VOA慢速英语:Rethinking Grammar: Who Makes the Rules?

1. If you learned about grammar in school, you were probably taught to think about “correct” and “incorrect” ways of using a language.

think about 考虑…; 捉摸…
例句：I would think about it very carefully, if I were you.
我要是你的话, 我就十分慎重地考虑这件事。

2. Those who do not follow the rules are looked down upon as being careless or poorly educated.

look down upon 看轻; 蔑视，瞧不起
例句：You shouldn't look down upon him just because he is a dustman.
你不应该因为他是个清洁工就轻视他。

3. Instead, they are based on social fashions, politics, and power.

base on 使建立在…基础上
例句："Base on Yunfu, orient to the world and aim at the future."
立足云浮,面向世界,走向未来。

4. Dr. Epstein says that random grammar rules were a way for the upper classes of London to protect themselves from a rising middle class.

protect from 保护， 保卫
例句：Wild wood should be well protect from excessive hag.
野生森林应该被保护以免过量砍伐。

5. Knowing that regular folks used ‘ain’t’ but the upper classes of the United States didn’t, they created this sort of fake rule that you shouldn’t use ‘ain’t’ because it didn’t make sense.

make sense 有意义; 理解; 讲得通
例句：Did I at least make sense?
至少我说的还有道理吧?