逍遥学能 2017-08-20 13:13
◆age n.
1. 表示“年龄”,注意以下常见表达:
He’s ten (years old). / He’s ten years of age. 他10岁。
How old is he? / What’s his age? / What age is he? 他多大年纪?
I have a son (of) your age. / I have a son the same age of you. 我有一个像你这样大小的儿子。
Their ages are ten and twelve. 他们的年龄分别是10 岁和12岁。
2. 表示“在……年龄时”,英语通常用 at the age of+数字,有时可省略成 at age+数字,或只用 at+数字。如:
他25岁结婚。
正:He got married at (the age of) 25.
正:He got married at age 25.
3. 汉语中的“他年纪大(轻)”,在英语中不能直译为 His age is old (young). 可译为 He is old (young).
同样地:英语中通常说 at the early age of 30 (年仅30岁),一般不说 at the young age of 30(虽偶见此用法,但初学者不宜模仿)。
但有趣的是,英语中通常不说 young age, 但却可以说 old age
(老年)和 middle age(中年)。如:
Who is going to look after them in their old age? 他们年老的时候谁来照顾他们呢?
A person of 40 has reached middle age. 一个人满了40岁就算进入了中年。
4. 表示“时期”、“时代”,多用单数形式;在口语中可引申指“很长时间”,可用复数形式也可用单数形式。如:
The 18th century was the golden age of the novel. 18世纪是小说的黄金时代。
It’s ages [an age] since we last met. 我们好久没见面了。
(I) Haven’t seen you for ages [an age]. 好久不见了。