1、新编英语教程第三版李观仪Unit课文及译文参考Unit 1 恰到好处 Have you ever watched a clumsy man hammering a nail into a box? He hits it first to one side, then to another, perhaps knocking it over completely, so that in the end he only gets half of it into the wood. A skillful carpenter, on the other hand, will drive the nai
2、l with a few firm, deft blows, hitting it each time squarely on the head. So with language; the good craftsman will choose words that drive home his point firmly and exactly. A word that is more or less right, a loose phrase, an ambiguous expression, a vague adjective(模糊的形容词), will not satisfy a wri
3、ter who aims at clean English. He will try always to get the word that is completely right for his purpose. 你见过一个笨手笨脚的男人往箱子上钉钉子吗?只见他左敲敲,右敲敲,说不准还会将整个钉子锤翻,结果敲来敲去到头来只敲进了半截。而娴熟的木匠就不这么干。他每敲一下都会坚实巧妙地正对着钉头落下去,一钉到底。语言也是如此。一位优秀的艺术家谴词造句上力求准确而有力地表达自己的观点。差不多的词,不准确的短语,摸棱两可的表达,含糊不清的修饰,都无法使一位追求纯真英语的作家满意。他会一直思考,直至找
4、到那个能准确表达他的意思的词。 The French have an apt(贴切的) phrase for this. They speak of “le mot juste,” (the exact word) the word that is just right. Stories are told of scrupulous(一丝不苟的) writers, like Flaubert, who spent days trying to get one or two sentences exactly right. Words are many and various; they are
5、 subtle(微妙的) and delicate(细腻的) in their different shades(色调) of meaning, and it is not easy to find the ones that express precisely(正是,恰恰) what we want to say. It is not only a matter of having a good command of language and a fairly wide vocabulary; it is also necessary to think hard and to observe
6、 accurately. Choosing words is part of the process of realization, of defining our thoughts and feelings for ourselves, as well as for those who hear or read our words. Someone once remarked: “How can I know what I think till I see what I say?” this sounds stupid, but there is a great deal of truth
7、in it. 法国人有一个很贴切的短语来表达这样一个意思,即“le mot juste”, 恰到好处的词。有很多关于精益求精的作家的名人轶事,比如福楼拜常花几天的时间力求使一两个句子在表达上准确无误。在浩瀚的词海中,词与词之间有着微妙的区别,要找到能恰如其分表达我们意思的词绝非易事。这不仅仅是扎实的语言功底和相当大的词汇量的问题,还需要人们绞尽脑汁,要观察敏锐。选词是认识过程的一个步骤,也是详细描述我们的思想感情并表达出来使自己以及听众和读者深刻理解的一个环节。有人说:“在我思想未成文之前,我怎么知道自己的想法?”这听起来似乎很离谱,但它确实很有道理。 It is hard work choo
8、sing the right words, but we shall be rewarded by the satisfaction that finding them brings. The exact use of language gives us mastery(掌握) over the material we are dealing with. Perhaps you have been asked “What sort of a man is so-and-so(某某等)?” You begin: “Oh, I think hes quite a nice chap (家伙)but
9、 hes rather” and then you that him about is it what express to phrase or word a find to trying hesitate find the his limitation. When you you dont like, that constitutes(构成) and sharper.your conception of the man is clearer right phrase you feel that 我们就会感到很欣慰:寻找恰如其分的词的确是件不容易的事。一旦找到了那个词,辛劳得到了回报。准确地用
10、语言有助于我们深入了解我们描述的事物。例如,当有人问你:“某某是怎么样的人?”你回答说:“恩,我想他是个不错的家伙,但他非常”接着你犹豫了,试图找到一个词或短语来说明他到底讨厌在哪里。当你 找到一个恰当的短语的时候,你发觉自己对他的看法更清楚,也更精确了。senses. different common root but are used in very Some English words have a )(humanhumaneorigin is the 人道,仁慈的and Their Consider , for example. human same and their meaning
11、s are related, but their usage is distinct. A humane action. We cannot speak of a action is not the same thing as a humane Humane killer, Rights. - There is a weapon called a Declaration ofhuman but it is not a killer.二者的词根相一些英语词汇词根相同而意义却截然不同。例如human 和humane,action 但用法完全不同。“ human action (人类行为)”和“hu
12、mane 同,词义也相关,而是说“人权宣言”。( 人道行为)”完全是两码事。我们不能说“人道权力宣言”,杀人human killer ( 有一种屠杀工具叫“humane killer ( 麻醉屠宰机),而不是 。机器)t have to look far afield to find evidence of bad carpentry in We donletter: his dinner, finished replying language. A student, to an invitation to anxiety .am looking forward to the day with
13、 ”and “I shall be delighted to come I Anxietymeant writer suggestions of worry and fear. What the with carries it eagerness eagernessAnxiety withsome kinshipwas possibly (亲属关系). has but it will not do as a substitute(替代) in this context.语言中的坏手艺的例子在我们身边随处可见。有人邀请一名学生去吃饭,他写信给 )期予回复。请看他的信是这样结尾的:“我将很高兴赴约
14、并满怀不安(anxiety ”“Anxiety” 含有烦恼和恐惧的意味。作者想表达的很可 待着那个日子的到来。“Anxiety” 跟热切期盼有一定的关联,但在这个场合 能是一种翘首期盼的心情。 是不能等同的。which the Press in a political party Uganda wrote a letter to of The leader e:contained this sentenc 乌干达一政党领袖给新闻界的一封信中有一句这样写道:Let us all fight this selfishness, opportunism, cowardice and ignoranc
15、e now rife in Uganda and put in their place truth, manliness, consistency and singularity of mind.让我们打破这自私、投机、怯懦和无知充斥的乌干达,代之以真理,刚毅,坚定 和奇异的精神。 This stirring appeal is spoilt by a malapropism in the last phrase, the singlenesssingularity of mind, word . What the writer meant, I think, was in mind, wit
16、hout being drawn the holding steadfastly to purpose aside by less Singularityoddity peculiarity, something that worthy objects. or means singles a man out from other men 这一激动人心的呼吁被最后一个词“奇异(singularity)” 的误用破坏掉了。我猜想作者真正要表达的意思是思想的专一,即抱定一个信念永不改变,咬定青山不放松,不被次要的目的干扰。而singularity 指的是古怪,特性,是将一个人从众 多人中区分出来的那
17、种东西。 Without being a malapropism, a word may still fail to be the right word leader journalist, writing a purpose, the writers the “mot juste”. A for about Christmas, introduced a quotation from Dickens by saying:即使没有出现词语误用,这词仍可能不是符合作者意图的恰如其分的词。一名记者 在一篇有关圣诞节的社论中这样引出狄更斯的话:imprisoned in this All that
18、was ever thought or written about Christmas is Imprisonment meaning if .the , suggests force, coercion(强迫)as sentencesummed contained or were held against its will. It would be better to write Epitomizedupmight do, though it is rather a clumsy-sounding (集中体现) . we might hit on the mot juste”word. Se
19、arching a little farther for the “summed upcontained()distilled. 提取 or word . This has more force than and we might further improve the sentence by Distillation suggests essence adding this word at the beginning:在这句话 任何有关圣诞节的想法和文字已经被禁锢(imprisoned )中“Imprisonment” 暗示着强迫,威逼,这么一来似乎意思是有悖其初衷的。”epitomized
20、)summed up )”就要好些。“概括(“归结用 “包含(contained )”或 (“mot juste (恰也行,尽管听起来有点僵硬。稍微再用点心我们就能准确地找到 “Distillation ”,那就是“distilled”.它比包含和归结语气更强。倒好处的词) 因此我们可以进一步把这个句子修改为:提炼)”意味得到本质(essence)的东西。( The essence of all that was ever thought or written about Christmas is distilled in this sentence. 所有有关圣诞节的想法和文字的精华都被提炼
21、到这句话之中。 English has a wide vocabulary and it is a very flexible language. There similar that are very But many different ways of making a statement. words are in meaning have fine shades of difference, and a student needs to be alive to these differences. By using his dictionary, and above all by re
22、ading, a improve and of difference these can increase his sensitivity to shades student his ability to express his own meanings exactly.英语词汇丰富,运用灵活。一个意思有很多种表达方式。但是无论意思上如何相近的词总是存在着些许区别。作为学生就要敏感地意识到这些区别。通过查字典,尤其是通过阅读,学生对这类细微差别敏感性将逐步增强,准确表达自己意思的能力 也相应提高。there are no synonyms, and the same Professor Rai
23、leigh once stated: “perhaps is of words.”This form a repeated never statement can be in changed too absolute, but it is not easy to disprove. Even a slight alteration in the wording of a statement can subtly shift the meaning. Look at these two sentences: (1)In my childhood I loved to watch trains g
24、o by. (2)When I was a child I loved watching trains go by.罗利教授曾经说过:“同义词是不存在的。句子用词改变了,句子就不再是原来的 意思会有微妙的变化。但是很难驳倒。措辞稍有变更,意思了。”这也许过于绝对, 看下面两个句子: 童年时候我喜欢去看火车开过。(1) 当我是个小孩子的时候我喜欢看火车开过。)(2 closely more the same. But look At fist glance these two sentences are exactly In my childhood is and you will see th
25、at there are very tiny differences. Watchingwhen I was a child perhaps emphasizes a shade more abstract than . watch to example, a looking at trains little more thana very subtle . This is the would at once agree to and it would be possible argue about it, but everyone that there is a marked differe
26、nce between the next two statements:但仔细一看你会发现它们之间存在细微的差别。乍一看这两个句子的意思完全一样。 在我童年时候比当我是小孩子的时候更加抽象。而看很可能比去看更强调看火车这一动作。这个例子不是很明显,可能有待商榷。但每个人看了下面例子后一定马上同 意。两者之间存在显着区别。 (1)He died poor. circumstances.(断气、死) in indigent(贫困)(2)He expiredin indigent circumstancesdied expired for In one senseand is a synonym f
27、or poor, but when the whole statement is considered, we cannot maintain that effect and the in The change in words is a change style, same. the two are the craftsman be It is perhaps easier to a goodis on the reader quite different. increase all with words, but of us can nails with wood and than a g
28、ood craftsman our skill and sensitivity with a little effort and patience. In this way we shall not only improve our writing, but also our reading. (1) 他死的时侯很穷。 (2他断气时穷困潦倒。) 的poor circumstances 是的同义词,在某种意义上,expired 是died in indigent 同义词。但当看整个句子时,我们就不能坚持认为两句是一样的了。措辞的变化往往意味着比当好一个与谴词造句的工匠风格的改变,并给读者以不同的
29、感受。也许当好一个 要难一些,但是只要我们付出努力和耐心,我们就能提高自木头钉子打交道的木匠 还可以提高阅读能力。己的技能和敏感性。这样我们不仅可以提高我们的写作能力,English offers a fascinating variety of words for many activities and interests. Consider the wide range of meanings that can expressed by the various words we have to describe walking, for example. We can say that a
30、 (缠(行军), pacing(巡逻)(起搏), patrolling, stalkingman is marching大步), treading(踩水), tramping扰)(流浪), striding(, stepping out(走plodding, )潜行(prowling, )神气活现(strutting, )昂首阔步(prancing, )出去, (散步)洗牌, shuffling(), staggering(惊人的)(单调乏味, strolling(sidling, trudging(跋涉)(侧身而行;悄悄贴近), toddling蹒跚学步;东倒西歪meandering(参观船
31、上), 漫游(散漫), roaming(), sauntering, )rambling地走 .匍匐), loitering(闲逛)(游荡), or creeping(蜿蜒), lounging通过我们拥有的就那走路来说,英语为各种活动和嗜好提供了丰富多彩的词汇。各种各样的词语的意义范围有多么广阔。我们可以说行军,踱步,巡逻,潜进,跨过,践踏,重步走,蹦蹦跳跳地走,昂首阔步,高视阔步,徘徊,沉重缓慢地走,溜达,曳足而行,摇摇晃晃地走,侧身而行,跋涉,蹒跚学步,漫步,徜徉,漫游, 闲荡,悄悄地走。 The foreign student of English may be discouraged
32、 and dismayed(惊惶) when he learns that there are over 400,000 words in the English language, . But let him take courage. More than half of without counting slang(俚语)these words are dead. They are not in current use. Even Shakespeare used a vocabulary of only some 20,000 words. The average Englishman today probably has a vocabulary range of from 12,000 to 13,000 words. It is good to make written and a great deal can be said complete your vocabulary as as you can
copyright@ 2008-2022 冰豆网网站版权所有
经营许可证编号:鄂ICP备2022015515号-1