door与介词和动词的搭配问题
1. 若表示“在门口”,通常与介词at搭配。如:
Someone’s knocking at the door. Can you answer it? 有人敲门,你去开一下好吗?
若表示“敲门”,其前既可用搭配介词at也可用介词on。如:
Someone knocked at [on] the door at midnight. 午夜时有人敲门。
Somebody was beating at [on] the door. 有人不停地敲门。
They heard a tap at [on] the door. 他们听见轻轻的敲门声。
若用介词in,则需要根据具体语境来确定其含义。如:
She got her fingers caught in the door. 她的手指让门给夹了。
The gun shot a hole in the door. 这枪在门上射出一个洞。
Directly I walked in the door I smelt smoke. 我一进门,就闻见了烟味。
He stood in the door for several minutes before deciding whether he’d stay. 他站在门里边好几钟才决定是否留下来。
2. by the door与through the door均可指“通过门”,但前者侧重方式,后者侧重实实在在地“通过”。如:
The thief slipped out by the back door. 那个贼偷偷从后门溜出去了。
We couldn’t get the piano through the door. 我们无法将钢琴搬过这道门。
汉语说“走后门”,指的是通过不正当的手段来达到某种个人目的,有趣的是,在英语中也有类似用法,用by the back door或through the back door均可。如:
He used his influential friends to help him get into the civil service by the back door. 他利用那些有权有势的朋友帮助他走后门,到政府行政部门任职。
3. open the door与answer the door均可表示“开门”,但有区别:前者close the door(关门)相对,指把门打开;后者指听到门铃响或敲门声而去开门。如:
He opened the door and went out. 他打开门就出去了。
Will you answer the door? There’s someone knocking. 请你去开门,有人在敲门。
4. show sb the door与show sb to the door只差一个介词to,但意思区别很大:前者意为指着门要某人出去,即把某人撵走或下逐客令;后者意为送某人到门口,即相当于汉语中的送客。如:
After having insulted his host, he is shown the door. 他侮辱了主人,结果被轰了出去。
Whenever a guest leaves, my father will show him to the door. 每当客人离开时,我父亲都把客人送到门口。
show sb to the door 也可说成 see sb to the door。如:(www.hxen.com)
Goodbye, Mr Carter. My secretary will see you to the door. 再见,卡特先生,我的秘书将送你到门口。
5. 习语 (from) door to door的本义是“从一家门口到另一家门口”,也就是“逐门逐户”“挨家挨户”,相当于 (from) house to house。如:
The journey takes about an hour, door to door. 从这家到那家的路程要用一小时。
We went from door to door collecting money for charity. 我们挨家挨户地募集慈善捐款。