漫谈英语数词的修饰词
文/王逢鑫
有个学生问我：“‘It rained for three solid hours last night.’这句话是什么意思？”原来，他不知道 solid 还有continuous（连续的）和without a pause（不间断）的意思。这句话也可以写成：“It rained for three hours solid last night.”译为：“昨夜下了连续三个小时的雨。”英语中有一些像 solid这样的修饰词，有些放在数词前面，有些放在数词后面，或者放在数词前面和后面都可以。
英语第一类修饰数词的词表示“正好”，包括 exactly, sharp, flat, just 等。例如：
1. The sea journey took us exactly twenty days.
这次海上旅行花了我们正好20天。
2. I have an appointment with the dentist at three o’clock sharp this afternoon.
我预约今天下午3点整看牙医。
3. They changed the wheel of the car in three minutes flat.
他们换这个汽车轮胎用了正好3分钟。
4. He will have worked at the university for just thirty years by next month.
到下个月，他就在这所大学工作正好30年了。
英语第二类修饰数词的词表示“大约”，包括 about, some, around, roughly, approximately 等。例如：
5. About five days ago, an earthquake happened in this small village. Luckily for the villagers, nothing was destroyed and nobody was hurt.
大约5天前，这个小村庄发生了地震。令村民们庆幸的是，什么东西都没有毁坏，什么人都没有受伤。
6. Last year, some 21 million people worldwide were affected by river flooding.
去年，全世界有大约2100万人遭受洪水之灾。
7. The much-anticipated area, which can hold 100,000 people, has now become a ghost town with only around 2,000 residents.
这片能容纳10万人的地区承载了很多希望，现在却变成一座仅有大约2000居民的鬼城。
8. Spending roughly ten minutes per day in the sun should be enough to supply us with all the Vitamin D we need.
每天花大约10分钟晒太阳应该就能给我们所需要的全部维生素D。
9. The snack industry in China has been growing at a steady clip of approximately 15% annual growth.
中国的快餐业一直以每年约15%的速度稳定增长。
英语第三类修饰数词的词表示“将近”，包括 nearly，almost 等。例如：
10. The organizer of the conference said that nearly five hundred people from various countries attended the meeting.
大会组织者说，来自各国的将近500人参加了这次会议。
11. In India alone, almost five million people were affected by floods in an average year.
仅印度一个国家，每年平均就有将近500万人遭受洪水影响。
英语第四类修饰数词的词表示“多于”，包括 more than, over, odd （a little more than）等。例如：
12. Beijing, the capital of China, is home to more than 20 million people.
中国首都北京有2000多万人口。
13. The yet-to-be-named city will spread out over 150 square kilometers.
这座尚未命名的城市将向外扩展150多平方公里。
14. The old man told me that he was seventy-odd years old.
这位老人告诉我，他有70几岁。
英语第五类修饰数词的词表示“不多于”“最多”，包括 not more than, at most, bare, barely, scant 等。例如：
15. I’d taken not more than five steps when my father started coughing.
我还没走出5步，我父亲就开始咳嗽了。
16. He has got at most five yuan in his pocket.
他衣袋里最多只有5元钱。
17. When the boy was a bare five years old, he could speak a little English.
这个男孩还不到5岁就能说一点儿英语了。
18. The young man was barely twenty years old and already running his own computer company.
这个年青人还不到20岁，就已开办起自己的电脑公司了。
19. The world hardly knew his name a scant three months ago.
不到3个月以前，世上几乎无人知道他的名字。
英语第六类修饰数词的词表示“少于”，包括 fewer than, less than等。例如：
20. The zoologist said,“Fewer than 50 wild tigers remain in China.”
这位动物学家说：“中国现存野生虎不到50只。”
21. Most of the babies in Brazil, irrespective of social class, were breastfed—some for less than a month and others for more than a year.
巴西大部分婴儿，不论社会阶层如何，都进行母乳喂养，有的不到一个月，有的超过一年。
英语第七类修饰数词的词表示“不少于”“至少”，包括 not fewer than, at least, good 等。例如：
22. On Sundays, there are not fewer than two thousand visitors in the park.
星期天，这个公园里的游客不少于2000名。
23. Seventy-five percent of America’s National Park Service employees are at least 40 years old and only 7% are 29 or younger.
美国国家公园管理局75%的员工至少40岁，而仅有7%的员工达到29岁或小于29岁。
24. My home is a good three kilometers to the airport.
我家到飞机场至少有3公里。
英语第八类修饰数词的词表示“多余”或“另外”，包括 too many, more, other, another, extra, additional 等。例如：
25. I want to buy two more picture-books/ two other picture-books/ another two picture-books/ two extra picture-books/ two additional picture-books.
我想再买两本图画书。
英语第九类修饰数词的词表示“缺”，包括 short, short of, shy, shy of 等。例如：
26. Our football team is still two players short.
我们足球队仍差两名队员。
27. We are still two players shy (of a full football team).
我们还差两名球员就够组成一支完整的足球队。
28. Mother told her young daughter that eleven was one short of a dozen.
妈妈告诉她的小女儿：11比12少1。
英语第十类修饰数词的词表示“整整”，包括 clear （complete, without deduction）, full, fully 等。例如：
29. Her son has been seriously ill and laid in bed for three clear days.
她儿子已重病卧床整整3天了。
30. During Spring Festival, we have three full days off.
春节期间，我们放3整天假。
31. Fully 100 policemen cordoned off the building on the street.
整整100名警察在街上离这座大楼不远的地方布下了警戒线。
英语第十一类修饰数词的词表示“多达”，包括 as many as, up to, strong 等。例如：
32. The scientist points out that as many as 10 out of 17 kinds of penguins may be in danger of extinction.
这位科学家指出，17种企鹅中有多达10种可能濒临灭绝。
33. This residential project was designed to house up to one hundred thousand people.
这个住宅项目原本设计为多达10万居民提供住所。
英语第十二类修饰数词的词表示“仅仅”，包括 only, mere, merely 等。例如：
34. They had all promised to attend the meeting, but only five people turned up.
他们都曾许诺参加会议，但是仅有5人露面。
35. It took the badminton player a mere 40 minutes to win the game.
这名羽毛球运动员花了仅仅40分钟就赢了这场比赛。
36. The old man said he saw a car pass when he was merely five years old.
这位老人说，他才5岁就看见汽车了。
英语第十三类修饰数词的词表示“连续”，包括 solid, continuous, consecutive 等。例如：
37. We have worked together for two solid years.
我们已一起连续工作了两年时间。
38. The man lived in this city for five continuous years starting from 2009.
这名男子从2009年起在本市连续住了5年。
39. The insurance company has carried vehicle insurance with us for ten consecutive years.
这家保险公司已连续10年为我们提供车险。
英语第十四类修饰数词的词表示“说话人的情感”，包括 long, short, cool (emphasizing how large a sum of money is), anxious 等。例如：
40. The man said to his wife,“We have been married for ten long years.”
这个男子对妻子说：“我们结婚已有漫长的10年了。”（感叹时间过得长）
41. Just two short years ago, he was the CEO of a famous transnational corporation.
就在短短的两年之前，他还是一家著名跨国公司的首席执行官。（感叹时间过得快）
42. The young man earned a cool hundred thousand dollars in five months on the Internet.
这个年青人5个月就在互联网上挣了足足10万美元。（强调数目之大）
43. His mother has spent an anxious 24 hours at his bedside since he was ill.
他的母亲自他生病后就守在他病床旁，已度过了焦急的24小时。（形容心情忧虑）