in the middle of
in the middle of — 慣用語
1. busy doing something at this moment, so that stopping or being interrupted would
正在做
正忙著某事、不便被打斷
busy doing something at this moment, so that stopping or being interrupted would be difficult or unwelcome.
João was in the middle of cooking dinner when the doorbell rang loudly.
João 正在做晚餐時，門鈴大聲響了起來。
in the middle of + -ing for an action already underway
Please don't call Theo now; he is in the middle of an important exam.
現在別打給 Theo，他正在進行一場重要的考試。
in the middle of + noun for an ongoing event
The plumber arrived in the middle of breakfast, so the eggs went cold.
水電工在大家吃早餐做到一半時來了，蛋都涼了。
We were in the middle of moving house, with boxes piled in every room.
我們正在搬家，每個房間都堆滿了箱子。
Soraya hates being phoned in the middle of a meeting with her boss.
Soraya 最討厭在和老闆開會開到一半時被打電話。
- busy with
plainer, less vivid about the action being interrupted
- in the process of
more formal; stresses a series of steps rather than a bad moment
- partway through
highlights an unfinished stage rather than current activity
- finished with
the action is over, not ongoing
- free to
available because nothing is in progress
文法句型
in the middle of + noun
in the middle of + doing something
用法筆記
Only sense that pairs with an -ing verb; the action is treated as already started and not yet finished, so it often signals a bad time to interrupt.
常見錯誤
2. at or near the centre of a place, group, or area, with other things spread out a
在中央
位於某地、某群體的中間
at or near the centre of a place, group, or area, with other things spread out all around.
Vivek built a small wooden cabin in the middle of a quiet pine forest.
Vivek 在一片安靜的松林中央蓋了一間小木屋。
in the middle of + place for a central location
A tall oak tree stands right in the middle of the village square.
一棵高大的橡樹就立在村莊廣場的正中央。
'right' strengthens the sense of exact centre
Élise felt nervous standing in the middle of such a noisy, crowded market.
站在這麼吵雜擁擠的市場中間，Élise 感到很緊張。
The old well sat in the middle of the field, far from any road.
那口老井位於田地中央，離任何道路都很遠。
Eitan dropped his keys somewhere in the middle of the dark parking lot.
Eitan 把鑰匙掉在昏暗停車場的某個中間位置。
- at the centre of
more precise about the exact middle point
- surrounded by
shifts focus to the things around rather than the central spot
- amid
formal, often literary
- at the edge of
the outer boundary, not the centre
- on the outskirts of
the far edge of a place
文法句型
in the middle of + place or group
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense names a physical or spatial centre and never takes an -ing verb after 'of'.