「收賄」、「白手套」英文怎麼說?
Accept bribes? White gloves?
★★★★★★★★★★★★
《中華民國刑法》
Article 122
A public official or an arbitrator who demands, agrees to accept, or accepts a bribe or other improper benefits for a breach of his official duties shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than three years but not more than ten years; in addition thereto, a fine of not more than two million yuan may be imposed.
A breach of official duties shall be sentenced to life imprisonment or with imprisonment for not less than five years; in addition thereto, a fine not more than four million yuan may be imposed.
1. public official 公務員
2. arbitrator 仲裁人
3. accept a bribe 收受賄賂*
4. a breach of official duties 違背職務**
5. be sentenced 判處
6. imprisonment 監禁;關押
7. a fine 罰金
8. impose 強制實行
第 122 條
公務員或仲裁人對於違背職務之行為,要求、期約或收受賄賂或其他不正利益者,處三年以上十年以下有期徒刑,得併科二百萬元以下罰金。
因而為違背職務之行為者,處無期徒刑或五年以上有期徒刑,得併科四百萬元以下罰金。
全國法規資料庫: https://bit.ly/2Dk8Ia4
*bribery: https://bit.ly/31bwsFj
**breach: https://bit.ly/3k5qcHJ
★★★★★★★★★★★★
那「白手套」呢?
White gloves? Not really...
The term "white-glove" is typically used as an adjective. It means providing a very high level of service, or involving a lot of care about small details:
白手套(white-glove)通常用作形容詞。表示提供非常高的服務水準,或與諸多照護細節有關:
➣The cruise company does not want to risk alienating the other passengers who don't get the white-glove treatment.
郵輪公司不想冒險讓其他未接受白手套待遇的乘客變得疏遠。
➣We know that when extra attention is required, our white-glove delivery service will not disappoint.
當您有特殊要求,我們的白手套配送服務一定不會讓您失望。
—Cambridge Dictionary
https://bit.ly/3hZTw0r
Wait…that doesn't fit our context!
★★★★★★★★★★★★
According to the South China Morning Post, the expression “white gloves,” when used as a noun, was coined in Taiwan!
“The innocuous-sounding euphemism ‘white gloves’ generally refers to a middleman or outfit that launders dirty or corrupt money under a seemingly legitimate front - dirty hands concealed by a pair of white gloves. The expression, coined by the Taiwanese, is catching up fast on the mainland as rampant corruption is exposed at all levels of the bureaucracy.”
9. coin (v.) 創造(新詞或新的表達方式);首次使用(某一詞語)
10. innocuous-sounding 聽起來無害的
11. launder (v.) 洗(贓款) ; money laundering 洗錢
12. legitimate front 合法的地帶; 僞裝(人或機構的)僞裝;假裝的樣子
13. conceal 隱藏
14. catch up 了解(或討論)最新情況
15. rampant 猖獗的;蔓延的
16. bureaucracy 官僚體制;官僚主義
據《南華早報》的報導,「白手套」作為名詞的用法,首見於臺灣!
「聽起來無害的委婉用語『白手套』通常是指中間人或公司,他們在看似合法的地帶清洗髒錢或賄款——髒手則藏於白手套當中。這種由臺灣人首創的表達方式,正在中國迅速傳開,因為猖獗的腐敗現象已於官僚體制的各個層面暴露出來。」
詳見《SCMP》:https://bit.ly/3i2cqUA
★★★★★★★★★★★★
我個人會用「middleman」或「go-between」。
請注意,「middleman」是指批貨後轉售他人者,或協助他人安排商業交易者。該詞本身並不具有任何犯罪或不法行為等負面意涵(negative connotations),亦須有上下文才足以呈現「白手套」的概念。
另一方面,「go-between」是在雙方無法見面或不想見面時,將消息從一人(或一個團隊)傳給另一人(或另一個團隊)的人。例如,聯合國代表將充當兩國領導人的中間人(或掮客)——「go-between」,而它的搭配你可以用「act/serve as a go-between」。「go-between」 的一個同義詞是「intermediary」。
❖再次提醒各位,若缺乏前後文,這些用語就不能完全代表「白手套」的涵義。底下我將舉出一些在腐敗情況中所使用的例子。
★★★★★★★★★★★★
I. middleman
"Many of these middlemen stay on the right side of the law, offering advice and connections. But others cross the line. They grease the palms of officials and local managers, and they put a buffer between the payoff and the client, offering plausible deniability if the authorities catch on."
17. connections 社會關係;人際關係;可資利用的熟人
18. cross the line(行為)越過界線
19. grease (v.) 用油脂塗;給⋯⋯加潤滑油
20. buffer 緩衝物;起緩衝作用的人
21. payoff 賄款;遮口費
22. plausible deniability 合理推諉
「在這些中間人裡,有許多人站在法律這邊,提供建議與人脈。但其他人卻踰越了界線。他們成為官員與地方經理人的潤滑劑,並在賄款與委託人之間置入緩衝物,起到合理推諉的作用,以防當局上門。」
詳見《紐約時報》:https://nyti.ms/39MMwkM
★★★★★★★★★★★★
II. intermediary
"For China’s elite, a 'white glove' is an intermediary who launders your money; they handle the dirty deeds, while you keep your hands clean. 'White gloves' are often well-connected Westerners, such as former top politician Bo Xilai’s two European fixers, British businessman Neil Heywood and French architect Patrick Devillers. Using a BVI shell company, the two men helped Bo’s wife Gu Kalai buy a 7 million euro French mansion and rack up rental fees on it."
23. elite(社會)上層集團;掌權人物;出類拔萃的人;精英
24. deed(尤指很壞或很好的)事情;行為
25. well-connected 與顯貴人物有交情的;與有影響人士有來往的;很有背景的
26. fixer 籌謀者;安排者(尤指精於用不正當手段來操辦事情的人)
27. BVI (The British Virgin Islands) 英屬維京群島
28. shell company 空殼公司
29. fixer 安排者(尤指精於用不正當手段來操辦事情的人)
『對中國的權貴來說,「白手套」是幫你洗錢的中間人;他們負責處理骯髒的事,讓你的雙手保持乾淨。「白手套」通常是與權貴有交情的西方人士,例如前副國級領導人薄熙來的兩個歐洲籌謀者——英國商人海伍德以及法國建築師德維利耶。兩人藉由一家英屬維京群島的空殼公司,幫助薄的妻子谷開來買下一座價值700萬歐元的法式豪宅,並大大提高了租金。』
詳見《石英財經網》:https://bit.ly/30lFnEJ
★★★★★★★★★★★★
III. go-between
"The offence is similar to bribery with one important difference: trading in influence concerns the 'middleman', or the person that serves as the go-between the decision-maker and the party that seeks an improper advantage."
30. offence (US offense) 犯罪行為;罪行
31. bribery 賄賂
32. trade in influence 斡旋賄賂;影響力交易
33. serve(為⋯⋯)工作;(為⋯⋯)服務;盡職責
34. improper advantage 不當利益
『此一罪行與賄賂相似,但有一個重要的區別:斡旋賄賂係指「middleman」或人充當決策者與尋求不當利益方的中間人(掮客)——「go-between」』。
詳見 Anti-Corruption Resource Center:https://www.u4.no/terms
★★★★★★★★★★★★
歡迎在底下留言與我們分享更多相關字詞(例如:prosecutor、corruption charges、litigations⋯⋯)。
圖片出處: Google Image
★★★★★★★★★★★★
如果同學對於如何分析英文時事,以及如何進行批判性思考有興趣,歡迎加入我們的課程!
🌎國際新聞英文-六步驟思考術 | 最後優惠倒數 ► https://bit.ly/3eTHIvH
🌎國際新聞英文課程FAQ:https://wp.me/p44l9b-2lK
「more often than not用法」的推薦目錄:
- 關於more often than not用法 在 Eric's English Lounge Facebook 的最讚貼文
- 關於more often than not用法 在 翻譯這檔事 Facebook 的精選貼文
- 關於more often than not用法 在 Eric's English Lounge Facebook 的最讚貼文
- 關於more often than not用法 在 英文補習Ms Priscilla 港大精算9a女狀元 - Facebook 的評價
- 關於more often than not用法 在 比較級の特殊な用法⑩【英文法・比較】more often than not と ... 的評價
more often than not用法 在 翻譯這檔事 Facebook 的精選貼文
《基因:人類最親密的歷史》,莊安祺譯:翻譯問題續探(二)
上一篇po出後有網友希望具體指出問題所在。另外,也得知出版社見文立即商議修改所提段落的翻譯問題:
//昨天與合作夥伴討論了原文翻譯與專業知識 ( 謝謝嘉儀與小安子 ),修正了譯文。覺得身在資訊流通的年代也有很大的好處,量產時代就算我們找盡資源還是力有未逮之處,尤其編輯不是專業人士,更是汗顏,而各路專業人士願意幫我們指出錯誤,讓我很感激,書能有不停修正至更臻完善的機會。//
在一本新書的熱銷期,樂見如此積極的作爲。本文:
一、討論上一篇指出的翻譯問題細節,供出版社參考;
二、討論網友一頁截圖中發現的新問題;
三、再加「博客來」試讀內容第一頁(此書前言的開頭)發現的誤譯。
//Once genes had been implicated in the development of sexual preference, the gay child was instantly transformed to normal. His 【hateful】 enemies were the abnormal monsters.
一旦性偏好的發展牽扯到基因,同性戀的孩子瞬間就變為正常,他【可惡的】敵人才是異常的怪物。//
說明:hateful 有兩個相反的意思,要從語境去弄清楚,這句話看了前文,加上末句有「才是」的對照語氣,意思非常清楚,是「懷著恨、充滿惡意的敵人」倒過來變成異常的怪物,而不是「可惡的敵人」。如果作者意指「可惡的敵人」,就不可能有 His hateful enemies were the abnormal monsters. 這句當中的「反而變成」、「才是」的含意。
hateful + 事物,意思通常很明白,是「可恨的」;hateful + 人,就要小心思考理解了,兩種意思都可能出現,光查字典幫不了你。
//It was boredom, more than activism, that prompted the search for the gay gene. Dean Hamer, a researcher at the National Cancer Institute, was not looking for controversy. He was 【not even looking for himself】. Although openly gay, Hamer had never been particularly intrigued by 【the genetics of any form of identity, sexual or otherwise.】
美國國家癌症研究所(National Cancer Institute)的研究員狄恩・哈默(Dean Hamer)並無意找碴,他甚至【也並不在乎自己的身分】,雖然他已出櫃,但對【任何形式的身分認同、性或其他遺傳學】並無特別興趣。//
說明:
1. not even looking for himself 的 looking 呼應同一段第一句 search for the gay gene(探尋是否有同性戀基因)的 search,兩個字都是「尋找」之意,所以這句意為「他甚至也不是爲了自己去探尋」,因爲下一句便說明原因:原來,他對很多東西根本不太感興趣,會發現同性戀基因,只不過因爲無聊、無意間發現。不懂這英文怎會理解成「不在乎自己的性向/身分」?根本瞎掰!
2. 下一句也很糟糕:Hamer 對「任何形式的身分認同、性或其他遺傳學」三件事不感興趣,中譯意思顯然是三種東西平行並列,但原文怎麼寫?the genetics of any form of identity, sexual or otherwise 這串字所指的,只有一件事,這是一個樹狀結構:of any form of identity 修飾 genetics,而 sexual or otherwise 又修飾 identity,整個合起來理解,就是「性(sexual)或其他方面的任何一種身分認同的遺傳成因」,也就是說,Hamer 對同性戀是否有遺傳成因並不太感興趣。
//He had tried, unsuccessfully, to study medicine at Edinburgh—but, horrified by the “screams of a strapped-down child 【amid the blood and sawdust】 of the . . . 【operating theater】,” had fled medicine to study theology at Christ’s College in Cambridge.
他本在愛丁堡習醫,卻因「【手術劇場】裡被綁縛的兒童【在血汙和鋸屑中】的尖叫」而驚悸,棄醫轉到劍橋大學基督學院研習神學。//
(中譯來自網友提供的截圖)
說明:
1.「手術劇場」真是個荒謬的譯法,operating theater 是醫院的手術示範室、手術觀摩室,像樣的字典會另立條目指出這個意思,不會跟「劇場」的意思混淆。在這樣一個空間,一邊進行手術、一邊讓見習醫師或訪問者居高觀摩,處理的是人命關天的真人真事,怎麼變成虛構故事的「劇場」了?在戰爭語境下,theater 是「戰場」,theater 同時也是「電影院」,也是「戲劇表演」,也可指「看表演的觀衆」(比較古老的用法)。最近有本出版熱烈宣傳的書,書名竟然就叫《手術劇場》,這是一種譁衆取寵的取名手段,不是原書名的直譯,但畢竟那是出版社爲了賣書、吸睛所擁有的權利和自由。在普通的文章裡,不同意義的 theater 就該有合適的譯法,否則要叫讀者如何理解?中國的中文譯法經常大而化之,電腦程式的 macro,和 macroeconomics 的 macro,一律是「宏」字;餐廳的 menu 和應用軟體的 menu 一律稱「菜單」,台灣請不要新創如「手術劇場」、「(二次大戰)歐洲劇場」這種沒水準的糟糕詞彙,中文沒有貧瘠到需要一詞用到底。
話說,香港有個動物醫院,網站有中英雙語介紹文,中文看來像是拙劣的半人工半機器翻譯的內容:
// 他們還接受靜脈輸液的利益,在手術過程中,包括絕育成本。手術是在無菌的方式和手術劇場。//
極爲可笑,不知所云,英文則是:
// They also receive the benefit of intravenous fluids during the surgery inclusive in the neutering cost. The surgery is carried out in a sterile manner and operative theater.//
這段英文拿去餵給 Google Translate 或 Bing 的機器翻譯,出來的結果都還勝過人工,機器都懂得把「operative theater」正確譯為「手術室」。難道現在一些譯者連查一查字典確認字義,或拜現代科技之賜、參考一下機譯結果這兩件事都懶得做了?
2. 同一句中譯裡,「在血汙和鋸屑中的尖叫」太過直譯 amid 這字,尖叫如何能在「鋸屑中」?這 blood and sawdust 指的是從手術臺流到地上的一灘血水,以及傾倒在地上用來吸收血水的木屑,可不是「人體鋸屑」,而木屑並沒有在空氣中亂飄,譯者寫出「在鋸屑中的尖叫」時,腦子不知浮現什麼奇異的「劇場」景象?我好像看到了譯者心中想像著,是不是那小孩的腿被鋸斷時,有「鋸屑」噴飛出來?
以下這一長段落,來自出版社提供的博客來試讀第一頁:
//Jagu—the fourth-born of my father’s siblings—came to live with us in Delhi in 1975, when I was five years old. His mind was also crumbling. Tall and rail thin, with a slightly feral look in his eyes and a shock of matted, overgrown hair, he resembled a Bengali Jim Morrison. Unlike Rajesh, whose illness had surfaced in his twenties, Jagu had been troubled from childhood. Socially awkward, withdrawn to everyone except my grandmother, he was unable to hold a job or live by himself. By 1975, deeper cognitive problems had emerged: he had visions, phantasms, and voices in his head that told him what to do. 【He made up conspiracy theories by the dozens: a banana vendor who sold fruit outside our house was secretly recording Jagu’s behavior. He often spoke to himself, with a particular obsession of reciting made-up train schedules】 (“Shimla to Howrah by Kalka mail, then transfer at Howrah to Shri Jagannath Express to Puri”). He was still capable of extraordinary bursts of tenderness—when I mistakenly smashed a beloved Venetian vase at home, he hid me in his bedclothes and informed my mother that he had “mounds of cash” stashed away that would buy “a thousand” vases in replacement. But 【this episode was symptomatic:】 【even his love for me involved extending the fabric of his psychosis and confabulation.】
一九七五年,當時我五歲,父親的四哥賈古搬來德里與我們同住。他也有精神崩潰的現象。賈古生得又高又瘦,帶著略顯凶悍的眼神和一頭糾結的亂髮,長得就像孟加拉版的美國歌手吉姆.莫理森(Jim Morrison)。和二十歲才發病的拉結什不同的是,他自幼就有精神問題。賈古生性內向畏縮,除了祖母之外,他對任何人都退避三舍,無法工作,生活也不能自理。到了一九七五年,他出現更嚴重的認知問題:幻象、幻覺,聽到腦裡有人指揮他要怎麼做。【他捏造了數十個陰謀:我家門外賣香蕉的小販偷偷記錄了賈古的言行舉止,說他自言自語,特別迷戀自訂的火車行程】 (「由西姆拉搭卡爾卡特郵車到豪拉,然後在豪拉轉札格納斯快車到浦里」)。他依舊會有溫情流露的時刻──有一次我不小心打破了家裡珍藏的威尼斯花瓶,他把我藏在他的被子裡,還告訴我媽他有「成堆的現金」可以買「上千個」花瓶賠償。不過,【這件事其實也說明了】【連他對我的愛都含有思覺失調和虛談症(confabulation)】//
說明:
1. He made up conspiracy theories by the dozens 後接一個冒號,這告訴我們,接下來的那句應該是要舉例陰謀,的確也是。不過,譯者卻誤解了英文,把再下一句的「自言自語」誤認為作者還在講述那陰謀,意思變成小販在無端指控賈古(「說他會自言自語、特別迷戀自訂的火車行程」),因此不是事實,但其實作者僅用一個短句舉例陰謀(a banana vendor who sold fruit outside our house was secretly recording Jagu’s behavior),接著便把主題拉回賈古身上,不再提陰謀,所以賈古的自言自語和覆誦火車行程,都是事實。
改:他捏造了數十個陰謀,例如:指控我們家門外賣香蕉的小販偷偷記錄了他的言行舉止。賈古也經常自言自語,特別執迷於覆誦他捏造的火車行程。
2. this episode was symptomatic 的翻譯頗敷衍,連醫學基本字彙都掌握不好,很令人不放心。symptomatic 是基本義「表現為某疾病的symptom」,不是引申義「某某事物即將發生的徵兆、跡象、預示」(sign, omen, portent),原譯「說明」,似乎把 symptomatic 理解爲後者而脫離了「病徵、症狀」之意。
symptomatic 後接冒號,表示下一句的內容在解釋、釐清前一句。什麼病的symptom?psychosis 和 confabulation。psychosis 還不能譯為思覺失調,因爲作者到了下一段才交代賈古被醫生正式診斷有思覺失調,這一段,作者對賈古的病症只是稱之為較籠統的 psychosis,譯者不要隨便「劇透」,辜負作者細心的鋪陳。
改:不過,這個小插曲是病徵的展現,連他對我的愛也攙進他的精神錯亂和虛談症(confabulation)。
* * *
順便介紹一下,此書除了譯者以外,還有好棒棒的專家「掛名」審訂、導讀,以及一堆名人「掛名」推薦:
臺灣大學生命科學系教授 于宏燦 審訂/導讀
朱雪萍、吳青錫、呂俊毅、李文雄、李家維、阮雪芬、洪蘭、孫以瀚、徐建國、陳沛隆、陳嘉祥、超級歪、董桂書、劉炯朗、鍾明怡、顏擇雅、蘇文慧 各界學者/名人好評推薦
* * *
讀不了原文、必須靠翻譯書吸收知識的讀者,請多多運用你批判思考的本能,不要對翻譯照單全收,或誤以爲你自己腦袋有問題。譯文的品質不太可能改善,我們必須反求諸己。
more often than not用法 在 Eric's English Lounge Facebook 的最讚貼文
[詞彙區別] constitute, compose, consist of, comprise, account for, make up 的區別
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
詞彙區別: http://wp.me/p44l9b-16B
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
在寫作的時候,有些同學為了避免重複使用相同的詞彙,卻選用了意義上不盡相同的詞,而無法精確地表達出自己所想傳達的想法。這問題很可能來自於考生平時在語言學習上過於依賴中英翻譯,因此在不夠了解某些詞彙精準的用法的情況下,很容易造成讀者的誤解。
為了幫助同學增加詞彙量並且精確地在口說和寫作上使用這些字,我建議同學們不要一開始的時候就死記硬背一群同義詞彙 (e.g. decline, decrease, diminish, dwindle, reduce, alleviate) 。雖然如此做會快速幫同學累積對這些詞的認知,可是認知都會停留在模糊階段。建議同學先熟悉其中一兩個單詞以後在開始累積相關的同義詞彙,也應該用搭配詞跟片語加上完整的例句和短文來輔助自己對單詞的理解。同時同學們也應該在使用這些單詞之前先查查字典,更進一步了解這些詞彙的使用方式。
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
1. constitute: to constitute something is to form a whole, especially of dissimilar components: Love and hate can constitute a balanced relationship.
constitute 所“構成”的事物在屬性和特徵上,亦或在組織上,與組成成分是一致的。
-Seven days constitutes a week (七天構成一個星期。).
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
2. Compose: to compose means the same as to constitute, but implies that the components have something in common: Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen.
在表示“由……材料構成”時,見於被動語態;在用於主動語態時,一般它所表示的“構成”或“組成”總包含著融合為一,而且主語或者是複數名詞或者是集體名詞。
-Concrete is composed of cement, sand and gravel mixed with water. (混凝土由水泥、砂、石子與水摻和而構成。 )
-Mere facts, when badly stated, do not compose a good book. (僅僅有資料,如果陳述得很糟糕,並不能組成一本好書)
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
3. account for: 說明(原因、理由等); 導致,引起; (在數量、比例上); 占 (e.g. This group accounted for 60% of the population.)
(在數量、比例上)占
These products, in total, account for about 80% of all our sales (這些產品總共約占我們全部銷售額的80%。).
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
4. make up: 組成 to combine together to form something [= constitute]:
-Women make up only a small proportion of the prison population. 女人只佔監獄人口的一小部分。
-The committee is made up of representatives from every state (委員會由每個州的代表組成的。).
-Children makes up only 10% of the population (兒童只佔人口的10%。).
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
5. consist of: to consist of something is to be made up of it: A lethal dose of nerve agent VX consists of only 10 milligrams.
consist of 的含義與被動語態的 compose 相同
-Though the costume consists only of a sheet, it was very effective. (雖然那件化裝服裝僅由一條床單組成,但效果很好。)
-This group consists of men, women, and children.
(這個小組由男人,女人和孩子們組成的。).
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
6. comprise: to comprise something has the same meaning as to consist, often implying that the whole is regarded from the point of view of its individual parts: The chain is comprised of many links, and is only as strong as its weakest.
comprise 在表示“構成”時,其內涵是“包括”或“覆蓋”*
-The committee comprises men of widely different views (這個委員會由見解甚為懸殊的人組成。).
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
從這些動詞的意思來看,若要表示數個個體或項目組成一個整體時,我們可用 compose 或 constitute。
England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland compose/constitute the United Kingdom.
(英格蘭、威爾斯、蘇格蘭和北愛爾蘭組成了聯合王國。)
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
若要表示一個整體是由個數個體或項目所組成時,我們可用 comprise* 或 consist of / be composed of 。
(compose 經常用於被動態,而以 be composed of 的型式出現,意思和用法跟 consist of 完全一樣。)
-The United Kingdom comprises*/consists of/is composed of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
(聯合王國是由英格蘭、威爾斯、蘇格蘭和北愛爾蘭所構成)
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
詳細的說明: http://www.learnerhall.org/2012/12/consist-of-compose-contain-comprise.html
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
*在這幾個字當中,僅 comprise 兼具其他字的意思,但它也是最麻煩、最讓人困擾的字。英語 評論人士強烈反對 comprise 被用作 constitute 的意思以及 comprise 以被動態形式 be comprised of 來表示 consist of 的意思,所以對於 Fifty states comprise the United States. (五十個州組成了美國) 和 The United States is comprised of fifty states. (美國是由五十個州所組成) 這樣的句子結構,他們期期以為不可,而堅持只有 The United States comprises fifty states. 才是唯一正確的用法。但他們反對的這兩種用法其實早已是不 折不扣的標準英語,一些新版的字典甚至將 be comprised of 堂而皇之地列為片語,如 The course is comprised of ten core modules. (這門課是由 10 個核心單元組成)。然而,在公說公有理,婆說婆有理,各有堅持的情況下,在此建議:若使用 comprise 會讓你覺得心虛或沒把握,那麼不妨使用它的同義詞,也就是沒有爭議的 constitute, consist of 或 be composed of 來代替之。
*An interesting history of sense development concerning the word comprise has caused confusion, if not hate for the word itself. The most common mistake is confusing consist and comprise with each other. To say A lethal dose of nerve agent VX comprises of only 10 milligrams, is wrong because it is not analyzed from each separate component or milligram, but rather as a whole dose. In fact, there is a lot of skepticism and criticism of the word “comprise” all together. “None of the many neat schemes purporting to describe its correct use seems accurately to describe the way Standard English users actually employ comprise.” (Bartleby) Thus it is suggested to use constitute and/or compose as active verbs, while consists and/or includes as passive. However, if your use of the word can clearly indicate its context, separate from the its other accepted use, choosing a substitute is not necessary.
Also, ”Comprises” is "better" grammar than ”is comprised of.” “The whole comprises multiple parts” is better than, “The whole is comprised of multiple parts.” Even better though is, “Multiple parts comprise the whole."
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
Sources:
http://www.bartleby.com/68/3/1403.html
http://bulo.hjenglish.com/question/33021/
http://blog.cybertranslator.idv.tw/archives/2590
http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/english/data/d0081813.html
http://www.learnerhall.org/2012/12/consist-of-compose-contain-comprise.html
http://everything2.com/title/consist%252C+comprise%252C+constitute%252C+or+compose
More sentences:
-The pie chart consists of/comprises of the percentages of four different fuel sources used in electricity production.
-Electricity (that is) produced with coal composed/constituted/accounted for 50% of the total electricity (that is)produced.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
contain vs. include:
Contain: Something is considered to be within something else.
The toy contains many small moving parts. ->The small moving parts are a part of the toy.
Include: Something is added to something else, possibly containing it, possibly not.
-This toy includes batteries. -> The batteries are not a part of the toy. They just come with the toy.
more often than not用法 在 英文補習Ms Priscilla 港大精算9a女狀元 - Facebook 的推薦與評價
【清清概念 】More often than not,學生都搞唔清Worth VS Worthwhile VS Worthy 的分別,有d人仲以為佢地係動詞 ,其實全部都唔係動詞呀呀呀 ! ... <看更多>