咩強制自我檢疫
形同虛設 #a #sham
———————-
明報英文 毛孟靜
//政府早前宣布，所有由大陸來港的人都要強制檢疫。原來，所謂強制並非真的強制（compulsory、mandatory），而係靠自律（self-discipline）。

事實是，抵埗之後即可以自行乘車離開，基本上去哪兒都沒問題。After arrival, you can take any transport to go home or practically any other destination, unguarded.

《明報》有這樣的相關報道：「有人明言不會遵守檢疫令，照常上班；另有夫婦返家途中到街市買菜，未有於兩小時限期內返抵住所。」Some made it clear that they wouldn’t comply with the quarantine order, and would go back to work as usual; there was also a couple who went shopping at a wet market on their way, failing to get home within the two-hour time limit.

有官員解釋：It’s quarantine, not isolation，是檢疫，不是隔離。如此說來，所謂強制檢疫（mandatory quarantine），說到底不過是自律隔離（ self-disciplined isolation）罷了。也即是說，整個機制形同虛設：It's a sham mechanism.

Sham，a thing that is not what it is purported to be，並非如聲稱中真實的東西，一般會譯做虛幻，可作名詞或形容詞。另例：

* Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters call the "one country, two system" promise a sham. 香港的民主抗爭者認為一國兩制承諾只屬虛幻。

視乎上文下理，用英文講形同虛設，另一些選擇是：

* It's a mere pretence. 不過是裝個樣子。
* It's a feigned setup. 這是一個騙局
* It exists in name only. 亦即等於中文的「有名無實」。

面對一場嚴重疫症，林鄭政府的取態給詬病為not preventive（ 非防禦性），not even interactive，甚至不是互動的，而是純粹reactive、passive（被動的）。出事了，就去回應、籌措一下，惹來一些嚴厲批評。《彭博商業周刊》網站一篇評論Hong Kong Is Showing Symptoms of a Failed State 有這兩句話：

* A fragile state is usually defined by its inability to protect citizens, to provide basic services and by questions over the legitimacy of its government. 脆弱政權的一般定義是：未能保護公民、未能提供基本服務，以及管治合法性受到質疑。

* After an epidemic and months of poorly handled pro-democracy demonstrations, Hong Kong is ticking most of those boxes. 經過一場疫症及連月來處理民主抗爭的失誤，香港政府符合大部分條件。

這篇評論的附圖，見一家超市內的貨架都被一掃而空，文字說明道：It's not Kinshasa or Caracas. But it doesn't look much like a global financial centre either.這不是（剛果首都）金沙薩，也不是（委內瑞拉首都）加拉加斯。但看起來也不像世界金融中心（香港）。//

咩強制自我檢疫
形同虛設 #a #sham
———————-
明報英文 毛孟靜
//政府早前宣布，所有由大陸來港的人都要強制檢疫。原來，所謂強制並非真的強制（compulsory、mandatory），而係靠自律（self-discipline）。

事實是，抵埗之後即可以自行乘車離開，基本上去哪兒都沒問題。After arrival, you can take any transport to go home or practically any other destination, unguarded.

《明報》有這樣的相關報道：「有人明言不會遵守檢疫令，照常上班；另有夫婦返家途中到街市買菜，未有於兩小時限期內返抵住所。」Some made it clear that they wouldn’t comply with the quarantine order, and would go back to work as usual; there was also a couple who went shopping at a wet market on their way, failing to get home within the two-hour time limit.

有官員解釋：It’s quarantine, not isolation，是檢疫，不是隔離。如此說來，所謂強制檢疫（mandatory quarantine），說到底不過是自律隔離（ self-disciplined isolation）罷了。也即是說，整個機制形同虛設：It's a sham mechanism.

Sham，a thing that is not what it is purported to be，並非如聲稱中真實的東西，一般會譯做虛幻，可作名詞或形容詞。另例：

* Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters call the "one country, two system" promise a sham. 香港的民主抗爭者認為一國兩制承諾只屬虛幻。

視乎上文下理，用英文講形同虛設，另一些選擇是：

* It's a mere pretence. 不過是裝個樣子。
* It's a feigned setup. 這是一個騙局
* It exists in name only. 亦即等於中文的「有名無實」。

面對一場嚴重疫症，林鄭政府的取態給詬病為not preventive（ 非防禦性），not even interactive，甚至不是互動的，而是純粹reactive、passive（被動的）。出事了，就去回應、籌措一下，惹來一些嚴厲批評。《彭博商業周刊》網站一篇評論Hong Kong Is Showing Symptoms of a Failed State 有這兩句話：

* A fragile state is usually defined by its inability to protect citizens, to provide basic services and by questions over the legitimacy of its government. 脆弱政權的一般定義是：未能保護公民、未能提供基本服務，以及管治合法性受到質疑。

* After an epidemic and months of poorly handled pro-democracy demonstrations, Hong Kong is ticking most of those boxes. 經過一場疫症及連月來處理民主抗爭的失誤，香港政府符合大部分條件。

這篇評論的附圖，見一家超市內的貨架都被一掃而空，文字說明道：It's not Kinshasa or Caracas. But it doesn't look much like a global financial centre either.這不是（剛果首都）金沙薩，也不是（委內瑞拉首都）加拉加斯。但看起來也不像世界金融中心（香港）。//

[詞彙區別] 同學們，在寫學術文章的時候是不是很難區分thus, therefore, hence？

雖然這幾個字都是副詞，字義上也大致被認為是「所以」，可是用法卻有細膩的區別。

★★★★Thus★★★★

1. Thus 的意思是「以這樣的方式」或「藉由如此」。

“Thus” means “in this/that way.” It relates to “HOW” - the manner in which - how something happens or comes about.

E.g. The university has drastically lowered its tuition, thus (in this way) allowing many more people the chance of higher education.

2. Thus 另外一個意思是「因此」或「於是」。

“Thus” also means as a result of something just mentioned. It, when used as a conjunctive adverb, is similar in meaning to “therefore.”

E.g. It has been discovered that using scents can trigger the sensations of love, comfort, and happiness. Thus, the sense of smell can be used as strategy to invoke new responses in consumers.

3. Thus far 的意思則是「到目前為止 」或「迄今」。

E.g. He has invested $ 12 million thus far. He will most likely invest more in the future.

★★★★Therefore★★★★

1. Therefore的意思是「出於某個原因」、「因為某個因素」或「建立在某個基礎上」。

Therefore 前面的句子提供了證據支持某個結論，而該結論將出現在下一個含有 therefore的句子中。Therefore在數學證明中是常見的。

“Therefore” means “for this reason,” or “because of this or that” - it relates to deductive reasoning, it tells WHY this or that is so, or happened.

E.g. He was late and therefore (for this reason) missed the bus.

E.g. There are frequent rock slides in that area. Therefore, no one is allowed to enter.

★★★★Hence★★★★

1. Hence意思是「 因此」或「 導致」，字義是跟therefore相同，但用法不同。

We suspect that the agency is trying to hide something, hence the need for an independent inquiry.

在這邊hence後面並非連接子句，而是接名詞片語!

2. Hence 在正式(科學)的文章可以當轉折詞，意思仍然是「 因此」。

The cost of transport is a major expense for an industry. Hence(,) factory location is an important consideration.

這邊逗號在正式寫作常省略掉。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

這三個字都有共同點，所以同學自然在使用時容易混淆，而且大部分母語者也分不太清楚這三者間的差異。但是同學在學術寫作時還是必須選擇適當的詞彙，才能精準表達自己的想法及觀點。若用字上不夠明確，很容易誤導讀者而失去原先欲傳遞的訊息。

建議同學還是要分清楚這三字細微的區別才能更精準、有效、流暢地呈現文章的要點間的連貫。

詞彙區別：http://goo.gl/xnhtQg

★★★★★★★★★★★★

Sources:

https://painintheenglish.com/case/4452/

https://goo.gl/s5VRv7

https://www.ldoceonline.com/

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/

https://corpus.byu.edu/coca/

https://jakubmarian.com/so-thus-therefore-and-hence-in-english/