n.年齡；時(shí)代；時(shí)期；長時(shí)間

v.（使）變老；（使）陳化

What is your age? 你多大年紀(jì)？

The child is at an impressionable age. 這孩子正處于易受影響的年齡。

We are living in the age of technology. 我們生活在工業(yè)技術(shù)時(shí)代。

Rome was in its prime in the age of Augustus. 羅馬帝國的全盛期是在奧古斯都時(shí)代。

I haven't seen you for ages. 我好久沒見到你了。

Anxiety ages us. 憂慮催人老。

The death of his wife caused him to age fast. 他妻子的死使他變老了許多。

The wine is put into oak casks to age. 酒被放進(jìn)橡木桶中變陳。

The cheese is left to age for at least a year. 這種奶酪至少要擱一年才成熟。

age前加at，in或of，表示不同意思。 He died at the age of ninety.（age指“年齡”)He died in his old age.（age指“人生的某段時(shí)間”）He died in an age of general unrest.（age指“年代”）

下列各句均表示相同意思： I am twenty years of age.I am aged twenty.My age is twenty.

注意下面的表達(dá)方式均不正確： I am twenty of age.My age is twenty years old.I am aged twenty years old.

at the age of ...結(jié)構(gòu)中用the，不用an；

advanced age指“高齡”，old age指“老年”。表達(dá)方式at an extremely old age和at a good old age是正確的； He died at an advanced age.（NOT He died at an old age.）He died in his old age.（NOT He died in his advanced age.)

age所在的表達(dá)方式when I was of your age，a man of twice my age，of what age he is等中，可省略of；

middle age指“中年”，大概是四十到六十歲，而指“少年”時(shí)，常用youth，而不是young age；

不能說My age is young，而是說I am young；

Middle Ages（或the middle ages）指“中世紀(jì)”，不可與middle age混用，而old age也不可指“古代”，應(yīng)用ancient times表示；

of an age指“同年齡的”，of the age指“當(dāng)代的”，of age指“成年的”；

若從你出生到現(xiàn)在為十八年和幾個(gè)月，可說eighteen，但實(shí)際已是第十九年，也可說 in my nineteenth year；

for ages和for an age都指“經(jīng)過了很長時(shí)間”。 He kept me waiting for ages.他讓我等了好久。 He kept me waiting for an age.

age的基本意思是“年齡”“年紀(jì)”,引申還可指“長時(shí)間”, age還可指具有某種顯著特征,或以杰出人物命名的歷史時(shí)代,也指地質(zhì)學(xué)、考古學(xué)中的“時(shí)代”。

age表示“年齡”,可用作可數(shù)名詞或不可數(shù)名詞,表示“時(shí)代”,是可數(shù)名詞,多用作單數(shù)形式,且以大寫字母開頭。

age籠統(tǒng)指個(gè)人或多人的年齡時(shí)常用單數(shù)。但如果分別指各人的年齡,或age后面跟各個(gè)具體的年齡,這時(shí)常用復(fù)數(shù)。

age表示“年齡”“年紀(jì)”時(shí),與介詞at連用,當(dāng)表示“時(shí)代”“時(shí)期”時(shí),與介詞in連用,表示“長時(shí)間”時(shí),要用介詞for,表示“同齡”時(shí),要用介詞of, of可省略。

當(dāng)復(fù)數(shù)物主代詞修飾“年齡”時(shí),可用ages,也可用age。后者著眼于個(gè)體。例如:

Array

“他18歲。”的說法:可說He is eighteen.He is eighteen years.He is eighteen years old.He is eighteen years of age.He is aged eighteen.His age is eighteen.不宜說He is eighteen of age.He is of eighteen years old.He is at the age of eighteen.His age is eighteen years old.近年來美國報(bào)刊上常有用“age+數(shù)詞”表示年齡。例如:John Smith, age 17, was arrested for drug-pushing.約翰·史密斯,17歲,因販毒而被捕。

一般問“你多大年紀(jì)?”是How old are you?但也可說What is your age?只是后者是相當(dāng)正式的語體。

age的基本意思是在不長的時(shí)間內(nèi)“長大,老化,變老” “使蒼老”。

age還可指“(酒等)變陳”或“存一段時(shí)間再用”,往往表示因歷時(shí)長久而變好,尤其指味道變醇厚。

age可用作及物動(dòng)詞,也可用作不及物動(dòng)詞。用作及物動(dòng)詞時(shí),接名詞或代詞作賓語。

age的現(xiàn)在分詞有兩種形式：ageing和aging,前者更常見些。

age的過去分詞可用作前置形容詞,表示“…歲的”“年老的”。