【给毛象的各位一个英语小测试】
故事背景:系里一个教授要邀请我们几个研究生周五一起去吃午饭,今天给我们发来邮件。邮件原文是:Please may we meet at my office at 12:30 and walk to the restaurant. I realise that some of you will be coming from the other side of the campus after xxx class, so we will for you. The nice thing about this restaurant is that they do not take reservations so we cannot be late.
我看完邮件转头问M:她啥意思?if it doesn’t take reservations why can’t we be late???
M: ????? That’s exactly what she’s saying. You cannot be late since there is no reservations.
我:what??? How can we be late if there is no reservations?
M: ??? No we cannot because there is no reservations!!!
我:?????
然后以上对话重复8遍之后我突然悟了,明白confusion到底在哪里。请问时间线上各位聪慧的友邻看明白了吗?😂😂😂

@RottingStrawberry 本人答案:單看not reservation so cannot be late兩種解讀語法上和事理上都完全可以理解,但the nice thing的前綴奠定基調所以意思是「沒有訂位就沒有遲到」。數學上這個理解也更很合理——是一個vacuous truth。

😂

@KaltesBlut 对,所以我跟M其实对话里完全在重复同一句话,然后越说她越不理解为什么我俩再反复重复同一句话我还是不理解啊哈哈哈哈