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Akira writes, When I learned about prepositions in junior high school about 70 years ago,
阿其拉写道，大约70年前，当我在初中学习介词的时候，
it was taught that "between" is used to describe two things and "among" is used with three things or more.
老师告诉我描述两件事时用between，三件或三件以上的事时用among。
Is my memory correct?
我记的对吗?
Dear Akira,
亲爱的阿其拉，
Thank you for your question.
谢谢你的提问。
Your memory is excellent.
你的记忆力很好。
And your teacher gave some helpful guidance on using these two important prepositions.
你的老师对如何使用这两个重要的介词给出了一些有用的指导。
Prepositions - words or groups of words that are used with nouns, noun phrases,or pronouns to show direction, location, and so on - are a difficult subject.
介词——与名词、名词短语或代词一起使用的表示方向、位置等的单词或词组——学起来不轻松。
They sometimes have clear uses and differences,but sometimes they share meanings with other prepositions.
它们有时有明确的用法和区别，但有时它们与其他介词有相同的意义。
We will explore that idea later.
我们稍后会探讨这个想法。
Lets start with among.
让我们从among开始。
Many of the uses of among center on the idea of a group of people or things.
Among的许多用法集中在一群人或一群事物上。
For example, news stories for over a year have had language such as:
例如，一年多来的新闻报道中出现了这样的语言：
The coronavirus is spreading quickly among members of the community.
新冠肺炎在社区成员中快速传播。
In this case, among means in or through a group of people.
在这种情况下，among指在一群人之中或通过一群人。
Among can also be used to show that a group of people or things is involved in, or affected by something, as in:
Among也可以用来表示一群人或一件事卷入或受某事影响，例如：
The new rules have led to increased competition among local businesses.
新规定加剧了当地企业之间的竞争。
And among can mean in the presence of a group of people.
Among可以表示在一群人面前。
News stories often carry language such as:
新闻故事中经常有这样的语言，例如：
The prime minister was standing among his supporters.
首相站在他的支持者中间。
Between often carries the idea of a separation, as in:
Between通常带有分离的意思，例如：
The ball is between the tree and the house.
球在树和房子之间。
In this case, between means in the space that separates two things - the tree and the house.
在这种情况下，between的意思是分隔两种东西——树和房子。
Between can also mean in the time that separates two actions or events, as in:
Between也可以指分隔两个行动或事件的时间，例如：
If you want to stay healthy, you should drink plenty of water between meals.
如果你想保持健康，你应该在两餐之间喝大量的水。
In many cases, among is used for a group of things or people, and between is used for two things or people.
在很多情况下，among用于一组事物或人，between用于两种事物或人。
But the difference in meaning is not always so clear.
但意义上的差别并不总是那么明显。
In some cases, between and among have pretty much the same meaning.
在某些情况下，between和among几乎有相同的意思。
Consider these two statements, both of which appear in Merriam-Websters Learners Dictionary:
看看这两个出现在韦氏学习者词典里的语句：
They compared the cars but found few differences between them.
他们比较了这些汽车，但发现它们之间没有什么不同。
They compared several new cars but found few differences among them.
他们比较了几辆新车，但没有发现什么不同之处。
In both cases, the preposition shows the group of things that are being considered or compared.
在这两种情况下，介词都表示正在考虑或比较的一组事物。
As with many issues in English, there are general rules or meanings.... and there are exceptions to those general rules and meanings.
和英语中的许多问题一样，有一般的规则或含义....对于这些一般的规则和含义也有例外。
And thats Ask a Teacher!
以上就是本期的《名师答疑》！
Im John Russell.
我是约翰·拉塞尔。
