正事之前的那些工夫
同一件事的兩種看法：當成一整團工夫看，還是當成一項一項的事情看。中間的差別在英文裡是用單複數表現的。
getting ready · noun · B1
The work and time you spend getting ready for something.
準備
核心畫面
Picture the hours before the guests arrive: chopping, moving chairs, checking the list. Nothing that anyone will come to see has happened yet — this is all the work that goes in front of the real event so it can run smoothly. From that one picture the word splits three ways: the work as a whole, the separate jobs you tick off, and, in a or a lab, the thing that comes out at the end of preparing — a mixture someone made up.
可以想成客人到之前的那幾個小時：切菜、搬椅子、對一次清單。真正要給人看的事還沒開始——這些全是擺在正事前面、讓它能順…更多收起
可以想成客人到之前的那幾個小時：切菜、搬椅子、對一次清單。真正要給人看的事還沒開始——這些全是擺在正事前面、讓它能順利進行的工作。這個畫面往三個方向長：整體的那份工夫、一件一件劃掉的細項，以及在藥局或實驗室裡「準備」之後留下的成品——一份被調出來的東西。Two branches
調配出來的成品
從「準備的動作」跳到「準備出來的東西」：在藥局和實驗室裡，prepare 指的是把材料調配起來，做出來的那罐東西就叫 a preparation。
medicinal mixture · noun · B1
A mixture that has been made for a special use, especially a medicine or something for your skin.
調製品
原始詞典資料8 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
preparationnoun/ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/
- 1
The act of preparing or getting ready.
- I went over my notes in preparation for the exam.
- 2
The state of being prepared; readiness.
- 3
That which is prepared.
- The traditional remedy is a bitter preparation made from steamed herbs.
- 4
anatomymedicinesciencesThat which is prepared.
- 5
entertainmentlifestylemusicThat which is prepared.
- 6
The day before the Sabbath or other Jewish feast-day.
- 7
Devotional exercises introducing an office.
- 8
entertainmentlifestylemusicThe previous introduction, as an integral part of a chord, of a note continued into a succeeding dissonance.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。