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A window in the library was found broken. The librarian-assistant, Jamie, suspected Peter was the culprit. The teacher librarian, Miss Wong, was talking to Peter about the incident.
“ Jamie saw you outside the library an hour ago.” Miss Wong said.
“ I was only waiting for my friend,”Peter said,“ I have never been inside the library since yesterday.”
“ Do you know who broke the window in the library ?” Miss Wong said.
“ I know nothing about it.” Peter said.
“ Jamie said you were rude to him.” Miss Wong said.
“ I have never seen him before !” Peter said, “ I did not break that window !”
反覆用一詞 文章頓失色
大家可有留意到故事中 “said”出現了六次？其實英語詞彙極為豐富，若能於寫作時多加變化，不太濫用某些用語，文章自然生色不少。若要報道故事中Peter所說，用其他字代替“said”，可能有更佳效果：
Peter stated positively that he had never been there. (他肯定地說他從未到過那兒。)
He professed that he knew nothing about the incident. (他聲稱對事件全不知情。)
Jamie protested that he was treated rudely by Peter. (他抗議被粗暴對待。)
Peter swore that he had never seen Jamie before. (他誓言從未見過他。)
He asserted that he was innocent. (他堅稱自己是清白的。)
用了“state”，“profess”，“protest”，”swear”，“assert”，是否較每句都用“say”更為貼切，更能準確描述當中過程？ ■韓Sir
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