PETS－2语法讲解(137)

It just remains for me to express our admiration.
　　对话
　　Jules: Has everything been dealt with now?
　　Marcel: Yes, the casualties have all been taken to hospital, the electricity supply has been restored and traffic is now flowing normally.
　　Jules: What a difference from the chaos and confusion of two hours ago.
　　Marcel: Yes, for a time we thought we might have to call for reinforcements, but thank goodness in the end we didn't have to.
　　Jules: Well it just remains for me to express our admiration for the exemplary way in which you dealt with a difficult and dangerous situation.
　　Marcel: I was just doing my job and I'm very glad that there were no fatalities.
　　朱尔斯：现在一切都处理好了吗？
　　马塞尔：不错，伤者都送去医院，电力供应也恢复了。交通已经回复正常。
　　朱尔斯：这和两个钟头前混乱不堪的情况相比，完全不同了。
　　马塞尔：是啊，最初我们还以为可能需要增援，幸好后来发觉没有这个必要。
　　朱尔斯：你处理危机的方式，真值得他人借鉴。我要向你表示我们的敬意。
　　马塞尔： 我只是做好自己分内的工作。最值得高兴的是没有人死亡。
　　这一课有三个字可先谈谈：casualty、fatality、exemplary。Casualty可以指事故或战争中的伤者、死者、例如：The car crash resulted in eight casualties（那次车祸有八人死伤）。Fatality则专指事故或战争中的死者，例如：There were 174 fatalities in the plane crash（飞机坠毁，有一百七十四人死亡）。至于exemplary，可说是example的形容词，指‘可作模范的’，例如：His behavior as a student is exemplary（他的行为可作为其它学生的模范）。此外，请留意两个时间词组：for a time、in the end。For a time常用来说一件事维持了一段时间，暗示其后有变，例如：For a time he hesitated, but then he made up his mind（他最初犹豫不决，但后来立定了主意）。For a time和for some time不同：for some time是说事情经过一段颇长的时间，例如：I've been feeling unwell for some time（我身体不舒服已有一段时间）。In the end则有‘终于’的意思，表示经过某些情况之后，终于发生了一些事，等于at last或finally，例如：I worked hard, and in the end/at last/finally gained a first-class honors degree（我努力读书，终于取得一级荣誉学位）。In the end和at the end不同：at the end指事情的尽头，例如：He died at the end of the year（他年底去世）。这个at不可改为in，而in the end之后也不可接‘of＋名词’。马塞尔初时以为要请求增援，后来发觉不必要，所以用了for a time、in the end两个词组。