https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/31HsL-YjFQMJIK0Z73SlPA
The Wind Wings
Goldmund - Sometimes
这是“读外刊，学英文句型”栏目的第七期，关于该栏目第一期的说明可以见如何通过阅读外刊积累英文写作句型？
1. 说比做简单
在解决类方案的写作里面我们有时候需要表达一种这样的情况：批评……很容易，但是要真正做点什么很难。用英文应该怎么说呢？可以参考下面的这一句式：
Obstacles on the internet, just like barriers to trade, are easy to decry but hard to prevent.
这句话的意思是“设立在互联网上的障碍就像贸易壁垒一样，要抨击它很容易，但要防止它很难”。其中decry的意思是“谴责，抨击”（to say publicly that you do not approve of someone or something）它的意思要比criticize更重。
从这里我们可以提取出一个句式：something is easy to decry but hard to prevent，它可以用于说明某些不好的现象（比如环境污染、食品安全、交通堵塞等）很容易批评，但很难阻止。举个例子：
Traffic congestion in big cities is easy to decry but hard to prevent. As household income rises, a growing number of city dwellers are willing and able to afford private cars, which will cause more traffic problems in the foreseeable future.
2.后视镜看历史
下面的句子出自The Economist关于金融的一篇文章：
Any adjustments to pension liabilities should be justified by beliefs about the future and not by looking in the rearview mirror to see what gilt yields used to be.
上面这句话的大意是“任何对养老金负债的调整都应该基于对未来的信念，而不是基于历史上债券收益率的情况”。其中有一个很有意思的表达：look in the rearview mirror to do something，rearview mirror是指汽车的后视镜，开车时看后视镜可以清楚后方的情况，这里则采用了它的引申义：通过借鉴过去的情况来决定做某事。
该句型可以用在一些涉及今昔对比的情形中，例如：
Today’s labor market is much more complicated than in the past, as technological advances are destroying and creating jobs at an unprecedented rate. In light of this, it would be imprudent to look in the rearview mirror to see what a so-called stable job used to be.
3.某观点站不住脚
要表达“某观点/陈述/论证站不住脚”，最常见的说法是something is groundless/baseless，除此之外，还可以使用下面这一说法：
Most important, there is full confidence in the central bank and the rupee. Reserves are healthy and the Bank of Mauritius is clean. Yet the worries of Mauritian businessmen are not entirely unfounded. The island's success has been partly built on protected trade deals in textiles and sugar with America and Europe.
其中the worries of Mauritian businessmen are not entirely unfounded意思是“毛里求斯商人的担忧并非完全没有根据”，unfounded含义是“没有事实根据的”（not supported with facts or evidence）。
由此我们可以提取出一个句型：something is entirely unfounded，它可以用来说明观点、消息、论证等没有根据，站不住脚。举个例子，有这样一道雅思作文题：
Individuals can do nothing to protect the environment; only governments and large companies can make a difference. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
如果你想完全反对题目中的观点，就可以说：
The claim that only governments and large companies can protect the environment is entirely unfounded. Individuals also play an important role in environmental protection.
4.一个转折句型
下面这一句型出自《卫报》一篇关于儿童虐待的文章：
The council's defence has been that no one could have protected against deceitful carers and parents. But closer scrutiny of the case reveals that Baby P's bruising stopped when he was removed for a short while from his abusers. It would not have been overly cautious to have put two and two together.
第二句的大意是“但是经过更细致的检查后发现婴儿P身上的淤青在他被带离虐童犯不久后就不再增加了”，其中close scrutiny of…reveals that…是一个常见的论证句型，它可以用来说明接下来要揭示的情况与之前人们认为的不同，借此引出新的观点。
还是以一道雅思作文题目作为例子：
Foreign tourists should be charged higher fees than local people to visit cultural places and historical sites. Do you agree or disagree with this statement.
如果你持反对观点，可以这样说：
Some people argue that foreign tourists to cultural places and historical sites should be charged more than locals, as local people already pay to these sites through the tax system. However, close scrutiny of this claim reveals that such an approach is at best short-sighted, at worst counterproductive. Foreign tourists contribute to the economy of the host country not only by paying entrance fees to cultural and historical sites, but also by spending on a wide range of goods and services, including transportation, food and accommodation. The money they spend could be a boon to local businesses, the prosperity of which helps to create jobs for local residents.
总结：
这期一共介绍了以下几个表达：
(1) something is easy to decry but hard to prevent
(2) look in the rearview mirror to do something
(3) something is entirely unfounded
(4) close scrutiny of…reveals that…
感兴趣的同学可以对这些短语句型做造句练习，以进一步加深印象。
推荐：为什么你需要进行海量的英文阅读？
上篇：有哪些文笔优美的英语原版书？