妈妈，你料事如神，姜敏的妈真是个姨太太呀，而且是赶出门的姨太太。(杨绛 《洗澡》）

Mama, it's as if you had a crystal ball! Jiang Min's mother really is a concubine, and not only that, but a concubine who was sent away.

不理解，请教点评

My comments:

The crystal ball is a globe made of crystal or glass which supposedly allows the fortune teller to tell a person’s past fate and future fortunes.

This the fortune teller achieves by gazing into the glass.

A European tradition. Plus, it’s a superstition, not science.

Anyways, in our example, Mama somehow knew Min’s mother was a concubine, and that she was sent away. To the amazed daughter, it was as though she had a crystal ball.

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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。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（张欣） 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.