關於 as a matter of用法 ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

【讀WSJ學英文 l 美國撤離駐中國外交官對中美關係之影響 】

大家早安！

面對Monday blue，最好的方法就是學點有趣的時事英文！

WSJ在 3/21有篇文章標題為：

U.S. Drawdown of China Diplomats Cripples Ties at Critical Moment

中譯：美國撤離駐中外交官之舉在關鍵時刻傷害雙邊外交關係

這個標題很有意思。

drawdown的意思就是抽回或減少，在本文的脈絡就是「把原本派駐在中國的外交官調回美國」，在此可以用withdrawal 代替。

cripples ties 就是傷害（雙方）關係， cripple在本句為主要動詞，跟「傷害」同義的還有damage, harm等字。

那為什麼要用cripple呢？其實是為了押韻。

搭配：critical moment 關鍵時刻 （呼叫跟我完全沒有血緣關係的劉寶傑）

cripples ties at critical moment 唸起來有押韻的節奏感，感覺到了嗎？

critical 這個字很好用，它可以指重大的、關鍵的或批判的。

例如當一個人發生重大車禍或生病時， in a critical condition 意思就是「命在旦夕」。

內文擷取：

The consulate general in the city of Wuhan, where the pandemic began, closed in late January. Missions and consulates in Shenyang, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou are at 20% to 30% of their staffing levels, according to people familiar with the matter. Most of those employees are local Chinese.

中譯：疫情於武漢開始，美國在武漢的總領事館於一月底關閉。至於在瀋陽、上海、成都及廣州的使領館也只留下兩成到三成的人力，知情人士表示。大多數留下的人力為中國當地雇員。

順便跟大家講解一下外交用語：

consulate 領事館
consulate general 總領事館

上述這兩個館館長，我們稱為head of mission。

在領事館的領事，英文就是Consul。

在總領事館的總領事，英文就是Consul General。

新聞中常看到「知情人士指出」，「知情人士」就是people familiar with the matter。

The emptying out of American diplomatic outposts came as relations between the U.S. and China descended to levels of rancor not seen in decades, fed by a two-year trade war and, more recently, finger-pointing over responsibility for the severity and origin of the coronavirus threat.

中譯：美國外交使館的撤離正值中美關係降到數十年來未見冰點之際，雙方關係不睦肇因於長達兩年的貿易戰爭，以及雙方對於冠狀病毒威脅的嚴重性及來源的責任歸屬。

這一段有點難，我們花點時間講深一點。

diplomatic outpost 就是diplomatic mission，這是新聞英文常見的替換語詞。

empty out 跟標題的drawdown，意思接近，可以解釋為「使領館只留下少數人力，所以變得中空」。

relations between the U.S. and China descended to levels of rancor not seen in decades 這句寫得很文雅，考生直接背起來吧！

descend就是下降

rancor (n.) 仇恨，憎恨，深仇
rancorous (a.) 深仇大恨的

rancor 比 hatred 的意思來得更強。

not seen in decades 前面省略了which have not been，完整寫法是 levels of rancor which have not been seen in decades。

fed by 這個子句，前面省略了which is/was/has been。

feed 原意是 餵養，在此的修辭方式是「因為XX原因導致XX」。

finger-pointing over responsibility 互相指著對方，叫對方負起責任。這也是很實用的用法。

Now's not the time for finger-pointing. 現在不是彼此指責的時候。

這樣講，大家看懂了嗎？

有興趣的朋友，可以試著把整篇看完喔！

#WSJ
#華爾街日報

#你今天學英文了嗎

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-drawdown-of-china-diplomats-cripples-ties-at-critical-moment-11584788401

華爾街日報3.4折訂購優惠：

https://reurl.cc/M7p8ev

#Crux 點解可以等於 #戲肉
//• The crux of Hong Kong's crisis is Beijing's excessive emphasis on "one country" over "two systems". 香港危機的癥結，就是北京過分着重 「#一國」#先於「#兩制」。//
—————————————-
2019-12-09 明報
A20 | 英文 English | 毛孟靜
Crux 與「戲肉」
許多事故、每 個爭議，都會有個中心點。這個癥結 所在，英文叫 the crux of the matter。

曾多次聽到有人把 crux 講成crust，這肯定是錯的。Crust 是指任 何物體硬的外層，像a thin crust of snow；而bread crust，就是 我們口語的麵包「皮」。

Crux，拉丁文中指十字，但與宗教的十字架無關，用於英文，解作困難difficulty 或puzzle 疑團， 包含一點在十字路口 （crossroads）徘徊的意思。

• The rule of law should have been the crux of democracy. 法治精神原應是民主制度的 核心。

• The crux of Hong Kong's crisis is Beijing's excessive emphasis on "one country" over "two systems". 香港危機的癥結，就是北京過分着重 「一國」先於「兩制」。

• The crux of Hong Kong's problems is that we need true universal suffrage — minus Beijing's power to screen out candidates who are politically "unfit" in its eyes. 香港問題的 核心，是我們要有真普選—— 除去北京可篩走政治「不適當」候選人的權力。

• The crux of the trial is his whereabouts at the time of the murder. 這場審訊的重點，是謀殺發生之際，他到底身在何處。

• Never mind the wedding ceremony. The crux is do you really love her ? 不必理會婚禮。重點是，你愛她嗎？

也有許多人用heart 心臟來代替crux，以示重要、中心部位，a critical, central point：the heart of the matter。

• Let's stop arguing superficially and get to the heart of the matter. 我們停止表面的爭 執，直接談問題的核心吧。

• Sigh. As expected, money was at the hear t of the matter. 唉！一如所料，講到底也不過是為了錢。

留意以上這句，譯做中文不必 用上重點、癥結、核心之類的 詞語，用回我們的常用語更能達意。

中英文一樣，不管寫作或說 話，最好避免重複用同樣的字。 在英語寫作中，懂得用同義詞 synonyms 非常重要。

譬如說，不想重複crux 或 heart of the matter，可以簡單改說the focus、the focal point 焦點。

• We mustn't digress. We must stick to the focus of the matter. 大家不可離題，必須專注事件的焦點。

更好的說法，可以是：

• We mustn't digress. Let's focus on what really matters. 視乎上文下理，crux 的同義詞另有core 核心、essence 精粹 及gist 主旨。

• Cash flow often lies at the core of the small shop's problems. 資金周轉不靈老是這家小店的最大問題。

• Don't tell me everything. I just need to know the essence/ gist of their argument. 不用什 麼都告訴我。我只要知道他們 論點的撮要/ 重點。

留意上述essence 及gist 的 用法，主旨是不必囉嗦，把重點 「一句過」說明就好。最後還有 許多人都未必知道的：

Meat of the matter，一樣解作事件主題、核心或重點。為什麼會用到meat 肉呢？這 個，也許記得我們口語中「戲肉」的肉就好。

文︰毛孟靜

【排毒就是好】根據症狀治療更重要

#排清毒素身體好
#對症下藥才是排毒之道
#星期一踢走BlueMonday

中醫治療有八法
很多人看到「排毒」的字眼就立即感覺人人適合，其實還是要配合體質。身體症狀有分虛與實。虛則要補，實則要瀉。中醫有「治病八法」，分別是汗、吐、下、和、溫、清、消、補，以緩解不同的症狀和調整身體狀態，因此要排毒袪病，並非單純地一味排便就可以，更應該諮詢註冊中醫師，辨證論治，對症下藥。

汗 – 以出汗將病邪由體內帶出體外，多用於感冒或水腫症狀，菊花、芫茜、薄荷等皆是有發汗解表功效的食物。

吐 – 以催吐的方法，將病邪吐出，多為急救處理，因此在沒有醫師辨證下絕不要自己胡亂嘗試。較常見用於為進食過急，而令食物滯留胃中未能消化。

下 – 即為促瀉，也是很多人所理解的「排毒」方法，以苦寒又或是溫性藥療增加瀉下，此法峻猛，由於病人本身體質的強弱的不同，用法不當會對身體帶來傷害。身體虛弱、老人、孕婦、月經期間都切勿胡亂嘗試這種方式。

和 – 即為「調和」，主要是和解虛實、寒熱症狀，以達以身體狀態的協調。

溫 – 以溫性食療或中藥驅除體內的寒冷，即為大家常聽到的補益陽氣及溫中散寒，尤其適合虛寒體質人士，平日也可適量進食溫熱食材如肉桂、栗子、羊肉等以補陽氣，有虛火及偏熱體質人士不宜。

清 – 簡單來說即為清熱，選擇涼性食療及中藥以清除身體的偏熱症狀，如喉嚨痛、口瘡、心情煩躁等，也是大家一般覺得自己上火時喝涼茶下火的道理，正因要清熱，食療及中藥需為涼性，多進食則會傷陽氣，當偏熱症狀緩解後就不要再繼續服用了。

消 – 即為化瘀散結，主要針對氣滯、血瘀體質等因氣血不通而引致的症狀，如胃脹、腫傷等，消食化氣，在療程中多配以下法同用，還是諮詢中醫師更穩妥。

補 – 也是一般人認知的「進補」，補益陰陽氣血及身體虛損，主要針對體弱人士，分為補氣、血、陰及陽四大類。補氣針對氣虛人士，平日說話無力、多汗；補血針對血虛或貧血人士，此類人多有頭暈目眩，女性月經量少色淺；補陰亦即滋陰，為身體補充水分，乾燥天氣時也適合；而補陽適合畏冷體質及陽虛人士，易有腰痠、手腳冰冷及小便頻繁等症狀。

Eight treatment methodology within Chinese medicine
When people see the word "detoxification", they assume it is suitable for everyone. In fact, it should be done based on your body condition. Symptoms are divided into asthenic and excessive. Those with asthenic symptoms should nourish their body, and those with excessive symptoms should focus on clearing. Chinese medicine has "eight treatment methods", which is sweating, vomiting, purging, regulating, warming, clearing, eliminating and nourishing. In short, you should relieve different symptoms and adjust physical state based on your body condition. Therefore, to detoxify and dispel illness, it is not just a matter of defecation. You should consult a registered Chinese medicine practitioner to find out the correct treatment for your problem.

Sweating- To expel illness out of body by sweating. It is often used for cold/flu or edema. Chrysanthemum, cilantro and mint are foods that promote sweating.

Vomiting- To let illness out by inducing vomiting, it is a first-aid treatment. So do not try it yourself without consulting a professional. It is commonly used for eating too fast, and the food is retained in the stomach which cannot be digested.

Purging- It means to inducing diarrhea, a “detoxification” method that many people know. You can have bitter and cold or warm medicine treatment to increase diarrhea effect. This method is too strong. You should use this method according your strength of body condition or it can be harmful. Those with asthenic and weak body condition, elderly, pregnant women, and those menstruating should not try this.

Regulating- It is mainly to regulate the asthenic and excessive symptoms, cold and heat, in order to achieve a balanced physical state.

Warming- To dispel cold in the body by having warm nature diet or medicine. It is the method people talk about regarding nourishing yang and dispelling cold, especially suitable for those with asthenic and cold body condition. You can also appropriately consume warm and hot ingredients such as cinnamon, chestnuts, lamb to increase yang qi. It is not appropriate for those with asthenic fire and heat-related symptoms.

Clearing- It means clearing heat in a simple way. To choose cool diet and Chinese medicine to clear the heat-related symptoms, such as sore throat, canker sores, irritability, etc. It is also the reason that everyone drink the herbal tea to clear heat when they feel like there is fire in the body. To clear the heat, the diet and Chinese medicine are cool in nature. Eating too much will hurt the yang qi, and when the heat-related symptoms are relieved, do not continue to take it.

Eliminating- this is to eliminate stasis and usually focuses on qi stagnation and blood stasis related issues such as abdominal bloating and swelling pains. To aid digestion, treatments may involve purging so it is better to consult a Chinese medicine practitioner.

Nourishing- This means eating tonic food in common way. It can nourish yin, yang, qi, blood and body damage, mainly for those with weak body condition. It is divided into four categories: qi, blood, yin and yang. Nourishing qi is suitable for people with qi deficiency, weakness in voice and excessive sweating. Nourishing blood is for blood deficiency or anemia, people with this situation are often experience dizziness, and women may have less menstrual volume and light blood colour. Nourishing yin means replenishing water for the body, suitable for dry weather. Nourishing yang is suitable for those are aversion to cold and with yang deficiency, and have symptoms such as sore back, cold limbs and frequent urination.

#男 #女 #我煩燥 #我畏冷 #我枯燥 #我狀態OK #我有壓力 #我胖了 #我疲憊 #陽虛 #濕熱 #陰虛 #陽虛 #氣滯 #血瘀 #血虛