有读者问： 在某年全国硕士研究生入学英语考试中，有一题如下：
(1)In what_________to a last minute stay of execution, a council announced that emergency funding would keep alive two aging satellites.
A. applies B. accounts
C. attaches D. amounts
请问如何分析这里的what?
首先应该指出这里应选D， amounts to（等于）。what amounts to a last minute stay of execution的意思是“事情已等于到了最后即将延期执行的时刻”。what是通常所谓的连接代词（我们则宁愿将它唤作缩合连接代词），等于that which。再如：
(2)What's done cannot be undone.覆水难收。
(3)There is truth in what you said.
(4)That's what I want do say.
(5)I eat what I like.
(6)What I want is water.
这种what还可以用作定语，如：
(7)I gave him what help I could.（what help I could = the help which I could give）
(8)Lend me what books you can. （what books you can = the books which you can lend me）
等于that （those)which的what往往相当于汉语中的“所”，如上述许多例句皆可用“所”来译。但有时则须另想译法，如上述例（1）与例（2）。
