問:以下一句的for字,應不應該刪去?──You should know for yourself what is right and what is wrong。
答:這一句意思應是:「是非你自己都應該知道。」假如刪去for字,句子文法沒有錯,但「不用我說你都應該知道」的含義就沒有了。而假如不要這含義,則yourself一字也可刪去,即You should know what is right and wrong(是非你應該知道)。
留意以下一句的yourself,不應用for字帶出:You know the man yourself(這個人你是認識的)。
問:Eminent和pre-eminent二字,《牛津高階英漢雙解詞典》同樣譯做「卓越的」,這兩個「卓越」有分別嗎?
答:Pre-eminent可以說是eminent的最高級(superlative)說法。一群卓爾不凡人物之中,最突出者,就是pre-eminent,例如:(1)He rose to eminence in the field of international law(他研習國際法,嶄露頭角)。(2)He was pre-eminent in the field of international law(他研習國際法,領袖群倫)。
問:以下選擇題,那個選擇正確?──Even forests that (A)not (B)are not (C)will not (D)were not being logged are seriously threatened by pollution(即使未遭砍伐的森林,也受到污染的嚴重威脅)。
答:英文只可說things that are not being done或things that will not be done,不可說things that not being done或things that will not being done,所以,答案A、C都不對;而答案D是過去式,和後文的現在式are不一致,當然也不是正確答案。正確答案是B,即are not。