What conceptual differences are there between “young” and “年青”，“middle-aged” and “中年”，and “old” and “年老”？ And what causes them?
【正确答案】：The English adjectives young, middle-aged and old correspond to “年青” and “中年” and “年老”in Chinese. But a Chinese may find the English sentence “My uncle is 45 years old, still quite young” somewhat strange. How can a man of 45 years be young? To the Chinese people a man of 45 years is definitely a middle-aged man. A person was no longer young when he or she was well over 30. This is evidenced by such old Chinese sayings as “三十而立”, “人年三十不学艺”, and “人过三十天过午”. In contemporary China a person in his or her forties can legitimately say that he or she is too old to be energetic. A person in his or her late fifties often refers to himself or herself as “老头儿”or “老太太”. A tentative sketch can be drawn to illustrate the conceptual contrast of these age-related words:
young middle-aged old
English 18………………40………………60………………
Chinese 18……………...35………………55………………
As shown in this visual illustration, the conceptual meaning of “young”, “middle-aged” and “old” and that of “年青”, “中年”, “年老” only partially overlap.
【题目解析】：参见教材P52。
掌握“English words that correspond partially in conceptual meaning”知识点。
