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分享一个知识点： Reader question: Please explain “freak of nature” as in: “Yao is a freak of nature. For his height, having the agility that he has is very impressive.” My comments: It means that Yao Ming is unusual. That’s an understatement, of course. A “freak of nature” is more than a little unusual, but very unusual, abnormal, strange and sometimes to the point of frightening. Do you know the phrase “freak out”? For example: “In the dark, my hand inadvertently touched upon the head of the snake and it really freaked me out.” That’s the idea of something freakish. Referring to a person or animal, “freak of nature” describes something physically strange. “The lamb is a freak of nature”, for instance, “because it has two tails”. In the example from the top, Yao is described, favorably in his case, as “a freak of nature” because he’s large and yet is agile. Most giants can not move around as swiftly as Yao can, not to mention the skills Yao has as a basketball player. Freak of nature, by the way, is decidedly a human concept and definitely not a naturalist’s point of view. I mean, if you’re a real naturalist, you will understand that “freak of nature” is an oxymoron because there’s no such thing as a freak of nature. I mean, nature is innately freakish – random and capricious, come rain or shine. Call it a torpedo or cyclone, typhoon or tropical storm, nature is freakish, or miraculous if you like. To the human mind, the storm is freakish only because humans have formed this strange idea of normalcy. In the eyes of a naturalist, everything is unique, normal, miraculous and wonderful. | 
