先看下中英文对照,中文是原文,我们做的是中译英,这里的译文是英文原文,地道的英文表达:
好几个月来,苹果(Apple)观察家对这样一个问题感到困惑:该公司将如何说服消费者相信,取消iPhone的耳机插孔是功能升级,而不是一个恼人的问题。许多评论人士预计,移除一项每日忠实服务于亿万人的技术(无论它怎么陈旧)将招致反弹。
For months, Apple watchers have been puzzling over how the company would sell consumers on the idea that scrapping the iPhone’s headphone jack was a benefit, not anuisance. Many pundits predicted a backlash against removing a technology that, however old, remained in faithful daily service to hundreds of millions of people.
分析+笔记
1、好几个月来,苹果(Apple)观察家对这样一个问题感到困惑:该公司将如何说服消费者相信
“对这样一个问题感到困惑”,我们试着写一下啊:
这里的“对……感到困惑”你要用哪个词组?beperplexed by?be confused about?还是译文的puzzle over?有人用了这个词组:rack their brains on sth,可以记一下
我们就选be confused about吧:
be confused about the question/problem(对一个问题感到困惑)
什么样的问题呢?我们来修饰一下,来,大家一起来,把that拿出来。
be confused about the question/problem that
冒号后面是问题,什么人将如何做某事。
如何做某事,不就是how to?
比如说:我不知道如何处理这件事。I don’t know how to handle this.
这句话完整的就是:
be confused about the question/problem that how to convince……
这样写,对吗?
废话,我都问了,那还能是对的?你是智障嘛……
而且,不止一个问题,两个地方都错了。
问题1:
that how,在这里的搭配是有问题的。不是that how连用就不对,我们看一下语料库搜索结果:
That how的显示还是蛮多的:
1)Was that how you were feeling?
2)The only thing I was concerned about was that how would my girls react when they were put in the same position
3)You will come to find that how you choose to spend those calories will make all the difference.
4)So very early there was this notion that how you feel doesn't matter.
不用管句子什么意思,因为我也不知道。
以上句子来自语料库例句,肯定都是对的,问题在于,the question/problem that how to convince,就不对。
我是解释
be confused about the question/problem that how to convince……
这句话的that是关系代词,所谓关系代词,首先它是关系词,然后它是代词,代词就可以指代前面它修饰的成分——“the question”。that要引出一个定语从句,“什么样的问题”,没问题吧。
记住了,这句话很重要:
关系代词在引导定语从句时,只能(在从句中)作主语、宾语、表语。
否则,关系代词前必须要有介词。
好吧,知道有人没看懂。
比如:
①He is the man who loves me.这句话好恶俗……相亲相爱啊。
这里面的who loves me是从句,关系词who就是作主语,谓语loves,宾语me。
②He is the man whom I love.这句话更俗……到这里故事还不错。
这里面的whom I love是从句,关系词whom就是作宾语,主语I,谓语love。
③He doesn’t seem to be the man (that) he was two years ago.他变了……要相爱相杀了。
这里面的(that) he was two years ago,打括号是因为可以省略。that作表语,能看出来吧,补充完整就是:he was the man。而that指代的就是the man,was后面的不是表语是啥……
这里再插一句,that还可以在定从中作补语,比如:
I’m not the fool (that) you thought me.我已不再是你眼中的傻瓜。我变得无情又冷酷
故事还没完呢,“否则,关系代词前必须要有介词。”这句话还没解释。
比如:
This is the house which I live.
这句话就是错的,我们分析一下:
“which I live”,which指代the house,引导定从,那么它只能作主语、宾语、表语,前面刚说的。
还原就是I live which,I是主语,谓语live,which宾语?不不不,live是不及物动词,这很重要,不及物动词后面怎么可能直接加宾语呢?
所以这句话不对啊,因为which不能作宾语,更别说表语了,都没有be动词啊。不符合“关系代词在引导定语从句时,只能(在从句中)作主语、宾语、表语。”
其实这句话很简单,大部分人应该都知道,这句话这样就是对的:
This is the house in which I live.
那么就符合这句话了:“否则,关系代词前必须要有介词。”
我们不是经常听说“介宾短语”嘛,放在这里就是,补了一个介词,关系代词就能充当宾语的成分了,这样才符合定从的要求。
关于This is the house in which I live. 这句话,再稍微拓展一下:
把介词放到后面去也可以,这样:
This is the house which I live in.
再把关系词去掉也可以,这样:
This is the house I live in.
而且,最后一句才是比较常用的表达方式。
解释完了,再回到我们的那句话:
be confused about the question/problem that how to convince……
That引导定从,它能做什么成分?主语?宾语?表语?你发现它什么都做不了,因为后面的how to convince…是一个完整的句子,不缺任何成分。
再说怎么下面这些句子就是对的?
一开始我以为是that how连用没有这样的,后来发现自己想多了…要有不慎求解的精神才行啊……
1)Was that how you were feeling?
这句话还原是:
That was how you were feeling.
That就是主语,不存在从句的问题。
2)The only thing I was concerned about was that how would my girls react when they were put in the same position
That引导的是表语从句,跟定从无关。
3)You will come to find that how you choose to spend those calories will make all the difference.
That引导的是宾语从句,还是跟定从无关。
我说的是定从!定从!定从!
4)So very early there was this notion that how you feel doesn't matter.
That引导的是定从,没错,它作什么成分?宾语啊,主语you,谓语feel,(feel可以作完全及物动词),宾语就是that指代的this notion。
特地挑了几个具有代表性的例句,希望各位能理解我上面说的一切,不理解的,再看一次,还是不懂的,再看3次。
我再重复一下:
关系代词在引导定语从句时,只能(在从句中)作主语、宾语、表语。
否则,关系代词前必须要有介词。
所以,一些基本的成分分析还是要会的。
所以,你应该知道“be confused about the question/problem that how to convince……”这句话怎么错了吧,四不像啊,不伦不类的。
问题2:
苹果(Apple)观察家对这样一个问题感到困惑:该公司将如何说服消费者相信
这里是谁去说服?公司,很明确。
而如果这样写呢?
Apple watchers were confused about the question/problem that how to convince……
这里的how to convince就变成了是Apple watchers,这是不对的,注意一下。我们在翻译的时候一定记得基本的概念不能弄错,不能混,比如偷换主语这种。
2、许多评论人士预计,移除一项每日忠实服务于亿万人的技术(无论它怎么陈旧)将招致反弹
这句话倒不是特别难,正常组句没有太大问题,只是老样子,看完译文我们又发现自己还有很多不足,先看译文:
Many pundits predicted a backlash against removing a technology that, however old, remained in faithful daily service to hundreds of millions of people.
我最不怕重复说废话了,①语序问题;②词性问题;
如果看过之前笔记的同学,应该知道这个问题我说了N+1次了,但是吧,遇到实例,我们不可能一下子就把以前的思维模式抹掉,慢慢来。
①语序
中文的重点在后面,英文相反,所以,翻译的时候可以考虑倒着来,就是这个意思。英译中翻译的时候,老师不是经常说“从后往前翻”。
看这里的反弹,backlash,在中文里是最后的内容,在英文里面是最前面的内容。
看一下当时写的比较好的译友,基本句式差不多:
1,Many commentators predict the removal of a technology that faithfully serves billions of people every day (no matter how old-fashioned it is) will end up with users’repulsion.
2,Many critics predicted that removing such a technology that has been serving hundreds of millions of people every day (no matter how old it is) may lead to a strong reaction against it.
3,Many a commentator calculates that removing a technology rendering faithful service daily to people in their hundreds of millions will provoke considerable resistance, no matter how antiquated the technique seems.
这样写的特点是什么?
“一项每日忠实服务于亿万人的技术,(无论它怎么陈旧)”这里对技术的修饰特别长,按照中文顺序写,就会觉得句子重心要读很久才能感知到。而英语就是开门见山的,可以对比一下和译文两种句式,读起来的赶脚,听我说没用啊。
②词性
“招致反弹”,大部分人都会写动词哦, end up with, lead to,provoke
译文是against,其实第二个译友写的句子也提到了against呢,还是非常棒的。
介词可以表达动词的含义,这句话,是不是又听烂了?
但是自己真正使用自如还是非常困难,别慌,这是一个漫长的过程,有我陪你一起慢慢学。
单词
puzzling over
phrasal verb
to think for a long time about something because you cannot understand or solve it
←仔细琢磨,苦思冥想::
Theclass puzzled over a poem by Shakespeare.
→全班同学苦苦思考想理解莎士比亚的一首诗。
sell on
sell还可以以人为直接宾语,表示“说服”,后面用on表示说服的内容
(可以是第二类动词,指“推销”过程,但也可以是第四类动词,指“达到说服目的”)。
【例如】to sell one's parents on the scheme说服自己父母支持这个计划/ to sell the boss onthis idea说服上级支持这个主张。
被动语气to be sold on则是“已经被说服支持某事”,属于第四类动词(或是表示状态的第一类动词)。
【例如】Not Everyone Sold on Chip Factory.(报纸标题)并非人人都赞同兴建芯片工厂。
scrapping
verb(-pp-)
1.[VN] [often passive]to cancel or get rid of sth that is no longer practical or useful
废弃;取消;抛弃;报废:
They had been forced to scrap plans for a new school building.
他们已被迫撤销了建筑新校舍的计划。
The oldest of the aircraft were scrapped.
最老的飞机报废了。
Nuisance
noun1.[C usually singular]a person, thing, or situation that annoys you or causes problems讨厌(麻烦)的人(事物,情况):
The dogs next door are a real nuisance.
隔壁的那几只狗实在是讨厌。
What a nuisance![BrE]:
What a nuisance! I've forgotten my ticket.
真麻烦!我忘了带票。
I hate to be a nuisance … / Sorry to be a nuisance …
I hate to be a nuisance, but could you move your car to the other side of the street?
我不想给你添麻烦,不过你能不能把你的车挪到路那边去?
Stop making a nuisance of yourself(=annoying other people with your behaviour) !
别那样惹人讨厌!
It's a nuisancehaving to get up that early on a Sunday morning.
星期天早上还要那么早起床,真烦人。
Pundits
noun countable
»a person who knows a lot about a particular subject and is therefore often asked to give an opinion about it
(某方面的)专家,权威
a political/foreign-policy/sports pundit
政治/外交政策/体育权威
Backlash
Noun[C]
1.a strong negative reaction by a number of people against recent events, especially against political or social developments
〔尤指对政治或社会事件的〕强烈反应,反对:
[+against]
The 1970s saw the first backlash against the women's movement.
20 世纪 70 年代妇女运动首次遭遇强烈的抵制。
[+from]
The management fear a backlash from fans over the team's poor performances.
管理层担心球迷会对球队的拙劣表现作出强烈反应。
最后看一下中英对照:
好几个月来,苹果(Apple)观察家对这样一个问题感到困惑:该公司将如何说服消费者相信,取消iPhone的耳机插孔是功能升级,而不是一个恼人的问题。许多评论人士预计,移除一项每日忠实服务于亿万人的技术(无论它怎么陈旧)将招致反弹。
For months, Apple watchers have been puzzling over how the company would sell consumers on the idea that scrapping the iPhone’s headphone jack was a benefit, not anuisance. Many pundits predicted a backlash against removing a technology that, however old, remained in faithful daily service to hundreds of millions of people.
老实说,在写之前,我还没有想过要怎么解释这个问题,然后写着写着就把问题解决了,就像我之前说的,书写是为了更好的思考。