趣谈英语中的异曲同工之妙
根据研究高考专家预测,已经有十年历史的高招英语书面表达题将要结束其控制性写作 (controlled writing) 的形式,而极有可能转向开放性写作 (open writing) .这样在今后的“书面表达”题中,就没有要点、图画或图表的提示和限制,考生可以尽情发挥自己的写作水平,只要写出合乎题目要求的文章就行。而且,根据改革后的书面表达的评分标准,考生只有使用了较多的复杂的句子结构和含义比较高深的词汇,才能拿到高分数。因此,同学们在平时练习写作和做汉译英练习时,不可过于死板或逐字翻译。因为一个意思或一句汉语在英语中可能有多种表达方法,可以达到异曲同工的目的。为了帮助同学样拓宽思路,培养灵活运用语言的能力,现就同一汉语意思有多种英语表达或翻译方法的现象举例如下:
一 . 表示“对……专心,专心于……”,可以使用下列词语: set one's mind to, be attentive to, concentrate on, stick to, be absorbed in, devote oneself ( heart and soul ) to, keep one's mind on, put one's heart into, fix one's thought/mind on, attentively 等。例如:
You won't find the work difficult, if only you set your mind to it. 如果你专心于这个工作,你就不会感到它难做了。
Please be more attentive to your studies. 请你学习更专心些。
If you don't concentrate your attention on your work, you'll be dismissed. 假如你不专心工作,你将被解雇。
You should stick to one thing at a time. 你应该一次专心做一件事。
I was absorbed in a book and didn't hear you call. 我当时正专心读一本书,没有听到你喊。
She devoted herself (heart and soul) to the study of chemistry. 她专心致志于化学研究。
When Germany was ruled by Hitler in the early 1930s, Einstein couldn't keep his mind on his work. 在 20 世纪 30 年代初期希特勒统治德国的时候,爱因斯坦无法专心工作。
All through her life, she put all her heart into her work. 在她一生中,她把全部的心思放在了工作上。
It's difficult to fix my mind/thought on what I am doing with all this noise. 这么吵闹,我很难专心做自己正在做的事情。
As a student, we must listen attentively to the teacher in class. 作为学生,我们在课堂上必须专心听讲。
二 . 表示“尽力做某事,竭尽全力做某事”,可以使用下列词语:
try one's best, do all/everything/what one can, spare no efforts to do sth, to the best of one's ability, make every effort to do, try every/all means to do 等。例如:
I'll try my best to help you. 我将尽力帮助你。
Lincoln's stepmother did all/everything/what she could to help him. 林肯的继母尽一切所能来帮助他。
He spared no efforts to make his guests feel comfortable. 他竭尽全力使客人感到舒适。
I'll carry out your instructions to the best of my ability . 我将尽力执行您的指示。
Every effort was made to strengthen unity. 大家尽力加强团结。
They tried every/all means to persuade him to give up smoking. 他们用尽一切办法来说服他戒烟。
三 . 表示“(忽然)想起”,可以使用下列词语:
think of, have an idea/ a thought, (of an idea, a thought) strike sb, come to/into one's mind, rush through one's head, enter one's mind, occur to sb 等。例如:
A terrible thought struck me ——had I locked the door? 我突然产生了一个可怕的念头——我锁门了吗?
A number of possibilities came to my mind . (= I thought of several possibilities.) 我想到有几种可能性。
Suddenly a thought came to him. 突然他有了一种想法。
I had a sudden idea . 我突发奇想。
Thoughts rushed through her head . 各种念头在她脑海中闪过。
A new idea entered his mind . 他想到了一个新办法。
An excellent idea occurred to me when I wake up this morning. 早上起床时,我突然想到一个很棒的点子。
《高中英语语法-趣谈英语中的异曲同工之妙》由留学英语组编辑整理(www.liuxue86.com)