问
I was ____ the point of telephoning him when his letter arrived. A. to B. on C. at D. in(全国四级,99.6-65)
答案为 B。但是, on the point of ... when 是什么意思呢?
答
见 when ，about 。
point
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point1
be on the point of ... when
point2
问
There is ____ in giving them advice. A. not much point B. without any use C. of no use D. any benefit(大学生英语竞赛题) 答案为 A, 我不明白, 为什么可数名词 point 与 much 连用。
答
当名词 point 作“点”“度”“分数”解时是个可数名词。但是,当它作“目的”“用处”解时,则是个不可数名词。例如:
There's very little point in protesting. It won't help much. (OSD) 抗议没有什么意义。那是无济于事的。
point3
point at/to
问
（1）She pointed at one of the things. It was made of red silk.
(2) He pointed to the high mountains far away.
point at 与 point to 有无区别?
答
当以人或物为目标,以手或棍子等指向某人或某物时,既可以使用 point at,也可以使用 point to。故上面的 pointed at 与 pointed to 是可以互换的(参见 shout):
-
He pointed at the door. 他指着门。
-
She pointed to the window. 她指着窗户。
-
The teacher is pointing at you. 老师在指着你。
但是，point at 与 point to 有以下几个区别：
A. 当非善意地、甚至敌意地用手指指某人时，只能用 point at:
-
It's rude to point at people. 用手指指人是很粗鲁的。
-
Stop pointing at me. 不要指着我。
-
You mustn't point at people like that. 你绝不可以这样用手指人。
B. 当用语言指出某事时,亦可用 point to:
... the Minister pointed to the sharp decrease in road deaths. ……部长指出交通死亡事故锐减。
C. 当表示指针指向和建筑物的朝向时,要用 point to:
- A compass needle always points to/towards the north. 指南针总是指向北。