I love them.” 17 this, Aesop answered, “I’m happy to tell you, my dear friend, that you’ll find the people of Athens much the same.”
答案：(A) At
at this 是固定用語，意思是「聽到這話、見此情形」，this 指的是上一句旅人所說的整段話；By（到…時、藉由）、For（為了）、Into（進入）都無法表達「對此作出反應」。
at 你記得的是「在某一個點」——at seven o'clock、at the corner，不是時間就是位置。這一格的 this 既不是時間也不是地點，是前一句旅人講的那整段話，於是 at 伸不出手，改去拿 By 或 For。你把 this 讀成「這件事」沒有錯，漏掉的是 at 還有一格用法沒進到記憶裡：at 後面接一句話、一個消息、一個景象時，表示「一聽到、一看到就起了反應」。
先把 this 還原。前一句是旅人說阿哥斯的人親切、慷慨又熱心，所以這一格加上 this 等於「聽了這番話」。再看主要子句 Aesop answered，後面是伊索的反應。前面一段話、後面一個反應，中間要的就是把觸發點接上反應的那個介系詞，at 專門做這件事，而且是一整組：at these words（聽到這番話）、at the news（一聽到這消息）、at the sight of（一看到）、laugh at（因某事而發笑）。共同的畫面是「因為它而起了反應」，不是「在它裡面」。驗算法：把 at 換成中文的「一……就」讀一遍——一聽到這話，伊索就回答——句子站得住，方向就對了。一句記完：At this, the neighbor upstairs put down the remote control and invited the new tenant to join the evening walk.（聽了這番話，樓上的鄰居放下遙控器，邀那位新住戶一起去散步。）〔情境取材自 106 指考作文題：如何排解寂寞〕
By this 是「到這時候為止」，要配時間點（by this time、by then），這裡的 this 是一段話不是時間；For this 會讀成「為了這個目的」或「因為這一點」，伊索開口是回應不是目的；Into this 表示進入某個空間，後面要接進得去的東西，一段話進不去。三個選項的中文分開看都通，錯在 this 回指的是「話」，只有 at 收得住「聽到話而反應」這層關係。方向記一組：at + 觸發點是「因它而起」，to + 對象是「朝它而去」（reply to、respond to）。
at this（聽到這話、見此情形）、at these words（聽到這番話）、at the news of（一聽到…的消息）、at the sight of（一看到）、laugh at（嘲笑、因…而發笑）、reply to（回覆…）、much the same（大致相同）、warm-hearted（熱心的）。
Aesop, the Greek writer of fables, was sitting by the roadside one day when a traveler asked him what sort of people lived in Athens. Aesop replied, "Tell me where you come from and what sort of people live there, and I'll tell you what sort of people you'll find in Athens." 16 , the man answered, "I come from Argos, and there the people are all friendly, generous, and warm-hearted. I love them." 17 this, Aesop answered, "I'm happy to tell you, my dear friend, that you'll find the people of Athens much the same."
A few hours later, 18 traveler came down the road. He too stopped and asked Aesop the same question. 19 , Aesop made the same request. But frowning, the man answered, "I'm from Argos and there the people are unfriendly, 20 , and vicious. They're thieves and murderers, all of them." "Well, I'm afraid you'll find the people of Athens much the same," replied Aesop.