《英语周报》专家在线答疑：词汇常识

　　问：我是《英语周报》的老读者，现有个小问题想请教。我经常听说和看见O.K.，OK和okay，但不知道它们究竟有什么区别，它们都有什么用法呢？能解释一下吗？

　　答：O.K.，OK和okay意思相同，三种拼写形式都是正确的并通常可以换用，但似乎okay比O.K.，OK更为普通或轻松。在北美畅销的最近版本的Merriam-Webster’s Pocket Guide to English Usage一书中有这样的叙述：The spellings O.K.，OK, and okay are all in good use, with okay perhaps slightly more common than the other two.我们知道O.K.，OK和okay是起源于美国本土的地地道道的口语表达方式，称为俚语，现在为全世界亿万人所熟悉和使用，但其最早的出处却众说不一。有人说是起源于密西西比河谷的一个土著印第安人部落(Chocktaw)的oke (其意是Yes, it, is.)；有人说是出生在穷乡僻壤、家境贫寒、没有受到正规教育的美国总统安德鲁•杰克逊(Andrew Jackson 1767～1845年)最先使用了O.K.；也有人说是18世纪末一位名叫约翰•阿斯特(John Astor)的富商最先使用的……不过许多语言学家和美国权威辞书却普遍认为，源自Old Kinderhook(金德胡克)两个词的首字母缩写的说法比较可信。出身贫寒的民主党人总统马丁•范•布伦(Martin Van Buren,1782～1862年)1840年再次竞选连任时与其支持者创建了O.K. Club。Kinderhook是布伦在纽约州的家乡名字，这样，O.K.一词就一语双关了。虽然由于经济萧条和其他政治原因布伦竞选失败，但O.K.一词却广泛流行开来，成为美国最流行的口头用语，该词还可拼写成okeh, okey, okeydoke, okeydokey等，不过最为常用的还是O.K.，OK和okay这三个拼写形式。它们通常可作形容词、副词、名词和动词。首先，作形容词用，其意为：“(身体状况)好的，可以的，不错的”(all right, satisfactory but not extremely good, well)，无比较等级变化，多用作表语，有时也可作定语，如：①Do you feel OK now? ②Well, it was OK, but I liked the other one better. ③I hope the children are okay. ④He’s an OK guy. 值得注意的是，作形容词用时，有两个常用句型应该记住：It is okay for sb. to do sth.和It is okay with(by) sb.，如：①It's okay for you to go home now. ②If it's OK with your mom, it’s OK by me.其次，作名词用，其意为：“同意，许可”(approval, agreement, permission)，常作宾语，其复数形式既可是O.K.s，OKs和okays也可是O.K.’s，OK’s，如：①We have Coach Smith’s OK to use the gym this Monday. ②Have they given you their okay?再次，作副词用，其意为：“顺利地，尚可，好”(all right, satisfactorily)，无比较等级变化，常作状语，在陈述句或疑问句中用以加强语气，并可用于征询对方是否同意或表示同意，如：①The car’s going okay now. ②Everything will go Ok. ③We’ll go to the cinema tomorrow, okay? 最后，作动词用，其意为：“对……表示同意，批准，认可”(to agree to ,to give permission to )，其屈折式变化形式既可以是okays, okayed, okaying或OKs, OKed,OKing也可以是OK’s，OK’d, OK’ing，但究竟哪种形式好，说法不一，有人说OK’s, OK’d, OK’ing比okays, okayed, okaying好，但最新版本的国外权威词典(如Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)却也用okayed。①His ear OK’d the sounds as the engine warmed up. ②The editor O.K.’d the manuscript for publication. ③Would you OK my application？(你同意我的申请吗? ) ④Has the bank okayed your request for a loan? 但是无论O.K., OK, okay作何用法，它们通常都是口语或非正式的书面表达方式。

　　问：我是在校生，在四级词汇练习中，有这样两道选择题：①If you don’t like to swim, you stay at home. A)should as well B)may as well C)can as well D)would as well正确答案是B)，但我觉得C)也对，能解释一下为什么吗？②That man’s wife is terrible; she him all the time, nagging from morning till night. A) keeps in with B) keeps on at C)keeps back from D)keeps away from正确答案是B)，我经常遇到这类练习，总是感到困惑，有突破这一瓶颈的好办法吗？

　　答：句①是一道习语的测试题。may as well (do sth.)是一固定表达法，称为习语(idiom)，其意为：“还是……的好，最好……；不妨……”(to have no strong reason not to, informal use for suggesting something when you cannot think of anything better to do)，在别无选择情况时，勉强或只好让某事发生(used for saying that something can or should happen, especially when you have no choice), 表示不太强的意愿或提出建议，后接动词原形，如：①I may as well tell you the truth— you’ll find out anyway.(我还是把真相告诉你的好，反正早晚你都会知道的。) ②One may as well not know a thing at all, as know it imperfectly.该习语中的may 可换用might，而意思不变(have exactly the same meaning)；但不可用can，我们对这一习语可整体来记忆，即may (might) as well (do something), 如：Since nobody else wants the job, we might as well let him have it .(既然没有别人想要这份工作，那咱们不妨就让他去做吧。)该成语有时还可与just搭配使用，加强语气,如：No one will eat this food; it might just as well be thrown away.习语或成语通常多是固定或定型的词语，其构成部分一般都不可随意变动。may (might) as well do sth.中的may (might)均不可用其他词语如can, should, would等来替换，可见B) may as well是唯一正确答案。现在来看第二个问题，句②考核的是大纲所要求的“三词动词”(Three-World-Verbs)。 keep on at somebody是固定三词短语动词，是由“动词+副词+介词”构成，其意为：“纠缠，困扰(某人)，向(某人)唠叨，总是抱怨，”(to continue talking to sb. in an annoying or complaining way)，相当一个及物动词，如：His wife kept on at him to buy her a new coat. 选项A) keep(s) in with 意为：“(继续)和……友好相处；不与……争吵” (to try to remain friendly with, esp. for one’s own advantage), 如：We shall be living here for a long time, so we must keep in with the neighbours. 选项C) keep(s) back from意为：“站得离……远一点；隐瞒”，如： The crowds would not keep back from the barrier.(人群不肯站得离栅栏远一点。) 最后，选项D) keep(s) away from意为：“不接近，远离开……”( to not go near sb./sth.)， 如：The doctor told her to keep away from all sweets and other fattening food.可见，只有B)keeps on at是与题意相符的正确答案。其实，这类练习并不难，只要记住“三词动词”的释义，最好再记一个例句，大多都可解决。教学大纲中要求记住并掌握的这类动词有：add up to(总起来意味着)，answer up to (回答)，boil down to (归结为)，break away from (摆脱)，back out of(食言)，break out of (逃出)，cut down on(减少)，catch up with (赶上)，come down with(付款)，come up against(遇到困难等)，come up for(被考虑作为候选人)，come up with(追上)， check up on (调查)，do away with(废除)，date back to (追溯)，drop out of (退出)，face up to (大胆面对)，fall back on(退却)，fit in with(适应)，feel up to (以为能)，get along with(进展)，get down to (开始认真对待)，get in with(友好往来)，get out of (逃避)，give in to (投降)，go back on (背弃诺言)，go on with(继续)，go in for(沉迷于)，go through with(完成)，grow out of (因长大而穿不下)，hang on to (紧紧握住)，hold on to(坚持)，hold out on(隐瞒)，keep up with(跟上)，live up to (不辜负)，look back on (追思)，look down on(轻视) look forward to(盼望)，look out for(注意查看)，look up to(尊敬)，make out of (用……做)，make through with(完成)，make up for(补偿)，make up to(巴结)，pick up with(与……交朋友)，put up with(容忍)，read up on(通过阅读获取)，run away with(无法自制)，run off with(与……一起离开)，run out of (用完)，run up against(遭遇)，sit in on(列席)，stand up for(支持)，stand up to(勇敢地面对)，steer clear of (避开)，stick up to(抵抗)，take up for (袒护)，take up with(和……交往)，talk down to (用高人一等的口气讲话)，talk out of (劝告……不做某事)，think well of (高度评价)，throw away upon(浪费)，turn over to (移交)，walk out on (遗弃)，walk out with(追求)，watch out for (提防)，work away at (不断从事)，work up to (晋升)等。