寫這段文字是因為上周知新共學3月翻譯群的一次討論，遇到了這個倍數(shù)的表達問題，引發(fā)了大家的一些討論。我們聊到很晚，各種查資料。
如果你手邊有這本書，可以看看目錄，翻開倍數(shù)表達那一頁，里面是這樣寫的：
但是很有意思的是，這本書的配套教學用書里，又是不一樣的說法：
這本書提到：
原文“A is 3 times as great(long，much，…)as B”，“A is 3 times greater (longer， more，…)than B”，“A is 3 times the size (length， amount，…)of B”，均應譯為;“A的大小(長度，數(shù)量，……)是B的3倍”，或者“A比B大(長，多，……)2倍”，而不應譯為“A比B大(長，多，……)3倍”。
這個問題好像困擾了很多英語學習者，去百度上搜索相關(guān)問題，什么回答都有。不過我們要從權(quán)威的英語詞典里面找答案。
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage 認為n times larger 等于n times as large as：
The fact is 'five times more' and 'five times as much' are idiomatic phrases which have --and are understood to have --exactly the same meaning. The 'ambiguity' of 'times more' is imaginary: in the world of actual speech and writing the meaning of 'times more' is clear and unequivocal. It is an idiom that has existed in our language for more than four centuries and there is no real reason to avoid its use.
然后我還在網(wǎng)上找到了美國一所小學的考試題目，也可以從側(cè)面例證這個問題：
如此，我們便可以放心地得出結(jié)論：
n times larger than = n times as large as
n times larger than = n times as large as
n times larger than = n times as large as
好啦，就醬，晚安。
