VOA名师答疑2023 avoid和prevent的区别

This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Sergio in Brazil.

本周《名师答疑》，我们回答来自巴西的塞尔吉奥的一个问题。

He asks: I would like to know whether there is any difference between "avoid" and "prevent."

他问：我想知道avoid和prevent之间有区别吗？

Sergio, Brazil.

塞尔吉奥，巴西。

Dear Sergio, thank you for writing to us with this question.

亲爱的塞尔吉奥，感谢你写信提出这个问题。

These words are similar -- they both express the idea of staying away from something.

这两个词很相似，它们都表示远离某事。

Let us look at the meaning of each word and then we will compare how they are used.

让我们逐个看一下它们的意思，然后再比较它们的用法。

Avoid means¹ to keep away from a person or thing.

avoid意思是远离某人或某物。

Here are some examples: After we had that fight, my sister has been avoiding me.

这里有一些例句：我们吵架后，我妹妹一直躲着我。

Pizza makes my stomach hurt, so I avoid eating it.

披萨让我胃疼，所以我避免吃披萨。

Note that in these examples, the word that comes after "avoid" can be a noun² or a gerund (the -ing form of a verb³).

注意，在这些例句中，avoid后面的词可以是名词，也可以是动名词(动词的-ing形式)。

Now, consider the word "prevent."

现在，看看prevent这个词。

It means to take some action to stop something from happening.

它的意思是采取行动来阻止某事的发生。

It can be used in a simple way with a noun.

简单的用法是与名词连用。

So, going back to our previous example: To prevent stomach problems, I do not eat pizza.

所以，回顾一下之前的例句：为了防止胃不舒服，我不吃披萨。

In this sentence, several nouns⁴ follow the word "prevent."

在这个句子中，prevent这个词后面有几个名词。

The meaning is clearly to stop something.

这句话的意思很清楚，就是要阻止一些事情。

You can also use "prevent" in a more complex⁵ sentence with an object followed by a verb.

在较复杂的句子中也可以用prevent，宾语后面跟一个动词。

This gives us a more detailed⁶ idea of stopping someone from doing something.

这种用法的意思更详细，表示阻止某人做某事。

In fact, you will often find the word "from" in sentences with "prevent."

事实上，你常常会在用了prevent的句子中找到from这个词。

The city wants to prevent drivers from speeding on that road, so they added⁷ some speed bumps⁸.

该市想要防止司机在那条路上超速行驶，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，因为该市在道路上放置了一些凸起的减速带，迫使汽车减速。

So, Sergio, if you are trying to decide between avoid and prevent, think about this difference.

所以，塞尔吉奥，如果你要在avoid和prevent之间做出选择，考虑一下这个区别。

"Avoid" is just staying away from something you do not like or want.

avoid就是远离你不喜欢或不想要的东西。

"Prevent" is to take an action that keeps someone from doing something or keeps something from happening.

prevent是指采取行动阻止某人做某事，或阻止某事发生。

And that’s Ask a Teacher!

以上就是本期《名师答疑》！

I’m Jill Robbins.

我是吉尔·罗宾斯。

1 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

2 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

3 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。

4 nouns   

n.名词；名词( noun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns. 法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Nouns join to form compounds. 名词和名词结合构成复合词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 complex   

adj.复杂的，合成的，综合的；n.联合体

参考例句：

• What he said was too complex for me to understand.他说的太复杂了，我无法了解。
• Justice is part of the complex machinery of the law.正义是复杂的法律机器的一部分。

6 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

7 added   

adj.更多的，附加的，额外的

参考例句：

• They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
• The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。

8 bumps   

碰撞( bump的名词复数 )； 肿块； 轻微撞车事故； 隆起物

参考例句：

• I had goose bumps when we watched the fireworks. 我们看烟火的时候，我起鸡皮疙瘩。
• E was kind of zig-zagging across the pavement, and I bumps into 'im accidental-like. 他有点歪歪斜斜地在人行道上走，我一不小心撞到了他的怀里。 来自英汉文学