學校教英文時，大多時候會告訴我們they是複數，指「他們」，這是對的！但是在不知道性別的情況下，they也可用作第三人稱單數使用。事實上從十四世紀開始，英語母語人士便將they當作性別中立的單數人稱代名詞了。在此提供例句：After a student completes their coursework, they take an exam. 還有：Who is on the phone? What do they want?

由於來電者性別不明，美國人便會很自然地用they當作單數人稱代名詞，在口語上特別常見。換作正式文件，可把整個句子改為複數：Students take exams after completing their coursework. 或更正式一點說：Who is on the phone? What does the caller want?

還想了解更多資訊嗎？請閱讀這篇文章：http://ow.ly/c9Zu50ymWAj

In school, most English learners that the pronoun "they" refers to more than one person (in the plural), and that's correct! But, "they" can also be used to refer to a third person in the singular if the gender of the person is unknown. In fact, English speakers have used "they" as a gender-neutral singular pronoun since the 14th century.

Here's an example: "After a student completes their coursework, they take an exam." Or, as another example, "Who is on the phone? What do they want?" The gender of this student or caller is unknown, so an American English speaker will naturally use the singular pronoun "they," especially when speaking. If writing a formal document, they might get around this by editing the sentence to the plural, as in "Students take exams after completing their coursework," or by changing to a more formal register, as in "Who is on the phone? What does the caller want?"

Need to know more? Read this article: http://ow.ly/c9Zu50ymWAj
#GenderAndLanguage #AmericanEnglish

#EZTALK #你不知道的美國大小事 #ratVSmouse
🇺🇸 Idioms 美國生活用語：老鼠 rat╱mouse 🐁

說到美國老鼠，你會想到可愛的米老鼠，還是《料理鼠王》裡頭的老鼠？趁鼠年第一天，來介紹老美眼中的老鼠！

💪順便搞懂 rat 跟 mouse 的不同之處吧！

1⃣ rat
2⃣ rat out/on
3⃣ smell a rat
4⃣ the rat race
5⃣ quiet at a mouse
6⃣ poor as a church mouse
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As we enter the Year of the Rat, it’s a good time to think about rodents and their cultural significance. The first animal in the Chinese Zodiac, rats are associated with intelligence, diligence and ambition. And people born in the Year of the Rat can look forward to being wealthy and successful.

鼠年即將到來，正好來介紹一下鼠類跟其文化意涵。身為十二生肖排名第一，老鼠通常會讓我們想到聰明、勤勞且有野心。鼠年出生的人可望成功富有。

In America, however, rats don’t have such a positive image. They are seen as dirty pests that steal food and spread disease. It’s therefore no accident the rat-related idioms are all negative. 1⃣ First, the term “rat” itself. In colloquial American English, a rat is a deceptive, disloyal person or an informant. Ex: Don’t trust Tommy—he’s a rat!

不過在美國，老鼠可就沒有這麼正面的形象。牠們被視為髒東西，愛偷食物並且散播疾病，所以沒有意外地，跟老鼠有關的美國用語都是負面的。首先來看看 rat 這個字，在美式口語英文中，講某人是 rat，就是說他是「騙子、不忠實」，或是「告密者」。如：Don’t trust Tommy—he’s a rat!（別相信湯米，他是個騙子！）

2⃣ “Rat” can also be used in the verb phrase “rat out/on,” which means “to inform on sb.” Ex: The thief ratted out his accomplices to avoid jail time. 3⃣Another phrase is “smell a rat,” which means “to suspect an instance of wrongdoing, deception or betrayal.” Ex: The witness smelled a rat when he saw the suspect leaving the scene of the crime. 4⃣Finally, “the rat race” describes the intense competition and long hours of the urban work environment. Ex: Eric dreamed of leaving the rat race and buying a small farm.

因此 rat 也可延伸作為動詞：rat out/on，指「出賣某人」，如：The thief ratted out his accomplices to avoid jail time.（那個小偷出賣他的同夥逃避坐牢。）另一個片語則是 smell a rat，指「發覺有可疑之處」，如：The witness smelled a rat when he saw the suspect leaving the scene of the crime.（目擊者看到嫌犯離開案發現場時覺得行為可疑。）最後是 the rat race，用來形容職場競爭激烈且工時長的現象。如：Eric dreamed of leaving the rat race and buying a small farm.（艾瑞克夢想著離開這競爭激烈的工作環境，去鄉下種田。）

While the Chinese “shu” is usually translated as “rat,” it can also refer to mice. And mice have a slightly better reputation in English than rats. Mice are small, quiet and shy, so 5⃣ “quiet at a mouse” refers to someone who is shy and timid. Ex: The new student in our class is quiet as a mouse. 6⃣And if someone is “poor as a church mouse,” they’re really poor. This is because churches usually don’t usually store food, so mice who lived in them would have nothing to eat. Ex: My parents were poor as a church mouse when I was born.

雖然中文字「鼠」常常翻作 rat「大老鼠」，不過也可以指 mouse（複數形 mice）「小老鼠」。在英文中，小老鼠的形象比大老鼠稍微好些。小老鼠體型較小，安靜又害羞，所以 quiet as a mouse 可以用來形容某人「害羞膽怯的」，如：The new student in our class is quiet as a mouse.（我們班新來的學生很害羞。）要是說某人 poor as a church mouse，就是說他們「非常窮」。由來是因為教堂通常不會儲藏食物，所以住在教堂裡的老鼠根本沒東西可吃。如：My parents were poor as a church mouse when I was born.（我父母在我出生時候非常窮。）

【✍重點單字】
1. rodent「嚙齒類動物」
2. Chinese Zodiac「十二生肖」：zodiac指西洋占星的十二星座。
3. diligence「勤奮」：當名詞，形容詞 diligent。
4. it’s no accident that…「沒有意外，……」
5. colloquial「口語的」：相對於書寫文字而言，較不正式的說法。
6. deceptive「愛騙人、說謊的」：當形容詞，名詞 deception。
7. informant「告密者」
8. urban「都市的」：相反詞為 rural「鄉下的」。
9. reputation「名聲」

#鼠年行大運 #鼠錢鼠不完
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🔔 按下「搶先看」，每週五【美國大小事】，由 Judd 編審分享最即時美國新鮮事！想知道更多美國文化，請看 👉 http://bit.ly/EZTalk嚴選

*圖片中將 biennially誤植為biannually，正確版請參考貼文內容

106學年度指考英文中譯英題目參考答案與解析

今天考完今年的指考英文，大家覺得題目怎樣呢? 那我們來看看翻譯題目怎麼回答吧!

世界大學運動會（The Universiade）是一項國際體育與文化盛事，每兩年一次由不同城市舉辦。
The Universiade, an international sporting and cultural event, is hosted by a different city biennially.

※　運動賽事的英文可以用sporting event或sports event都可以；舉辦可以用host、hold、stage等字；每兩年是biennially，也可以用every two years；本參考答案是用同位語方式插入an international sporting and cultural event；by a different city要記得用單數，因為每兩年有一個城市會辦。

在比賽中，來自全球大學的學生運動員建立友誼，並學習運動家精神的真諦。
In the games, student athletes from universities worldwide form friendships and learn the value of sportsmanship.

※　games這邊會用複數是因為世大運和奧運一樣，都有許多各種比賽，所以用複數；運動員的英文是athlete，所以學生運動員就可以說student athlete；建立友誼有數種動詞可以搭配使用像是form, build等；真諦的話則用value或true meaning等字；最後要注意sportsmanship的拚字不要拼錯了，裡面有sport*s*manship。

＊答案僅供參考，並非大考中心之標準答案。
＊本文同時張貼於 明逸數位BOOK http://mybook98.tk/?p=732