2023年01月28日 VOA慢速英语：如何使用避免、预防

 

This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Sergio in Brazil. He asks,
本周在“问老师”中，我们回答了来自巴西的 Sergio 的问题。他问，
 
Question:
问题：
 
I would like to know whether there is any difference between "avoid" and "prevent."
我想知道“避免”和“预防”之间是否有任何区别。
 
Sergio, Brazil.
塞尔吉奥，巴西。
 
Answer:
回答：
 
Dear Sergio,
亲爱的塞尔吉奥，
 
Thank you for writing to us with this question. These words are similar – they both express the idea of staying away from something. Let us look at the meaning of each word and then we will compare how they are used.
感谢您带着这个问题写信给我们。这两个词很相似——它们都表达了远离某事的意思。让我们看看每个词的含义，然后我们将比较它们的用法。
 
Avoid
避免
 
Avoid means to keep away from a person or thing. Here are some examples:
avoid 意思是远离一个人或事物。这里有些例子：
 
After we had that fight, my sister has been avoiding me.
那次吵架后，姐姐就一直躲着我。
 
Pizza makes my stomach hurt, so I avoid eating it.
比萨让我的胃痛，所以我避免吃它。
 
Note that in these examples, the word that comes after "avoid" can be a noun or a gerund (the -ing form of a verb).
请注意，在这些示例中，“避免”之后的单词可以是名词或动名词（动词的 -ing 形式）。
 
Prevent
避免
 
Now, consider the word "prevent." It means to take some action to stop something from happening. It can be used in a simple way with a noun. So, going back to our previous example:
现在，考虑一下“预防”这个词。它意味着采取一些行动来阻止某事的发生。它可以简单地与名词一起使用。那么，回到我们之前的例子：
 
To prevent stomach problems, I do not eat pizza.
为了防止胃病，我不吃披萨。
 
In this sentence, several nouns follow the word "prevent." The meaning is clearly to stop something.
在这句话中，几个名词跟在“预防”一词之后。意思分明就是阻止某事。
 
You can also use "prevent" in a more complex sentence with an object followed by a verb. This gives us a more detailed idea of stopping someone from doing something. In fact, you will often find the word "from" in sentences with "prevent."
您还可以在一个更复杂的句子中使用“prevent”，其中宾语后跟动词。这给了我们一个更详细的想法来阻止某人做某事。事实上，你会经常在带有“预防”的句子中找到“从”这个词。
 
The city wants to prevent drivers from speeding on that road, so they added some speed bumps.
该市希望防止司机在那条路上超速，所以他们增加了一些减速带。
 
In this example, drivers cannot go too fast because the city placed some raised areas, speed bumps, on the road, forcing cars to slow down.
在这个例子中，司机不能开得太快，因为城市在路上设置了一些凸起区域，减速带，迫使汽车减速。
 
So, Sergio, if you are trying to decide between avoid and prevent, think about this difference. "Avoid" is just staying away from something you do not like or want. "Prevent" is to take an action that keeps someone from doing something or keeps something from happening.
所以，塞尔吉奥，如果你想在避免和预防之间做出决定，请考虑一下这个区别。“避免”就是远离你不喜欢或不想要的东西。“预防”是采取行动阻止某人做某事或阻止某事发生。
 
Do you have a question for the teacher?
你有问题要问老师吗？