[ti:What Do You Do or What Are You Doing?]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]Today we answer a question from Emad.
[00:03.71]He writes, "I would like to know the difference between what do you do?
[00:09.72]and what are you doing? When do you use both?" - Emad
[00:15.68]Dear Emad, Those are excellent questions.
[00:20.53]One question is about a person's work or profession,
[00:25.20]and the other is about what action a person is doing at the moment, or in the near future.
[00:33.88]We will take the work example first.
[00:37.35]Imagine that you meet someone at a party.
[00:41.11]The person asks you: ‘What do you do?'
[00:44.87]What they mean is: ‘What do you do for a living? Or ‘What is your profession?'
[00:51.89]You would answer them by stating the kind of work you do, like this:
[00:57.94]"I am a writer," or "I am a doctor" or "I drive a bus."
[01:04.40]Now, on to the other question.
[01:07.70]Maybe you get a phone call and your friend asks:
[01:12.62]"What are you doing?"
[01:15.48]They are not asking what you do for a living,
[01:18.74]but what activity are you doing at that time.
[01:23.69]Your answer might be something like this:
[01:26.80]"I'm reading a book. It's great!"
[01:29.88]or "I'm cooking dinner for the family."
[01:34.76]Sometimes, the question "What do you do..." may include a day or period of time.
[01:42.44]For example, someone may ask, "What do you do on weekends?"
[01:48.60]In this case, they are asking what activities you usually do on weekends.
[01:55.83]They are not asking about your profession.
[01:59.29]Here is an example of what you might say:
[02:03.25]"I usually take things easy, go out with friends or do other activities,
[02:10.02]like exercise or go for a run."
[02:13.80]However, when you add a time period to "What are you doing?,"
[02:20.53]you are asking what activity the person is doing at a specific time in the near future.
[02:30.72]Here is an example.
[02:32.88]"What are you doing after work today?"
[02:36.16]One might say:
[02:37.94]"I am thinking of going out to dinner. Do you want to come with me?"
[02:43.49]And That's Ask a Teacher!
[02:46.88]I'm Anne Ball.
[02:49.20]更多听力请访问21VOA.COM