Vera:Have you seen Henry lately?
薇拉:最近有沒有見到亨利？
Sally:Yes, I saw him only yesterday driving around in a brand-new, top-of-
the range Mercedes.
莎莉:有，昨天才見到他開著一輛最高級的全新賓士汽車。
Vera:My sister's in real estate and she told me that he had also just bought a luxury penthouse apartment
薇拉:我那從事房地產生意的妹妹，跟我說，亨利最近還買了一間豪華頂層公寓。
Sally:Where does he get the money from for all that?
莎莉:他哪來這麼多錢？
Vera:Haven't you heard? He's made an absolute mint from property deals.
薇拉:你沒聽說嗎？他買賣房地產，賺了大錢。
Sally:He really is a shrewd operator.
莎莉:他真懂得投機。
薇拉談到亨利：He's made an absolute mint。Mint有兩個常見意思，一是「薄荷」，一是「鑄幣廠」。The Royal Mint is issuing a new coin next month即「英國皇家鑄幣廠下個月將發行一款新硬幣」。《史記．佞幸傳》說漢文帝「賜鄧通蜀嚴道銅山，得自鑄錢，鄧氏錢布天下，其富如此」；to make a mint（得到鑄幣廠）就是像鄧通那樣，賺很多錢，例如：He made a mint in the computer industry （他從事電腦工業，賺了很多錢）。把「鑄幣廠」的意思引申，a mint 也可以指「鉅額金錢」或「大量某種事物」，例如：(1) The restoration of the old house cost me a mint（修復那棟舊房子，花了我很多錢）。(2) The old man has a mint of worries （那老人憂心重重）。莎莉說，看見亨利駕新賓士汽車：I saw him driving around in a brand-new Mercedes. Brand-new為甚麼解作「全新」呢？按brand除了指「商標」，還可指「烙印」或「烙鐵」，例如：Brands are often put on cattle to show ownership（牛身上往往打了烙印，以顯示所有權）。Brand-new取「烙印」的意思：剛從鐵匠煉爐中取出，自然嶄新得很。In mint condition/state也有「嶄新」的意思：取「新鑄貨幣」含義，例如：(1) I saw him driving around in a Mercedes in mint condition。(2) The house is as good as brand-new（那棟房子幾乎是全新的）。As good as不是「一樣好」，而是「幾乎等於」的意思。
