字神帝國英語天地

Maryam: Have you seen the weather forecast?
→→ 瑪麗安﹕你有沒有看天氣預報？
Francis: No, I've been too busy to watch TV today.
→→ 法郎西斯﹕沒有，我今天很忙，沒有時間看電視。
Maryam: Well, they're forecasting heavy snow from Wednesday on. It could last for a few days.
→→ 瑪麗安﹕據他們預測，星期三開始，會下大雪，而且可能連續幾天。
Francis: Oh, no! I haven't done my weekly shopping yet.
→→ 法郎西斯﹕啊，糟了。我每星期買一次東西，現在還未去買。
Maryam: You'd better get down to the supermarket as soon as you can.
→→ 瑪麗安﹕你最好盡快去超級市場。
Francis: You bet. I'm going to stock up on essentials like bread and milk in case the snow lasts longer than expected.
→→ 法郎西斯﹕這個自然。我會多買些麵包、牛奶等必需品作儲備，以防下雪的日子比預測要長。

● To stock up on something是「大量儲備某些東西」，那on改作with也可以；假如不說明儲備什麼，則只須說to stock up，

例如﹕(1) We will stock up on/with firewood for the coming winter（冬天將臨，我們會多儲備木柴）。(2) Did you stock up for the Lunar New Year holidays?（農曆新年之前，你有沒有多儲備些物品？）

○ Essential、necessity兩字，都可以譯做「必需品」，但essential所說的東西，比necessity更加不可缺乏，

例如﹕(1) Food and warm clothing are essentials when you are in the polar regions（在南北極地區，食物和溫暖的衣服，都不可或缺）。(2) A car is not a luxury but a necessity when you live in the country（住在鄉間，汽車就不是奢侈品，而是必需品）。

形容詞essential和necessary的分別，和名詞essential和necessity相同，即essential所說的「必要」，比necessary更為強烈。

○ You bet直譯是「你打賭」，但俗語常用這兩字表示「的確」或「當然」，等於certainly，例如﹕"We are going to have a cup of coffee. Would you like to join us?" "You bet."（「我們去喝咖啡。你想不想一起去？」「當然想。」）

○ 留意It could last for a few days這一句。Last解作「持續」，其後可用for帶出一段時間，但不用for也可以，例如﹕The rain lasted (for) several hours（連續下了幾小時雨）。