Sam Yet again, we have received a really interesting question from one of our listeners. Thank you! For the purposes of this programme, we are only going to talk about these four words as verbs, and only in the context of position or value or quality or belonging to a particular group.
Sam The key word in the definition of 'rank' is 'position'. Thinking about an athlete competing in a race or a student competing in a school test might help with this idea. If we asked the athlete or the student 'Where did you rank?', it would be like asking them 'What was your position?'
Jiaying 原来动词 “rank” 具体可以用来谈论运动员比赛或学生考试的排名情况。我们用 “Where did you rank?” 或者 “What was your position?” 来表示 “你第几名？”
Examples After an excellent performance in the tennis tournament, she now ranks third in the world. （在网球锦标赛中的出色表现后，她现在排名世界第三。）
Many say he ranks among the best pianists of all time. （许多人说他是有史以来最优秀的钢琴家之一。）
Sam Let's look at 'rate' now. This verb is similar to 'judge' and is more subjective than 'rank'. It's more about your opinion. And we might assign numbers when rating something – for example, we might rate something from one to ten. What more can you tell us, Jiaying?
Jiaying 动词 “rate” 的确切定义是 “评估、评价人或物的价值或特征”。与 “rank” 相比，“rate” 则更多地用来谈论对所评价的人或事物的主观看法。比如，我们可以说：“rate something from one to ten（用1到10之间的数字给某物打分）”。
Sam So, if someone asks you 'How do you rate him as a singer?', it's the same as if they asked you 'What do you think of him as a singer?' or 'What's your opinion of him as a singer?'
Jiaying How do you rate him as a singer?（你觉得他作为一名歌手，水平如何？）Sam 在这里使用了 “as”：“rate someone as” 的意思是 “评价某人作为…的水平、实力、价值或表现”。听两个使用了动词 “rate” 的例句。
Examples How do you rate her as a tennis player? （你如何评价她作为一名网球运动员的表现？）
The company have a very good reputation. They are rated highly by their clients. （这家公司声誉颇佳。客户对他们的评价很高。）
Sam It's time to look at 'class' now. With 'class', we're not judging something or someone, we're saying that they belong to a particular group, aren't we?
Sam It's a little more common to use 'grade' with things than with people simply because it can be a little rude to 'grade' a person by their size, for example!
