Chan-Seung Lee
Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 1032
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 Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 11:59 pm Post subject: specialize |
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| Apparently, these ancient people were specialized in gathering food from the sea. They pulled a living from the sea at the same time Europeans were in the stone age, thousands of years before the creation of Stonehenge in England or the rise of the earliest civilizations in the near east. |
I have two questions.
One is whether 'were specialized in' is right or wrong. I think that 'were specialized in' should be changed to 'specialized in'. Am I right?
The other is whether 'pulled a living' is right or wrong. I think that 'pulled a living' should be changed to 'made a living' or 'earned a living'. Am I right?
Thanks. |
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CP
Joined: 12 Jun 2006
Posts: 2875
Location: California
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| Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 7:25 am Post subject: |
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The phrasing were specialized in suggests that the people were shaped by their environment in what they specialized in. It is not wrong, just a little different.
As for pulled a living, that is also a good expression. Besides make a living or earn a living, sometimes you see scratch a living or eke a living. �The land was not good for farming, but the people liked it there, and they managed to scratch a living by farming and herding.�
Here, the expression makes the image of literally pulling creatures from the sea to make a living. It is actually better than make a living in this context, in my opinion.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb |
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