有一读者问：有这样两句话：
(1)But what surprised me most was to see some of the village people seated on the benches at the end of the room.
(2)She is seated in an armchair, reading newspapers.
请问如何解释这两个句子中的 seated?
过去分词 seated 似乎一向被认为具有被动的含义，不少词典学家至今仍从此说。但当今已有词典学家将 seated 看作形容词，单独列为一个词目，因为它已没有被动意义，其义与 sitting 无异。据此，上述句（1）与句（2）中的 seated皆应看作是形容词。它在句（1）中用作后置定语（修饰 the village people）， 在句（2）中用作表语。
作为形容词， seated 还可以用作前置定语，例如：
(3)The research suggests the seated passengers are no safer than standing passengers when a train crashes.
