
3.I have no income and I have to pay my tuition. I am the poorest of the poor. 我沒有收入,還得付學費.我是窮人里面最窮的.
有時候我們要表達自己很窮,好像除了講 very poor 之外沒有其它任何的選擇,不像在中文里還有什么三餐不濟、窮愁潦倒之類的成語。但事實上,像是 poorest of the poor 就是一個不錯的用法,可以用來強調 "不但很窮,而且還是窮人里面最窮的"。比方說,"I would like to donate some money to the poorest of the poor. (我想捐點錢給那些最窮的人。)"
跟 poorest of the poor 遙相呼應的則是 richest of the rich,看字面上的意思就知道這是指有錢人里面最有錢的一群。比方說 "There is no question that my boss is the richest of the rich. (豪無疑問的,我的老板肯定是有錢人里面最有錢的。)" 像著名的福布斯 (Forbes) 雜志的富人排行榜,用的標題就是 The richest of the rich。