英語短文：
　　To “get by” in a language it takes a vocabulary of about 120 basic words. Anne Merritt explains how to learn them.

　　若想把一門外語說得“湊合得過去”，至少需要掌握120個基本單詞。語言學家Anne Merritt 向我們解釋該如何學習這些單詞。

　　When trying to learn a foreign language, most of us have the same complaint: “I’m just not good at memorising.” Learning new vocabulary can be daunting, especially for busy adults whose minds are already occupied with work, family, and other responsibilities.

　　我們中的絕大部分人，對于學習一門新語言都有相同的抱怨：“我記性不好。”的確，學習新詞匯是挺讓人望而生畏的，尤其對于那些已經被工作、家庭和其他責任占領了全部心思的成年人來說。

　　A comfort? Linguists say that to “get by” in a language, such as directing a taxi or asking for a phone number, it takes a vocabulary of about 120 basic words. It’s a manageable goal, and a firm foundation for beginners. Here are eight tips for getting there:

　　令人安慰的消息來了：語言學家表示，想把一門語言說得勉強能湊合著用，比如能基本滿足跟出租車司機指路、問別人要電話號碼這樣的事，只需要掌握120個基本詞匯就行。這是個可以達到的目標，同時對于初學者而言，也是堅實的基礎。若想達到以下目標，我們提供了8個小貼士：

　　1. Set realistic goals

　　確定比較現實的目標

　　Forget the long vocabulary study sheets, or reading the dictionary. Experts say that learners are capable or retaining 10-20 words per study hour. If you do 15 minutes of self-study per day, set a weekly vocabulary goal of 20-25 words and phrases. That’s only six weeks until the 120-word “survival kit” is learned and memorised.

　　把詞匯書、厚字典先扔到一邊兒去吧。專家認為，每人每小時能夠掌握10-20個單詞。如果你每天都學習15分鐘，那么可以把每周計劃單詞量設置為20-25個生詞及詞組。這樣一來，只需要6個禮拜，你就能學會并牢記住那120個“生存必備單詞”啦。

　　2. Cluster

　　使用分組記憶法

　　Those one-word-a-day language learning apps may feel convenient, but thematically, they’re all over the place, delivering a chain of unrelated words: envelope, tired, January, receive, onion. Focus on a single theme each week. The mind naturally clusters connected words together, so learning, say, types of weather in one lesson, and parts of the body the next, works in tune with your brain’s natural system for classifying information.

　　有些“一日一詞”之類的語言學習類應用可能看著挺方便，但實際上呢，他們雜亂無章地把一堆毫無聯系的詞匯擺到你面前，比如：信封、疲憊、一月、接受、洋蔥等等。不如一周只學習一個主題。這樣就可以把相關的詞匯連起來，一起記憶。比如，第一節課，你可以只學習與“天氣”有關的單詞;下一次課呢，學習“身體部位”……如此這般，你的大腦會自然而然地將信息分類。

　　3. Avoid opposites

　　不要用“反義詞法”來記憶

　　It might seem logical to study opposites together: hot/cold, expensive/cheap. It isn't. A learning hiccup called 'cross association' can occur, when you learn two words so closely together you end up mixing them up. If a Spanish student learns 'always' (siempre) and 'never' (nunca) together, they might later draw on one word when they mean to use the other. Instead, study the more common word first (eg: deep) and, once it’s retained, learn its opposite (shallow).

　　看上去，似乎記憶反義詞是挺不錯的學習方法：冷/熱、昂貴/便宜。其實不然，它會導致“聯想混淆”，讓你把兩個總是一起記憶的單詞混到一塊兒去了。假如一個西班牙學生學英語，把”always永遠”(西語：siempre)和”never從不”(西語：nunca)放在一起記憶，他很可能會在對話中使用與其本意相反的那個詞。我們應該先學習常用的詞匯，比如“deep”(深);等掌握了它，再學反義詞“shallow”(淺)。

　　4. Dissect new words

　　剖析生詞

　　When encountering a new word, take a look at its structure. Many words consist of prefixes and suffixes, and an understanding of these parts of speech is advantageous. The French word désagréable, for example, contains the negating prefix dés- and the adjective-forming suffix –able. Studying these affixes can help you to understand conjugation and structure, and make educated guesses when encountering new vocabulary.

　　看到一個生詞，就該先琢磨它的結構。很多詞匯都有前綴/后綴，一旦掌握了這些前后綴，對辨識詞義的幫助極大。比如法語詞匯“désagréable”中含有否定義的前綴“dés-”和表形容詞屬性的后綴“-able”。學會這些綴詞能幫你理解詞形、結構，以及正確推測出生詞的含義。

　　5. Read, read, read

　　要閱讀，閱讀，再閱讀

　　Reading helps you revisit learned vocabulary, and see those words in new sentences and contexts. One excellent source of foreign language exposure is through graded readers, which are designed specifically for language learners. Another good source is advertisements or menus, which tend to use short, colloquial text.

　　因為閱讀能使你重逢學過的單詞，并用全新的句子和語境展現出來。分階讀本是很棒的選擇，因為它們專為語言學習者設計。廣告和菜單也很不錯，因為它們都使用了簡短而通俗的詞句。

　　6. Visualise

　　可視化

　　One mnemonic learning trick for new vocabulary is the Keyword Method. Drawing on a similar-sounding word in your native language, visualise a picture or scene to go with the new vocabulary. For example, on a trip to Moscow, I remembered the Russian formal hello, “Zdravstvujtye” (Здравствуйте) with the mental image of a stressed vulture. These visualisations are often abstract, ridiculous, and embarrassing to admit, but they work, especially for longer words.

　　生詞的記憶方法中，有一個叫“關鍵詞記憶法”。把你的母語中發音相近的單詞寫下來，然后想象其代表的形象，從而記憶生詞。舉個例子，我去莫斯科旅行的時候，學會了俄羅斯語的“你好”-“Zdravstvujtye” (Здравствуйте)，因為英語中的“vulture”(禿鷹)跟它發音很像，我只需把重音放在后面就可以了。這些可視化的記憶方法通常很抽象、也很無厘頭，甚至有點讓人羞于承認，但確實很有效果，尤其對于冗長的生詞來說。

　　7. Focus on phrases

　　注重短語學習

　　Linguist Michael Lewis encourages language learning in lexical chunks, rather than on a word-by-word basis. A good portion of daily communication involves predictable common phrases: “turn left,” “just a minute,” “nice to meet you.” When studying a new language, memorise these phrases and you'll have a ready arsenal of dialogue, without the stress of having to build and conjugate your sentences from scratch.

　　語言學家Michael Lewis 鼓勵學生們用詞塊學語言，而不是一個詞兒一個詞兒地學。日常對話中，有極大一部分都是常用短語，比如“向左轉”、“等一下”、“很高興見到你”。學新語言也要牢記常用短語，很快你便能組建自己的對話短語庫來，這樣和人交流的時候便無需磕磕巴巴、一個詞一個詞地拼湊了。

　　8. Review often

　　經常復習

　　In a vocabulary class, yesterday’s vocabulary is more important than today’s. The goal is to transfer the short-term knowledge of new vocabulary into your long-term memory. Review is essential – in the first few days or weeks after learning new vocabulary, recycle those words and you'll entrench them in your memory. A good language textbook or online program will be organised in a way that reviews and applies learned vocabulary in later lessons.

　　學習詞匯需注意，今天的生詞永遠沒有復習昨天已學會的舊詞來得重要。我們的目標是：將生詞灌輸到你的長期記憶中。學會新詞的頭幾天頭幾周，多多復習，以牢固記憶。你可以選擇一本好的教材或是一個在線學習網站，以有組織地回顧、應用之前學會的東西。

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