【明報專訊】The Smarties fought a battle with Eason. The following morning, Dr Panda found Bill exceptionally tired. What happened?

■English highway﹕-words and collocations

"because" and "because of"

Both ''because'' and ''because of'' are used to introduce reasons. Because is a conjuction. It is used to form a clause. Because of is a preposition and can only be followed by a noun or a noun equivalent.

e.g. She was late because there was a traffic jam.

e.g. There was a traffic jam because of an accident.

■Quiz

Complete the following sentences with "because" or "because of".

(answers on last text)

1. He is fat _______ he eats a lot.

2. The football match was cancelled _______ the rain.

3. I did not go to school yesterday _______ an illness.

4. _______ she hadn't studied hard, she failed the exam.

5. I got punished _______ you.

■Glossary

exceptionally (adv) 異常地

stay up (phr v) 熬夜

puffy (adj) 腫脹的

dark circles (n phr) 黑眼圈

《Smarties》