It's as though he's explaining, giving an answer to a question that somebody asked, "why didn't the Spartans do better in that battle?"

修昔底德的解释,回答了许多人的疑问,"斯巴达人为什么不将剩勇追穷寇呢"

耶鲁公开课 - 古希腊历史简介课程节选

He didn't even give me an answer.

他甚至都没有回答我。

I'd better 实战 - SpeakingMax英语口语达人

My recollection, Congressman, is that in the grand jury, he gave basically the same answer, that it was a hypothetical question, and that he really didn't know what he would have done had the answer been different.

CNN: Transcripts from video deposition of Lewinsky, Jordan, and Blumenthal

When he wanted to find out if Aristotle was wrong to say that a small body would fall at a different speed from a large body, he didn't look the answer up in an old book about falling objects.

BBC: A Point of View: Science, magic, and madness

Mr Scott argued that evidence showed that detectives always suspected Gilroy of committing a crime - Mr Scott said that they should have told him he was a suspect and cautioned him that he didn't have to answer their questions.

BBC: David Gilroy fails in Supreme court appeal bid