英語寫作的複雜思維之表達三段論

中文書面表達方式和英文書面表達方式存在很大的差異。英文寫作能力提高的捷徑就是首先對比中英文表達方式的差異,然後學會把中文表達方式轉換爲英文表達方式。譬如

英語寫作的複雜思維之表達三段論

一、主語的幾種表達格式。

1.他們能夠保存自己歷史的唯一途徑就是,由講述人一代接一代地將史實描述爲傳奇故事口傳下來。

The only way that they can preserve their history is to recount it as sagas--legends handed down from one generation of story-tellers to another.

寫作法則提煉:中文表達“他們能夠保存自己歷史的唯一途徑”;英文表達“唯一途徑that他們能夠保存自己的歷史”,完全轉換“The only way that they can preserve their history”。

2.弗吉尼亞.伍爾夫(Virginia Woolf)關於她寫作《黛洛維夫人》(Mrs. Dalloway)意圖的具有爭議性的陳述通常被評論家們所忽略了,因爲它突出反映了她諸多文學興趣中某一方面,而這一方面則與人們對“詩性”小說家(poetic novelist)所形成的傳統見解大相徑庭。所謂的“詩性”小說家,所關注的是審視想入非非和白日夢幻的諸般狀態,並致力於追尋個體意識的通幽曲徑。

Virginia Woolf’s provocative statement about her intentions in writing Mrs. Dalloway has regularly been ignored by the critics,since it highlights an aspect of her literary interests very different from the traditional picture of the "poetic" novelist concerned with examining states of reverie and vision and with following the intricate pathways of individual consciousness.

寫作法則提煉:中文表達“弗吉尼亞.伍爾夫(Virginia Woolf)關於她寫作《黛洛維夫人》(Mrs. Dalloway)意圖的具有爭議性的陳述”;英文表達“弗吉尼亞.伍爾夫的具有爭議性的陳述關於她的目的在寫作《黛洛維夫人》”,完全轉換“Virginia Woolf’s provocative statement about her intentions in writing Mrs. Dalloway”。

3.據估計,在英國蜘蛛一年裏所消滅昆蟲的重量將會超過這個國家人口的總重量。

It has been estimated that the weight of all the insects destroyed by spiders in Britain in one year would be greater than the total weight of all the human beings in the country.

寫作法則提煉:中文表達“據估計,在英國蜘蛛一年裏所消滅昆蟲的重量將會超過這個國家人口的總重量。”;英文表達“它已經被估計that the重量of所有昆蟲毀滅的被蜘蛛在英國在一年裏將是更大比the總重量of所有人類在這個國家”,完全轉換“It has been estimated that the weight of all the insects destroyed by spiders in Britain in one year would be greater than the total weight of all the human beings in the country.”。

4.企圖消除自己和讀者之間距離或企圖用不了解自己的人的角度來研究自己塑造的形象,很可能會是作家自己毀滅,因爲他已經開始爲取悅他人而寫作了。

This temptation to cover the distance between himself and the reader, to study his image in the sight of those who do not know him, can be his undoing: he has begun to write to please.

寫作法則提煉:中文表達“企圖消除自己和讀者之間距離或企圖用不了解自己的人的角度來研究自己塑造的形象”;英文表達“這種企圖去消失距離之間自己和讀者,去研究他自己塑造的形象以這種角度of those who不瞭解他自己”,完全轉換“This temptation to cover the distance between himself and the reader, to study his image in the sight of those who do not know him,”。

二、謂語的幾種表達方式。

1.此外,蜘蛛不象一些其他食蟲動物,它們絕不會對我們或我們的財物造成絲毫的危害。

Moreover, unlike some of the other insect eaters, spiders never do the least harm to us or our belongings.

寫作法則提煉:中文表達“蜘蛛不象一些其他食蟲動物,它們絕不會對我們或我們的財物造成絲毫的危害。”;英文表達“不象一些of the其他食蟲動物,蜘蛛絕對不做最小的傷害對我們或我們的財物”,完全轉換“unlike some of the other insect eaters, spiders never do the least harm to us or our belongings.”。

2.美國的經濟體制是圍繞着一個以私有企業爲主和以市場爲導向的經濟進行組織的,在這種經濟中,消費者很大程度上通過在市場上花錢購買那些他們最想要的商品和服務來決定什麼應該被製造。

The American economic system is organized around a basically private-enterprise, market-oriented economy in which consumers largely determine what shall be produced by spending their money in the marketplace for those goods and services that they want most.

寫作法則提煉:中文表達“美國的經濟體制是圍繞着一個以私有企業爲主和以市場爲導向的經濟進行組織的,”;英文表達“美國的經濟體制被組織圍繞一個主要地私營的企業,市場爲導向的`經濟”,完全轉換“The American economic system is organized around a basically private-enterprise, market-oriented economy”。

3.然而,在起初完全不是這麼一會事。

In the pioneering days, however, this was not the case at all.

寫作法則提煉:中文表達“然而,在起初完全不是這麼一會事。”;英文表達“在起初,然而,this was不是這事完全”,完全轉換“In the pioneering days, however, this was not the case at all.”。

4.他宣稱他反對把這種非同尋常的畜牧繁殖技術用於克隆人類,並下令聯邦政府基金不準被用於做此類試驗--儘管還沒有人建議這麼做--,而且他還邀請了一個由普林斯頓大學校長哈羅得.夏皮羅所主持的獨立專家小組在90天內向白宮彙報關於制定有關克隆人的國家政策的建議。

Declaring that he was opposed to using this unusual animal husbandry technique to clone humans, he ordered that federal funds not be used for such an experiment-although no one had proposed to do so--and asked an independent panel of experts chaired by Princeton President Harold Shapiro to report back to the White House in 90 days with recommendations for a national policy on

human cloning.

寫作法則提煉:中文表達“他宣稱……,並下令……,而且他還邀請……”;英文表達“宣稱that……,他下令that……and邀請……”,完全轉換“Declaring that …… , he ordered that …… and asked ……”。

三、賓語的幾種表達方式。

1.我們從書籍中可讀到,5000年前的近東地區的人們最早學會了寫字。

We can read of things that happened 5,000 years ago in the Near East, where people first learned to write.

寫作法則提煉:中文表達“我們從書籍中可讀到,5000年前的近東地區的人們最早學會了寫字。”;英文表達“我們能夠讀到things that happened5000年前在近東,where人們最早”,完全轉換“We can read of things that happened 5,000 years ago in the Near East, where people first learned to write.”。

2.現在每個人都擁有比任何時代人都要多的可利用信息,而找到與他/她的特定問題相關的那一點信息的工作不僅複雜、耗時,有時甚至比登山還難。

The individual now has more information available than any generation, and the task of finding that one piece of information relevant to his or her specific problem is complicated, time--consuming, and sometimes even overwhelming.

寫作法則提煉:中文表達“現在每個人都擁有比任何時代人都要多的可利用信息”;英文表達“個體現在有更多信息可利用的比任何一代人”,完全轉換“The individual now has more information available than any generation”。

3.現代的登山運動員們試圖通過一條會給他們帶來運動樂趣的路線去攀登山峯,並且這條路線愈艱險愈帶勁兒。

Modern alpinists try to climb mountains by a route which will give them good sport, and the more difficult it is, the more highly it is regarded.

寫作法則提煉:中文表達“現代的登山運動員們試圖通過一條會給他們帶來運動樂趣的路線去攀登山峯,並且這條路線愈艱險愈帶勁兒。”;英文表達“現代的登山運動員試圖去登山通過一條路線which將給他們好的運動,並且the更多的困難的it是,the更多的興奮地it被認爲”,完全轉換“Modern alpinists try to climb mountains by a route which will give them good sport, and the more difficult it is, the more highly it is regarded.”。

4.酸是一種化合物,它在溶於水時具有強烈的氣味,它對金屬具有腐蝕的作用,並且它具有把某些藍色植物染料變紅的能力。

Acids are chemical compounds that, in water solution, have a sharp taste, a corrosive action on metals, and the ability to turn certain blue vegetable dyes red.

寫作法則提煉:中文表達“酸是一種化合物,它在溶於水時具有一種強烈的氣味,它對金屬具有一種腐蝕的作用,並且它具有把某些藍色植物染料變紅的能力。”;英文表達“酸是化合物that,進入水溶解作用,具有一種強烈的味道,一種腐蝕的作用對於金屬,並且這種能力去轉變某些藍色植物染料紅色的”,完全轉換“cids are chemical compounds that, in water solution, have a sharp taste, a corrosive action on metals, and the ability to turn certain blue vegetable dyes red.”。