he had shown himself careless of personal safety where the life of his colleagues might be at risk

题目

he had shown himself careless of personal safety where the life of his colleagues might be at risk
为什么要用WHERE而不用其他的呢 介词形式是什么 ON WHICH吗?请说的详细一点

答案

首先,这不是一个很好的例句.这句话是一个翻译公司先搞出来的,然后被好多中国教材抄了过去.这不是实际生活中用的话.虽然它的语法是对的(除了life要用复数),但是语义不很通.where在这句话里的意思是"在那种情况下",相当于in which (不是on which).
He had shown himself careless of personal safety in which the lives of his colleagues might be at risk.
他从来不把自己的安全当回事,这一点会危及同事们的生命.
我翻译的中文比原文要通顺.实在不知道如何把原文不通顺之处翻译出来.:-(
如果用其它连词如when：
He is first of all a sportsman,tireless,and careless of personal safety when riding and big game hunting,essentially a man of action.
那么就没有暗含的因果关系,而仅是简单的时间状语了.