先看下面一道高考题:

　　—Did you remember to give Mary the money you owed her?

　　—Yes, I gave it to her ________ I saw her.

　　A. whileB. the moment C. suddenlyD. once

　　此题主要考查连词的用法。suddenly仅作副词,容易排除; while引导的从句中的谓语动词须是持续性或状态性动词; once含有条件意味; the moment可作连词用,意为“一……就”。根据答语语意,“我一见到她就把钱还她了。”故最佳选项为B。我们可从下述几点看moment的用法:

　　一、moment用作名词,意为“片刻;瞬间”。如:

　　To everybody's delight, she arrived at the last moment. 使大家感到高兴的是,她在最后一刻赶到了。

　　二、moment用作名词,意为“重要;重大”。如:

　　In my opinion, the conversation is of little moment. 依我看,这次会谈不很重要。

　　三、与moment构成的常用短语。

　　1. at the moment 意为“此刻”(与现在时连用)或“那时;当时”(与过去时连用)。如:

　　I'm afraid I'm too busy at the moment to see anyone. 很遗憾,我此刻太忙,不能去见任何人。

　　2. for the moment意为“暂时”。如:

　　She is out, so you may use her typewriter for the moment. 她出去了,你可以暂时使用她的打字机。

　　3. in a moment 意为“立刻”。如:

　　I'll join you in the discussion in a moment. 我一会儿和你们一起讨论。

　　4. for a moment意为“一会儿”。如:

　　I had to think for a moment before I remembered his name. 我想了一会儿才记起他的名字。

　　5. at any moment 意为“随时”。如:

　　He told me I could call him at any moment. 他告诉我随时可以给他打电话。

　　四、the (very) moment可用作连词。

　　moment与定冠词连用,译为“一……就”。如:

　　He felt a thrill the very moment he got into the theatre. 他进入剧院时感到一阵激动。

　　我们还可以用下列方式表达 “一......就......”。

　　1. the minute; the instant; the second。如:

　　The instant you leave this tent, you will get a big surprise. 你一走出帐篷,便会大吃一惊。

　　The second I saw him I know he is my former friend, Henry. 我一看到他就知道他是我以前的朋友,亨利。

　　2. immediately ;

　　instantly; directly。如:

　　I'll give you an answer immediately I've finished reading your file. 我读完你的卷宗以后立即给你答复。

　　3. hardly... when; no sooner... than。如:

　　We had hardly got on the train when it began to pull out。我们刚上火车,火车就开动了。

　　No sooner had he entered the office than the telephone rang. 他刚进办公室,电话铃就响了。

　　特别提示:当no sooner, hardly放在句首时,主句用倒装语序。

　　4. as soon as。如:

　　As soon as the lessons were over, the children hurried to the playground. 一下课,孩子们就向操场奔去。

　　5. on+V-ing或on +表示动作的名词。如:

　　On arriving in England, they were taken to the Crystal Palace by train. 他们一到达英国便乘车去水晶宫。

　　On her arrival at the airport, she was greeted by the Prime Minister. 她一到达机场便受到总理的欢迎。

　　(文/杨时务；英语辅导报高三版2003-2004学年第10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。)