問：有英文參考書說，public interest是「公眾利益」，而the public's interest則是「公眾興趣」。然則public views和the public's views等，意思會不會不同？
答：Public是「公眾」，interest則是「利益」或「興趣」，所以，「公眾利益」和「公眾興趣」都可以說是public interest或the public's interest，意思只能按上下文而定，用哪個說法則要按句子結構而定。無徵不信，謹舉英國歌詞作家Tim Rice和美國國會議員John Conyers兩句話為例：（1）There is already huge public interest in stage musicals（舞臺音樂劇已贏得大眾的濃厚興趣）。（2）I am hopeful you will agree that it is in the department's and the public's interest to release this information in order to avoid any possible appearance or suggestion of impropriety or political favoritism（我希望你也同意，公布這些資料，符合部門和公眾的利益，可免行為不當或政治徇私的嫌疑）。
當然，你也可以說：（1）The public's interest in stage musicals is already huge（公眾對舞臺音樂劇已有濃厚興趣）。（2）Releasing this information is in the public interest as well as in the interest of the department（公布這些資料，符合公眾利益，也符合部門利益）。
至於public views和the public's views，都是指「公眾的看法」，意思沒有什麼分別，只是public一作形容詞，一作名詞而已。