Reader's question:  

This issue affects families and communities the length and breadth of china.

Could you explain "length and breadth of"?

My comments:

If something covers the length and breadth of an area, it covers every inch of the land.

If a football field is 100 meters in length and 60 meters in breadth, and you want to cover the whole pitch with grass, you need at least 6,000 square meters of grass beds.

That is, if you want to cover the whole length and breadth of the playing area.

And when an "issue affects families and communities the length and breadth of China," it affects all families and communities.

In other words, everyone.

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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。

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.