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2013年1月19日 星期六

一句英文二個問題


問:(同一試卷還)有以下句子:Use one word to complete each blank. Hyphenated words count as one word(各空白處請填入一字。連字號接連的字,當作一個字)。Complete是不是應改為fill in?第二句是不是應作A hyphenated word is counted as one word
答:填充一般是說to fill in a blank,但說to complete a blank也可以,例如:You must complete all blanks(所有空白處都須填寫)。Complete也許不如fill in那麼好,卻不能算是錯誤。
Hyphenated words
是說用連字號(hyphen)接連的兩個字,即two words joined with a hyphen,所以hyphenated words不應改為a hyphenated word
至於count字,除了解作「計算」,還可解作「視為」或「被視為」,例如:(1I count him as my best friend(我視他為最好的朋友)。(2This unsigned letter cannot count as evidence(這封沒簽名的信,不能當作證據)。試題那一句,count是「當作」的意思,也不應改為is counted

我不同意上述的說法!A hyphenated word is counted as one word這寫法是絕對可以的,當然你寫A hyphenated word counts as one wordHyphenated words count as one word也可接受,但我認為第三個寫法最差。

逐個講,先說count這個動詞,在「被視為」這個意思中,LDOCE5說這是一個transitive verb,但另外幾本字典包括OALD8/MED2/CALD3/MWALD都說count作這解釋時,既可以是transitive verb,也可以是intransitive verb。但這點並不重要,重要的是count在這裏絕對可用作被動式。MED2Cobuild在作這解法時就有be counted as sth這句型,而OALD8MWALD也有相關例句:

e.g. For tax purposes that money counts/is counted as income. (OALD8)

e.g. She was counted as absent from school that day. (MWALD)

所以,在上述問題中,寫counts/is counted as one word都可以。

跟著說hyphenated這個字,這是由動詞hyphenate演化成的形容詞,它是用來表達將兩部份如prefix或一些字聯結起來,變成另一個意思的字,例如anti-virus。連結起來的字就形成一個新的字,是單數的,不是是二個或三個字,有一個新的解釋。例如down-to-earth連起來就是一個新的字(a hyphenated word),意思跟三個字分開時完全不一樣。Collins English Dictionary在給予hyphenated的其中一個解釋時就說到:

having a nationality denoted by a hyphenated word, as in American-Irish

這句是說American-Irisha hyphenated word,代表一種國藉。

因此,我不同意古先生說的這句:

Hyphenated words是說用連字號(hyphen)接連的兩個字,即two words joined with a hyphen,所以hyphenated words不應改為a hyphenated word

例如英文名字中經常出現hyphen,即將兩個名字連在一起,我們仍說這是a hyphenated name,不會因此而說hyphenated names。上文問題中想說的是「有連號的字當一個字計」,這句可譯成:

A hyphenated word counts/is counted as one word.

Hyphenated words count/are counted as one word.

但因為一段文章中可能出現多個hyphenated words,若我們取第二個譯法,學生就有可能被誤導在空格(blank)中填上兩個或以上的hyphenated words,故在今次的問題中我認為第一個譯法較佳!