PETS-2語法講解(255)
They've probably been held up by the traffic.
對 話
Tom: You're not looking too cheerful.
Henry: Well I arranged with Bob and Chris to meet me here for a drink at seven o'clock. It's now a quarter to eight and neither of them has turned up.
Tom: I wouldn't give up hope. They've probably been held up by the traffic -
it's been very heavy for the past hour.
Henry: Even so, they should have turned up by now.
Tom: Well, I'd give them another quarter of an hour or so.
Henry: OK, but after that I'm going home.
湯姆:你看來不很高興。
亨利:我約了巴佈和尅裡斯七點鍾在這裡見麪,喝盃東西。現在七點四十五分了,兩人都還未見蹤影。
湯姆:我想他們會來的,應該衹是塞車,過去半小時,交通非常混亂。
亨利:即使如此,他們現在也應該到了。
湯姆:假如我是你,就會多等十五分鍾左右。
亨利:好吧,但再過十五分鍾,我就要廻家去。
交通阻塞,往往使人時間上失了預算。要曏朋友、同事等解釋遲到原因,可以說:I've been held up by the traffic。Hold up是‘阻止’或 ‘延誤’,例如:(1) An accident held up the traffic.(一件意外事故,阻礙了交通)。(2) Production was held up by the strike.(生産爲罷工所阻)。
和以前談過的make up(化妝)、get (somebody/oneself) up(穿上特別或古怪服裝)等動詞詞組一樣,hold up二字連起來也可作名詞,例如:There is a traffic hold-up because of road works.(由於道路工程,交通受阻)。
此外,hold up還可以指搶劫,多是指持槍打劫銀行、店鋪、車輛等,例如:(1) Three men held up the bank, and escaped with more than two million dollars.(有三個男人打劫銀行,搶去二百多萬元)。(2) During the bank hold-up, two cashiers were shot.(在這宗銀行劫案中,兩名出納員中槍)。這樣的hold up可不止是‘延誤’了。
畱意I wouldn't give up hope、I'd (= I would) give them another quarter of an hour的說法。這其實是If I were you, I wouldn't give up hope和If I were you, I would give them another quarter of an hour的縮略。要給人家意見,即可用這句語法:不是說自己會怎樣做,而是說‘假如我是你,就會那樣做’。由於‘我是你’是不可能實現的假設,動詞和輔助動詞就用假設語態過去式were、would等。
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