名人教你讲英文：The Shape of Things to Come

名人教英文：the shape of things to come

月初，我在《南华早报》评论特首选举结果，说："the outcome of the hong kong chief executive election is nothing short of seismic change. "

seismic即“地震的”，比喻翻天覆地的变化。nothing short of 解作“简直是”、“无异于”，义近like和equivalent to，但是语气强得多，修辞效果较佳。

这次选举中，梁振英可谓后来居上。他担任过的重要公职不多，对于一些建制派精英而言，他只是upstart（新贵）、outsider（局外人）甚或是usurper（夺位者）——许多人以为特首“宝座”早已被指定给（earmarked for）他的劲敌（arch-rival）唐英年："establishment elites have tended to look upon leung as an upstart and an outsider, if not an outright usurper of the throne earmarked for his arch-rival, former chief secretary henry tang."