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Put off

發佈時間: 2016/06/06

Put off

周末與朋友相聚,談起臭豆腐,無不大讚美味非常。我從來沒有勇氣嘗試臭豆腐,遠遠嗅到其濃烈的味道,已經覺得反感、噁心(put me off),實在過不了這個關口。

動詞put解「放、安裝」,加上介詞off變成短語動詞(phrasal verb)put off。Put off有多個意思。在上段的語境裏,put off指「使反感」,常用put somebody off。例句:The sheer smell of stinky tofu put me off.(單是臭豆腐的氣味已經使我反感。)The waiters' terrible attitude put me off eating in that restaurant again.(侍應的惡劣態度使令我不想再次光顧那餐廳。)

Put somebody off也可以指「讓(某人)打消……的念頭」、「分散(某人)的注意力」。例句:She has thought of working in Hong Kong but the long working hours put her off.(她曾經想在香港工作,但長工時使她打消這個念頭)Can you be quiet please?I'm trying to concentrate but you're putting me off.(你可以安靜些嗎?我想要集中注意力,但你打擾了我。)

(本欄逢周一、三、五刊登)

撰文: Ally 最漂亮英文專業老師
欄名: WordDiscovery