(单词翻译:单击)
Hello. I'm John Russell.
你好。我是约翰·罗素。
I'm going to lead you on an exploration of the sounds of English.
我将带领大家探索英语的发音。
Today, we are going to explore comparisons.
今天我们将探索比较级。
You know, sentences that combine a comparative adjective with the word than.
今天，我们将探讨由than将比较形容词组合在一起的比较句。
Think about sentences that suggest that one person is better or worse than another.
想一想表示一个人比另一个人更好或更差的句子。
For example, Mary is smarter than Tom.
例如，玛丽比汤姆聪明。
Mary is nicer than Tom. Mary is faster than Tom. Poor Tom.
玛丽比汤姆友好。玛丽比汤姆更快。汤姆太可怜了。
Mary just seems to be a better person.
玛丽似乎是个更好的人。
What does this have to do with pronunciation?
这和发音有什么关系？
Well, Comparisons often have difficult sounds for English learners.
对英语学习者来说，比较级常常发音比较难。
In particular, the "er" sound at the end of the comparative adjective, smarter, nicer, faster.
特别是“er”音在形容词比较级的末尾，比如更聪明，更好，更快。
You will notice that when I pronounce the "er" sound, I place emphasis on the first part of the word.
你会注意到，当我发er音的时候，我把重音放在单词的第一部分。
In other words, the er ending sounds less forceful.
换句话说，“er”结尾的音听起来不那么用力。
To make the "er" sound, I make my lips round, raise my tongue and pull it back slightly.
为了发出“er”的音，让嘴巴开口呈一个圆形，抬起舌头，然后稍微向后拉。
If you are having a hard time with the "er" sound, one tip is to use your pencil.
如果你很难发出“er”的音，一个小窍门就是用你的铅笔。
You put the pencil in your mouth and put it across your mouth like this..
你把铅笔放进嘴巴里，然后让铅笔穿过嘴巴，就像这样。
You think about your tongue placement, your tongue shouldn't touch the pencil.
你注意你舌头的位置，你的舌头不应该碰到铅笔。
It can be below, above or near the pencil, but it shouldn't touch.
它可以在铅笔下面、上面或旁边，但不能接触到。
If you practice these suggestions, your pronunciation will be better than it was before.
如果你练习这些建议，你的发音会比以前好。
See you next time.
下次见。
