中英之鑒 中式英語之鑒144

[誤] What are those people gathering in threes and fives for?

[正] What are those people gathering in threes and fours for?

注：漢語中有些數(shù)詞可以直接翻譯成英文，如：“滄海一粟”(a drop in the ocean)，“一箭雙雕”(kill two birds with one stone)等。但是，也有不少數(shù)詞不能進(jìn)行等值翻譯，上面所列的就是一例。除此之外，還有“亂七八糟”(at sixes and sevens)，“再三考慮”(on second thought)，“三三兩兩地 ”(by ones and twos)等。