1. 表示"……岁",可以只用数词,也可以在数词后面加上years old或year(s) of age,还可以在be aged后加上数词。例如:"我十三岁。"可译为下面几个句子:

　　(1) I'm thirteen.

　　(2) I'm thirteen years old.

　　(3) I'm thirteen years of age.

　　(4) I'm aged thirteen.

　　2. "在……岁时",这种表达常在句中作状语,因此需要在数词前加上介词。"在十六岁"可译为下面几个介词短语。

　　(1) at sixteen

　　(2) at sixteen years of age

　　(3) at the age of sixteen

　　(4) in one's sixteenth year

　　3. 表示"约……岁",可分为以下几种情况:

　　(1) be about+年龄。"他大约二十岁。"可译为:He is about twenty.

　　(2) 从十三岁到十九岁,常用 in one's teens, below twenty; 也可用(a boy / a girl) of teen age来表示。

　　(3)二十岁以上就用in one's(twenties, thirties, ...nineties.)表示。如:She began to learn English in her fifties. 她开始学英语时已经五十多岁了。

　　4. 表示"不满……岁",如"他不到四十岁",可译为:

　　(1) He is hardly forty.

　　(2) He is below forty.

　　(3) He is on the right side of forty.

　　(4) He is on the sunny side of forty.

　　(5) He is hard upon forty.

　　(6) He is not yet turned forty.

　　5. 表示"快到(将近、差不多)……岁",如"他快到八十岁了。"可译为:

　　(1) He is going on for eighty.

　　(2) He is getting on towards eighty.

　　(3) He is getting on for eighty.

　　(4) He is going to be eighty.

　　(5) He is in his late eighties.

　　(6) He is nearly eighty years old.

　　(7) He can not be much below eighty.

　　6. 表示"已经……多岁",如"我已经二十多岁了。"可译为:

　　(1) I'm more than twenty.

　　(2) I'm about twenty.

　　(3) I'm over twenty (years old).

　　(4) I'm in my twenties.

　　(5) I'm on the wrong side of twenty.

　　(文/杨俊杰；英语通初一版04~05学年第08期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)