英语可数性问题在大多数英汉对照类语言辞典中语焉不详，不作标注，大至新版的《英汉大词典》、小至中型的《新英汉词典》以及中小学生常用的不少袖珍字典。然而，它又是一个难以回避的细节问题。 当然，不标也有它的讨巧之处，这类词典的编撰者们可能信奉中华老祖宗“书读千遍，其义自见”式的“典读千遍，其义自见”。 在当前的各类英汉词典与网络词典中，对于Behaviour（或美式拼法：Behavior），绝大多数不标名词可数性，少数标注的词典中基本上仅标为“不可数”。如厚达2818页、颇有特色、难能可贵地标注所有词组词性的《新时代英汉大词典》在Bahaviour项下也无“可数”的标注。在百度或各种国内网站的问题栏目中，拥有一本或少数几本词典的学子们的此类疑问比比皆是。少量头脑灵活的网友们打破常规地认为：“不及物动词在特殊情形下可以用作及物动词。”有网友可能尽管未在词典中见到“可数”的标注，但根据自身理解称:“Behaviour既是可数也是不可数的!要分情况对待!如果behaviour 在句中的意思为行为,也就是说只是一个抽象的名词时,就不可数!例如:You should have good behavior in the public !如果behaviour 在句中表示一件具体的事时,就是可数名词!例如:Its a bad behaviour to laugh loudly when eating !” 然而，从语言运用的实际看，作为可数的用法在西方世界似乎已不在少数。现实的、鲜活的语言可能已不愿受到词典的严格束缚。从“可数性”变化进程看，抽象的行为已经具象化为可数的行为。 Google之下，可见老外已大量使用“Behaviours”，如Healthy Living: How Common Behaviors Affect Your Health(http://familydoctor.org),Changing Behaviours:A Practical Framework（http://www.thcu.ca）等。 不少原版英语词典往往标注名词的可数性，但普遍地仅标注了“不可数”（如《企鹅英语词典》、《朗文当代英语辞典（英语版）》）。仅有个别词典提到了Behaviour可数性，如中国大百科出版社《韦氏高阶英语词典》（2010年版）在“Bahaviour”词项中已提到了可数性。 至于Behaviour的可数性如何演变及不可数的Behaviour与Behaviours在具体用法上的差异，以及其他英语原版词典的标注情况，因时间关系，我不想进一步考证。大体可以判断的是：可数的Behaviour属于新近用法，可能并未被英语辞书界完全认可。Behaviour有多个同义词，如Conduct, Demeanour, Deportment, Bearing, Manners，Comportment; Action(s)等。除Behaviour外，Demeanour在多本英语词典中也只有“不可数”一项，但在中国大百科出版社《韦氏高阶英语词典》（2010年版）在“Demeanour”词项中也增加了复数形式，而且摇身一变，仅标注“可数”一项，“不可数”义项已经消失了。在这部词典中，作为“行为”的bearing我个人判断，这与西方心理学、行为科学的定量化研究有着密切的关系。 不过，我认为这是一个有趣的语言学问题：“英语行为类词汇的可数化倾向研究”。我个人预言，Comportment在将来也会增加可数性质（《韦氏高阶英语词典》中目前也仅有不可数义项）。 自苍颉造字以来，号称难以标注而从不标注词性的汉语词性，终于在21世纪跨过10个年头左右的第五版《现代汉语词典》等辞书中闪亮登场。 我认为，各类英汉类词典，不分大小，一般都应当在辞书中标注名词的可数性、将名词的可数性广而告之，既使学习者有所了解，又能有据可查、有法可依。 注：本文是阅读科学网博主张强的博客公布文章《Abrupt behaviors of the streamflow of the Pearl River basin and implications for hydrological alterations across the Pearl River Delta, China》时所想到的。
http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/BeijingInformation/BeijingNewsUpdate/t1103628.htm Although the typical Chinese kitchen is now likely to have many food ingredients that have been genetically modified (GM), awareness of the issue remains poor among the public, the latest online survey has found. More than 55 percent of the nearly 1,000 respondents said they had scarce knowledge of GM food, the survey conducted by China Daily and Sohu.com showed last week. At least 52 percent said they were unaware of the prevalence of GM food in their lives. Genetically modified products such as papaya, soybean oil, tomatoes and potatoes have been largely available in the countrys market since early 2000, said Professor Jiang Gaoming of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Botany . As these products are relatively cheaper than non-GM food, people are eating them without being aware of what they are consuming, he said. A survey conducted by Greenpeace China last year showed a large majority of the papaya sold in major Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai was genetically modified. Worse, they are not labeled, Fang Lifeng, spokesman of Greenpeace China's GM program, told China Daily Wednesday. In the latest survey, 73 percent of those polled said they would check the GM status of products while shopping for food, while nearly 67 percent said they were unsatisfied with the current level of GM labeling. When I shop for soy oil, I always find it hard to spot the GM label, which usually appears in small print, said food safety-conscious Wang Yi, 31, a white-collar worker in Beijing. Relating that her mother is unaccustomed to checking on the status of GM food, Wang added: For her, price is the top concern when choosing food. China leads the world in public biotech crop research, experts said. GM crops in the field trial stage include rice, wheat, corn, soybeans, potatoes, cabbage and tobacco. GM cotton also accounts for 30 percent of the country's cotton acreage, official statistics showed. Under such circumstances, public awareness of GM food should be largely improved, particularly its potential negative impact on health and the environment, Fang urged. Despite the relatively lower price of GM food, people should be equipped with the knowledge, both positive and negative, when choosing what to eat, he said. Internationally, advocacy groups have strongly opposed GM technology being put in the human food chain, citing its unforeseeable impact. Studies also found GM food damaged laboratory rats fed with these ingredients. In response to food safety and health concerns, nearly 88 percent of those polled said they would choose traditional food over the GM variety, the latest survey showed. However, Yang Xiaoguang, a food nutrition expert with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, thought otherwise. GM food is safer than ordinary food in terms of pesticide residue, he explained. GM plants are often created to resist disease and eliminate the need for pesticides. Their perceived advantages, such as a hardier texture, higher nutritional value and faster growth, create a type of superfood, studies showed. Worldwide, 70 percent of soy, 46 percent of cotton and 24 percent of corn are genetically modified. Due to concerns over consumer rights, at least 35 countries and regions including China, Australia, the EU, Japan and Indonesia have adopted mandatory labeling for any product that has been genetically modified. China's labeling regulation stipulates that all products containing GM ingredients including seeds, animal feed and food should be labeled under the framework of the Biosafety Regulation of GMOs in Agriculture, first announced in June 2001 by the Ministry of Agriculture. The regulation, however, is poorly enforced as many GM products are sold without labeling at all, Jiang said. A lack of strict management and the absence of a monitoring mechanism is largely to blame, he acknowledged. Other reasons include the lack of a cost-effective method for detecting GM products with sufficient sensitivity, coupled with business concerns that labeling would result in lower competitiveness, said Professor Wang Canfa of the China University of Political Science and Law. Given that GM products like soybean oil, papaya, tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco are now widespread in China, the labeling rule, which is about consumer choice and rights, should be forcefully and strictly implemented, he said. He also called on the government to further regulate GM labeling, including having these details prominently displayed on packaging, so consumers could choose whether to buy those items.
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