中国网站品牌栏目（频道）
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Reader’s question: None the less, war was possible if not probable. Could you explain “be possible if not probable”? My comments: It means this: War was still possible, even though that possibility was a very small one. Although both “possible” and “probable” are often translated into Chinese as “可能”, their meanings are different. If something is probable, it’s likely to happen. If it’s a mere possibility, then it may happen but the chances of it happening are slim. In other words, “probable” is much more probable than “possible”. To paraphrase the above example again: The chance for war was slim, but it was there (and so we still had to prepare for it). Related stories: Lower 48 states 本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。 About the author:Zhang Xin has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column. |
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