英文大寫用法之一： 

1. the earth有可能指地球,或者是大地

但是Earth是特指地球

ps: 這一點我在課堂上說過。指地球可加the或不加，端看你怎麼使用它。

例：

根據 New York Public Library Writer's Guide，恆星、行星、衛星、星座以及其他占星名稱都要大寫："Venus and Mars are the planets closest to Earth." 但 sun, earth 和 moon 則 不大寫，除非它們跟上述的星體名 稱一起使用（這一點我上課有提過）："Jupiter is much farther from the sun than Earth is." 然而，如果 earth 的 前面有定冠詞 "the"，那麼它一定要小寫：

The moon came between the earth and the sun. （這一點還有問題嗎？）

例句：

earth

 / \:W; [W/ n
(usu 通常作 the earth) [sing] this world; the planet on which we live 世界; 地球（這 一點Sara有問到，如果指的是我們居住的地球，就要加the）: The moon goes round the earth. 月球環繞地球運轉(或是用the指特定的事物時。). * I must be the happiest woman on earth! 我一定是世界上最幸福的女人了.
[sing] land; the surface of the world as opposed to the sky or sea 大地; 陸地; 地面: After a week at sea, it was good to feel the earth under our feet again. 出海一周後, 又重新回到陸地上而感到愉快. * The balloon burst and fell to earth. 氣球破裂而落到地上.
[U] soil 泥土: a clod/lump of earth 土 塊 * fill a hole with earth 用泥土填洞 * cover the roots of a plant with earth 用泥土把植物的根埋起來w. =>Usage 見所附用法. （注意此時的earth又不加the 因為指土塊時是不可數名辭）
[C] hole of a wild animal, esp a fox or badger （野獸的, 尤指狐狸或獾的）洞穴; 獸穴.
[C usu sing 通常作單數] (esp Brit) (US ground) (wire that provides a) connection with the ground completing an electrical circuit 接地; 地線.
[C] (chemistry 化) any of several metallic oxides 幾 種金屬氧化物之一: an alkaline earth 鹼土金屬氧化物 * rare earths 稀土金屬元素.
(idm 習語) charge, cost, pay, etc (sb) the `earth (infml 口) charge, etc a lot of money 要付...很多錢: I'd love that bike, but it costs the earth. 我很喜歡那輛自行車, 可是貴得不得了. come back/down to `earth (with a bang/bump) (infml 口) stop day-dreaming; return to reality 不再做白日夢; 回到現實中來: When his money ran out, he came down to earth (with a bump). 他把錢用光時, 才（赫然）如夢初醒. the ends of the earth => end¹. the four corners of the earth => corner. go/run to earth/ground hide oneself away to avoid being captured, etc 躲藏起來以免被捉住等. how, why, where, who, etc on `earth/in the `world (infml 口) (used for emphasis 用以加強語氣) how, etc ever 到底怎樣...: What on earth are you doing? 你到底在幹什麼呢? * How on earth did she manage that? 她究 竟怎麼辦到的呢? (be, feel, look, etc) like nothing on `earth (infml 口) very bad, unwell, peculiar, etc 糟糕、難受、特別極了等: He looks like nothing on earth in those weird clothes. 他穿著奇裝異服難看極了. move heaven and earth => move<sup>2</sup>. promise the earth/moon => promise<sup>2</sup>. run sb/sth to `earth find sb/sth by searching hard 盡力追查某人[某事物]: The police eventually ran him to earth in Paris. 員警窮追不捨, 終於在巴黎找到了他. the salt of the earth => salt. wipe sth off the face of the earth/off the map => wipe.

 > earth v
[Tn esp passive 尤用於被動語態] (esp Brit) connect (an electrical appliance, etc) with the ground 將（電器等）接地: Is this plug earthed? 這個 插頭接地了嗎?
(phr v) earth sth up cover (the roots of a plant, etc) with earth 用土掩蓋（植物等的根）: He earthed up the celery. 他給芹菜培上了土.
 earthy adj (-ier, -iest)
of or like earth or soil 泥 土的; 像泥土的; 土壤的; 像土壤的: an earthy smell 泥土的氣味.
(fig 比喻) (of people, jokes, etc) coarse; not refined or sensitive （指人、笑話等）粗俗的; 不文雅的; 土裏土氣的: an earthy sense of humour 粗俗 的幽默感. earthiness n [U].
 # `earth science any of various sciences, such as geology or geography, concerned with the earth or part of it 地球科學（如地質學、地理學等）.
 `earthwork n (formerly) large man-made bank of earth used as a fortification （舊時）土壘（用泥土築成的大型防禦工事）: the remains of ancient earthworks 古代 土壘的殘骸.
 `earthworm n common type of worm that lives in the soil 蚯蚓（通稱曲 鞢^. =>illus at worm 見worm之插圖. NOTE ON USAGE 用法: Compare earth, ground, floor and soil. 將earth、ground、floor、soil這幾個詞作一比較. The earth (also Earth) is the name of the planet where we live and earth can also refer to the solid land in contrast to the sky above *the earth（亦大寫作Earth）是我們賴以生存的地球的名稱, earth還可指大地, 是相對於天空而言: The parachutist floated gently down to earth. 跳傘者輕飄飄地降落到地上. Ground indicates an area or distance on the earth's surface *ground指地面上的區域或距離: The expedition covered a lot of ground. 探險隊到過很多地方. In addition, the ground is the solid surface under our feet when we are in the open air 此外, 當人們在露天活動時, the ground可用以指地面: You shouldn't sit on the ground when it's wet. 地面潮濕時就不應該坐在地上. The floor is the solid surface under our feet inside a building *the floor指建築物內的地面: He left his clothes lying all over the floor. 他把衣服扔得滿地都是. Ground, earth and especially soil refer to the natural material in which trees and plants grow. *ground、earth、特別是soil, 均指土壤. Ground is an area of soil and earth *ground指土壤和土地的一個區域: stony ground 多石的地面 * black earth 黑土地 * sandy soil 沙土地.

在什麼時候職位元的開頭字母需要大寫？一個工作職位是不是總要開 頭字母大寫呢？這其中也是有規律的。

在英語之中，人們的名字的第一個字母，總是會 被大寫 的，但不代表職位也會。當人們在一些商 務聚會及社交場合中遞交出自己的名片時，在這些名片上，自己名字的下方總是緊跟著你的職位。這樣可以讓你迅速的知道 對方在公司裏所承擔的事務。在這個情況下的職位元是需要開頭字母大寫的！此時，這個職位好象成為了你的第二個名字一樣，比如：

Jane Smith

Director/ President of Human Resources

Acme, Inc.

你有時也可以看見在一些句 子中，如果職位在人名之前，那麼該職位元的開頭字母也是大寫的，比如：“At yesterday’s seminar, Director / President of Human Resources Jane Smith gave a presentation about interviewing strategies.”

Ps: 這一點本人有提過，如果是組織內最高 單位的人president就可以大寫。

相比之下，當人們只是在平常的聊天中提及了一些職位，這些就不需要開頭字母大寫了。比如，談話中只是泛泛的說到了會計、前臺、公司領導這一 些單詞，甚至是你將上述句子中的職位放置在名字之後，那 麼你都不需要給這個職位元的開頭字母進行大寫，舉個例子“At yesterday’s seminar, Jane Smith, the human resources director/ president , gave a presentation about interviewing strategies.”

最主要的，你需要記得職位元只有在某些場合，已經成為人們名字的一部分時，才需要開頭字母被大寫（就像是你的老闆等等）。你 可以通過下面的一些範例來找到更多的感覺：

I want to see Doctor Harris.

You really should see a doctor.

Did you see Governor Thomas on the news?

She voted for Thomas, the state’s governor.

He just spoke to the Prime Minister.

The president lives in the White House.

看一看英文的新聞，無論是報紙上的還是互聯網的， 尤其是 一些與商務相關的新聞，你將看見許多職 位元都是開頭字母大寫的。當然，多 找一些身邊的案例，會對你理解這一規律有這不可估量的幫助，也會讓你在特殊情況下使 用時更有信心。v