《英语常用词用法辞典》(修订版,北大西语系编,商务印书馆,p.57)上说:among 用于三者或三者以上“之间”,而 between 却只用于二者“之间”。许多英语著作都是这样解释 between 和 among 的区别的。但我经常看到 between 用于三者或者三者以上“之间”的情形。例如:He divided his money between his five sons. 请解释。
许多现代英语学者已经不用这种方法来解释 among 与 between 的用法了。例如 A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language 的作者们(R. Quirk 等人)说：“between 用于某一物体的位置与一组特定的可分离事物之间的关系，而 among 用于表示某一物体的位置与非分离事物之间的关系。”Collins Dictionary of English Usage 的编者说：“between 可以用来表示三个以上的事物之间的关系，但这里通常具有分离的关系，而 among 可以指数目不确定的事物”。例如：
- Switzerland lies between France, Germany, Austria and Italy.
瑞士位于法国、德国、奥地利和意大利之间。
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He shared his property between his wife, his daughter and his sister. (PEU) 他把财产分给了他的妻子、女儿和妹妹。
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I divide my time between teaching, writing and lecturing. (PEU) 我的时间分别用于教学、写作和作报告。
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Our house is between the wood, the river and the village. (BEU) 我们的房子位于森林、河流和村庄之间。
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A triangle is the space between three points.
三角形是三个点之间的空间。
- We quarrel among ourselves. (CGEL)
我们大家互相争吵。
- She prefers to live among the working people. (Sinclair) 她宁愿生活在劳动人民中间。
请做下面的英语试题：
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A letter of credit is often used by companies to finance the movement of goods among A B C D countries. (TOEFL)
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all the people the meeting, I like the young woman John . (TOEFL)
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Reading ____ the lines, I would say that the Government are more worried than they will admit. A. among B. behind C. along D. between(全国四级,02.1-42)
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——It's a top secret.
—Yes, I see. I will keep the secret ____ you and me.
A. with B. around C. among D. between(全国高考上海卷,06-25)