Dos & Don’ts — 想想看，這句話英語該怎麼說？
1. 我臥病三天。
✔ I stayed in bed for three days.
Photo: Adobe Stock l 圖片:Adobe Stock
✔ I kept to my bed for three days.
χ I slept in my bed for three days.
註︰動詞 sleep 通常作「睡眠」解。例如：Usually we sleep eight hours a day.
Photo: Adobe Stock l 圖片:Adobe Stock
「因病臥床」應用 to stay in bed 或 to keep to one’s bed.
2. 彼得容易傷風。
✔ Peter is liable to colds (或to catch cold).
✔ Peter is subject to colds.
χ Peter is easy to catch cold.
註︰easy 常用於事，可以說 English is easy to learn. 或 It is easy to learn English.，但不可以說 I am easy to learn English.。因為 easy 很少用於人，尤其用來指「容易」的場合。除非用在 an easy person 中，easy 在此意思是「隨和」。
另外，可以說 “It is easy to misuse the article.” 或 “The article is easily misused.”， 不可以說 “The article is easy to misuse.”。類似的形容詞有 difficult, hard, possible, impossible, dangerous 等。
3. 那個顧客再也無法掩藏他的怒氣。
✔ The customer could no longer conceal his rage.
✔ It was impossible for the customer to conceal his rage.
χ The customer was impossible to hide his rage any longer.
註︰「他不可能（做什麼）」， 英語中不可說 he was impossible，只能說 he could not (do) 或 it was impossible for him to (do)。impossible 在英語中一般是形容事物，如“The task/work was impossible.”（那任務〔工作〕當時沒有完成的可能）。如果說 “You are impossible.” 則只有解釋為「你這個人簡直不可理喻」或「你這個人簡直不可救藥」。 “The mistake is simply impossible.”意為「這個錯誤簡直荒謬」。
4. 我太太批評我不應該這麼笨。
✔ My wife criticized my stupidity.
✔ My wife criticized my stupid behavior.
✔ My wife criticized me for behaving so stupidly.
χ My wife criticized me that I should not behave so stupidly.
註︰動詞 criticize 的對象一般是人、文章等，不可接以 that 引導的受詞從屬句，也不可接抽象名詞。試比較下列中英句子：
我們批評他不應遲到。 We criticized him for being late.
他批評約翰違反學校紀律。 He criticized John for violating school discipline.
5. 今年比去年生產更多的糧食。
✔ More grain was grown this year than last year.
✔ This year we grew more grain than last year.
χ This year will grow more grain than last year.
註︰中文裏無主詞的句子在英語裏往往用被動語態表達。「今年」在句中作為副詞，不能作主詞。
Exercises
A. 喬治容易感冒。
George __________ catch cold.
1. is subject to
2. is easy to
3. is liable to
4. is easily to
B. The teacher criticized Henry _____ .
1. on being late
2. for being late
3. late
4. that he should not be late
Answers:
A. 3
B. 2
文章由書林出版公司提供：
www.bookman.com.tw
蘇正隆 — 台灣翻譯學學會前理事長、師大翻譯研究所兼任副教授; 編著《走讀自然.花言樹語》，《英語的對與錯》，《世紀病毒：必讀防疫英文知識與詞彙》...等。國家教育研究院中英雙語詞彙審議委員；研究領域為翻譯、術語及詞典編譯，從事植物與人文導覽數十年，亦曾應邀遠赴國外大學做植物人文導覽。
When people listen to music today, they typically use streaming services like YouTube or Spotify. However, traditional formats like vinyl records have regained popularity in recent times. Vinyl records are circular discs that store music in grooves on their surfaces and are played on a turntable. As the turntable’s needle runs along these grooves, it picks up vibrations and translates them into sound. The history of vinyl records dates back to the late 1800s, but material and technological challenges delayed mass production until the 1950s. Despite early versions having short playtimes and poor sound quality, vinyl records introduced a new era
A: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, known as “BJJ,” has become more and more popular. Even Hollywood stars like Halle Berry and Tom Hardy are obsessed with it. B: Some Asian stars, such as Taiwanese actor Eddie Peng and South Korean actor Lee Joon-gi, have also practiced this martial art. A: BJJ is not just a martial art, but also a combat sport. B: I’ve always wanted to try it, but I’m worried about getting injured. A: Diana Wang, a US doctor of physical therapy, is holding a BJJ seminar at PMA Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in Taipei Friday night. Let’s go check out how we
Picture a 45-foot-long animal with a 5-foot-long skull and 3-foot-long arms. It may not seem strange until you realize that a human with those proportions would be 6 feet tall with 5-inch arms. Although the Tyrannosaurus rex went extinct 65 million years ago, the mystery of its unusual body __1__ has fascinated scientists for over a century. Barnum Brown, the paleontologist who first discovered T. rex fossils, initially found it hard to believe that the tiny arms belonged to such a __2__ creature. One of his colleagues speculated that the short forelimbs might have been used to hold the
A: Actually, Brazilian jiu-jitsu is particularly good for small people like you. B: Really? How so? A: According to Diana Wang, a US doctor of physical therapy, the BJJ’s purpose is to help smaller, weaker people defend themselves by using various techniques, such as leverage. B: That sounds interesting. What time does Dr Wang’s BJJ seminar begin tonight? A: The event is scheduled for 7:30pm at PMA Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in Taipei. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. A: 其實你的個子比較小，很適合練巴西柔術呢。 B: 真的嗎？為什麼？ A: 據美國理療醫師王幼瑞博士說，巴西柔術的概念是讓弱小的人，也能利用槓桿作用等技巧防身。 B: 真有趣，王醫師的巴柔研討會幾點開始？ A: 今晚7點半在「台北巴柔運動館」，免費入場自由樂捐唷！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
RSS