英文be nearer the mark是什么意思？

来源：百度知道 编辑：UC知道 时间：2024/06/28 12:24:16
是看的一本小说里的。
全句是：“At ninety-nine they began to call him well-preserved;but unchanged would have been nearer the mark.”
我英文不好，看不太懂。哪位高手为我解释一下！
上下文：
Time wore on, but it seemed to have little effect on Mr.Baggins. At ninety he was much the same as at fifty. At ninety-nine they began to call him well-preserved; but unchanged would have been nearer the mark. There were some that shook their heads and thought this was too much of a good thing; it seemed unfair that anyone should possess perpetual youth as well as inexhaustible wealth.
是《指环王1》里面第一章第二段。
别的我都看得懂，就是其中but unchanged would have been nearer the mark这句我弄不懂，高手帮帮忙吧！

尽管时间不断流逝，但对于巴金斯先生好像没有什么影响。他九十岁的时候与五十岁时并无二致。九十九岁的时候，人们说他是“养生有术”，但恐怕“长生不老”才是比较精确的说法。

更近标记
在九十九他们开始告诉他保存良好，但是未改变地是更近的标记

在99他们开始称他为保存完好，但已接近马克.
- - 哪儿的啊..

但未改变地将是更近的标记”。