Grammar and New Year’s Resolutions 语法与新年决心

Grammar and New Year’s Resolutions

语法与新年决心

【听力音频】

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　　By Alice Bryant

　　28 December 2023

　　The New Year comes on different dates for different cultures. And most of the Western world celebrates it on January 1st.

　　One thing many cultures have in common is the idea of New Year's resolutions. A New Year's resolution is a personal goal to change unwanted behavior, make a life improvement, or try something new.

　　In the United States, popular New Year's resolutions often include losing weight, improving your finances, volunteering for an organization, or spending less time on social media.

　　On today's Everyday Grammar, we will show you how to talk about resolutions in English.

　　Asking a question

　　First, let's learn how to ask people about their resolutions.

　　Listen to a short conversation:

　　Hey there, Faith. Happy New Year! Great to see you.

　　Hi, Greg. Happy New Year to you too! How was yours?

　　It was crazy! We went to New York and watched the ball drop in Times Square. It was really crowded and loud – but still really fun.

　　Sweet! Do you have any New Year's resolutions?

　　Faith asked Greg about resolutions simply by saying, "Do you have any New Year's resolutions?"

　　You can also say, "What are your New Year's resolutions?" to ask about more than one or "What is your New Year's resolution?" to ask about one.

　　Now, let's find out how to answer the question.

　　Using phrasal verbs

　　When we make statements about our resolutions, we often use phrasal verbs.

　　We can use the phrasal verb "take up" to say that we will start a new activity as a hobby.

　　Listen to Faith and Greg continue their conversation:

　　Sweet! Do you have any New Year's resolutions?

　　Yes, I do. I plan to take up kickboxing starting next week. I'm excited to finally do it rather than just talk about it! How about you?

　　Another phrasal verb for resolutions is "give up," which is to stop doing or using something. We can use this verb to talk about ending bad habits or changing behavior for a time.

　　Let's hear Faith respond using the verb "give up":

　　How about you?

　　I am giving up sugar for the month of January. Then, for the rest of the year, I'm avoiding soft drinks.

　　Wow! I wish I could join you but the kickboxing class starts soon. I'll probably want some sweets after class!

　　Another phrasal verb, "cut out," has the same basic meaning as "give up." For example, Faith could say, "I am cutting out sugar for the month of January."

　　But in many situations, we do not need phrasal verbs to talk about resolutions, as you will soon see.

　　Using future forms

　　Next, let's talk about verb tenses and forms. Greg talked about his new kickboxing activity using the verb "plan" followed by the infinitive verb form and Faith talked about giving up sugar using the present continuous verb tense, also called "BE + ing."

　　We can also use the simple future tenses: one with "will" and the other with "going to." These tenses are especially useful when the New Year has not come yet.

　　Imagine it's the last week of the year and a few people are talking to each other about resolutions: Here are some things you might hear:

　　In 2024, I'm going to visit my friends every month.

　　By the end of March, I will stop eating sweets.

　　In the new year, I'm going to practice kickboxing every week.

　　When we use simple future tenses to talk about resolutions, we're expressing that we are making a promise to or plan for ourselves. The noun "resolution" comes from the verb "resolve," which means to make a serious decision to do something.

　　Infinitives and gerunds

　　You may have noticed that the statements so far today did not actually use the word "resolution." That is because the subject was already known by the listeners. But it is still perfectly normal to start your statements with, "My New Year's resolution is..." or "My New Year's resolutions are..." An infinitive verb or a gerund must come after these phrases. Here is an example:

　　My New Year's resolution is to call my sister on video every week.

　　The infinitive verb here is "to call."

　　You can also use a gerund, like this:

　　My New Year's resolution is calling my sister on video every week.

　　Well, that's all for today's program. Tell us about your New Year's resolutions in the comments below.

　　Happy New Year!

　　I'm Jill Robbins.

　　Alice Bryant wrote this lesson for Learning English.

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　　作者：Alice Bryant

　　日期：2023年12月28日

　　新年对于不同的文化来说有不同的日期。大部分西方世界在1月1日庆祝新年。

　　许多文化有一个共同的观念，那就是新年决心。新年决心是一个个人目标，旨在改变不希望的行为，改善生活，或尝试新事物。

　　在美国，流行的新年决心常常包括减肥，改善财务状况，为一个组织做志愿者，或减少在社交媒体上的时间。

　　在今天的日常英语语法中，我们将向你展示如何用英语谈论新年决心。

　　提问

　　首先，让我们学习如何询问他人的新年决心。

　　听一段简短的对话：

　　嘿，Faith。新年快乐！很高兴见到你。

　　嗨，Greg。也祝你新年快乐！你的新年过得怎么样？

　　太疯狂了！我们去了纽约，在时代广场看了球掉落。那里人山人海，嘈杂吵闹 - 但仍然非常有趣。

　　太棒了！你有什么新年决心吗？

　　Faith只是简单地问Greg："你有什么新年决心吗？"

　　你也可以说："你的新年决心是什么？"来询问多个决心，或者说："你的新年决心是什么？"来询问一个决心。

　　现在，让我们找出如何回答这个问题。

　　使用短语动词

　　当我们对我们的决心做出陈述时，我们经常使用短语动词。

　　我们可以使用短语动词"take up"来表示我们将开始一个新的活动作为爱好。

　　听Faith和Greg继续他们的对话：

　　太棒了！你有什么新年决心吗？

　　是的，我有。我计划从下周开始学习踢拳。我很兴奋终于能去做，而不只是谈论它！你呢？

　　另一个用于决心的短语动词是"give up"，意思是停止做某事或使用某物。我们可以用这个动词来谈论结束坏习惯或改变一段时间的行为。

　　让我们听听Faith如何使用"give up"这个动词回答：

　　你呢？

　　我打算在一月份戒糖。然后，剩下的一年，我会避免喝软饮料。

　　哇！我希望我能和你一起，但是踢拳课程马上就要开始了。我可能会在课后想吃些甜食！

　　另一个短语动词"cut out"，基本意思和"give up"相同。例如，Faith可以说："我打算在一月份戒糖。"

　　但在许多情况下，我们不需要短语动词来谈论决心，你很快就会看到。

　　使用未来形式

　　接下来，让我们谈谈动词时态和形式。Greg用动词"plan"后面跟不定式动词形式谈论他的新踢拳活动，Faith用现在进行时谈论她戒糖，也叫"BE + ing"。

　　我们也可以使用简单的未来时态：一个是用"will"，另一个是用"going to"。这些时态在新年还没到来时特别有用。

　　想象一下，现在是年末的最后一周，有几个人在谈论他们的新年决心：你可能会听到一些这样的话：

　　在2024年，我打算每个月去看望我的朋友。

　　到三月底，我会停止吃甜食。

　　在新的一年，我打算每周练习踢拳。

　　当我们使用简单的未来时态来谈论决心时，我们正在表达我们对自己的承诺或计划。名词"resolution"来自动词"resolve"，意思是做出决定去做某事。

　　不定式和动名词

　　你可能已经注意到，今天到目前为止的陈述实际上并没有使用"resolution"这个词。那是因为听众已经知道了主题。但是，以"My New Year's resolution is..."或"My New Year's resolutions are..."开始你的陈述仍然完全正常。这些短语后面必须跟一个不定式动词或一个动名词。这是一个例子：

　　我的新年决心是每周通过视频给我姐姐打电话。

　　这里的不定式动词是"to call"。

　　你也可以使用动名词，像这样：

　　我的新年决心是每周通过视频给我姐姐打电话。

　　好的，今天的节目就到这里。在下面的评论区告诉我们你的新年决心。

　　新年快乐！

　　我是Jill Robbins。

　　这节课是Alice Bryant为Learning English写的。

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　　本文中的词汇

　　conversation – n.两个人或一小群人进行的非正式谈话

　　phrasal verb – n. 一组作为动词功能的词，由动词和介词或副词，或两者都有组成

　　habit – n. 人们经常以规律和重复的方式做的事情

　　tense – n. 用来表示动作发生时间的动词形式