【#實用英文 說 cost down 不專業，「降低成本」的英文到底怎麼講？】

cost-saving measures 是指降低成本的措施，cost 當名詞用時就是成本，這邊 cost-saving 是形容詞，指「降低成本的」，注意不要說成 cost down。

那如果想用動詞來說「降低」成本的話，可以用 cut 「降低、削減」，搭配 cost 「成本」：

#英文 #語言學習 #costdown HOPE English 希平方學英文

[詞彙區別] people, individual, persons, human, man, mankind, humankind 的區別:

在寫作的時候，有些同學為了避免重複使用相同的詞彙，卻選用了意義上不盡相同的單字，而無法精確地表達出自己所想傳達的想法。這問題很可能來自於考生平時在語言學習上過於依賴中英翻譯，因此考生在不夠了解某些一字多義的詞彙的情況下，很容易造成讀者的誤解。舉例來說，spend vs. cost vs. take (花費)，borrow vs. lend vs. loan (借)，這些字的中譯都很非常類似，以中文為母語的考生在使用上，只要稍微一不注意，就容易錯誤使用。甚至有些考生會以offspring (子孫; 後代) 來代替 children (小孩)，我們若是查字典了解其義，就會知道 offspring 比較常出現在正式的科學用法上，泛指動物的後代及植物的幼苗。

為了幫助同學增加詞彙量並且精確地在口說和寫作上使用這些字。我會用使用一個新的同義字系列清楚地區分這些類似的字並幫助同學們在文章中正確地使用它們。同學們也應該在使用這些字之前先查查字典，以了解這些字的使用方式。

People 的同義字

★★★human (human being) ★★★

我們使用human being這個字來強調我們和動物的不同。 We used human being to stress our difference from animals or aliens (in science fiction).

1. Dogs can hear much better than humans.
2. That is no way to treat another human being.

★★★man★★★

我們用man這個字來指男性、全部的人類、或指特定某一時代的人類。 We used man to talk about adult male human or humans as a group (or humans from a particular period of history).

1. The relationships between men and women are often complex and puzzling.
2. This is one of the worst diseases known to man.
3. Man had caused considerable damage to the environment.
4. Being a modern man today is no different than it was a century ago. It’s all about adhering to principle.

★★★mankind★★★

我們用mankind這個字來強調全部人類這個概念。 We used mankind when we talk about all humans as one large group.

1. Pollution is something that harms mankind across the globe, and disasters like war and famine have affected mankind all through our history.

*Man和mankind傳統上一直是用來指所有的男性和女性。很多人現在偏好使用humanity這個字和humankind來避掉性別歧視的問題。

Man and mankind have traditionally been used to mean “all men and women.” Many people now prefer to use humanity, the human race, human beings or people to avoid being sexist. Humankind is used as a gender neutral alternative to “mankind.”

★★★person★★★

person這個字是指人的單數。A person in the singular to refer to any human being.

1. He was a very nice person, always pleasant and friendly.

Persons 是 person的複數，是一個在文件或法律條文中使用的單字。
Persons (plural) is a very formal word. We only use it in rather legalistic contexts:

1. Any person or persons found in possession of illegal substances will be prosecuted.
2. The police are looking for three separate persons who were in this area.

People 也是person的複數，可指所有的人類或特定狀況中的一群人。它也可以指所有的國民。

People can refer to all human beings, or to a group of persons in a particular situation. It can also mean "all the citizens," as in a political leader who understands the needs of the people.

1. There were at least a thousand people in the audience.
2. The people are tired of hearing political rhetoric! They want action, not talk.

★★★individual★★★

我們用individual來強調個人以和團體做區隔。We used individual to stress that a person considered separately rather than as part of a group.

1. Every individual has rights which must never be taken away.
2. Three separate individuals walked into my store.

除了以上的用法，同學也可以用代名詞 (e.g. everyone, they) 來替換”人們” 這個單字，也可以用形容詞來更明確的指出某一群人(e.g. most, some, a few, all)。

Summary:
✎ 通常會用"people"這個詞彙來指稱一般的社會大眾；另一方面，如果想要去強調一個團體當中的每個人，則會使用"individuals"。

✎ 想要將所有人類當成一個大族群去做論述的時候，通常只會用"mankind/humankind"或是"the human race/human beings"等詞彙。

✎ 想要去強調一個人的人性面時，通常會用"human being"。

E.g. How could you do this to another human being? He has rights!

✎撰寫科學性質的相關文章時，才會運用到"Homo sapiens"。

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=443676912389120

Sources:
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
http://www.ldoceonline.com/
http://www.merriam-webster.com/
http://www.vocabulary.com/

德國與台灣情人間金錢觀念-恬恬與Fabian曾因付錢問題鬧笑話

第一次跟Fabian的旅行是去法國巴黎,當時他負責訂房間及付款,整趟旅程超級浪漫我們也越加甜蜜,結果一回到家這男人就把整趟旅程的費用明細寄給我,因為兩人要對分這筆金額！我聽到整個瞬間冷到,還覺得這男的也太計較了吧 :P

台灣:不知怎地我從國中時,很多男生就覺得應該要幫女友們付所有出遊的費用(錢跟爸媽拿的),我雖然一直都會說我自己付,但也養成了男生會主動幫我付費的習慣,所以第一次聽到Fabian這樣時我有點錯愕哈哈哈哈

西方或德國:普遍男女比較講求平等,兩方都有工作與經濟獨立多半會各自分攤費用,所以不會有誰付多誰付少的問題,也不會想對方不幫忙付就是小氣或計較的概念

經過那次旅行後,我跟Fabian溝通好,交通與住宿基本上都兩人平分,而平常吃喝玩樂的費用可能這次他出,下次我出這樣～所以我們從沒有因為金錢而吵架喔 :D

*以上案例非代表全體喔～
照片來自斯洛伐克,更多美景照可以去部落格看噢！
http://tina791115.pixnet.net/blog/post/109726658
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Deutsch lernen:
Die Männer müssen nicht in Deutschland für die Frauen bezahlen.
=在德國男生沒有必要幫女生付錢

1.der Mann=男生 複數die Männer
2.die Frau=女生 複數die Frauen
3.müssen=必須 müssen nicht=don't have to
4.für + Akkusativ
5.bezahlen=付錢
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Recently in German class we were discussing about how man and woman meet and how do they pay for their meals(pay separately or one person pays it all).

The first trip of Fabian and I was in Paris. He booked the accommodations and paid it already. During the trip it's really romantic and I felt we were closer. Once we got home, Fabian sent me an email stating how much was the cost of the accommodation and asked me to pay the half of it. I was a little shocked and felt that he was not too nice :P

Taiwan: When I was young, lots of guys thought they should pay for girls so they paid almost everything for girls (even if they got the money from their parents). Of course I always said I would pay for myself. But still, I somehow got used to the idea that guys might pay more for girls or sometimes all pay for girls.

Germany or other western countries: Couples normally pay separately. Especially when both have jobs and are financially independent. They won't fight about money too often or think who pay more or pay less.

After the trip to Paris, we discussed about it and now we never have any problems relating to paying :)