a means to和a means of的区别?
我在网上看到了英文版的解释,但是我还是不是特别清楚,我先把英文版的copy上来：
When we say “X as a means of Y” suggests that X is a kind of Y.For example,I might say:
2) Dining out only seldom is a means of saving money.
3) Hand gestures alone do not always suffice as a means of communication.
In #2,there are many ways to save money,and one of those,one kind of way to save money,is to dine out infrequently.In #3,there are several forms of communication,and one of those,although not always the most efficient,are hand gestures.
Notice,in particular,the specific English idiom “by means of”,which means “with the use or help of.”
4) Having lost my paddles downstream,I rowed the canoe by means of a plank.
By contrast,the idiom “X as a means to Y” clearly delineates a difference between X and Y:X is a step on the way to Y,but X and Y are clearly different things,and one’s intent is to use X and thereby move past it toward Y.In this construct,Y is the true goal,the true object of one’s intention,and X is merely a method employed to achieve this goal.
5) She adopted a no-carb diet as a means to losing weight quickly.
6) The historic town invested in a billboard along the nearby interstate as a means to increased tourism.
In #5,the no-carbs diet is not a goal in and of itself:rather,it is simply a tool,a method,but which the person in question intends to lose weight.In #6,the billboard is not a goal in and of itself; the town’s goal is increased tourism,and the billboard is simply a method they hope will achieve this.