✔ 最佳答案
1.in time , he found himself graying and wearing looser pants and in a state of weary acceptance , that this was who he was and who he would always be, a man with sand in his shoes in a world of mechanical laughter and grilled frankfurters .
that this was who he was ??
---點解又that 又this??
首先要指出，that在這裏是用作關係代名詞，來代表a state of weary acceptance，而this是用作代名詞用來帶出who he was and who he would always be（評述子句comment clause）（他是這樣和他總是這樣）
a man with sand in his shoes in a world of mechanical laughter and grilled frankfurters . ----黎句中文係咩?????
這句的中文是：在一個充滿無感情的笑聲和烤著的法蘭克腸的世界裏，穿著有沙的鞋。
2. like his father before him,like the patch on his shirt , eddie was mainteance.
-like his father before him即係點解???
（好像他父親從前一樣）
3.joe was the oldest , the firstborn , but it was eddie who did the fighting .
-我想問 it was eddie 即係點解?? -如果寫it was eddie doing the fighting 有冇問題???
補充時間：2007-09-06 09:53:36
it was eddie(和這是eddie意思差不多，但在中文翻譯裏，連這個it也不會翻出來，只會說：是eddie 去為生計拼博〔或譯：”是eddie去賺錢”就夠了〕）
許多時，分詞子句(participle clause)也代替關係子句(relative clause)，作為一種省略。所以it was Eddie doing the fighting應該沒有問題
4 after that , joe didn’t talk to him for months .
-如果想將didn’t talk 轉做 perfect tense ,
咁應該係haven’t talked 定 hadn’t talked ?
-後面有for months , 點解用didn’t taik 而唔係perfect tense?
雖然通常有for 一段時間，會用perfect tense，但若重點不在完成時，用過去式即可。所以就可以用：joe did not talk to him for months.
若這句用完成式，則要用過去完成式(past perfect tense)，因為：相信這篇文章是小說，那麼基準時間就是故事所發生的過去，若基準時間不是現在（寫故事的時間）而是過去，那麼就要用過去完成式（因現在完成式是以現在為基準）
after that Joe had not talked to him for months.
5.eddie was a block away , on a stoop.
唔好意思...a block away 點解???
a block away就是”一個街口遠”的意思
2007-09-12 09:17:57 補充：
說甚麼是”重點不放在完成”這話，可能有點難以解釋，如：句子已有after, before等已清楚交代先後的連接詞時，句子就無須交代動作前後，如：He arrived after I started= He arrived after I had started.
2007-09-12 09:22:43 補充：
但這樣講越講越難了解，不如我轉個說法，根據【牛津實用英語語法】，簡單過去式有這樣用法：簡單過去時用來表示一個並未指明時間的過去行動，但是，a)該行動佔了過去某一段時間；或b)該行動發生在過去的某段時間的某一時刻。
2007-09-12 09:25:29 補充：
a)的情況有 He worked in that bank for four years.(but he does not work there now) She lived in Rome for a long time.(but she is not living there now)b)的情況有 My grandmother once saw Queen Victoria Did you ever hear Maria Callas sing?這種用法也是簡單過去式的一種用法，你的問句就是用了這種用法。希望你明白！
