搭配得宜

買了一本 Oxford Collocations的字典，好用得很。

所謂 Collocations，是詞彙搭配的意思。我們平常會不少生字，但這個字怎麼用？怎麼與其他的宇搭配起來，組成一句道地的英文句子呢？一般的字典，通常是詳細解釋生字的每個含義，但不一定會有例句，也不一定會教懂你怎麼用它們。這時候，你便需要Collocations。

舉例說，Obstacle是「障礙」的意思，多數人都懂，但怎樣寫成一個句子呢？據Oxford Collocations：

• Obstacle可跟以下的形容詞搭配，如 big, chief, main, major; enormous, formidable, serious; impossible, insuperable, insurmountable;
  例句：The attitude of the unions is a serious obstacle. / Lack of money has proved an almost insurmountable obstacle.
• 也可跟以下的動詞搭配，如 pose, prove, remain; come across, encounter; overcome, remove, surmount;
  例句：He was determined to overcome all obstacles in his way.
• 與介詞 for, to可作如斯的搭配：Lack for childcare provision can be a major obstacle for women wishing to work. / The huge distances involved have proved an obstacle to communication between villages.
• 它也可以組成片語：an obstacle in the path/way (of sb/sth): The
  release of prisoners remains an obstacle in the path of a peace agreement.