English is a Crazy Language

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends（赔偿 but not one amend, that you comb through (v.仔细翻阅) annals(n.年鉴、年刊) of history but not a single annal? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preacher praught? If a vegetarian(n.素食者) eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian(n.人道主义者) eat?

How can a slim chance（渺茫的机会） and a fat chance（微小的机会）be the same, while a wise man and wise guy(自作聪明的人) are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few（相当多的）are alike?  How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another.

You have to marvel at （对…感到惊讶）the unique lunacy(n.精神病) of a language in which your house can burn up（烧起来） as it burns down（烧为平地）, in which you fill in（填写） a form by filling it out（填写）and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up(上紧发条) my watch, I start it, but when I wind up（结束） this essay, I end it.


你只能补偿很多过失(make amends)，不能只改正一项，是不是听起来很疯狂？[没有make amend，amends在此用法下必须为复数。] 编年历史只能是很多年(annals)，而不能只有一年(annal)。 你会有一些零碎的杂物(odds and ends)，当扔掉所有只剩一个，那剩余的这个还应该叫作odds and ends这个复数吗？

如果教师(teachers)对应的动词是“教书(taught)”，那传教士(preacher)对应的动词为什么不是“praught”？素食主义者(vegetarian)吃素(vegetables)，那么人道主义者(humanitarian)吃什么？（人吗？）

英语里怎么“苗条的机会(slim chance)”和“肥胖的机会(fat chance)”指的是同一个意思？[都指机会渺茫。]而“聪明的人(a wise man)”和“聪明的家伙(a wise guy)”所指却恰好相反？[前者指“聪明人”，后者指“骄傲自大的人”。]　Look和see都是“看”，而overlook和oversee的意思却完全不同。[overlook指“忽视、忽略”，而oversee指“监督、监视”。]　天气不论严寒还是酷暑怎么都是“像地狱一样”？[hot as hell/cold as hell]

不得不惊讶于这种独特的神经质语言，在英语里，你的房子“烧下去(burn down)”之前会先“烧起来(burn up)”；[burn down指“烧毁”，burn up“烧起来”。]你“填出去(fill out)”是为了“填进来(fill in)”；[fill out和fill in都是指“填表”。] 闹钟通过“一直走(go on)”来“走掉(go off)”。[go on指“运行、工作”，go off指“响铃，发出警报”。这里是说闹钟只有正常走动工作着才会在设定好的时间响铃。

英语是人发明的，不是电脑生成的，它反映的是人类种族的创造力。因此，当星星“在外面(out)”时，我们可以看见它们(visible)，而当灯光“熄灭(out)”时，我们就看不见(invisible)了。[星星out指“出来，出现”，灯光out指“熄灭，关掉”。]也是因此，当我“wind up”手表时，我让它能够走动，这是让其开始，当我“wind up”这篇文章时，我不再写，这却是让其结束。[wind up手表，是“给手表上弦”；wind up文章，是“结束、停止”。]