2018年5月11日
政府和發展商共同開發新界的農地,叫做「官商合作」還是「官商勾結」?兩個或以上的個人或團體一起去做一件事,叫做「合作」;「合作」去做壞事,就叫做「勾結」。
合作,動詞是cooperate,名詞是cooperation;與某人合作,說cooperate with:
一、He promised to cooperate with the police.(他承諾與警方合作。)
二、They are cooperating on a new project.(他們在合作進行一項新計劃。)
三、We could not have succeeded without your cooperation.(沒有你的合作,我們不會成功。)
由35個已發展國家組成的「經濟合作與發展組織」(簡稱「經合組織」),英文是Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development,簡稱OECD。
勾結,動詞是collude,名詞collusion;同樣,與某人勾結是collude with:
四、Trump denied that his election campaign colluded with Russia.(特朗普否認他的競選團隊與俄國勾結。)
五、Several people colluded in the murder.(這兇殺案有幾個人合謀。)
六、People suspect that the government and the developers are in collusion.(人們懷疑政府與發展商勾結。)
Price collusion是「合謀定價」,即若干個經營商合謀操控商品售價,是反競爭行為。一個有趣的字是collaborate:它可以指合作,特別是合作著書或者做研究,如:
七、The professor collaborated with a student on the research paper.(教授和一個學生合作寫研究論文。)
八、Professionals and amateurs gather here and collaborate in the making of music.(專業和業餘人士在這裏聚集,一起創作音樂。)
但是, 通敵、和敵人勾結,也叫collaborate,尤其當自己的國家在和別國打仗,領土被敵軍佔領時,與敵人合作反對自己的國家就叫collaborate with the enemy。
九、He collaborated with the Nazis during World War Ⅱ.(他在二次大戰時勾結納粹分子。)
串謀犯罪或者害人,可說conspire或connive。與某人合謀,叫conspire with;搞陰謀對某人不利,叫conspire against:
十、Some army officers conspired together to overthrow the government.(有些軍人共謀推翻政府。)
十一、She conspired with her lover to murder her husband.(她串同情夫,殺害親夫。)
十二、They were accused of conspiring against the king.(他們被控陰謀反對國王。)
Conspire是「謀」;connive多是指行動,兩個或多個人一起做一些不見得光的、不道德的或不應做的事,例如:
十三、Senior politicians connived to ensure that the union leader was not released.(一批老政客在做手腳,要使那工會領袖不獲釋放。)
十四、The government connived with big businesses to weaken employment rights.(政府與財團勾結,削弱勞工權益。)Connive at或connive in是對壞事縱容,或者故意視而不見。
十五、The policeman connived at traffic violations.(那警員對交通違例行為置諸不理。)
十六、If you refuse to give evidence you will be conniving in an injustice.(你如果不肯作供,就是在縱容不公義的行為。)
最後,plot和scheme用作動詞,也是搞陰謀的意思,跟conspire相近:
十七、They are plotting(或scheming)to get rid of the new manager.(他們在密謀趕走新經理。)
十八、She feels that everybody is plotting(或 scheming)against her.(她覺得所有人都在謀害她。)