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韦博国际英语首页

English, you have to say!

电子产品更新速度太快，果然是日新月异，今天的所谓高端新技术还是可望而不可及，明天它就已经是过失淘汰产品了！

Grace: This product’s selling point is its advanced technology.

这个产品的卖点是采用了先进的技术。

Helen: Unfortunately, it’s just too expensive for the majority of consumers to afford.

遗憾的是，这种产品太贵了，大多数消费者都买不起。

Grace: Why is the price so high?

价格为什么那么高？

Helen: It’s not just that the price is high, it’s that the overhead to update an entire computer system to be compatible is costly.

不是价格高，而是更新整个电脑系统兼容性的费用太高了。

Grace: Modern computers aren’t compatible?

现代电脑都与它不兼容吗？

Helen: Most current computer systems simply can’t handle it because this model truly has extraordinary capabilities.

因为这种产品确实需要特别的兼容性能，因此目前大多数电脑根本没法使用。

Grace: Maybe after the next generation of technology comes out, the price of this model will become more affordable.

也许下一代技术推出后，这种产品的价格就更容易让人承受得起了。

Helen: But by then, the technology will be outdated.

可是到那个时候，这个技术也过时了。

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English Kaleidoscope

Fence

There once was a boy who had a temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

从前，有一个小男孩，脾气很坏。他的父亲给了他一袋钉子，并且告诉他，每次他发脾气的时候，他就在栅栏的背面钉进一个钉子。

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks as he learned to control his anger the number of nails hammered gradually dwindled down.

第一天，男孩钉了37个钉子在那个栅栏上。接下来的几个礼拜，随着他开始学会控制自己的愤怒，他钉钉子的数量也逐渐减少了。

He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive nails into the fence.

他发现，控制自己的脾气要比钉钉子容易得多。

Finally the day came when he didn't lose his temper. He told his father and his father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his anger. The days passed and the boy told his father that all the nails were gone.

终于有那么一天，他没有发脾气。他把这件事告诉了他的父亲。他父亲建议男孩从现在开始，每当他控制住他的脾气一次，就拔出一颗钉子。一段时间之后，男孩告诉他的父亲，所有钉子已经都拔出来了。

The father took the boy by the hand and led him to the fence. He said look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same, when you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like the ones on the fence. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. it won't matter how many times you say I am sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are very rare. they make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, and always want to open their hearts to us.

父亲牵着男孩的手，带他来到了栅栏旁边。他说，看看栅栏上留下的洞吧。这个栅栏再也不可能恢复到当初了，你生气时候说出的话，也会在别人心里留下伤疤，正如钉子留在这个栅栏上的伤疤一样。如果你将一把刀子插入一个人的身体之后再拔出来，那么无论你说多少次对不起，那个伤口都留在那了。言语的伤害与身体伤害一样严重。朋友难能可贵，他们令你欢笑，鼓励你成功。他们乐于倾听，而且愿意向我们敞开心扉！

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Live and Learn

Be careful with the question How are you? Both in the United States and Britain, don’t be surprised if when you ask How are you?, people respond with exactly the same question: How are you? Americans and Britons often use How are you? simply as a friendly greeting. When they say How are you? they are not usually asking about your health, and they don’t expect a detailed or truthful answer.

在使用How are you？时，一定要注意。无论在美国还是英国，若你用How are you？来问候别人，而对方竟然也以How are you？作答时，千万不要觉得奇怪。对英美人而言，How are you？不是在提出一个问题，而是一句简单的问候语，人们在使用时，通常并非是询问对方的健康状况，因此被问候者无需像回答问题一样作出详细准确的说明。

Hi-English往期回顾

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