内容简介

当我们想描述一样东西 “值一大笔钱” 的时候，应该用单词 “worth” 还是 “worthy”？这个问题涉及到 “worth” 和 “worthy” 在表达 “值得……” 这个含义时的区别。单词 “worth” 通常强调 “具有一定价值”，而 “worthy” 则通常强调 “配得上某个价值或地位”。听节目，跟主持人 Georgie 和步理一起学习单词 “worth” 和 “worthy” 的用法。

文字稿

（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）

Buli
大家好，欢迎收听 BBC 英语教学的 “你问我答” 节目。We are here to answer your questions about English language, culture and life. I'm Buli, and to help me answer this week's question, I have Georgie here!

Georgie
Hi, Buli. How's it going?

Buli
I'm very well, thank you. So, let's hear the question.

Question
你好，请问 “worth” 和 “worthy” 在意义和用法上有什么区别？

Buli
问题中提到的这两个单词都和 “value（价值）” 有关，因此在使用中也确实容易混淆。其中，“worth” 的意思是 “值得……”，强调 “某物具有一定的实际或抽象价值”。而 “worthy” 的意思则是 “应得的，配得上的”，强调 “某人或某物的能力、品质或价值配得上他人的尊敬或者某项荣誉等等”。

Georgie
Well, Buli, I think this is a worthy question!

Buli
Yes. And I think answering it will be worth our time.

Georgie
Well, let's go straight in with those examples we just gave about the question. I said it was a worthy question – that means that the question deserves attention. 'Worthy' can also mean that something deserves respect or praise. Can you give us another example, Buli?

Buli
Yes, imagine an athlete wins first place in her race. She has worked and trained incredibly hard all her life. You'd probably say she is a worthy winner – she deserves to win.

Georgie
Good example. Now, the word 'worth' is more about what you will gain from something – often monetary value, but in my example, it's educational value. I said answering the question will be worth it because our listeners will gain knowledge. The word 'it' in the phrase 'worth it' refers to the cost, in other words, the time and effort to make this programme.

Buli
Another example of something being worth it – I went hiking at the weekend and it was raining, and it was really hard, but the views were totally worth the effort!

Georgie
Let's look at another example where we can compare these words together. Buli, my grandmother has a really old, very special sculpture in her house. It's worth thousands of pounds, and some experts have said it's worthy of a place in the National Gallery.

Buli
Right, so 'it's worth thousands of pounds' – here we're talking about the monetary value. And, 'worthy of a place in the National Gallery', which means the sculpture deserves respect and recognition.

Georgie
Now, how to use the term, starting with 'worthy'. 'Worthy' is a typical adjective – the athlete is worthy of the win. She is a worthy winner.

Buli
Yes, now 'worth' can be an adjective and is followed by a noun – the sculpture is worth a lot of money, or gerund form – the hike was worth doing. It can also be a noun – the sculpture has a lot of worth. 你正在收听的是 BBC 英语教学的 “你问我答” 节目。刚才，我和 Georgie 讨论了两个容易混淆的单词 “worth” 和 “worthy” 的用法。首先，“worthy” 是一个形容词，意思是 “值得的，应得的”。我们可以用 “worthy” 来形容某人或者某样东西 “配得上金钱、地位或者他人的尊敬等等具体或抽象的价值”。比如，我们可以说 “She's worthy of first prize.（她配得上一等奖。）” 或者 “Tom is a worthy judge.（汤姆是一个值得尊敬的法官。）”

而单词 “worth” 的意思是 “值得……的” 或者 “具有……价值的”，需要后接名词或者动名词。比如 “This vase is worth a lot of money.（这个花瓶值一大笔钱。）” 除此之外，“worth” 也可以作抽象名词，意思就是 “价值”。

Georgie
Now, an extra, related word to make this programme even more worth it for our listeners, – 'worthwhile'. It's an adjective which means that something is useful and worth the time, money or effort spent doing something.

Buli
是的。还有一个跟 “worth” 和 “worthy” 有关的单词是形容词 “worthwhile”。我们可以用 “worthwhile” 来形容 “一件物品或者一件事情是值得的，配得上为了获得或完成它所付出的时间、努力或金钱等等”。

Well, I think this programme has been extremely worthwhile, don't you think?

Georgie
Absolutely! And that's it for this week. Remember, if you have a question that you'd like us to answer, you can email us too at: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk.

Buli
你也可以通过微博向我们提问。我们的微博账号是 “BBC英语教学”。Bye!

Georgie
Bye!