如何描述人物

⊙ By Robert Dick

如何描述人物

⊙ By Robert Dick

学了这些年的英语，如果你描述人的词汇还停留在“高矮胖瘦”上，那就太不应该了。来吧，听完以下两段对话，学以致用，你肯定会让人刮目相看。

Part 1

So, what’s Your Roommate Like? 说说你的室友

Jennifer: Hey, Will! I haven’t seen you for a week, ’cause I’ve been really busy with classes. How are things?

Will: Hi, Jen. Yeah we haven’t chatted for a while. Things are pretty good. Got the courses I wanted, my teachers are interesting, and I have no classes on Fridays, which is great. How are things with you?

Jennifer: Good. Unfortunately I have classes every day and two math courses this semester. Groan[呻吟]! Still, I’m back in the same nice dorm room I had last year and have a new bike to get around the campus[校园].

Will: Sounds good.

Jennifer: Yeah, I really can’t complain too much. What else is new for you?

Will: I have a new roommate this semester, Jeremy.

Jennifer: Oh, what’s he like?

Will: Well he’s quite tall, fairly slim, has blond hair, and wears small round glasses.

Jennifer: Do you like him?

Will: Yeah, I do. He’s really intelligent and curious about unusual things, likes good music, is serious about his studies but quite interesting to talk with.

Jennifer: It doesn’t sound like he’s a lot of fun.

Will: Actually he’s really friendly and funny. He’s not a bit shy and I think he could be popular with the girls if he wanted to be. Oh, and we play badminton[羽毛球]a couple of times a week. So, do you have a roommate this year?

Jennifer: Oh, sure! Becky’s back. Remember “boring Becky”?

Will: Uhm, was she really good in…math?

Jennifer: Yeah, that’s her.

Will: I don’t really remember much about her.

Jennifer: She’s pretty quiet. She’s very hardworking, and determined to get good grades. Straight “A”s is her goal. She makes me look stupid, but I don’t mind. She’s a much better student than I am.

Will: I think I remember you kinda liked her because she helped you when you were having trouble with your math last semester, right?

Jennifer: Yeah, that’s true. She was really generous with her time and patient with me. I guess I do like her because she’s a good example for me, and she’s considerate and kind.

Will: I forget what she looks like. Is she fat, skinny[极瘦的], red hair…?

Jennifer: No, she’s fairly tall and slim, has dark brown hair and big brown eyes. She dresses modestly but still in fashion. She’s quite attractive, actually.

Will: What does she do for fun?

Jennifer: Well she occasionally plays badminton, like your roommate. What’s his name?

Will: Jeremy.

Jennifer: She also likes good music and she reads a lot about archaeology, you know, ancient people and places, stuff[事情]like that.

Will: Gosh, it sounds like she might like Jeremy. What do you think?

Jennifer: Maybe. They have similar interests, they’re both fairly tall and good looking, and both intelligent. Hmm.

Will: Does Becky use a social network where she’s posted[放置]a picture? Maybe I could suggest Jeremy look at her picture.

Jennifer: Or, how about the four of us friends go to a movie or play badminton on the weekend?

Will: That sounds like fun. I could ask him, and you talk to Becky.

Jennifer: Ooooh, this could get interesting. Maybe I’d like to meet Jeremy.

Will: And maybe I’d get to like Becky.

描写外貌特征的词汇

● 身高

✧ tall：高的。注意：尽管long是short的反义词，但这仅限于长度，在表示身高时，short的反义词是tall。

✧ short：矮的；指身高逊于常人。

✧ little：娇小的；亦指身高逊于常人，但多带感情色彩，指小而可爱或小巧。● 身材

✧ thin：瘦的；通常与平常人相比。

✧ slim：苗条的，纤细的；指招人喜爱的苗条身材。

✧ slender：苗条的；指体态优美，身体适中。

✧ skinny：极瘦的；指非常瘦的人，也就是人们常说的“皮包骨”。

✧ fat：胖的；略含贬义，多指体内脂肪过多。

✧ chubby：丰满的；表示某人有点胖的委婉说法。● 相貌

✧ handsome：英俊的；多指男性，如果用在女性身上，则有端庄健美之意。

✧ attractive：迷人的，有魅力的；指引人注目的。

✧ beautiful：美丽的；含义广泛，多用于女性或孩子。

✧ pretty：漂亮的；比beautiful语气要强，用于描写女性或孩子的可爱。

Part 2

Who’s Your New Teacher? 说说你的新老师

Jane: Hi, Dad. I’m finally getting around to calling you.

Dad: Oh, Hi, Jane. Good to hear from you. How have your first two weeks at college been?

Jane: Oh, really good, Dad. I’ve met all my teachers and started cracking my books[用功学习].

Dad: Your courses look good?

Jane: Yeah, I got all the courses I wanted, but I’m a little worried about my English course.

Dad: Oh, why?

Jane: Well, the teacher is new this year. Dr.[博士]Wal-something. I forget. He’s from New Zealand.

Dad: New Zealand! We don’t very often hear about teachers coming from there. What’s he like?

Jane: Of course he talks with a very strong accent and speaks fairly fast. I hope I’ll be able to understand him. It’s kinda hard to catch[听清]everything he says.

Dad: That’s important for lectures, isn’t it? To understand clearly, I mean.

Jane: Yeah, I guess so. I think it’ll be hard to listen to him, because of his accent.

Dad: In my university years, I had a couple of professors who came from other countries, and they were a bit difficult to understand, too.

Jane: So, what did you do about that?

Dad: Well, I had to listen carefully and ask lots of questions. They were patient with me, though, and after a while I got used to their accents, so it got easier.

Jane: I hope it’ll get easier for me, too, and quickly. He seems really knowledgeable and well-organized. He laid out[说明]the course for us, which looks like it will be interesting, with a focus on reading, writing and analysis.

Dad: I’d expect a course on English to include that. Other than his accent, what’s he like?

Jane: Actually, he’s a bit humorous. He likes to illustrate his points with humor.

Dad: Do you understand his humor?

Jane: Most of the time, but sometimes it’s culturally confusing for me. You know, like a cold joke[冷笑话].

Dad: Yeah, I can appreciate that.

Jane: He doesn’t look like most teachers, either.

Dad: Oh, how so?

Jane: Well, he’s short and quite fat, and he wears casual clothes. He’s also fairly old, I think, because he has long grey hair that he wears in a ponytail[马尾辫]. But for a guy who’s older, he’s pretty lively. I think he’ll bepopular with the class.

Dad: If he’s a professor with a PhD, has he written any books?

Jane: Yes, he told us about his book on etymology[词源学], a history of how languages developed, but he didn’t really talk much about his book.

Dad: That’s unusual.

Jane: Oh, and one thing I think will be really great about this course will be learning about some different languages that are almost extinct, like the Maori[毛利语]in New Zealand and several other languages in southeast Asia.

Dad: That sounds interesting.

Jane: Yeah, and we’ll also be studying how language gets transferred[转换]between cultures. He’s really energetic and enthusiastic when he’s talking about this stuff.

Dad: Hmm.

Jane: He seems to be determined to demonstrate[展示]the long-term trends, like how and why English is becoming the most important global language. I think I’m going to have to work hard in this course, but it’ll be worth it.

动词sound有一个常见用法，可表达对某事的印象或观点。印象或观点形成的来源可以是听说的，也可是读到的，与sound最常见的含义“声音”无关。

使用时，sound后可跟形容词，如本文的sound good和sound interesting；也可跟介词like，如本文的sound like fun，like后还可以跟一个句子，如本文的sound like he’s a lot of fun.

本文的sounds good是口语中的常见用法，是it sounds good的省略形式。

描写人物性格的词汇

● 为人处世

✧ curious：好奇的，求知欲强的；多为褒义，特别是用于孩子或学生时。

✧ nosy：好管闲事的，八卦的；带有贬义。

✧ chatty：爱闲聊的，话多的；多指无聊的闲谈，略含贬义。

✧ talkative：健谈的；属中性词，但也偏于贬义。

● 智力

✧ clever：聪明的；指学东西快，头脑灵活。

✧ smart：非常聪明；比clever更上一个台阶。

✧ intelligent：有才智的；指在理解新东西或处理问题时，智力超过常人；比较正式。

✧ knowledgeable：博学的，学识渊博的；多指熟知多个领域或某个特定方面。

● 态度

✧ happy：高兴的，满足的；强调感到满足。

✧ cheerful：欢乐的；多指因内心愉快而表现出来的兴高采烈。

✧ joyful：快乐的；强调心情，语气较强。

✧ active：积极的，活跃的；多指活动能力方面，强调与消极相反的状态。

✧ lively：活泼的，生气勃勃的；强调有生气。

✧ energetic：充满活力的；指精力充沛，特别是对于某事的态度。