Some people believe that another difference between American and British English is that the former is killing off the humble adverb. In the popular imagination, the regular adverb is formed by adding an “-ly” suffix to the adjective, as in “beautiful” and “beautifully.” Of course, the situation is far more complicated than that.
Where an American might say “that show was real funny,” a British person might say “that show was really funny.” Where an American might say, “I’m good,” a British person might say “I’m well” instead. To a British person, the phrase “she plays the violin beautiful” sounds ugly: they would be far happier with “she plays the violin beautifully.”
That said, the dropping of the adverbial form is a process that has long been going on; it’s just that Americans have a stronger tendency to drop this form in the spoken language, although less so in the written form.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
There are also many adjectives that come with the “-ly” suffix, such as brotherly, elderly and monthly. The latter is both an adjective and an adverb (a monthly magazine is one that is published monthly). There are also adverbs without the -ly suffix. The “long” in “a process that has long been going on” is one example.
A further complication is the change in meaning or use with the addition to the “-ly” suffix. “He is a hard worker” means the same as “he works hard” but almost the opposite of “he hardly works.” You can say “he was a great composer,” but you could not say “he composed greatly”; you would have to say “he composes great” (American English) or “He composes extremely well” (British English). Since he did compose extremely well, however, you could say that he will be “greatly missed.”
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
有人認為，美式英文和英式英文之間的另一區別，是美式英文正抹除曖曖內含光的副詞。在多數人心目中，規則副詞是在形容詞後面加上字尾「ly」而成，例如形容詞「beautiful」（美麗）加「ly」便成為副詞「beautifully」。當然，實際情況是要複雜得多。
美國人說的「that show was real funny」（那節目真有趣），在英國人說來可能會是「that show was really funny」。美國人說「 I’m good」（我很好），英國人說「I’m well」。「she plays the violin beautiful」（她小提琴演奏得很出色）這句話對英國人來說聽起來很怪，英國人會覺得「she plays the violin beautifully」這樣說要悅耳得多。
副詞形式的省略其實由來已久。只是美國人比較傾向在口語中省略副詞形式，雖然在書面上較沒有這樣的省略。
許多形容詞也具有字尾「ly」的形式，例如「brotherly」（兄弟般的）、「elderly」（上了年紀的）和「monthly」（每月一次的）。「monthly」這個字是形容詞也是副詞（例如，「monthly magazine」──月刊，是每月出版的雜誌）。也有些副詞並沒有「ly」這字尾形式，例如「a process that has long been going on」（由來已久的過程）這句話中的副詞「long」。
更複雜的是，有時加了字尾「ly」後，該字的意思或用法也改變了。「he is a hard worker」（他是工作勤奮的人）這句話的含義與「he works hard」相同，但跟「he hardly works」（他幾乎不工作）這句話的意思幾乎是相反的。你可以說「he was a great composer」（他是偉大的作曲家），但不能說「he composed greatly」。你應該要說美式英文的「he composes great」，或英式英文的「he composes extremely well」。而由於他所作的曲子非常棒，你可以說他會被「greatly missed」（深深地懷念）。
（台北時報林俐凱譯）
As the priest Antonius Hambroek stood in the dim chamber of Fort Zeelandia, his eldest daughter clung to him, her voice trembling. “Father, don’t go. They’ll kill you, and what will become of Mother and my sisters?” Outside, the sounds of Koxinga’s relentless canon siege boomed through the fortress. The defenders were on the brink of collapse. Starvation gnawed at their resolve, and the air carried the acrid stench of spent gunpowder and rotting flesh. Dutch reinforcements from Batavia had failed to arrive, leaving the garrison isolated and hopeless. Hambroek’s face was calm, though sorrow weighed heavily on his
As we bundle up in thick coats to stay warm during the winter, there is a population that has already adapted to extremely low temperatures. These people live in the remote city of Yakutsk, the coldest city on Earth. Yakutsk is situated in the heart of Siberia, which is the capital of the Sakha Republic in Russia. This historic mining city began to flourish in the 19th century following the discovery of gold deposits. Given its construction on permafrost, the average temperature in the city remains below 0°C for over half the year, with winter temperatures dropping to an astonishing -50°C.
The Dutch introduced the Indian mango (Mangifera indica) to Taiwan in the 17th century. It is a green-skinned mango with thick fibers that get stuck in the teeth, but it boasts a rich aroma and a unique taste. In 1954, Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture introduced several mango cultivars from Florida, USA, including the Irwin, Haden, and Keitt varieties. After seven years of testing and domestication, the Irwin variety was chosen for promotion. Years later, the sample saplings started to bear fruit. These mangoes were large, with thin, vibrant red peels and golden pulp. The Irwin mangoes were mouth-wateringly sweet and
對話 Dialogue 清清：今天中午我要多吃一點，不然晚上可能會吃不飽。 Qīngqing: Jīntiān zhōngwǔ wǒ yào duō chī yìdiǎn, bùrán wǎnshàng kěnéng huì chībùbǎo. 華華：怎麼了？為什麼會吃不飽？ Huáhua: Zěnmele? Wèishénme huì chībùbǎo? 清清：今天大年初七，是「人日節」，傳統上結了婚的女兒要回家給父母送長壽麵，而且最好是素的，我姐姐會回來，只吃素麵，我應該很快就餓了。 Qīngqing: Jīntiān Dànián chūqī, shì “Rénrì jié,” chuántǒng shàng jiéle hūn de nǚ’ér yào huíjiā gěi fùmǔ sòng chángshòumiàn, érqiě zuìhǎo shì sù de, wǒ jiějie huì huílái, zhǐ chī sùmiàn, wǒ yīnggāi hěn kuài jiù èle. 華華：我還是第一次聽說有「人日節」呢！這是怎麼來的啊？ Huáhua: Wǒ háishì dì yī cì tīngshuō yǒu “Rénrì jié” ne! Zhè shì zěnme lái de a? 清清：老一輩的人說，女媧是在第七天造出了「人」，所以今天可說是我們每個人的「生日」呢！生日快樂！ Qīngqing: Lǎoyíbèi de rén shuō, Nǚwā shì zài dì qī tiān zào chūle “rén,” suǒyǐ jīntiān kěshuōshì wǒmen měi ge rén de “shēngrì” ne! Shēngrì kuàilè! 華華：你也是啊！欸？那前六天女媧都做了什麼呢？ Huáhua: Nǐ yěshì a! Éi? Nà
RSS