2012年12月12日星期三

古德明: 三朵雲、此外




問:Cloud(雲)作可數(countable)或不可數(uncountable)名詞都可以,然則「三朵雲」應說three clouds還是three pieces of cloud

答:論文法,three cloudsthree pieces of cloud都是正確英文,但a cloudtwo clouds等說法,比a piece / two pieces of cloud等較為常見,聽起來也自然一點,例如:There were two or three clouds in the sky(天上有兩三朵雲)。

Cloud作不可數名詞,多是泛指浮雲,而不是清楚說出其數目,例如:We saw bits and pieces of cloud scudding across the sky(我們看見浮雲迅速飛過長空)。

問:法庭判決書有以下一句,其中otherwise一字的意思和用法,頗難明白,先生可不可以談談?──This court has repeatedly said that sympathetic personal circumstances of drug traffickers or their extended families cannot be a reason for reducing an otherwise appropriate sentence

答:這一句是說:「本法庭已屢次聲明,毒販或其親屬的個人環境縱使值得同情,所判刑罰只要其他方面都合理,則不可緩減。」Otherwise有「此外」或「在其他方面」的意思,例如:(1He is rather lazy, but otherwise he is a good man(他頗為懶惰,此外則是個好人)。(2He was intelligent, or he could not have beaten his otherwise equals(他很聰明,否則不可能打敗其他方面都和他相若的對手)。