山陰道上，應接不暇。中國會稽城西南郊外，一路上山明水秀，風景優美，令人目不暇給。
Scenery/Scene/View
先比較這三個近義詞：
Scenery 一般指風景，尤指美麗、開闊的鄉村景色；從美的⻆度出發，scenery 是鄉村的整個外貌：The general appearance of the country, considered for its beauty, is scenery。View 是從某個地方可以看得到鄉村 scenery 的一部分。Scene 和 view 可以互通，但 scene 大多時包括了鄉村其中的人物及其活動。例句：1. The beautiful scenery of the Rocky Mountains is stunning. 2. There’s a fine view of the mountains from our hotel window. 3. We can see a happy scene of children playing in the garden outside the hotel. 形容崇山峻嶺的美景：a beautiful mountain is impressive, dramatic, magnificent, majestic or spectacular。A mountainous region is rocky, craggy or rugged.
愚公移山，小題大做
A mountain of work is a great deal of work 堆積如山的大量工作。很難得到的東西，可以說 a mountain to climb。看似辦不到的事辦到了，在愛心和信念激勵下，把一些以為不可能的事終於做到成功，可以說：faith can move mountains。愚公移山是中國古代的寓言，回教也有一個移山的典故和流行語：If Mohammed will not go to the mountain, the mountain must come to Mohammed 你想見的人若不來見你，你必須往他那裹去見他。這句成語，源自先知穆罕默德的故事：信眾請求他展示異能，能夠令薩法山（Mount Safa）移動到他跟前。Make a mountain out of a molehill 表示小題大做，誇大其詞，molehill 是鼹鼠的小丘，你將小事看大，將很微小的問題看似很重要。
「泰山歸來不看岳，五岳歸來不看山。」五岳是中國所有山中最有代表性的，而泰山是五岳中最叫绝的。英語簡單得多，大山是 mountain；小山是 hill。
Over the Hill vs On the Top of a Hill
An uphill task/struggle/battle 是漫長而艱難的、費力的任務或戰鬥。Going downhill 是每況愈下，走下坡路，身體或財政狀况大不如前，不斷惡化。同樣意思 over the hill 不再年輕 = somebody is in the later part of his life：試想像一個人過了半生，身處山頂，順路而下，便像走向衰老與死亡。當你不再年輕，你想做某件事情，年紀已經太老了，力不從心，只好感喟地嘆息：I am already over the hill 老而不中用了。
人生的巔峰狀態，就如 on the top of a hill。Peak 山巔，頂峰，正如一個人的高峰期 at the peak of a person’s power。Pinnacle 山峰，尖峰 is a pointed rock mountain，正如 the pinnacle of a person’s career 一個人事業的頂峰。Summit 頂點，絕頂 is physically restricted to refer to the topmost surface of a mountain：climbing the peak to reach the summit。
Peak or Summit?
Both nouns metaphorically refer to the position of greatest importance, intensity, or power. Summit is more formal，多用於高峰會議：a high level conference between heads of state。Peak suggests the point or moment at which something is most typical or at its best：the president is now at the peak of his power 總統權力，如日方中。
Land 土地
Some general land terms: Lowland is land or country that is mainly plains 低地的土地或田野，主要由平原組成。其他類型的土地有 woodland 森林地；moorland 荒原，barren land or wasteland；scrubland 叢林地；marshland/swampland 沼澤地帶；wetlands 濕地；grassland 草地；prairie 北美草原，extensive area with tall grasses；steppe 大草原，treeless grassland with less rainfall than a prairie 等。
Land，英語中有不同的聯想和引申意義:
the promised land 福地，樂土，安樂境界，is a place or situation where you expect to be happy and safe；
land of milk and honey is a place where life is pleasant and easy and people are very happy 富饒樂土，膏腴之壤；
cloud-cuckoo land 是脫離現實的幻想世界，to live in cloud-cuckoo land is to believe things you want will happen, when really they are impossible；
never-never land is an imaginary place where everything is wonderful 世外桃源，虛妄的樂土；
no man’s land 是兩軍陣地前的中立地帶，a neutral ground between opposing forces：No man’s land is land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty；
land of the midnight sun 指挪威的北部和北極圈的北部地區，在夏季，甚至在晚上，太陽始終不落。
Land or Ground?
两者用法，稍有分別：
Land 一般用以指鄉間廣濶的土地，Ground 指任何空曠地、開濶地、或特定用途和活動的場地。
Land is used for large areas of open land in the country. Ground is any area of open land designed or used for a particular purpose or activity. 其他兩個相類似的字眼還有：Lot 城市中作某種用途的一塊地或場地：building lots 建築用地；a parking lot 停車場。Plot 專用的小塊土地：a vegetable plot 一塊菜圃；一塊墓地 a burial plot。
本專欄逢周二、五發表
