Lesson ten GRAMMAR FOCUS two

 II. cost, take, spend

這三個動詞除了都有「花費」的意思之外，分別各有其他的用法，重點如下：

cost花費；付出代價；使犧牲掉

物 + cost(s) + (somebody) + money

it + cost(s) + somebody + money to V

事情 + cost(s) + somebody + N

例：The digital camera cost me twelve thousand dollars.

　　It cost Sophia about one million dollars to remodel her old house.

　　His obsession with gambling cost him his job.

take  花費；需要

事情 + take(s)/took + time + to V

it takes/took + (somebody) + time + to V

it takes/took + (somebody) + N + to V

例：Crossing the mountains took the expedition group about ten days.

　　It took him just one hour to compose the music.

　　It takes effort to follow your dream.

spend  花費；度過

人 + spend(s)/spent + time/money + on/for + N

人 + spend(s)/spent + time/money + (in) V-ing

人 + spend(s)/spent + time + with + somebody

人 + spend(s)/spent + time + at/in... + place

例：Most of her time was spent on her business.

　　Sophia spent about one million dollars remodeling her old house.

　　Ben spent the weekend with his friends at the beach.

Practice A

Rewrite each sentence using the words given in parentheses.

答案

1. It cost Mr. Morgan one million dollars to buy his new house.

2. Leo spent a month traveling around the island on his bike.

3. I spent thirteen thousand NT dollars on my digital camera.

4. It took Yvonne three years to complete her graduate studies./Yvonne's graduate studies took three years to complete.

Practice B

Anna is asking Troy about his holiday plans. Complete their dialogue by filling in the blanks with cost, take or spend. Be sure to use the correct form.

 答案

1. spend　2. takes　3. cost　4. spent　5. takes

【補充練習】

根據提示，將下列各句翻譯成英文。

1. 有時候承認自己的錯誤是需要很大的勇氣。（take）

 _________________________________________

2. 她大部分的錢都花費在旅行上。（spend）

 _________________________________________

3. 買這輛二手車並沒有花費我多少錢。（cost）

 _________________________________________

4. 開車到機場花掉了我們兩小時的時間。（take）

 _________________________________________

5. 他們將到花蓮度假。（spend）

 _________________________________________

答案

1. Sometimes it takes great courage to admit one's own mistakes.

2. Most of her money was/is spent on travel/ traveling.

3. It didn't cost me much to buy this used car.

4. It took us two hours to drive to the airport.

5. They will spend their vacation in Hualien.