Normal

平淡是福！肺炎疫情下，完全體會到這句話的意思。以往出街食飯、看電影、閒逛漫步，是那麼的平常（normal）。為了控制疫情，大家又不得不減少聚會。真期待除下口罩那天的到來！

形容詞normal解「平常的、通常的」，即是典型、普通，你可以預期的。例如，It was just another normal working day yesterday-answering phone calls and replying emails.（昨天又是平常的工作日-接聽電話和回覆電郵。）The temperature was above normal this winter.（今年冬天的氣溫高於正常水平。）It is perfectly normal for people to interpret a situation differently based on their beliefs.（人們根據自己的信念對情況進行不同的解釋是完全正常的。）

常用句式It is normal for somebody to do something.（對於某人來說，做某事是正常的。）或者It is normal that...（在正常情況下……）。例句︰It is normal for my mother to add less sugar than the suggestion in the cookbook.（對於我媽媽來說，比食譜中的建議加少些糖是正常的。）It is normal that Hongkongers wear surgical masks when they are sick.（香港人生病時戴口罩很平常。）

（本欄逢周一、三、五刊登）