Phrasal Verbs(片語) 4 - Saturn and Mars

今回，我們來到星球大戰，當中又可看不同的Phrasal Verbs

By the end of the year 2941, the Martian inter-galactic starships had almost completely blockaded the industrial southern hemisphere of Saturn. Saturnine trade was in direct competition with Mars, and the Martian rulers had decided they would stand for it no longer. In despair, the Saturnine Council turned to the Plutonian Master for help, but help arrived in a very different form. A Venusian peaceship, returning from deep space after gathering lost nuclear missiles for safe burial on Earth, landed on the agricultural side of Saturn to stock up with fresh food. This was the breakthrough the Saturnines needed. They announced to the Martians that they were holding the weapons; the Martians called off the blockade and gave up trying to enforce their will over the Saturnines.

今次文章中出現的Phrasal Verbs ：

• stand for (N2,P2) - (Usually Negative) Referee in games will not stand for any illegal play.
• Turn to (N2,P2) - You turn to someone you want help from.
• Stock up with (N2,P2) - People stock up tih food if the shops are going to close for a few days
• Break through (N2,P2) - You break through a barrier of some kind. YOu can speak of a breakthrough e.g. the discovery of penicillin was a breakthrough in science.
• Call off (N1,N2,P1) - You call off an appointment, if you are unable to get to it and have to cancel it.
• Give up (N1,N2,P1,G) - You give up if you stop doing it.

N1 － 動詞與介詞可以分開 ／ 和物體名詞(Object Noun)或名詞詞組(Noun phrases)同用

N2 － 動詞與介詞不分開 ／ 和物體名詞(Object Noun)或名詞詞組(Noun phrases)同用

P1 － 動詞與介詞可以分開 ／ 和物件代名詞(Object pronoun)同用

P2 － 動詞與介詞不分開 ／ 和物件代名詞(Object pronoun)同用

G - 動名詞(Gerund)跟隨使用

一句多義 - Doing nothing is doing something?

生果報於2011年8月8日的報導，就美降評級後首個交易日的報導中，訪問了一名基金經理，他對於後市短期內應否入市中用上一句：「doing nothing is doing something」，而記者則譯作一動不如一靜。

http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/template/apple/art_main.php?iss_id=20110808&sec_id=4104&subsec_id=11866&art_id=15503198

筆者在網上看到原來不少投資者都有以這句作為投資其中一項大原則。Doing Nothing在他們眼中，大致上是解作持有現金而不購入其他投資產品。

如果單從投資角度來看，這句話的確可以解作一動不如一靜，事實上記者又一點也沒錯，畢竟那是一篇和經濟、投資有關的新聞報導。不過，在其他層面，這句說話同時又有其他意思。大家可以看看這篇關於禪學的文章：

http://zenhabits.net/the-art-of-doing-nothing/

(多閱讀是好事來的 :P)

這篇文章提及”Doing Nothing”的好處，可讓人放鬆心情，不再這麼緊張。意即有時候真的應該甚麼也不做，靜下來休息。文章內還詳細的講述如何可以放鬆得再好一點，當中包括呼吸技巧、坐在甚麼位置等…

在英文當中，不單是一個相同的字，就算是一句相同的句子，在不同地方也會存在不同的意思！

好了，我要去Doing Nothing了！:)

Performance Knows No Colour!

於非官式英文中，我們有時可以使用Colour代替種族。平等機會委員會於近期一些鼓勵消除種族岐視的廣告中，用一句口號：「Performance knows no colour.」，當中Performance 意思，是指工作表現，colour正是代表種族的意思。

平機會的英文名稱是「EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES COMMISSION」，很多時候，「會」的英文都會用上Assoication 或Club，而較具官方意味的則可能用上Authority、Council等。

Commission原意可解作佣金，或可解作委託書、權力。不過，除了平機會外，原來香港不少政府部門及法定機構，都有用Commission一詞。例如旅遊事務署 - Tourism Commission、創新科技署 - Innovation and Technology Commission。

香港童軍中具有領導其他領袖職責的總監級職位，英文就加上-er，譯作commissioner. 由此可見，Commission一詞是帶有權力的意思。

筆者總感覺以往政府的英文版廣告中，英文總是用得不夠傳神，過份直譯，文法沒錯就算了，但這句卻又值得一讚！