由 Jen-Cheng » 2006-08-16 12:47
整句的意思:音樂的歷史上,在"今天"之前的musical superstars從未能command 這等多的費用如同"今天"他們所command的費用。
我分析一下:
OG152. When the technique known as gene-splicing was invented in the early 1970's, it was feared that scientists might inadvertently create an "Andromeda strain," a microbe never before seen on Earth that might escape from the laboratory and it would kill vast numbers of humans who would have no natural defenses against it.
這裡的never before,before那個時間,我 認定為在1970年代之前。
OG92. Never before had taxpayers confronted so many changes at once as they had in the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
(A)so many changes at once as they had in
(B)at once as many changes as
(C)at once as many changes that there were with
(D)as many changes at once as they confronted in
(E)so many changes at once that confronted them in
Ans:D
這裡的never before也是before the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
正確答案代進去
Never before had taxpayers confronted as many changes at once as they confronted in the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
再還原一下:
Taxpayers had never before confronted as many changes at once as they confronted in the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
假使變成這樣:
Taxpayers had never before" the Tax Reform Act of 1986 "confronted as many changes at once as they confronted in the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
句意是通的,而且更容意了解。這裡的before" the Tax Reform Act of 1986 "把 had never ....confronted扯的太遠了,所以倒不如省略
528.Never before in the history of music have musical superstars been able to command so extraordinary fees of the kind they do today.
(A) so extraordinary fees of the kind they do today
(B) so extraordinary fees as they are today
(C) such extraordinary fees as they do today
(D) such extraordinary fees of the kind today’s have
(E) so extraordinary a fee of the kind they can today
Ans:C
正確答案代進去:
Never before in the history of music have musical superstars been able to command such extraordinary fees as they do today.
還原: Musical superstars have never before in the history of music been able to command such extraordinary fees as they do today.
同樣的,在before 後加入"today"與句意是相同的,但是redundancy,所以省略。
至於:1.so/such,我找一下,好像沒有 so clever a boy, 只有such a clever boy
2.為什麼用完成式:never:1.從未2.決不,看句意,若是"從未"就要用完成式。要用現在完成,還是過去完成,就要看句中所提到的是before 現在,還是before 過去時間,og152,92很明顯是提到過去
3. 倒裝的話,應該是加強語氣或者是看得比較順(對native speaker而言),省略 before 後面的時間..concise
To sum up:before的用法,就是文章所提的時間,有跡可尋