語法精髓（1）|| 專治各種疑難句型

08-15

語法精髓（1）|| 專治各種疑難句型

來自專欄看《經濟學人》學英語

小編寄語：

無論是翻譯，寫作，還是閱讀，長難句總是最難過的坎，本欄目專為各位小可愛分析《經濟學人》中出現的長難句，死磕各種句型，分析各種修辭手法，在解決閱讀疑難雜症的同時，積累更多句型與修辭，讓作文更加出彩！

如需了解更多，關注公眾號「死磕經濟學人」，查看更多欄目——翻譯、辭彙、語法、寫作。

Between freedom and oppression stands a system to seek the consent of citizens, maintain checks and balances on governments and, when it comes to surveillance, set rules to restrain those who collect and process information.

上榜理由：倒裝句

可以看出，正常語序的主語太長（主語為：a system to seek the consent of citizens, maintain checks and balances on governments and, when it comes to surveillance, set rules to restrain those who collect and process information），為了避免頭重腳輕，將between開頭的介詞短語提前。

英語中經常有這種用法，舉幾個栗子：

例句1：In front of him is the girl whom he has crazy dreams about and whom he would give up everything for.

譯文1：讓他魂牽夢繞的那個姑娘，讓他願意付出一切的那個姑娘，現在就在他的眼前。

例句2：At the center of the storm is a tech giant that has brought enormous convenience to peoples lives by harnessing the power of the internet.

譯文2：曾經，這家科技巨頭利用強大的互聯網，為人民的生活帶來了巨大便利。現在，它卻頂在風暴中心。

參考譯文：

要在自由與壓迫之間尋找中間地帶，必須建立一個系統，尋求公民許可，制衡政府權力，監視公民的同時，也要對收集與處理信息的人員進行規則限制。

Since then the digital revolution has transformed surveillance, as it has so much else, by making it possible to collect and analyse data on an unprecedented scale.

上榜理由：難句

如何理解 as it has so much else？

背景：When East Germany collapsed in 1989, people marvelled at the store of information the Stasi security service had garnered on them, and the vast network of informants it took to compile it. 1989年，東德滅亡；此後，人們驚奇地發現東德史塔西國家安全部利用大規模情報網，收集了大量關於公民的信息。

Since then the digital revolution has transformed surveillance, as it has so much else, by making it possible to collect and analyse data on an unprecedented scale.

如果先不翻譯as it has so much else，這句話的意思就是：從那之後，電子革命使得人們能夠以前所未有的規模收集並處理信息，完全變革了情報收集的方式。

as it has so much else中，it 是指的前面的 digital revolution，前後主語一致，謂語也是一樣的形式（都是has作助動詞），由as連接，所以其實是as引導的省略句（像......一樣，正如......一樣）。所以這個插入語的廬山真面目其實是：as digital revolution has transformed so much else.

參考譯文：

從那之後，電子革命的發生，給生活的方方面面帶來翻天覆地的變化，也使人們能夠以前所未有的規模收集並處理信息，完全變革了情報收集的方式。

The special election, called after the previous mayor died suddenly of a heart attack, has been de?ned by the twin topics of housing and homelessness.

上榜理由：修辭手法

英文中修辭手法非常多，本欄目中，小編也會為大家多摘抄一些使用了修辭手法的句子。

這句話的修辭手法在哪裡呢？

沒錯，就是「housing and homelessness」，頭韻alliteration

頭韻指兩個單詞或兩個單詞以上的首個字母相同且發音相同。

舉幾個栗子：

balanced budget 平衡預算

first and foremost 首先

weal or woe 福與禍

saints and sinners 聖人與罪人

by hook or crook 用盡一切手段

參考譯文：紐約前市長突發心臟病去世，因此舉行了這輪特殊選舉。此次選舉圍繞兩個話題：住房提供與無家可歸的人群。

Natural disasters

Counting Puerto Rico』s dead

Hurricane Maria killed more people than was o?cially reported.

上榜理由：修辭手法

一般情況下，再給颱風或颶風命名時，習慣用女性的名字如Hurricane Paula, Typhoon Alice，再如文中的「Hurricane Maria」颶風瑪麗亞。

這種用法其實是「擬人」的修辭手法。比如英語中，如果指船隻ship的話，一般也會用「she」，再比如：

Mother Nature

night--the queen of sleep

the moon--Phoebe

the sun--Apollo

擬人例句：Dawn was beginning to prowl about the sky and put out the stars.

譯文：黎明悄然而至，撲滅了星辰。

Drug users have little chance of getting information on the quality of the mind-altering substances they are taking. Nowhere is that truer than at summer festivals, where customers buy from unfamiliar dealers who have little incentive to retain their loyalty.

上榜理由：隱藏的最高級

句型：Nowhere is that truer than......

例句1：People are increasingly looking for a getaway from the boredom of work. Nowhere is that truer than in China where it is not uncommon to see people working 12 hours a day.

譯文2：人們越來越想遠離乏味的工作。在中國最是如此，因為中國人的工作時間經常是一天12小時。

參考譯文：吸毒者無法得知他們吸食的毒品質量如何。在夏季節日活動上最是如此。吸毒者從不相識的販毒者手中購買毒品，販毒者也沒有必要維持客戶忠誠度（所以不會保證毒品質量）。

Yet they are still the world』s eighth-biggest cause of death. Had they fallen as fast as in the top seven performers, America would have avoided 20,000 deaths a year.

上榜理由：虛擬倒裝句

背景知識補充：這的they指「車禍」。

對過去的虛擬：從句用had done，主句用would have done句型，

例句：If you had told me that he had returned, I could have paid a visit.

譯文：如果你早告訴我他回來了，我就去看他了。

變成倒裝句：had提前

Had you told me that he had returned, I could have paid a visit.

所以原文的廬山真面目是：

If they had fallen as fast as in the top seven performers, America wuld have avoided 20,000 deaths a year.

參考譯文：但是車禍仍是世界第八大死因。如果車禍死亡率能夠像前七大死因一樣快速下降，那便意味著美國每年能有2萬人能免於死亡。