（1）“What is that building?”
“____(That's/This is) where the garden equipment is stored.” (TOEFL)
(2) He told the story like ____ (that/this): "Once upon a time..."
(3) A: She's expecting twins.
B: How do you know ____ (that/this)? (CGEL)
(4) I want to know ____ (that/this): Has this Mrs. Jones been here the whole morning? 不知上面各句应当用 that 还是应当用 this。
在一般情况下,人们用 that 来表示前面提到过的事,即 that 一般用于前照应,而用 this 来表示后面要提到的事,即 this 一般用于后照应。
汉语“这”的用法常常干扰我们去理解和掌握英语 that 和 this 的这种替代用法。因为汉语的“这”常常用来指上文(前面提到的事):
你觉得很热,这是因为你第一次到南京。
先栽苗后浇水，这也可以。（《现代汉语八百词》）
请比较下列例句中的 that 与其汉译文：
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She is tactful, but I couldn't call her that. 她很圆滑，但我不能这样说她。
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“Bob wants to sell you his old radio.” “I know. He’s already suggested that to me.” (TOEFL) “鲍勃想把他的旧收音机卖给你。” “我知道。他已向我提过这事。”
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That's why... 这就是为什么…… (参见 this/that)