核心问题
（a）Father and son went to New York by a morning train. (Sinclair)
(b) The property had been handed down from father to son for many generations. (ALD) father 和 son 都是可数名词,为什么其前不加冠词?
词典解答
按照语法规则，在可数的具体名词之前，是应当加冠词的。但是，为了使一个名词与另一个具有相反意义的名词保持平行，常常有省略冠词的倾向。例如：
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husband and wife (CGEL) 丈夫和妻子
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She's too young to know the difference between right and wrong. (Palmer) 她还太小,不能明辨是非。
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The defendant does not know right from wrong. (FWF) 被告不能明辨是非。
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I want to know about this thing now from beginning to end. (Dreiser) 现在我想了解这件事的始末。
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I have read the book from beginning to end. (ALD) 我已把这本书从头读到尾。
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Latitudes are the lines that go from east to west. (Mis) 纬度线是从东到西的线。