下

参考例句：

• I bought the book the day after its issue.这书出版后的第一天，我就去买了它。
• I'll support her down the line on that issue.在那个问题上我将全力支持她。

6 winning   

adj.获胜的，胜利的；吸引人的，有说服力的

参考例句：

• Team A has no chance of winning.A队没有获胜的可能。
• They have great hopes of winning.他们获胜的希望极大。

7 listeners   

n.倾听者，收听者( listener的名词复数 )；听众

参考例句：

• the demographics of radio listeners 电台听众统计数据
• The singer's high notes jarred on the ears of her listeners. 那位歌手的高音让听众们觉得刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》