how are you I have three questions, which have puzzled me for quite a long time, to consult you. Would it be convenient for you?Thanks for your post. Please see my comments in red in answering your questions.

Firstly,are the sound i in “bit” and the sound i in “difficult”the same sound or not ?the answer is “yes” for many people, but i don't know why i feel they sound different. OR, are they actually different because of the influence of their respective neighboring sounds? The sound "i" in both cases sound the same, which is short and soft. You said it right, as it is a vowel, it is used to help pronounce a word, so it is influenced by the letter preceding it. The "i" in "bit" is pronounced as "bi" with the upper and lower lips touching each other to produce the sound and in the case of "difficult", it is the tongue slightly touching the upper teeth and with the lips slightly opening to push the sound out. The "bi" and "di" should pronounced the same as in their respective pinyin counterparts.

Secondly, English structure is said to be tightly-knitted. Will it be possible to identify the relations between the constituents without considering the meaning of the sentences? For example,the sentence "Industrial production jumped by 18.5% in the year to December, while retail sales increased by 17.5%, boosted by government subsidies and tax cuts on purchases of cars and appliances". Without considering the meaning, i think "boosted by government ....." can also modify "Industrial production", if we recognize the content between two commas as a parenthesis. In order to say whether it is acceptable or not you need to ask a person of ordinary standard of English to read it and see whether it gives the intended meaning. Looking at your example, I think "boosted by government....." only modifies the latter part of the sentence. In this case, it would be better if the second comma is to be deleted, i.e. .....increased by 17.5% boosted by government.........

Thirdly, i often make mistakes in writing these words, like oppose and optimistic, as opose and opptimistic. Is there a easy way to avoid this? I mean the conditions when the letter need to be doubled. Are they regularly associated with the pronounciation of the words?Frankly, there is no hard and fast rule as to when it is single p and when double p. As you rightly point out "opose" can sound the same as "oppose". However, you can safely tell that "opptimistic" is wrong. Personally, I cannot think of an English word with three consecutive non-vowel letters ("y" excepted as it is considered a quasi-vowel").





 
Today, I would like to discuss the following issues:

The difference between "Nice to talk to you" and "Nice talking to you"

There is little difference between the two. However, if one has to make difference between the two, I  would say that "Nice to talk to you" is usually used when first meet a person and you start talking to him. "to talk" indicates the talk will soon begin. Therefore, it is inappropriate to say so at the end of the conversation with another person. On the other hand, "Nice talking to you" is usually used at the end of a conversation as "talking" indicates the talking is going on or has taken place. 

The difference between "Nice talking with you" and "Nice talking to you"

Again, there is little difference between the two. "With" tends to suggest more of a conversation or dialog between two people, while "to" tends to point more towards you doing all the talking in the conversation, monolog, lecturing, Personally, I would end a conversation by saying "it is nice talking to you." It is simple and courteous. I would not worry too much about the grammar or the actuall meaning thereof.

今天我想讨论以下问题:


“Nice to talk to you” 和 “Nice talking to you” 之分别:

其实两者之间差别不大。然而必须在两者之间作出区别,我要说,“Nice to talk to you” 通常被用来当您你开始跟对方说话时用。 “To talk”表示谈话将很快开始,因此不宜在谈话结束用。另一方面,“Nice talking to you” 通常是在谈话结束用, Talking 表示谈话正在进行或已经发生。 

“Nice talking with you” 和“Nice talking to you” 之分别

两者之间差别不大。“with” 倾向于建议两个人之间的谈话是对话方式,而“To” 是指你单一方面说有如独白,讲学。

就我个人而言,我会在谈话结束之前说“Nice Talking to You" . 很简单和有礼貌 , 我不会担心该句语法或实际意义。 
 
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Pros and cons are arguments for or against a particular issue. Pros are arguments which aim to promote the issue, while cons suggest points against it. The term has been in use since the 16th century and is a shortening of a Latin phrase, pro et contra, which means “for and against.” Considering the pros and cons of an issue is a very useful way to weigh the issue thoughtfully and reach an informed decision. 

Many people find themselves considering pros and cons in daily life, although they may not be aware of it. For example, someone shopping at a supermarket might weigh the cost of an item and the quality to decide whether or not to purchase it. People making larger decisions, like purchasing a new car or home, often spend a great deal of time thinking about the pros and cons of the purchase so that they can be sure that the right choice will be made.

Pros and cons  简单译法是利弊 Pros 是利 Cons 是弊, 每人日常生活对大小事需权衡利弊考虑正反两方面优缺点作出决定,尽管我们可能没有意识到这一点,例如,我们在一间超级市场购物 ,可能衡量一件物品的成本和质量来决定是否购买。更大的决定如购买新汽车或新屋,往往花大量时间思考其优点缺点才购买




 
My friend has asked me an interesting question, which of the following sentences is correct?

  • make the voice of China heard throughout the world
  • make the voice of China be heard throughout the world

I did a Google search on "make the voice heard" and I got hundreds of searches. I also did a Google search on "make the voice be heard" and it came up with no answer. I further did a search on "make the voice of China to be heard" and again it came up with no answer. It is clear that the correct answer to my friend's question is "make the voice of China heard throughout the world".The explanation to the answer is that heard in this situation is not used as a verb or a past participle. Heard in here is used as an adjective as in "a heard voice". I think it would make it clearer if I cite the following examples:


  • make the voice of China loud and clear throughout the world
  • make the voice of China known throughout the world   



 
"If I were a carpenter and you were a lady, would you marry me?" are part of the lyrics of a popular English song.  Here were is used after if to express something which is not a fact or not possible, for example "If I were you....." or "If you were me.....".  Remember conditional tense, or the use of the word would, is to follow such phrases to express a hypothetical situation.

Examples
  • Peter is such a nice fellow, if I were you I would marry him.
  • If I were a millionaire, I would buy you a house.
  • If I were to take the examination again, I would study harder. 
"如果我是一个木匠,你是一位高贵女士 ,你会嫁给我吗............"是一首英文流行歌曲的歌词。该字 were 跟 if 表达一些不是事实或不可能的事情。例如:“如果我是你....." 或 “如果你是我.....".请记接着该等词句须用条件时态 would 以表达一种假设情况, 正如中文用法"如果我是你,我会............."。


例句
  • Peter is such a nice fellow,if I were you I would marry him.彼得是这样好的男人,如果我是你我会嫁给他。
  • If I were a millionaire, I would buy you a house. 如果我是百万富翁,我会买房子给您。
  • If I were to take the examination again, I would study harder. 如果我再参加考试,我会更加努力学习。
 
Shall and will
Shall and will are both modal verbs in English used to express propositions about the future. According to the New Oxford Dictionary of English, In modern English the interchangeable use of shall and will is an acceptable part of standard British and US English.

When I learned English in schools in Hong Kong, which were under the English system, we were told that for future tense first person it is I shall and 2nd or 3rd person or noun you will, he will and it will respectively. It would be wrong to say otherwise. However, under American English it is all along acceptable to say I will. As a matter of fact it is the preferred way. With the American dominant influence in the English language, I will or we will is generally used, while I shall or we shall is reserved for other uses, which I will explain below. Personally, I agree with Oxford dictionary that shall and will are interchangeable, i.e. the same. I do not know how the examination system in the Mainland views the uses of shall and will. Could anyone of my friends please tell me?

"I shall" or "we shall" indicates conviction
American English reserves the use of "I shall" or "we shall" to indicate certain conviction on the part of the speaker. The quote "I shall return" was made famous by US General Douglas MacArthur. When he told the Philippines people "I shall return." during the Second World War, he was telling them that they could count on him to come back. Therefore, when your American boyfriend tells you "I shall return". Don't treat it as he is showing you the proper use of English grammar. He is showing an commitment to you and that he will definitely come back to see you.

Shall used to give a suggestion or ask a question
For example, "Shall we go to McDonald?". The person saying this is suggesting to go to McDonald. It will be awkward or weird to say "Will we go to McDonald?"

The use of should and would
These two words are commonly used as the past tense for shall and will respectively. In addition, they have the following uses:      

Should is used to show an obligation and duty, examples:
  • You should not smoke in front of the children.
  • You should not lie about your age.
  • You should clean up the room. 

Would is used to make a polite request, examples:
  • Would you pick up that piece of paper on the floor?
  • Would you go to the dinner with me?
Shall 和 will


Shall 和 Will 都是用来表达对未来的情态动词。根据新牛津英语词典现代英语Shall 和 Will 可以互换使用 ,此已成为英式和美式英语可接受的一部分

当我在香港英制学校学英语是,老师教导我们 ,未来时第一人I shall 而第二人或第三人或名词顺序为  you will, he will, it will,如非如此便是错误。不过根据美国英语,I will, we will 一直以来同时可以接受 , 其实I will, we will 是他们较为接受的方式。随着美国在英语支配性影响力,I will, we will 反为较普遍使用, 而I shall 留作其他用途,我将在下面解释。就我个人而言,我同意牛津词典 Shall 和 Will 是可以互换的看法 ,但我不知道内地考试制度看法如何,请你们告诉我。

I shall 或 we shall 表示承诺
美国英语 I shall 或 we shall 限制使用以显示一个人的承诺。I shall return 这引用是由著名的美国将军麦卡瑟在第二次世界大战时对菲律宾人民说出已成为佳话,他是对当地人承诺他一定回来。因此当你的美国男友告诉你 I shall return, 不要把它当作他教你正确语法,他其实对你承诺他一定会回来看你。

Shall 用于提出建议或质询例如,Shall we go to McDonald? “咱们去麦当劳吧!” ,这表示要去吃麦当劳。如说Will we go to McDonald?这有点怪异。Should 和 would 的用法这两个词通常用作过去时 ,此外它们有以下用途:

Should 用来强调责任职责,例子:
  • You should not smoke in front of the children 你不应该在孩子面前吸烟
  • You should not lie about your age 你不应该就您的年龄撒谎
  • You should clean up the room. 你应该清理房间。
Would 用来作礼貌的要求,例如:
  • Would you pick up that piece of paper on the floor? 你可不可以拾起地上那一张纸?
  • Would you go to the dinner with me? 请问你和我一起吃饭可以吗?