英语阅读：From activity to activity
Casey, one of my loyal readers, wrote some time ago asking what "fromactivity to activity" means without offering an example from which he might have
seen that phrase.
In reply I asked him to find an example involving that phrase. "I promise,"
I wrote in reply, "that I'll answer the question if you do the exercise – if,
that is, you still could not work out its meaning after doing the exercise." I
believe the question answers itself if one sees a particular phrase in action a
few times. I often find that to be the case at any rate.
Anyways, I challenged Casey to do more, adding: "I want you to do this so
that you won't feel guilty that you have not done your part. Please do your part
and expect me to do mine."
Fair enough, Casey came back with the following: "I tried to find some
examples involving the phrase 'from activity to activity' but still I couldn't
find any. The point is that I came across this phrase in an examination paper,
and it just gave the phrase asking us to give the Chinese meaning of the phrase.
There was no context at all. And I've never seen the phrase anywhere before. So
believe me, I've done my part. Would you please be kind enough to tell me the
meaning of the phrase? It would be better if you could give examples."
Fair enough. Now that Casey's done his part, I can tell the truth. And the
truth is, sorry for being fussy, Casey, but there is precious little to
explain.
"From activity to activity", you see, means nothing more than "from one
activity to another activity." In talking about things and when we don't have to
distinguish them, one from another, we say "from something to something".
You've heard of people hopping "from job to job" for years without finding
their comfort zone, haven't you? You've probably heard of the professional eater
in Beijing who goes "from hotel to hotel", and "from conference to conference"
to have a free lunch at the buffet offered to participating panel members. From
TV, you must have heard of migrants moving "from city to city" in order to give
births to children in the hope of getting that evasive son (for the sake of
posterity, to be sure) and keep away from family-planning enforcement officials
from the hometown.
And the Communist Party, of course, has always been marching "from victory
to victory."
Laughs aside, here are more examples from the media (I've done my part as
well).
1. from activity to activity:
Chances are, every kid on your block is juggling music lessons, sports
practices, theater rehearsals, or a myriad of other extra-curricular activities
designed to put them on the track to future success.
Resist the pressure to follow suit, says psychologist Alvin Rosenfeld,
author of "The Overscheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap." Today's
fast-paced society encourages parents to shuttle their childrenfrom activity to
activity, Rosenfeld argues, leaving too little free time to just be a family and
enjoy spending time together.
- Teen: Over-achievement, over-scheduling, family.go.com, August 19,
2007.
2. from person to person:
Headline: From Person to Person, Genetic Maps Reveal (National Geographic
News, November 22, 2006).
3. from country to country:
Headline: Tax policies vary widely from country to country, OECD study
shows (oecd.org, December 10, 2005).
4. from event to event, from spectacle to spectacle:
One minute, we are still debating election returns in Ohio and Florida. And
then, in a flash, the story largely disappears and the subject changes. Quickly,
we have moved on as the news media converges on Fallujah to report on, and in
the view of many, support what may be the bloodiest chapter to date of the Iraq
war.
Media coverage lurches from event to event, and from spectacle to spectacle
as a substance deficit disorder hyperactively drives the news agenda. No sooner
are we focused on one major story, than another intrudes to change the subject
and insures that there is no time for follow-up, much less thoughtful
processing. - From Florida to Fallujah: What the News Coverage Covers Up,
MediaChannel.org, November 9, 2004.
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