next minute与the next minute(冠词有无)

问题描述

高中英语必修2有这样一个句子：

The flying carpet travelled so fast that next minute they were in Zimbabwe.

查词典只查到the next minute，但没查到有next minute，这个句子的next minute为什么没有冠词？

老师答疑

黎老师：

next minute可以表示从现在或者过去某一时刻起“下一分钟”，the next minute只能表示从过去某一时刻起“下一分钟”。所以The flying carpet travelled so fast that next minute they were in Zimbabwe.= The flying carpet travelled so fast that the next minute they were in Zimbabwe. ( 这个句子使用了 “so ... that ...”这个句型)

罗老师：

next day, next week, next year, next month, next term等有时带定冠词，有时不带定冠词。
▲当以现在为时间为背景来谈论下周、下月、第二天、明年是，应该使用不带定冠词的next。
Is he coming this weekend or next weekend? 他是在这周末来，还是下周末来。
I shall go there next year. 我将于明年去那里。
By the end of next year, they will have finished work on the new stadium. 到明年年底他们将完成新体育场的工程。
▲当以过去某一时间点或将来某个时间点为背景时，则next常常带定冠词the。
He came again the next morning.
He will spend the first week of his holiday in Egypt and the next week in Italy.
▲但是，请注意，next前不加定冠词the也可以以过去时间为时间背景。例如：
Next morning she was down early. 第二天早晨她下楼很早。
They predicted a crisis next month. 他们语言了下个月的危机。
——《英语常见问题解答大词典》

张老师：