2014年2月27日 星期四

旅行 journey

to travel somewhere:As we journeyed south, the landscape became drier and rockier.

獲得冷淡支持

barely merits a passing nod

問:以下一句,barely merits a passing nod是不是指「難達目的」?──Due to a lack of public awareness, the mainland's campaign against smoking barely merits a passing nod。
答:Barely等於just或only(僅僅、只是),merit則是「應該得到」,例如:The proposal merits in-depth discussion(這建議值得深入討論)。Passing nod是一常見詞語,須詳細一點解釋。
Pass有「經過」、「消失」的意思,引伸其義,passing就是「一時的」或「敷衍的」,例如:(1)He probably had a passing fancy for the girl, which would not outlast his stay in Hong Kong(他大概逢場作戲般愛上這女郎,但這愛意只會維持到他離開香港的時候)。(2)I have a passing acquaintance with her(我和她可算有點交情)。此外,你還可以說a passing interest(短暫的興趣)、a passing thought(偶然的想念)等。
Nod是「點頭」,而點頭可以是打招呼或表示同意,例如:(1)He gave me a nod/ a passing nod as he passed(他經過時,跟我點點頭/跟我隨便點點頭)。(2)We passed the proposal on the nod(我們一致同意,通過這建議)。
Passing nod二字合用,可解作「敷衍式同意」,例如:The Peking regime does not give more than a passing nod to human rights(北京政權所謂支持人權,了無誠意)。讀者示下那一句是說:「大陸一般人對吸煙之害缺乏認識,因此,反吸煙運動只獲得冷淡的支持。」

link: http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/supplement/columnist/%E5%8F%A4%E5%BE%B7%E6%98%8E/art/20140225/18636331

消防官員

問:公司有告示說,假如發現失火,就應Report to the fire marshal(向消防主任報告)。查字典,marshal是「元帥」,上述句子為甚麼用marshal一字?
答:Marshal除了指「元帥」,美式英文還用來說警官或消防長官,例如:(1)A marshal was going after the escaped prisoner(一個警官正在追捕那個越獄的囚犯)。(2)The fire marshal believed that an arsonist was responsible for the fire(消防長官相信,這場火是縱火者引起的)。讀者示下那一句,是用美式說法。英式英文會說fire officer。

link: http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/supplement/columnist/%E5%8F%A4%E5%BE%B7%E6%98%8E/art/20140226/18637484



符合要求

fill the requirements of 

fulfill the requirements of

satisfy the requirements of 

2014年2月18日 星期二

爭議的題目



The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls.
会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。

see: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vexed


2014年2月17日 星期一

長期的合作關係

long-standing relationship

http://collocationdictionary.freedicts.com/search1?word=relationship


與...有關 bear great relevance to

relevance noun
ADJ. considerable, great, wider | limited, marginal | doubtful, dubious | equal | direct, immediate | continued/continuing | declining | obvious | real | possible, potential | general | particular, special | contemporary He claims that the laws are antiquated and have no contemporary relevance. | practical | political

VERB + RELEVANCE be/remain of The book is of particular relevance to student nurses. | bear, have The theory bears little relevance to practice. | lack, lose Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world. | ensure Constant revision of the curriculum must be undertaken to ensure its continuing relevance. | increase | see | demonstrate, establish Skim the book in order to establish its relevance to your needs. | assess, consider, examine, explore, judge | question
PREP. ~ for/to I can't see the relevance of his comment to the debate.

2014年2月13日 星期四

大使館人員, 總領事

consul 是大使館人員: an official chosen by a government to live in a foreign city, in order to take careof people from the official's own country who travel or live there, and to protect thetrade interests of that government:

consulate 是大使館。

consul general或consulate general 是總領事。

洞察

gain insight into

感謝

express thanks to

2014年2月12日 星期三

重要的決定

a crucial decision/question

重要

Of equal importance

問題的核心

[S or U] the basic and most important part of something:The lack of government funding is at the core of the problem.

留心

to pay attention to something, especially advice or a warning:
The airline has been criticized for failing to heed advice/warnings about lack of safety routines.


heed

But few at the conference in London last week heeded his warning...

但在上周于伦敦召开的大会上,几乎没有人留意他的警告。

為...開路

 to make it possible for someone to do something or for something to happen:This merger will revolutionize the industry and pave the way for more international alliances.

2014年2月10日 星期一

多方面的

multi-faceted

生词本
/ˌmʌl.tiˈfæs.ɪ.tɪd/ US  /-t̬iˈfæs.ɪ.t̬ɪd/
n.
网 络


having many different parts:It's a multifaceted businessoffering a range of services.

2014年2月6日 星期四

究竟大學院校名前面應否有"the"?

究竟大學院校名前面應否有"the"?

My personal rule of thumb would be that if the school name includes an "of", use "the": The University of Minnesota, The College of St. Catherine, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, etc. (And when abbreviating one of these names, use "the" only if the "of" is present in the abbreviation: "I attend the University of California at San Diego" → "I attend UCSD"; but "I attend the University of Minnesota" → "I attend the U of M".)

But if the school name does not include an "of", and especially if its name consists of a proper noun prepended to a school type, do not use "the": Carleton College, South Dakota State University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, etc.

(Naturally, as pointed out by Shaun in his answer, there will be exceptions.)

source: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/10020/definite-article-before-schools-colleges-and-universities

這篇也可以參考:


AnonymousMy grammar book says that we should insert "the" before the university named as "University of ~ (the name of states, towns, etc.)" (e.g. the University of Michigan), whereas any articles should not be placed before the university named as "~ University" (e.g. Harvard University).

According to this, it seems that, for example,"Hankuk University of Foreign Studies" should accompany "the," going by "the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies."
Your logic is faulty. The grammar book says to use the if the first word is University, and not to use the when the first word is not University.

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies does not contain University as the first word. Yet you wish to apply the rule as if the first word of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies were University.

Applying the rule from your grammar book should lead you to expect not to use the before Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

I don't see anything wrong with the rule given in your grammar book, provided it is applied properly. Naturally, you will find a few exceptions, but these are not particularly numerous.

source: http://www.englishforums.com/English/ArticleUniversityNames/jkdjq/post.htm

收獲甚豐




reaped a bumper harvest

2014年2月5日 星期三

冒..的險

run a risk of

...是..的開始

是...的開始

eg.

Will 1 April mark the beginning of the end of England's NHS?

多種

diverse-形容詞
多種
multiplediverseof many kindsmultiplex
differentabnormalalienforeignanotherdiverse
繁雜
miscellaneousdiversemany
各色各樣
diverse

2014年2月4日 星期二

獨特的

unique-形容詞
獨特
uniquedistinct
唯一
uniquesole
獨一無二
uniqueunmatchedin a class by oneself
別致
uniqueunconventional
特制
specialunique
超絕
superbextraordinaryunique

已死的...

今早SCMP有標題說:
Late actor Hoffman's apartment filled with heroin packets, police confirm

這個late,即是「已逝世的」的意思。