吳宜容
*officer/ official 什麼樣的官員
Q:同樣源於office這個字的officer和official,在字義上有什麼不同呢?
Ans: Officer代表的是「軍官、警官」,也可以擴大泛指穿著特殊制服,在近乎軍事化機構工作之官員,如「海關人員」。
Official指的是在政府行政部門工作的「文職或公職官員」。
Ex.
Mr. Wang is an officer in the Ministry of Defense.
(X)
Mr. Wang is an official in the Ministry
of Defense. (O)
Ex. Both
commissioned and non-commissioned officials attended. (X)
Both
commissioned and non-commissioned officers attended. (O)
*one day/ some day 過去或未來的「某一天」
兩個副詞片語中文翻譯皆作「有一天、某一天」,但還是有些微性的差別。
one day不論指過去或未來的某一天皆可適用;
some day只能用來指示「將來的」某一天。
Ex. Some day he came to see me. (X)
One day he came to see
me. (O)
Ex. If you don’t
change, you will be sorry for it some day. (O)
If you don’t
change, you will be sorry for it one day. (O)
*open/ unfold 到底是怎麼「打開」的?
雖然在中文裡面我們只用「打開」同時翻譯open和unfold兩個英文單字,可是兩者還是有細微的差別。
open的含意較廣,主要是指把「原本合上、關上或封起來的東西」打開;
unfold則是專屬於把摺疊的東西「展開並攤平」。
Ex. The eagle opens its wings. (X)
The eagle unfolds its wings. (O)
Ex. A magnificent
view unfolded before our eyes.
(X)
A
magnificent view opened before our eyes.
(O)
*opposite/contradictory/contrary 相反與對立
opposite指兩個事件處於相反的位置,
或者兩個相反但可能互相對應的意見、論點;
contradictory則強調兩者是互相矛盾的、完全的對立衝突;
contrary和opposite很像,不過contrary說的是兩樣東西在性質、傾向、方向是互相違背、是相反的,常翻譯作「截然不同的」
Ex. Traffic is moving in opposite directions. (X)
Traffic
is moving in contrary directions. (O)
Ex.
Father
and Mother sat at contrary ends of the table. (X)
Father and Mother sat at opposite ends of the
table. (O)
Ex. They had opposite statements and
therefore they triggered a serious quarrel between them. (X)
They
had contrary statements and
therefore they triggered a serious quarrel between them. (O)
*kill/ assassinate/ butcher/ execute 不同的「殺」
在表達「殺」、「使人死亡」這類概念時,
Kill 是一般最常見的說法,常用來指使人或物「喪失生命」,變成死亡狀態,所以並不刻意強調是用什麼工具或方法,只強調致死的事實。
Assassinate則用來強調可能出於政治目的或者某種非個人因素而蓄意採取「刺殺」或者「暗殺」的行動。
Butcher是指人對動物的「屠宰」,或者是人對人的「殘殺」、「屠殺」、「虐殺」。Execute則注重在「法律上」對人執行死刑。
To be killed with/
to be killed by 的不同:
Ex. He
was killed by a knife. (X)
He was killed with a knife. (O)
他被人用刀殺死。
*注意: He was killed by a knife. 意指:他死於刀下。
To be killed with/ to be killed by 的不同之處在於,
前者強調「用」工具使人或物致死,如例句中的knife刀子;
但後者則有解釋是「因為」某個行為而「被」殺死
killed 和 dead的不同狀態:
Ex. She was dead in a car accident two
year ago. (X)
She was killed in a car accident two year ago. (O)
兩年前,她死於一場車禍。
*注意: dead純粹指一種死亡狀態,這個句子要強調的是車禍「致她於死」,並不是要強調她的死亡狀況,所以一定要用killed才能包含「置
人於死地」動作意味。
kill 和 assassinate 的不同:
Ex. The police captured the man who
killed the premier. (X)
The police captured the man who assassinated the premier. (O)
警方逮捕了刺殺總理的人。
*注意:這個句子強調的是一種「政治上的暗殺」,所以光用kill只能表達「致人於死」,這和句子的本意還有差距,所以應該用assassinate更強調「刺殺行動」的意思。
kill 和 butcher 之相異處:
Ex. Women and children were killed by the
rebels. (X)
Women and children were butchered by the rebels. (O)
婦女和兒童遭到叛亂者的屠殺。
*注意:如果只用kill是不能表達出婦女與小孩被「屠殺」的情況,所以應該要用butcher,明確指出句子當中要表現的殘忍。
kill 和 execute 之不同:
Ex. The criminal was killed because of
murder. (X)
The criminal was executed because of murder. (O)
犯人因謀殺而被處死。
*注意: 一樣地,我們不能光用kill表示criminal的死亡狀態,應該用execute表示他是因為「執行死刑」而死。
*kind和kindly 「仁慈」的差別
Kind當名詞時,意思是「種類、性質、方式」。
當形容詞,意指「和藹的,溫和的,爽快的」
(代表對其他人一種親切、仁慈的心態,是一種人格本質,專指人的心地而言,意思是「親切的」、「仁慈的」)
Kindly 當形容詞時,特指長對幼、強對弱或地位高對地位低的人的「厚道」、「仁慈」或「慈祥」,指 humane 「仁道、厚道」, sympathetic「有同情心的」,比較強調在行動上的表現,
Ex. Mr. Michaels is very kindly
to us. (X)
Mr.
Michaels is very kind to us. (O)
*注意: kind當形容詞用,形容麥寇斯先生是個「善良親切的人」,所以他對我們 很好。應該把kindly改成kind。
Ex. Margaret has a kind father. (瑪格麗特的父親是個善良親切的人。)
Margaret has a kindly father. (瑪格麗特有個慈祥的父親。)
*解說:第一句中用的kind指的是父親是個「善良親切的人」。第二句意思應該更強調「父親」的「慈祥」,所以要說「有個慈祥的父親」時,應該把kind改成kindly。
Ex. Would you kindly fill in your name and
address? (O)
Would you kind fill in your name and
address? (X)
Ex. Mr. Thomas also very kind allowed us to hold the conference in
his magnificent office. (X)
Mr.
Thomas also very kindly allowed us to hold the conference
in his magnificent office. (O)
托瑪斯先生還非常好意地讓我們用他富麗堂皇的辦公室開(研討)會。
Ex. He follows the law of his kind. (O)
He follows the
law of his kindly. (X)
他順著他同胞的律法行事。
(解說:Kind當名詞時,意思是「種類、同類」)
Ex. Kindly come this way please.
(O)
Please
kindly come this way. (O)
Come this
way kindly please. (X)
請走這邊。(也有「請跟我來」的意思)
*kind/
category/ class / sort/ type 到底有幾「種」
在英文中有好幾種不同的「種類」單字表達法,其中kind (名詞) 是最常使用的表示「分類」的用語。用法廣泛,通常指「根據事物特徵或性質」而分的類別。
另一個字category則是較專業、正式的表達「分類」的用語。常指用「自然屬性」劃分的類別,或者按照標準用科學方法分出的門類。
Class專指「根據等級分成的類別」。
Sort和kind一樣是較為廣泛的用字,可以和kind互換。
Type專門指某種事物中用「客觀標準將具有共同特徵的物品進行劃分」而來的類型,如血型等。
Ex. Is there any difference between the new kind of
airplane and the old kind? (X)
Is there any
difference between the new type of airplane and the old type? (O)
新式飛機和舊式有何不同?(飛機的分類是依據客觀標準,有「型號」參照,所以應該用type)
Ex. The race has competitions for
ten sorts of boat. (X)
The race has competitions for ten classes of boat. (O)
這場比賽包含10種不同等級的船類競賽項目。
*注意:競賽中常會把參賽者依據「等級」劃分不同組別,這個例句便是這個意思,所以要把sorts改成classes。
Ex. Even in the war time, the store-owner tried his best
to have his store well stocked with goods of all categories.
Even in the war time, the
store-owner tried his best to have his store well stocked with all sorts of
goods. (O)
即使在戰時,店老闆還是努力把各種貨品備齊。
*注意:category則是較專業、正式的「分類」,貨品並不需要按照「自然屬性」做分類,更不需要依據任何的「科學方法」,所以這裡用categories太過正式了,應該用 kinds或sorts即可。
Ex. The strings are a kind of musical
instruments.
The
strings are a category of musical instruments. (O)
弦樂器是樂器的一種。
*注意:照理用kind也可以。弦樂器是樂器這個種類當中的一種,這是依照它的特別「屬性」來分類的,如果用kind就顯不出它在樂器這一類當中的特別屬性,所以用category更為恰當。
*kindle/
fire/ ignite/ inflame/ light 哪一種才是我要的「燃燒」?
這些字做動詞用時,都是「使某物燃燒」的意思。
Kindle 所指涉的燃燒物是比較不容易燃燒的,需要做些準備工作或採取一些措施的東西,而且有時會用來比喻激發某種強烈情感或行為。
Fire是說「烘烤」或者「熊熊地燃燒」,並且還可以用來比喻誘發了熱情、激情或欲望。
Ignite 和 kindle 相似,指的是通過某種方法使物體快速而猛烈的燃燒,尤其指易燃物。
Inflame 比較屬於文學用語,指一種情感的強烈爆發,醫學上還可以用來指發炎。
Light 偏向「照亮」的含意,所以通常用來指為了照明、取暖或吸煙等目的而點燃某物或用來比喻人容光煥發。
Ex. The spark fired the dry
grass. (X)
The
spark ignited the dry grass. (X)
The
spark kindled the dry grass. (O)
火星點著了乾草。
*注意:句子中的意思指的是spark (剰餘火星)「點燃了」乾草的情況而已,並沒有「熊熊燃燒」的意思,所以用 kindled 較適合。
Ex. The hill was fired with
autumnal tints. (X)
The hill was inflamed with autumnal tints.(O)
秋色染紅了山坡。
*注意:秋色雖然像是「火紅的大片燃燒」,但是並不是真的燃燒,而是強調「染遍了」的文學味道,所以要把 fired 改成 inflamed 比較適當。
Ex. As it got dark, he ignited a
candle. (X)
As
it got dark, he lighted a candle. (O)
天變黑時,他點亮了一根蠟燭。
*注意: 雖然蠟燭是被「點燃」了,可是更強調它的「照明功能」,所以要把 ignited改成 lighted。
Ex. The speaker fired the
audience with enthusiasm. (O)
The speaker kindled the
audience with enthusiasm. (X)
演講者用熱情感染了聽眾。
*注意:演講者用他的熱情「激發了觀眾的熱情」,所以用fired代替kindled會更適合,因為這裡並沒有實際具體的點燃某種物品。
Ex. Petrol kindles very
easily. (X)
Petrol ignites very
easily. (O)
汽油是易燃物。
*注意:用 kindle 就表現不出句子裡要說的主要意思—易燃物,所以應該用 ignites 來代替。
*know/ learn/ understand/ study 「學」到什麼了?
Know/ Learn/ Understand/ Study 這些字都是「知道」、「學習到」的意思,但是卻用在不同的地方。
know是最廣泛的用法,是最直接表達「知道了」的意思,比較主觀。
Learn 則是說明「知道」了一種技能,較偏重「學習」的味道,比較客觀,還可以代表學到一種教訓的意思。
Understand 是指「理解」,強調清楚瞭解明白,沒有誤會,不光是「知道了」而已。
Study 和 learn 相比之下,更重視「學習」、「研究」的意思,尤其用在學習某種專業科目,而不是生活上的某種技能之類。
Ex. Do you know how to study English effectively? (O)
How
do we learn English effectively? (O)
Ex. Most of students in that senior high
school
learn English well. (O)
那中學大部分的學生都通曉英語。
Ex. Most of
students learn English well. (O)
Most of students want to study English abroad. (O)
大部分的學生都想出國學英文。
Ex. It's time to learn English! Study abroad and learn English with English courses and English
language schools in England and America. (O)
*解說:雖然我們「學英文」,可是我們已經將英文當作一種「生活必備技能」時,就用 learn 表達「通曉學習」的意思,而不光只是「學了」而已。
Ex. A good teacher must understand children.
(O)
A good teacher
must know children. (X)
A good teacher must know his/her
children well. (O)
一個好老師必須要瞭解兒童。
A good teacher should be loving, know the children
personally in order to help them with their problems. (O)
一個好老師必須要有愛心,知道他每一個孩子,以便幫助他們解決問題。
解說:老師要「徹底瞭解、理解」兒童才能當個好老師,所以要用understand才比較適切。
Ex. I learn by his
voice that he is tired. (X)
I know by
his voice that he is tired. (O)
從他聲音我知道他累了。
解說:「我知道他累了」不需要表示任何「學習」的意思,所以只要用 know 表示說「知道了」就好了。
Ex. They will learn the
effect of technology on jobs. (X)
They will study the effect of technology
on jobs. (O)
他們將研究科技在工作上產生的效果。
解說: 因為句子裡已經強調了「研究」的專業意味,所以要把learn改成表示「學習專業知識」的study。
*know/ know of/ know about 到底「知道」不知道?
know在這三者裡面表達的「知道、瞭解」的意思最為直接,可以是及物也可以是不及物動詞;know of 和 know about都是及物動詞片語,都應有接受詞,know
of表示「知道有……」、「聽說過……」,而 know about意思是「知道關於……的情況」。
Ex. I know about Mark
because I have heard people talking about him. (X)
I know Mark because I have
heard people talking about him. (O)
我聽過Mark,因為我聽過人談論他。
Ex. I don’t know of your
situation so that I can’t help you. (X)
I
don’t know about your situation so that I can’t help you. (O)
我不清楚你的情況,所以我不能幫你。
Ex. The girl you knew about in
the party is one of my good friends. (X)
The
girl you knew in the party is one of my good friends. (O)
你在派對上認識的那個女孩是我好朋友之一。
Ex. I know of Mark
because I have heard people talking about him. (O)
I know Mark
because I have heard people talking about him. (O)
I know
about Mark because I have heard people talking about him. (X)
我聽過Mark,因為我聽過人談論他。
解說:這例句若要強調我並不真認識Mark,只是「聽過」別人談論,就不要用 know而是用 know of。 若用 know 指的是「知道」Mark這個人,但不是太熟。know about意思是「知道關於……的情況」。
Ex. I don’t know about your
situation so that I can’t help you. (O)
I
don’t know of your situation so that I can’t help you. (X)
我不清楚你的情況,所以我不能幫你。
解說:在例句中,並不是有沒有「聽說過」,而是「我不知道關於……的情況」,所以應該把 know
of 改成 know about才正確。
Ex. The girl you knew in
the party is one of my good friends.
你在派對上認識的那個女孩是我好朋友之一。
解說:在句子中,只是單純表示「認識、知道」的意思,和「瞭解那個女孩的情況」無關,所以只要用 know 就可以了。
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