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Analyze and comment on the following.Study the following sentence, paying special attention to the words in Italics. If you find anything wrong, please explain why and then improve the sentence. （100 words）The police were ordered to stop drinking about midnight.
【正确答案】：

A）IT IS AMBIGUOUS. AMBIGUITY IS CAUSED BY THE STRUCTURE.  STOP DRINKING CAN BE UNDERSTOOD AS POLICE STOP DRINKING BY THEMSELVES; OR UNDERSTOOD AS POLICE STOP PEOPLE BY DRINKING. 

B）IMPROVEMENT:

（1）THE POLICE WERE ORDERED TO STOP PEOPLE DRINKING ABOUT MIDNIGHT.

（2）THE POLICE WERE ORDERED TO STOP DRINKING BY THEMSELVES ABOUT MIDNIGHT.

【题目解析】：a）句意不明确。歧义是由结构引起的。戒酒（stop drinking）可以理解为警察自己戒酒；也可以理解为警察通过饮酒来阻止人们。b）改进的句子：（1）警方被命令在午夜左右停止饮酒。（2）警方被命令在午夜左右自行停止饮酒。