這兩個看似相像的名詞一度是同義詞，但現在幾乎已是意思截然不同的兩個字。observance 意為「(法律、儀式或習俗的) 遵守，奉行；(節日，生日等的) 慶祝，紀念；(通常用複數) 典禮，儀式」：observance of speed limits and traffic lights (遵守速限和交通號誌)；The observance of his 40th birthday falls on next Friday. (他將在下週五慶祝40歲生日)；religious observances (宗教儀式)。observation 意為「觀察；觀測；觀察力；監視」：She’s been admitted to hospital for observation. (她已入院觀察)；He is a man of little observation. (他是個觀察力極差的人)；They decided to put him under observation. (他們決定監視他)。

此外，observation 還意為「(觀察後發表的) 評論，言論，意見」，通常與動詞 make 和介系詞 on 或 about 連用：He made some sarcastic observations about marriage. (他對婚姻發表一些諷刺的評論)；I have a few observations to make on your conduct. (我對你的行為有一些看法要說)。必須注意的是，observance 和 observation 的動詞都是 observe，因此 observe 具備這兩個字的所有意思，即「 遵守，奉行； 慶祝，紀念；看到；觀察；觀測；監視；評論，評述，說」：He observed a stranger hanging around the store. (他看到一個陌生人在商店附近閒逛)；They carefully observed the behavior of koalas. (他們仔細觀察了無尾熊的生活習性)；This law must be strictly observed. (這項法律必須嚴格遵守)；Some people don’t observe Christmas here. (這裡有些人不過聖誕節)；He observed that it was a lovely day. (他說天氣真好)。

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A Chinese new mother is producing so much breast milk that she baths her baby in the excess each day.

Mrs Luo, of Chongqing, says she is producing two liters of milk more than she needs to feed her six-week-old daughter Shan Shan.

Mother, husband and her mother-in-law had all been drinking the extra milk but she says they still have plenty left over.

Luo’s mother-in-law said they were all beginning to feel like they were drinking too much milk: “Then I suggested why not give the baby a breast milk bath, and they took my advice,” she said.

Luo said the milk bath makes her Shan Shan’s skin really smooth and white.

But she is looking for someone to donate her extra breast milk to as she feels that bathing her baby in breast milk is too much of an indulgence. (Chongqing Times – 重慶時報)

《字詞解析》

breast milk — (n.) 母奶。breastfeed (v.)：餵母奶。breastfeeding (n.)：餵母奶。

so…that — (phr.) 如此…以致於。在這個超常用的表示因果 (cause and effect) 關係的句型中 (其中 that 為附屬連接詞)，so 後面原本只能接形容詞和副詞，但若 so 和 that 中間有 few, little, many 和 much 等字，則此句型可寫成 so + few/little/many/much + 名詞 + that。

bath — (v.) 洗澡；給…洗澡。別以為 bath 僅當名詞用，在英國 bath 也用作動詞，其意思和用法跟 bathe 完全相同；美國通常使用 bathe。所以，標題的 bathes 和第一段的 baths 都正確，都是單數動詞。

excess — (n.) 過剩的奶水。

(be) left over — (v.) 剩下。

someone to donate her extra breast milk to — (phr.) 把她多餘的母奶捐給某人。特別注意：這句如果沒有後面的介系詞 to，那麼整句的意思就完全相反了，變成「某人捐出她多餘的母奶」，這顯然與事實不符。這句是 She is looking for someone who she will donate her extra breast milk to. 或 She is looking for someone to whom she will donate her extra breast milk. 的減化 — 由此可知，someone 是 to 的受詞。同樣地，在 There’s a big swimming pool for us to swim in. (有個大游泳池可讓我們游泳) 和 I gave her a chair to sit on. (我給她一張椅子坐) 這兩句中，介系詞 in 和 on 都不可省略，因為 swim 和 sit 皆為不及物動詞，而 swimming pool 和 chair 是受詞，所以不及物動詞和受詞之間必須要有介系詞。

too much of an indulgence — (phr.) 太多的嬌縱，即太過嬌縱。在英文中，too much of a/an + 名詞 (太過…，太多…)，a bit of a/an + 名詞 (有點…)，something of a/an + 名詞 (有幾分；可說是；算得上) 等這種片語或句型屢見不鮮。例如：She’s always been a bit of a mystery to me. (她對我來說總是有點神秘)；He’s something of an expert on growing vegetables. (他可說是位種植蔬菜的專家)。

延伸閱讀：新聞英語的語法結構

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A：在回答這問題之前，筆者先將問題中的對話修改如下：

Mike: What was John talking to you in the office this morning?

David: He was like “Why are you doing that?” and I was like “Actually, it’s quite fun” and he was like “No way!” and I was like “Way!”

從這些對話可知，like 是個介系詞，意思大概是「好像說」，所以 Mike 和 David 兩人對話的意思大概如下：

Mike：約翰今天早上在辦公室跟你談了什麼?

David：他好像說「為什麼你在做那件事?」，我好像說「其實那滿有趣的」，他好像說「一點也不!」，我好像說「有，滿有趣的」。

在敘述某一事件或與某人的相遇時，現在說話者很常使用 like 這個字來引導每一直接引句。它被用作一種模稜兩可的話或表達大概意思的方式 (因為說話者已無法十分肯定當時確切的用字) 且經常帶有一些頗為複雜的輔助語言特徵 (paralinguistic features) 以重建原始的談話，並佐以臉部表情、手勢等等。

(be) like 的這項用法最初是來自南加州聖費爾南多谷地 (San Fernando Valley) — 這個地區是由數個城市所構成，包括洛杉磯大半土地 — 常用的「社會方言」(sociolect，即 social dialect)；這種方言叫做 Valspeak。英語中有不少新字新詞或舊字新義是來自 Valspeak。

在此之前，英文還有一些類似的工具與 like 的作用一樣，其中比較常用的是 “go” 和 “be all”。例如：

go：He went “Where are you off to?” and I went “Just down to the shop for some milk.” (他好像說「你要去哪裡?」，而我好像說「只是去商店買些牛奶」)。

be all：I was all “Why isn’t anyone working?” and Mary was all “It’s lunchtime, John… calm down!” (我好像說「為甚麼沒有人在工作」，而瑪麗好像說「現在是午餐時間，約翰，稍安勿躁」)。

然而，這些類似的工具現在已大多被 like 所取代。現今，like 的這項用法不僅限於加州或甚至美國，就連英式英語也越來越流行。

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perquisite 是個名詞，意為「額外的津貼，補貼；薪資以外的實物或好處；特權」：”One perquisite of his new post was a reserved parking place.” (他的新職位有一項實質的好處，那就是一個專用的停車位)。perquisite 後面通常接介系詞 of：”the perquisites of her new job” (她的新工作的額外津貼)。perquisite 是個正式用字，口語一般都使用它的縮略字 perk。由於 perk 是個俚語，因此它僅限用於口語和非正式場合：”What perks does this job give you?” (這份工作給你什麼額外補貼?)。

prerequisite 這個字可當名詞和形容詞用，前者意為「先決條件；前提 」：”A reasonable proficiency in English is a prerequisite of/for joining this advanced course.” (相當程度地精通英語是參加這門高級課程的先決條件)。當形容詞用時，意為「不可或缺的，必要的；事先需要的」：”The prerequisite forms must be filed at least a week before the interview.” (必要的表格必須在面試之前至少一個禮拜提出)。prerequisite 通常接介系詞 for 和 to，但有時也跟 of 連用：”Membership in a political party is a prerequisite for [to, of] voting in a primary election in this state.” (黨員資格是參加本州初選投票的先決條件)。

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