By all _________, you must try every _________ to help him.
A. mean, mean B. means, means C. means, mean D. mean, means
By all _________, you must try every _________ to help him.
A. mean, mean B. means, means C. means, mean D. mean, means
B
means是一个单复数同形的名词，并且永远带有尾-s。换句话说，在表示“方式”、“方法”时，不存在mean这一形式(mean主要用作动词，表示“意思是”；也可用作名词，表示“中间”、“中庸”)。此题正确答案为C，by all means为习语，意为“一定”、“尽一切办法”。顺便说一句，means用作主语时，其谓语的数需根据句意来确定。比较：
All possible means have been tried. 所有可能的办法都已经试过了。
Every possible means has been tried. 每种可能的办法都已经试过了。