Mary, a White is waiting for you at the school gate.
为什么用 a White 来作主语?
刘老师:
Mary, a White is waiting for you at the school gate.
本句中,a White 的意思是“一个姓(叫)怀特的人”,相当于:Mary, a man called White is waiting for you at the school gate.
▲专有名词前用不定冠词:
专有名词本身就是特指,因此之前一般不加任何冠词。但有些特殊情况下,专有名词(包括姓氏)前须加不定冠词,表示具有某种特性的人或某一位不认识的人。
I know a Diana, but not the famous one. 我认识一个叫黛安娜的,但不是有名气的那一个。
The boy wants to be a Newton. 那个男孩想成为牛顿式的人物。
He is now a different John Smith from what he used to be. 他现在是一个跟以前大不不同的约翰史密斯了。
蒋老师:
▲white 在此表示“白种人”“白人”(根据朗文词典第4版此时的white也可大写首字母写成White),是可数名词,若意义需要,也可以用复数。如:
Half of this total are Whites. 这个总数的一半是白人。
The mayor is very popular among whites. 市长很受白人欢迎。
There were both blacks and whites at the meeting. 参加会议的有黑人也有白人。
Whites and blacks mixed freely at dance halls and clubs. 白人和黑人在舞厅和夜总会自由地交往。
In my city in the 1950s, the law segregated whites and blacks. 20世纪50年代在我的家乡法律规定实施白人和黑人隔离。
▲也说 white man, white people 等。如:
White people are of a different race to black people. 白人和黑人是不同的人种。
He was a white man, but his face was brown from the sun. 他是白人但给太阳晒成了褐色。
In some countries black people do not have equality with white people. 在某些国家黑人没有和白人同等的权利。