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韓Sir 資深英語教師
本港考評局於本年度的考試報告中提及考生所犯的錯誤，其中一類是考生誤用字彙的情況，舉例之一是 “principal” (校長) 和 “principle” (原則) 。
“dyeing”是用顏料染色
英語世界內很多字只是一個字母之差，而意思卻大相徑庭。大家看看下列例子：
1. I saw my teacher dying/dyeing in the classroom.
老師是 “dying” (奄奄一息) 還是 “dyeing” (用顏料染色) ？可不是鬧著玩的！
2. The swimmer was swept away by the currant/current.
泳客被 “currant” (葡萄乾) 沖走了？應該是 “current” (水流) 吧！
3. The teacher bought/brought ten children to the museum.
老師買了十個孩子？不要嚇死人！是帶了十個孩子去博物館。又是一字母之差：“bought” 是買，是“buy”的過去式；“brought”是帶，是“bring”的過去式！
4. Swimming is a healthy form of exercise/exorcise.
游泳是健康有益的鍛煉，是 “exercise”，切勿寫成 “exorcise”：驅魔！
5. The citizens are always prayed/preyed on by the triads.
市民經常成為黑社會的獵物，是 “preyed on” 而非 “prayed” (祈禱)。黑社會不會為你祈禱吧？
“Premiere”是首次公演
6. Premiere/Premier Wen Jiabo urged the Japanese leaders not to visit Yasukuni Shrine.
溫家寶總理勸喻日本國家領導人不要到靖國神社參拜。可不要把總理 “Premier”寫成“Premiere”，多了一個“e”，便變成首次公演了！
考考大家，試做下列小測驗：
1. The decline of moral/morale standards has led to an increase in serious crimes.
2. We still have many alliterate/illiterate people in the world.
3. John sat beside/besides Peter in the classroom.
4. The sand on that beach is very coarse/course.
5. Before you sign any contract, make a few discreet/discrete enquiries first.
6. It really got her dander/gander up when people accused her of being dishonest.
7. The naval/navel power of a country enables its expansion of territories.
8. Christians believe that their soles/souls live on after they die.
(Key : 1.moral 2.illiterate 3.beside 4.coarse 5.discreet 6.dander 7.naval 8.souls)
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