1. 他们全都认为忙碌比空闲好。

They all think that it’s better to be busy than to be free, don’t they?

to be 可否省略？

【答】to be 都不可以省略。to be busy 和 to be free 分别是主、从句的真正主语。这是不定式作主语，省略后，单个形容词无法作主语。

网友说的 to be 可否省略，可能受到英语格言或谚语的省略影响。

英语的格言和谚语，注重语句凝练、易说易记，自然要讲究修辞，如：押韵、对仗、排比、比喻等等。首先是为了简练省略有关成分，其次讲究对仗。有个谚语，叫做：Easier said than done. “说着容易做着难。”

我分析一下这个句子结构演变的可能性。

1. 事情说起来容易。翻译为：Things are easily said.

2. 事情说起来比事情做起来容易。翻译为：Things are easier said than things are done.

在此基础上成为谚语：Easier said than done.

【说明】

1.Things一词，泛指世间的一切事情，省略后大家都知道省略了什么。

2.easily的比较级应是more easily，因读音复杂而绕口，故改用easy的比较级。实际上，easy在固定短语中可以用作副词。

3. 把上句中的两个Things are 分别省略掉，就剩下Easier said than done. 主语和助动词be省略掉之后，不会引起歧义。

有这样一句话，Keeping customers happy is easier said than done. 就是这个谚语的借用。主语和be已经都有了。谚语本身easier said than done，整体作is 表语。

2. 抬起头来从墙顶上往里看，可以看到主建筑的黑色屋顶翘在夜空里，围墙也变得不像围墙了，它带着和主建筑相似的风格进入了整体结构。

Above the wall one could see the black roof of the main building inside jumping into the air, so that the wall suddenly seemed to transformation, melting into the main building whose style it matched to perfection.

最后划线这句是不是有语法错误啊？

【答】是的。有好几处错误：

1. Above the wall 指在墙的上方，不接触。如果修饰could see，那么人所在的位置就是“在墙的上方，且与墙不接触”。与汉语“抬起头来从墙顶上”根本不符。应改为：Looking up from the top of the wall

2. jumping into the air 这个表达也不好。即便用“拟人手法”，jumping 也不恰当，因为“翘起”是一种静止的状态，而不是动态的“上下跳跃”。应改为：sticking out into the night sky （凸显/凸出于夜空中）

3. 这里 so that 表示结果。汉语句子并不明显。不如直接用 and 连接。

4.  the wall suddenly seemed to transformation：这个表达错误百出。应为：the wall was not like a wall any more.

5. melting into the main building whose style it matched to perfection——错误很多。melting into 尤其指钢铁或冰雪“溶解成”，比喻严重不当。

6. whose style it matched to perfection.——这个定语从句也是错的。

全句修改如下：

Looking up from the top of the wall, you can see that the black roof of the main building is sticking out into the night sky, and the wall is not like a wall any more. It enters the whole structure with a similar style to the main building.

3. 这时节两山只剩余一抹黑，赖天空微明勾画出一个轮廓

Now in the deepening darkness, the cliffs were becoming barely visible, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky.   

这句话only后为什么又接了个句子？

【答】这是个并列句，两个分句之间缺少了连词 and，应该放在only 之前。要么用分号；要么用句号。

改为：

Now in the deepening darkness, the cliffs were becoming barely visible, and only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 

Now in the deepening darkness, the cliffs were becoming barely visible；only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 

Now in the deepening darkness, the cliffs were becoming barely visible. Only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 

only 是个强调副词，可以放在名词之前，强调名词their silhouettes。不过，英语翻译跟原来汉语有所差别。我把英语句子翻译出来，对照一下：

“现在，在越来越深的黑暗中，峭壁几乎看不见了，只有它们的轮廓在微弱的天空中被勾勒出来。”

4. The point is that these terms are rarely if ever used by people living in tropical or subtropical regions.

if ever这句话里是什么用法？rarely为什么是修饰used？

【答】这也是以前我们讨论过的if 从句的省略问题。这个句子更为特殊：是主句和从句照应省略。主句省略了used，从句省略they are。补充完整为：

these terms are rarely used, if they are ever used, by people living in tropical or subtropical regions. （if 从句插在 used by 之间）

把 if 从句放在主句后：

these terms are rarely used by people living in tropical or subtropical regions if they are ever used.