■ over

1) over 与 above 表示超过某数量时，over 通常用于年龄（不能用 above）、速度以及金钱、人数。

• You have to be over 18 to buy cigarettes.你要十八岁以上才能买香烟。
• He was driving at over 90 mph.他当时驾驶速度在每小时九十英里以上。
• I bought it for over two hundred dollars.我是用二百多美元把它买下的。

2) over 可以引入一段时段，通常表示事情的发生不是一下子的，而是遍及整个时段的，或者事情是遍及整个时段，到了某一时间点时累积发生了某个总计性的变化。如果这个时段是刚刚结束的，谓语动词通常就用现在完成时。

• Over the past few years our work here has gotten harder and harder.最近几年以来，我们这里的工作越来越难做了。
• Over the past 150 years, surface air and water temperatures have been measured regularly at stations around the world.近一百五十年来，地面空气和水的温度，都由分布全世界的测量站定期测量。
• Over the past 30 years, the Earth has warmed by 0.6°C or 1.08°F. Over the past 100 years, it has warmed by 0.8°C or 1.44°F.近三十年来，地球温度升高了 0.6 摄氏度，亦即 1.08 华氏度。过去一百年来，地球温度升高了 0.8 摄氏度，亦即 1.44 华氏度。
• Over the past year, employment has increased in 48 States.过去一年来，四十八个州的就业人数增加了。
• The survey shows that newspaper readers' tastes and newspapers themselves have evolved considerably over the past two decades.调查表明，过去二十年间，报纸读者的口味以及报纸本身都有了很大的演变。
• The incomes of the country's richest families have climbed substantially over the past two decades, while middle- and lower-income families have seen only modest increases.我国最富有的家庭的收入，近二十年来大为增加了，而中等和低收入的家庭，则只有少量的增长。

3) over 后面如果有表示“餐饮”之类的名词，就表示“趁一起进餐或喝东西的机会”（直接的意义可能是食品和饮料放在双方之间较低处的桌子上，说话交谈在桌面上较高处，越过食品或饮料）。

• Better check him out over drinks.你最好同他一起喝两杯，打听出来。
• Finally, over brandies in the spacious, artistically decorated living room, it was Sam who introduced the subject that was on all their minds.最后，在那宽敞的、布置得很艺术的客厅里，就趁大家喝白兰地酒的时候，由萨姆谈起了那个本来都压在大家心头的问题。
• More deals were made in this room over breakfast, lunch and cocktails than were consummated in all the offices of all the studios combined.这个大厅里吃早餐、中饭和喝鸡尾酒的时候谈成的交易，数量比所有制片厂的所有办公室里谈成的加起来还要多。

有时候 over... 单单用来描写人在进餐或用饮料。

• Two priests over glasses of beer at a café. (Sinclair Lewis, Dodsworth)两名牧师在一家咖啡馆里喝着玻璃杯里的啤酒。