问
Scarcely had they settled themselves in their seats in the theatre ____ the curtain went up. A. than B. when C. before D. as soon as(全国研考) 标准答案要求选 B(when)。不知能否选 C(before)?
答
在这种句型中, hardly 或 scarcely 既可与 when 连用, 又可与 before 连用, 而且都是规范用法, 只是前者用得较为普遍一些而已。请考察下面的实例:
- barely/hardly/scarcely... when/before (CGEL)
scarcely . . . when/before
-
Hardly had I left before the trouble started. (Leech) 我刚一离开,麻烦事就开始了。
-
We'd hardly arrived before we had to go back. (LDCE) 我们刚到,就得往回返。
由上面的实例可以证明,你提问的那道英语试题对于考生掌握丰富的英语表达方式是不利的。因此,不宜再让学生在 when 与 before 之间进行选择(可把 before 换成其他连词)。