如何像老外那样说出流利的英语呢？

　　As an English language learner, do you find yourself struggling to be understood by others when speaking English? Is it frustrating or embarrassing to have your endless hours of studying result in a blank, confused look by the person you're trying to communicate with?

　　如果你学英语，会不会觉得自己在说英语的时候很难让对方理解你在说什么?学了这么长时间，费尽口舌想要交流换来的却是对方疑惑的表情，实在是让人既尴尬又心塞。

　　Over the years I've spent helping language learners, both with English and with other languages, the one thing everyone has in common is a fear of sounding “dumb” or “weird” or having people laugh and point as you try to make yourself understood.

　　多年以来，我一直在帮助外语学习者(无论是学英语还是其他外语)，他们都有一大共同点：害怕自己说外语听上去“傻傻的”或者“怪怪的”，担心被他人嘲笑，想让自己说的话能够让人听得懂。

　　This sort of thing almost never happens in real life, but despite that, it can still seem like English is nearly impossible to master. But I'm here to tell you that, actually, English is easy!

　　现实生活中上述囧境不太发生，可即使如此，英语好像还是太难说了。不过在这里我要说一句，其实啊，英语太简单了!

　　And I'm not just saying that because it is my mother tongue. It's true! I'll show you how. I've taken a few hacks from my guide Why English is Easy to share with you below. You can use these tricks right away to start speaking English more confidently.

　　我这么说并不是因为英语是我的母语。英语真的很简单!不信看我露一手，教大家几招诀窍。学会这几招，你的英语马上就能说得更自信。

　　Hacking Your Language Study

　　巧学英语

　　My favourite tricks focus on the aspects of English that are very easy to master, and I develop ways around the parts of English that are “hard” to understand. Usually, it's not the language itself that's “hard”, but your method for studying might be causing the language to seem more challenging. If you look at those challenges in a new light then they can become much easier!

　　英语学习的诀窍中，我最喜欢的最容易掌握，最“难”理解的部分我会重点击破。一般来说，语言本身并不“难”，“难”的是学习的方法不佳往往难上加难。如果你换一个角度看这些难点，它们就会变得简单多了。

　　Once you're able to identify these small language learning tricks (or, as I like to call them, “hacks”) you'll find that you can get over these hurdles and start to really build your fluency.

　　一旦你掌握了这些语言学习的诀窍(我喜欢叫它们“绝招”)，那你绝对能突破瓶颈，说一口流利的外语。

　　And this is definitely true with pronunciation and sounding more like a native speaker.

　　这样一来，你的发音绝对更地道更纯正。

　　Sure, you could get bogged down with a lot of different ways to practice and develop a proper accent in English, but I'd like to share with you one simple trick I've learned that will give you a big boost with your pronunciation.

　　当然，为了提升英语发音，你可能会纠结于各种方法，觉得还是无法突破。但我还是想跟你分享一个快速提高的绝招。

　　You can use this hack right away. And because so many English learners get this pronunciation point wrong, by mastering it now, you'll sound way more fluent, and people will understand you better.

　　你可以马上使用这个绝招。因为大部分学英语的都没有意识到这一点发音的错误，如果你能掌握这个绝招，就意味着你可以说得更流利，老外就更能懂你。

　　Simple Rules for Pronouncing ~ed

　　~ed的发音规则

　　One of my favourite pronunciation hacks for English learners is how to properly pronounce ~ed.

　　这是我最爱的英语发音绝招之一，如何正确发出~ed这个音

　　In my experience this is one of the most obvious parts of a foreign accent. Luckily, it's also one of the easiest to fix. Learning the right way to say ~ed can have a huge impact on your accent. But best of all it is very easy to learn.

　　以我的经验来看，这个部分的发音错误最明显，不过这个部分也是最容易纠正的。如何正确发出~ed对你的英语口语有重大影响。最最重要的还是这一点，它纠正起来最最简单。

　　There are only three possible ways to pronounce this, and (unlike much of the English language) the rules are consistent:

　　~ed只有三种发音，它可不像其他英语发音千变万化，它的发音规则是有迹可循的：

　　Rule #1: After a d or t, pronounce it as [ɪd].

　　规则1：跟在d或者t后面，请发[ɪd].

　　In English, it's not possible to say a t and d sound immediately after each other, so we add in the vowel sound. Do this in words like wanted, painted, ended, admitted, suggested, started, etc.

　　英语中t和d连在一起不可能直接发这两个音，所以两者之间需要加一个元音。将这个规则用在如下单词：wanted, painted, ended, admitted, suggested, started等。

　　Rule #2: After the sounds p, f, s, ch, sh and k, pronounce it as [t].

　　规则2：如果~ed跟在p,f,s,ch,sh和k之后，请将其发成[t]。

　　These sounds cannot be followed by a d in English, so the sound changes to a [t]. Do this in words like stopped, laughed (f sound), finished, and walked.

　　以上一连串的字母不可以直接接d，所以需要变音为[t]。请发音如下单词： stopped, laughed (尾部是f的发音 ), finished, 以及 walked

　　Rule #3: In all other cases, pronounce it as [d].

　　规则3：其他的情况下，ed发音为[d]

　　Take care not to pronounce the e sound in ~ed here: just pronounce the [d]. Try it in the words imagined, cleaned, enjoyed, cried, and allowed.

　　请注意，不要将~ed中的e真正发出来，发[d]就好。请尝试朗读如下单词：imagined, cleaned, enjoyed, cried, and allowed

　　Do you hear the difference?

　　你可以听出区别吗?

　　The Position of Your Mouth

　　注意口型

　　Another way to remember this is to think of the position of your mouth in the part of the word before the ~ed.

　　还有一种方法，记住发~ed音的时候你的口型是怎样的。

　　For the first rule, notice that d and t are both sounds created by putting your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Because they're in nearly the same spot, it's hard to move between them without adding in a vowel! Try it out.

　　对规则1来说，要发出d和t两个音，都需要将舌头顶住上腭，发音位置近乎一致。所以要连续发这两个音是很困难的，必须要在中间加一个元音!现在再发音试试看吧。

　　For the second rule, all but one of the sounds (k) is made by putting your lips or teeth together.

　　对于规则2，所有的音(除了k)都需要嘴唇或者牙齿闭合。

　　For the third rule, most of the sounds have either a hummed sound (like n or m) or an open, vowel position (like a or o) prior to the ~ed.

　　规则3，跟在~ed之前，大部分的音都跟“哼”的声音很像(像n或者m的发音),或者是一个开元音的发音位置(如a或者o的发音)。

　　Just remember that certain mouth positions lend themselves to being compensated for with different ways of saying ~ed, and you're good to go!

　　只要记住一些口型是为了迎合~ed发音而变化的，发准音绝没问题!

　　And if that is still too confusing?

　　如果你还是觉得没弄明白的话怎么办?

　　Then just remember this one rule: for the majority of cases, when you see ~ed, you should pronounce it like [d] (rather than [ɪd], which is only relevant after d or t). If you use this pronunciation by default when you're not sure, you're most likely to get it right.

　　只要记住这一条法则就行：大部分情况下，你看到~ed就发音为[d](而不是[ɪd],因为只有d和t同时出现的时候才需要)。如果在你不确定的时候那就这么发音吧，发音正确的概率还是很高的。

　　Making English Easy

　　让英语变得小菜一碟

　　Even if you only follow this one, easy rule, it will help you with your English pronunciation, and soon enough the looks of confusion on the faces of your English-speaking friends will turn to smiles and nods of understanding.

　　单单这一个绝招，就能帮你提升英语发音。很快你的外国朋友会舒展脸上疑惑的眉头，一展理解的笑容，频频点头。

　　Seeking out these “hacks” for language learning can dramatically speed up your study of the English language, so I encourage you to always be on the lookout for ways to simplify the language learning process.

　　像上述那些学习英语的“绝招”，只要找到他们，就可以飞速提高你的英语水平。我建议大家为了简化学习语言的过程，寻找诀窍不要停。

　　This applies to all languages you may be learning, not just English. If you're also learning Spanish, French, German, Italian, or Chinese along with English, you'll find more hacks you can use right away in the FI3M language guides.

　　不仅是英语，对于学习所有的外语这都适用。如果你除了英语还在学西班牙语、法语、德语、意大利语或者中文，FI3M语言学习网站总能让你学会更多绝招。

　　When you get a few of these hacks under your belt, you'll make even faster progress with your language studies, and you'll soon see exactly why English is easy!

　　一旦你学了这几招，语言学习就会飞速进步，你就会明白为什么英语学习so easy啦!