英语词类手册介词分册 第二章 几个A头介词与几个B头介词

第一节 英语介词about与above㈣

编者  四川大竹  张有樑

 

（续前：一、about各种用法 2. 短语动词中的介词about ⑶构成式“行为动词+副词about”）

二、above的用法

跟about一样，above也是一个跨类单词，如：above [əˈbʌv] prep 超过【表程度】／在…之上【表等级】／在…正上方【表位置】／优于【表比较】；adv. 在上面以上／上述；adj.上述的；n.上述等。这里当然是主要说它的介词用法。

1. 介词above的用法

⑴above单独用义——多用于表示比较。

①在…上方【表位置高于…, 不接触；为below(在…下面)的反义词】

例：We flew above the clouds. 我们在云层的上面飞行。

He lifted his hands above his head. 他将双手举过头顶。

He was staring into the mirror above him. 他盯着在他上方的镜子。

The glider was soaring above the valley. 那架滑翔机在山谷上空滑翔。

They lived in a flat above the shop. 他们住在那商场上层的一套公寓里。

I can’t reach it; it’s well above my head. 我够不着，它远远超过我的头顶。

The flowers formed an archway above their heads. 他们的头顶上是一道花的拱廊。

 

②【所指物的位置】高于水平线之上

例：The sun appeared above the horizon. 太阳出现在地平线上。

Skyscrapers soared above the horizon. 摩天大楼高耸在地平线上。
The mountain is 1000 feet above the sea level. 这座山海拔1000英尺。

The moon was now above the trees in the east. 现在月亮升上了东面的树丛。

The shelf should be six feetabove the level of the floor. 橱架应高出地板六英尺。

③above短语通常用作表语——表示在某方面主语对表语的超越。

例：He is above the others in ability. 他的能力优于其他人。

You’re far above me in every way. 他各个方面都比我强。

The water is smoother above the dam. 坝的另一边水面平静些。

As a scholar, he is far above me. 作为一个学者，他远远超过了我。

Henry’s work is well above the average. 亨利的工作比一般人出色。

 

④【价值、重要性等】优于／胜于／强过／较…更为／在…之上

例：She prizes health above wealth. 她珍惜健康甚于钱财。

He thinks himself above the others. 他总认为自己比别人重要。
Above himself he places his God. 他把上帝看得比自己还重要。

A soldier should value honour above life. 军人应视荣誉重于生命。

She values safety above excitement. 她重视安全指数而不是兴奋指数。

Some people love money above everything else. 有些人爱钱甚于一切。

特别提示：若表“限度超越”可用beyond代替 above。

以上用法中的above有时可用beyond代之，尤其是其后接的是人称代词或人名时。

例：The problem is above／beyond me. 这个问题我不懂。

Her behaviour was above／beyond reproach. 她的行为是无可指责的。

His heroism was above／beyond all praise. 他的英勇行为，非言辞所能赞扬。

 

⑤表示在程度或限度等数量方面“超过／超越”——如有数量词通常用在above之前。

例：He was a head above me. 他高出我一个头。【数量：一头】

The mountain is 1000 feet above sea level. 此山海拔一千英尺。

The temperature was only a degree above zero. 气温仅零上一度。

Labor costs are now some 20 percent above those in the United States.

如今在美国劳力资源成本在20%或20%以上。

 

⑥在数量上超过／…以上【后接数量词】——如有数量词多是用在above之后。

例：Above 200 people were there. 200多人在那里。

He must be above sixty years old. 他一定六十多岁了。

That car cost above￡2,000. 那辆车价值2000多英镑。

It weighs above／over ten tons. 这东西重量超过10吨。

There were above one hundred present. 有一百多人出席。

Our total earnings were above forty dollars. 我们的总收入超过40美元。

Anything above fifty dollars will be too expensive. 凡超过50美元的东西都太贵了。

All children above six years of age must go to school. 凡六岁以上儿童都必须入学。

The population of this city is above a hundred thousand. 这个城市的人口在10万以上。

 

⑵表意特定的above表语——与系动词连用的above，有时具有多种意思。

①be above——表因优秀或出色等道德因素而“不致于／不屑于／不会【做出某种事来】”——above后接动名词或抽象名词。

例：She is above telling a lie. 她不至于说谎。

He is above doing such things. 他不至于做出那样的事来。

He is above meanness and deceit. 他不至于做出卑劣和欺骗的事情来。

If you want to learn, you must not be above asking questions. 要学习就应不耻下问。

I should think that you would be above anything like that. 我相信你不会去做那种事的。

He wouldn’t steal; he’s above that／stealing. 他不致于去偷盗——他不屑去做那种事。

Do you think the Germans are above doing such a thing?

你相信德国人不致于做这类事吗？

Some of the staff are not above putting their hands in the cash-box.

有个别职员把手伸进了收银柜，这是种可耻的行为。

Don’t worry. Father is quite above trying to influence your choice in this matter.

不必担心。做父亲的还不致在此事上左右你的选择。

He really is unselfish and above small jealousy and hatred.

他这个特没私心的人是不会有一丁点妒忌和仇恨的。

A true gentleman is above envy, jealousy or vindictiveness.

一位真正的绅士是不会有嫉妒、猜忌和仇恨。

 

②be above——表在客观上“不致受到／不容质疑”——above后接抽象名词。

例：She thinks she is above criticism. 她认为她不致于受到批评。

His conduct has always been above suspicion. 他的行为一直无可质疑。

The umpire in the game must be above suspicion of supporting one side over the other.

比赛中的那位裁判明显地去支持另一方，这是不容怀疑的。

His handling of Government money during his term of office was not entirely above reproach.

在他任职期间，他对政府资金的操纵完全应受到谴责。【因前有not而变意为肯定】

Have you assumed all along that he was above reproach? 你就能确定他不会受到责备吗？

 

③be above——当其与某些名词或形容词连用时，便有“超然于…之上”等其它意思。

例：He was above all nervousness. 他一点也不紧张。

His business dealings were above board. 他的生意来往光明正大。

No men or institutions are above the law. 任何人或机构都不可超越法律。

She was always above the common and free from vulgarity. 她总是超凡脱俗。

When they won the game, they were above themselves. 比赛获胜，他们兴高采烈。

 

④be above——在“be above someone”或“above one’s head (understanding)”中时，意表“太高深／(使人)无法理解”。

例：This book is above me【=above my understanding】. 这本书我看不懂。

Well, this sort of talk is above me. 好了，这种谈话类容我实在不懂。

The lecture was above the heads of most of the audience. 那场讲座大部分听众听不懂。

The last page he gave, on the theory of flight, was way above my head.

他给我的有关飞行理论的最后一篇专栏我简直看不懂。

 

2. 习惯用语中的above

⑴含above的短语动词——“行为动词+above”式的短语动词并不多见。

①rise above 超越／升到…之上／出类拔萃

例：Surely we can rise above every difficulty. 我们一定能够排除万难。

It is not easy to rise above ordinary desires. 要超越凡人的欲望是不容易的。

He managed to rise above the problem facing him. 他设法克服了他面临的困境。

The stream can never rise above the spring-head. 河水高不过源头。

The eye cannot rise above the eyebrow. 眼睛永远也上升不到眉毛的高度。

That building rises above the other skyscrapers. 那幢建筑物高于其他的摩天楼。

Tom had the ability to rise above the crowd in everything he did.

汤姆无论做什么事都出类拔萃。

 

②get above oneself  自以为了不起／自视甚高／自高自大

例：She gets above herself sometimes. 她有时自视过高。

He does get above himself sometimes. 他有时就是自命高人一头。

The young man is getting above himself. 这个年轻人很自傲。

Oh, she really is getting above herself! 哦，她确实变得越来越自高自大了。

The woman always gets a bit above herself. 那女人总是有点沾沾自喜／趾高气扬。

She’s been getting a bit above herself since winning her award. 她获奖后，逐渐就骄傲了。

He’s been getting above himself since he won the singing competition.

自从赢得歌唱比赛以来，他变得自高自大了。

 

③place (…) above 使置于…之上

例：Honesty is placed above jewels and treasures. 诚实重于珠宝。

The slogan was placed above the door and I didn’t see it. 标语贴在门上方，我没有看到。

Placehealth above every other consideration. 把健康置于其他所有需要考虑的事情之上。

He continued to place security above all other objectives.

他继续把安保问题置于所有目标之上。

 

④put above 把…看得比…更重要／把…放在…上方

例：It was a bad case of politics being put above the law. 这是政治凌驾法治的一个坏例子。

Buying books should be put above spending money on other things.

买书要比将钱花在别的上面更重要。

The interests of the country and the Chinese nation should be put above all else.

国家和民族的利益应该放在首位。

The beloved novelist put her lovely gloves above the stove.

敬爱的小说家把她美丽的手套放在火炉上方。

 

⑤soar above：高耸于／高出于…之上

例：Cliffs soar above the sea. 峭壁耸立于海平面上。

Skyscrapers soar above the horizon. 摩天大楼拔地而起高耸入云。

Air pollution will soon soar above safety levels. 空气污染会很快突破安全标准。

Great trees soar above to cut out most of the light. 大树参天，把光线差不多都挡住了。

Thus we can soar above the storm like the eagles.

这样我们就能像鹰一样翱翔于风暴之上。

 

⑵几个相近含above短语比较——它们或者义相近，或者形相近【如都有and连接】。

①high above “高在…之上”——用指相对高度“很高”。

例：The eagles soared high above the valleys. 鹰在山谷的上空翱翔。

The swimmers kicked their legs high above the water. 游泳选手们把腿高举出水面。

You feel that you are flying in the air high above the earth! 你会感觉到你在高空中飞翔!

A twenty storied building springs high above the city.一栋二十层的高楼高耸于城的上空。

 

②up above 在上面／在天上——用指相对高度“不很高”。

例：Aerials stick up above the chimney. 天线竖立在烟囱上方。

The kite is far up above the house. 风筝高高飘在房子上空。

Only the tip of an iceberg pokes up above water. 只有冰山的尖端突出于水面。

Several red palace lantens were strung up above the gate. 几盏大红宫灯挂在大门上。

 

③listed above “上面列出的”——此前已用表格之类列举出了所指物的名称。

例：The foods I like are listed above. 上列食物是最我喜欢的。

Let the words listed above run into daily life! 让上列字汇溶入日常生活中!

Catalogue, samples and prices have been listed above. 目录、样品和价格已在上表中列出。

There are a lot more sports other than the ones listed above.

除了上面举例的运动以外，还有很多其他的运动。

 

④above (-) mentioned “上述的”——此前已用文字作出了具体叙述。

例：To do this, we must adopt the above mentioned measures. 为此，我们必须采取上述措施。

Kindly send quoted price for the above mentioned 2 products.请提供上述两种产品的报价。

As above mentioned, you can not learn English well overnight.

如上所述，你不可能一夜之间就学好英语。

This phenomenon is an exception to the above mentioned condition.

这种现象是对上述情况的例外。

The above mentioned products are sold to customers all over the world.

以上产品销往世界各地的客户。

 

⑤over and above “除…之外(还)／多于／超过”——用指数量。

例：It is over and above what is wanted. 那是超过需要的东西。

The waiters get good tips over and above their wages. 服务员除工资外还有不少小费。

There were five men over and above the usual crew 除了有一些普通职员外还有五个人。He gets a number of perquisites, over and above his salary.

除薪水外，他还有一些额外收入／大量临时津贴。

Consider supplements over and above this healthy diet.

除了这种健康饮食之外，还应考虑各种补养品。

There are other factors over and above those we have discussed.

除了我们所讨论的之外，还有其他因素。

Expenditure on education has gone up by seven point eight percent over and above inflation.

不计通货膨胀外，用于教育的投资已涨了7.8个百分点。

 

⑥above and below “上面和下面／上上下下”——用指位置。

例：The actual cost may fluctuate above and below that standard.

实际成本可在标准成本的上下范围内增减。

To keep warm you need blankets above and below you.

为了保持暖和，你需要铺毛毯，还需要盖毛毯。

The heat did not hinder me from enjoying the delightful scenery above and below.

这种热并未阻碍我享受这上上下下的悦人美景。

 

⑦above and beyond “超越”——用指某方面“大于／多于／远于”。

例：This team was above and beyond great. 这是一支超一流的团队。

They value their freedom above and beyond all else. 他们珍视自由甚于一切。

The soldier showed courage above and beyond what was expected.

士兵们表现出来的勇气远远出乎人们的意料。

That’s where we need to go above and beyond the idea of a fad.

这正是我们需要超越思想的热潮。

 

⑧open and above board 光风霁月【指雨过天晴时风清月明的景象,比喻开阔的胸襟和坦白的心地】

例：Be open and above board with me. 请坦诚待我。

We might as well have it open and above board. 我们还是把这件事公开为好。

You must always remain open and above board. 你必须始终保持光明正大的态度。

Open and above board, he is a man of easy access and has a strong love for his cause.

他光明磊落，平易近人，热爱事业。

（未完待续）