Everything U wanna know about the English language
Posts tagged UE
解讀長句
Jun 9th
今日再同大家看一個長句，它同樣出自 UE 1997 Section C 的閱讀理解。句子是這樣寫的 (lines 46-52) ：
It [The West's failure] extends not just to the environment and physical infrastructure of modern Asian societies, which people are amazed to find leave British and many other European cities looking run down and dilapidated, but to the moral and social order they stand.
句子既用上 not just… but… 這個平行結構 (parallel structure) ，也用上兩個關係子句 (relative clause) 。而最令學生費解的，莫過於兩個動詞 find 和 leave 在 people are amazed to 之後連在一起。以下時間，我會替讀者拆解以上長句，並且講解動詞 find 和 leave 的一些特殊用法；與此同時，讀者可以順便複習一下關係子句這個語法問題。
Extraposition 移位大法
Jun 7th
同學生做 UE 1997 Section C 閱讀理解，文章標題為 "The Asian Challenge: British Member of Parliament David Howell contrasts East with West" ，文中 41 至 45 行這樣寫：
So, the prospect emerges not just of richer Asian countries with far better public amenities, but of states with a cleaner environment and more reliable power supplies than Western governments for decades to come.
有學生看不懂這個英語句子，不明白動詞 emerge 後為何會接介詞 of ，而非 from 。今日我就為讀者解讀這句子，並看看英語裡頭一種語法現象，從而解答以上疑問。
睇 SCMP 學英文 (二)
May 26th
今日再同大家分享 Peter Kammerer 於 SCMP 寫的，標題為 World City? Rubbish 的文章，繼續解釋一些有用的詞彙和句型，讓大家學習、模仿。時間關係，今日只能同大家分享第二段：
Part of the problem is that I am lazy. The nearest three-colour recycling bins are a 15-minute walk away1. That doesn't account for me being self-conscious [= 很在意] about pushing through [= 擠過去] the often jam-packed [= 擠擁的] pavements near my home with bags full of rubbish, that glass bottles and food scraps [= 剩下的食物] would not be accounted for or that my neighbours are unlikely to follow my lead [= 倣傚我的做法]2. I live in private housing, not one of those public estates where recycling programmes are under way3. If authorities truly cared about the environment, they would give me and all other citizens an edict [= 法令] to sort our rubbish or face a big, fat fine [= 巨額罰款]4.
Make, Mean, Cause, Threaten 與句型轉換
May 13th
繼續看 2002 UE Section C ，今次想談動詞句法與句型的問題。
請看以下句子：
The dangers of disease, corruption and civil war __(23)__ Africa an extremely difficult and dangerous continent to travel through.
A. mean
B. cause
C. threaten
D. make
Possibility
May 11th
同學生做2002年UE Section C，其中有一題考學生對 "possibility" 一詞運用之認識，甚為有趣，決定拿來同大家討論。
題目為：
"Then, there's __(26)__ possibility of being attacked by a hippo or crocodile."
A. the very real
B. a present
C. always
D. worrying
劍橋高階英語詞典
朗文當代英語詞典
牛津高階英語詞典