Ally

It's high time

發佈時間: 2018/04/11

It's high time

Facebook的外洩風波未完。社交網站搜集用戶資料和大數據,並將其用於商業或政治用途,乃人所共知的事,Facebook並非唯一一家。現在是時候加強私隱法。(It's high time for stronger privacy law.)

It is high time解「應該立即做某事」(something should be done now),或者「早就該做某事了」(something should have been done a long time ago)。例如,It is high time the government set up more stringent privacy law to provide Internet users.(政府應該立即制定更嚴格的隱私法,以保障互聯網用戶。)You've already graduated from the university for a whole year. It's high time you started looking for a job.(你已經從大學畢業整整一年了,現在該找份工作了吧。)Massage won't help you. It's high time you got that sore arm looked at by a doctor or a physiotherapist.(按摩不會幫到你,你早就該找醫生或物理治療師看看那隻痠痛的手臂。)

留意,由於it is high time暗示已經太遲行動了,早就該做某事,所以要用過去式(past tense)描述後接的事情--It is high time somebody did something。

(本欄逢周一、三、五刊登)

撰文: Ally Dean's List級英文老師
欄名: WordDiscovery