2013年2月13日星期三

古德明: 貧困者、世界和平




問:有學生作文說The students can help the needed in society(學生可以幫助社會的貧困者),又說keep world peaceThe needed要不要改為people in needKeep world peace又要不要改為keep the world peacekeep the world in peacekeep a peaceful world

答:「世界和平」一般是說world peace,不用冠詞the,除非專指某一種或某一個時候的世界和平,例如:(1The United Nations was established in 1945 to keep world peace(聯合國一九四五年成立,旨在維護世界和平)。(2The world peace that we have today is at best fragile, for it is built on the enslavement of at least a quarter of mankind(今天的世界和平非常脆弱,因為這和平之下,是至少四分之一人類淪為奴隸)。To keep world peace改為to keep the world in peace也可以,但不必要;to keep a peaceful world則是「維護一個和平的世界」,意思有點不同。

至於the needed,應是指「被需要者」,不是「貧困者」。讀者說的那個學生,顯然是把the needy(貧困者、有需要者)誤作the needed。英文極少用the needed二字作名詞,當然,文法上作名詞也可以,例如:Very often, the needed need the needy. For instance, doctors need patients as much as patients need doctors(為人所求者,往往也需要求人者。例如病人需要醫生,醫生也需要病人)。讀者示下那一句,宜改為Students can help the needy(或those in needin society。留意除非專指某些學生,否則students之前不用the