英语听力精选进阶版 7959

Listen to this week's programme to hear Li and William tackle¹ Wong's question with help from a very special guest.

Whether or not we put 'the' before 'most' depends on several things. Both Wong's example sentences above are examples of superlatives. With superlatives, it is usually safest is to put 'the' before the superlative, but it is sometimes possible to not do this, when there isn't a noun² being defined³.

So it is possible to say,

I am tallest in my office.

But if the noun 'man' follows the superlative you have to say

I am the tallest man in my office.

However, there is one main exception⁴. We don't say 'the' when we are comparing the way one thing is at different times, rather than comparing two things. So,

This town is most beautiful in Spring.

Li and William also discuss rules about using 'most' when we aren't creating superlatives.

When we are using 'most' as an adverb we can choose whether to use 'the' or not. So, you can say

Which writer do you like most?

Or

Which writer do you like the most?

When we are using 'most' to mean 'the majority of' we don't use 'the', so:

Most Chinese people like tea

Lastly, in old-fashioned⁵, formal English, 'most' is used on its own to mean 'very'.

I was most upset after he left.

Glossary 词汇

depends on 取决于

superlatives （形容词的）最高级

defined 修饰定义的

exception 特例

adverb 副词

1 tackle   

n.工具，复滑车，扭倒；v.处理，抓住

参考例句：

• Don't forget to bring your sports tackle with you tomorrow.别忘了明天带上你的体育用具。
• We have gained sufficient experience to tackle this problem.我们已经有了足够的经验来处理这个问题。

2 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

3 defined   

adj 定义的; 清晰的

参考例句：

• These categories are not well defined. 这些类别划分得不太明确。
• The powers of a judge are defined by law. 法官的权限是由法律规定的。

4 exception   

n.例外,除外

参考例句：

• Everyone should keep discipline and you are no exception. 每个人都应该遵守纪律,你也毫无例外。
• There's an exception to every rule. 每项规则均有例外。

5 old-fashioned   

adj.旧式的，保守的，挑剔的

参考例句：

• Why do you still dress in an old-fashioned mode?你为什么还穿款式陈旧的衣服？
• Here is an old-fashioned pump for drawing water from a well.这里有一个旧式水泵可从井里抽水。