"Smartphone owners are using their phones to get fast access to location-relevant information on-the-go," said Kathryn Zickuhr, co-author of the Pew report.

Could you explain "on-the-go"?

My comments:

The good thing about English is that virtually every verb can be used as a noun, which is not unlike ancient Chinese, of course and which is as it should be. "On the go" hence means on the move, while you're travelling, going from place to place. By extension, "on the go" may also mean when you're busy and active, when you have something on your hand, when you're not free and idle.

Smartphone owners are using their phones to get fast access to "location-relevant information" on the go? "Location-relevant information" simply means where the place you're going to is located and how you are supposed to get there.

Suppose you're going to the zoo. By using one of the many smartphone aps, such as Google Map, you can get to see where it is on your screen.

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Go to Zhang Xin's column

本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網(wǎng)立場無關(guān)。歡迎大家討論學術(shù)問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發(fā)布一切違反國家現(xiàn)行法律法規(guī)的內(nèi)容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（張欣） has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.