A moot point: 争论未决的问题
历史上总有那么一些“悬案”,惹得大家争论百年、千年,也未争出个所以然。这种“争论不休”的问题,可用短语a moot point来表达。 就词的强弱意义而言,a moot point最初指“有待商榷的问题”,源于盎格鲁-撒克逊时代的“国民议会”。当时,贵族、高级教士总要定期集会,处理一定时期内遗留的司法、行政问题,这种“解决问题”的集会常被称作“mot”或“mote”。当然,“解决”实质上是“讨论”的过程,久而久之,mot/mote和由此演变的moot在词义上延伸为“有待商榷的问题”。 现代意义上的a moot point(争论未决、争论不休、毫无意义的争论)源于法学院的学生。如果看过热门韩剧《爱在哈佛》,想必您也明白,法学院的学生经常开moot court(模拟法庭)。法庭上的案件很多是凭空想象的,其间的争论也往往停留在纯理论层面,所以,人们常把这种辩论称之为“无休止、毫无意义”。
看两个例句:Whether Shakespeare actually wrote the poem remains a moot point among critics.(这首诗是否出自莎翁之笔有待商榷。) It's a moot point whether the chicken or the egg came first.(讨论鸡生蛋还是蛋生鸡,毫无意义。)
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