英倫組合Sting曾經(jīng)到香港開(kāi)演唱會(huì)，身為歌迷當(dāng)然是第一時(shí)間跑去購(gòu)票。當(dāng)拿著門(mén)票滿心喜歡地準(zhǔn)備進(jìn)場(chǎng)時(shí)，帶位小姐對(duì)我們說(shuō)：You guys are very late.(你們遲得很)，我們立刻看看手上的門(mén)券問(wèn)道：What date is it today?(今天是幾月幾號(hào)?)噢 ! 原來(lái)我們遲來(lái)了一天。

有時(shí)候當(dāng)你問(wèn)今天是什么日子，別人常常不能掌握到底你是想問(wèn)日期還是星期幾。英文就有這個(gè)區(qū)別，如果用date表示問(wèn)日期，用day表示問(wèn)星期幾，What day is it today?(今天是星期幾?)。What date is it today?(今天是幾月幾號(hào)?)此外，Date除解作日期外，也可解作約會(huì)，I have a date tonight.(我今晚有個(gè)約會(huì))。

對(duì)話

A：Oh, my God!

B：Are you crazy? It's 4 o'clock in the morning.

A：What date is it today?

B：Today's Monday.

A：No, what date is it today?

B：It's August 1st.

A：Got you.

甲：噢，我的天啊!

乙：你瘋了嗎?現(xiàn)在是凌晨4點(diǎn)鐘。

甲：今天是什么日子?

乙：今天是星期一。

甲：不，今天是幾多號(hào)?

乙：8月1日

甲：答對(duì)了。

‘今天是幾號(hào)?’英文可以說(shuō)：What's the date today? / What's today's date? / What's today? / What day of the month is (it) today?問(wèn)‘昨天是幾號(hào)?’則可說(shuō)：What was the date yesterday?等?；卮鹂梢允荰oday is 28 July / It's 28 July / Today's date is 28 July.(今天是七月二十八日)。留意28 July說(shuō)話時(shí)須讀作the twenty-eighth of July。

Date是‘日期’。但只說(shuō)年份也可用date字，例如：The coin bears the date 1800(硬幣上的年份是一八零零年)。問(wèn)人出生日期，同樣可用date字：What's the date of your birth? / What date is your birthday?當(dāng)然，你也可以問(wèn)：When is your birthday?回答可以是It(或My birthday)is on 28 July。

‘今天是星期幾?’英文有另一個(gè)說(shuō)法：What day is (it) today? / What day of the week is it?問(wèn)‘昨天是星期幾?’則可說(shuō)：What day was it yesterday?等?；卮鹂梢允荰oday's Monday(今天是星期一)之類。

一般人不會(huì)問(wèn)‘今年是哪一年?’但如果要問(wèn)，可以說(shuō)：What year is this?回答當(dāng)然是：This is 2003。留意2003英文讀作two thousand and three。

英文有一句成語(yǔ)：The days are numbered。這不是說(shuō)‘日子都有編號(hào)’，而是‘來(lái)日無(wú)多’的意思，往往用來(lái)說(shuō)‘將死’或‘將被辭退’，例如：(1) The doctor said her days were numbered.(醫(yī)生說(shuō)她在世的日子不多了)。(2) His employment contract not renewed, his days at the company are numbered.(他不獲續(xù)約，在公司的日子不多了)。