胡明蓓
年龄与生活密切相关。那么,在英语中,如何准确表达年龄呢?对此,笔者总结了如下几种表示方法,以期对同学们有所帮助。
一、“整岁”的表达
1.直接用基数词。例如:
I m twelve now.
我现在十二岁了。
2.基数词+years old 。例如:
He will be sixteen years old next year.
明年他就十六岁。
3.基数词+years of age 。例如:
Lucy is ten years of age.
露西十岁了。
4.基数词-year-old 。例如:
Her three- year- old daughter can speak English.
她三岁大的女儿会说英语。
5.of+基数词。例如:
Jack is a boy of seven.
杰克是一个七岁的小男孩。
6.at age+基数词。例如:
At age fourteen, she joined the music club.
她十四岁时加入了音乐社团。
7.aged+基数词。例如:
Tom has a son aged two.
汤姆有一个两岁的儿子。
8.at the age of +基数词。例如:
He learned to ride a bike at the age of eight.
他八岁时学会了骑自行车。
二、“……多岁”的表达
1.in one s +基数词的复数形式。例如:
Many people retire in their sixties.
许多人在六十多岁时退休。
2.over+基数词(+years old)。例如:
Can you imagine she s over ninety(years old).
你能想象得到她已经九十多岁了吗?
3.above+基数词(+years old)。例如:
My father is a man above fifty (years old).
我父亲是一个五十多岁的人。
4.past+基数词(+years old)。例如:
Jane s grandpa is past eighty (years old), but he is still in good health.
简的祖父虽然八十多岁了,但是身体依然很健康。
5.more than+基数词(+years old)。例如:
He didn t marry until he was more than forty (years old ).
他直到四十多岁时才结婚。
6.基数词+something 。例如:
In looks, she seems to be thirty some- thing.
从外表上看,她似乎有三十多岁了。
三、“不满/到……岁”的表达
1.under +基数词(+years old)。例如:
They offer free deals for children under twelve(years old).
他们为不满12岁的儿童提供免费套餐。
2.less than+基数词(+years old)。例如:
He was interested in math when he was less than four (years old).
他不满四岁时就对数学感兴趣。
3.not yet +基数词(+years old)。例如:
At this time he was not yet twenty(years old).
当时他还不满二十岁。
4.hardly/barely/scarcely+基数词(+years old)。例如:
When I learned to play the guitar,I was hardly/barely/scarcely six (years old).
当我学弹吉他的时候,我还不满六岁。
四、“快满/到……岁”的表达
1.will be+基数词(+years old)。例如:
Peter will be nine (years old).
彼得快满九岁了。
2.be going on +基数词(+years old)。例如:
I am going on eleven(years old).
我快满十一岁了。
3.begetting on+基数词(+yearsold)。例如:
His sister is getting on twenty-two (years old).
他的姐姐快满二十二岁了。
4.nearly +基数词(+years old)。例如:
She is nearly forty (years old),but has a mental age of eighteen.
她虽然快满四十岁了,但是心理年龄还是十八岁。
5.almost+基数词(+years old)。例如:
My mother is a teacher, she is almost fifty (years old).
我的母亲是一名教师,她快满五十岁了。
总之,英语中年龄的表达方式可谓是丰富多样。在平时学习中,同學们要注意多总结、多积累,以此丰富语言知识储备,这样才不会有“书到用时方恨少”的懊恼和遗憾。