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经济学人赏析

经济学人赏析

作者: 活性炭GBS | 来源:发表于2018-09-15 23:27 被阅读0次

    《经济学人》中有这样一句话:

    Yet the idea of sector-by-sector membership is problematic. The EU has made plain its dislike of cherry-picking.

    其中,...has made plain its dislike of... 就是一个值得模仿的表达,它的含义是“……已经表明不喜欢……”。可以造几个句子:

    a) Many CEOs in top American companies made plain their dislike of Donald Trump before the presidential election, and that has put them in a dilemma as Trump makes his way to the White House.

    b) In preserving natural resources, most ecologists have made plain their dislike of disposable products.

    c) China has made plain its dislike of a trade war with America, for it will damage the interests of both countries.

    通过这样的形式进行思维发散,加深对所学表达的理解和记忆。在接下来的几个例子里面我也会演示如何造句:

    1.dangling

    下面的句子出自经济学人关于日本和俄罗斯领导人会谈的报道:Two men in a tub

    Among the possible enticements for Russia is the revival of a mothballed proposal to build a $5.3bn gas pipeline between Russia’s Sakhalin Island and Tokyo. Japan is also dangling billions in soft loans for the development of Russia’s impoverished Far East, as well as a boost to private investment.

    日本与俄罗斯(苏联)在二战后出现了北方四岛争端(目前北方四岛被俄罗斯占领)。最近日本首相安倍晋三邀请普京访问日本,其中一个重要议题就是解决领土争端问题。作为交换,日本可能会提供给俄罗斯经济利益,包括天然气管道合约以及贷款等。作者在写日本给俄罗斯提供好处时用了一个词:dangle.

    这个词用得很形象,放在句子中给人的感觉是日本像财大气粗的土豪,手里挥舞着巨额钞票引诱俄罗斯接受。dangling 一词也与前面的 enticements 形成呼应。

    在实际写作中,我们可以使用 dangle 来表达“(为了吸引某人而)提供(优厚条件)”的含义,例如:

    a) Many parents have tried dangling all sorts of offers such as pocket money, toys and opportunities to go to amusement parks in front of their children in an attempt to get them study harder.

    b) Plenty of IT startups in China are dangling a handsome pay package before prospective employees to lure the best talent.

    2.railway

    下面的段落节选来自文章 Changing track: Britain’s wheezing railways are set for a shake-up, 文章的背景是应该英国政府希望给予铁路公司更多自主权,能让他们帮忙维护和升级英国的铁路系统。

    Since privatisation, the distance travelled by passengers has doubled, but the amount of track has remained the same (see chart). That means that builders updating Victorian tracks and stations to 21st-century standards have to do so alongside crowds of passengers. Doing essential work while the network continues in full operation is like performing “open heart surgery on a marathon runner”, as one rail minister put it.

    英国的铁路系统在私营化之后,旅客流量大增,但旧有的铁路系统逐渐力不从心。在升级维多利亚时代铁路系统的同时还要保证旅客能正常出行,这无疑是一件很困难的事情,对此文中出现了一个很精妙的比喻:open heart surgery on a marathon runner, 在跑马拉松的人身上同时进行心脏手术——一项几乎不可能完成的任务。由此让人直观感受到升级铁路系统的难度之大。

    3.rabbit

    下面的段落选自文章 Rent extraction: The end of the £75 pet-licence, 文章的背景是英国政府在酝酿法案禁止房屋中介向租客收取费用。

    Philip Hammond pulled no rabbits from his fiscal hat when he delivered his Autumn Statement on November 23rd. But he did offer up a carrot, when he recycled an old Labour proposal to ban the fees that property-letting agents can charge tenants.

    菲利普·哈蒙德在11月23日的秋季预算报告中没有提出什么令人惊喜的方案,但他重提了一项旨在禁止房屋租赁中介向租客收取费用的旧工党议案,这的确是一个诱惑。

    文章开头的两个句子写得很有意思,短短一个句子里面用了两处习语,一处是 pulled no rabbits from his fiscal hat, 另一处是 carrot.

    pulled no rabbits from his fiscal hat 来自习语 pull a rabbit out of a hat, 就像魔术师从帽子中变出小白兔一样,它的含义是“突然提出解决方法;突施妙计”。

    carrot 则来自短语 carrot and stick, 即我们常说的“胡萝卜加大棒(把承诺的奖赏与威胁性的惩罚结合在一起的软硬兼施的做法)”,carrot 在语境中的含义是“诱惑,奖励”。

    4.sniff

    下面的段落来自文章 Out of the doghouse, 文章介绍了目前随着共享经济而兴起的为宠物狗提供犬舍的共享服务。文中很多地方用词很有特色,例如:

    Now a pack of startups has sniffed a fresh opportunity. Much as Airbnb has offered travellers an alternative to staying in a hotel, two firms, Rover and DogVacay, want to give pet owners an alternative to kennels when away from home.

    创业公司嗅到了为外出的宠物狗提供犬舍服务的商机,这里不是写 find/get/seize/grasp a fresh opportunity, 而是使用了一个与文章主题非常贴切的词 sniff(如同宠物狗一般嗅到了机会), 这样用词无疑更加具有感染力。

    在文末也可以找到另外一个例子:

    Despite having anticipated the trend early, such firms may never achieve the same scale as an Airbnb. But then no one ever said it was easy to be top dog.

    文末用 top dog 来指代这些创业公司中的佼佼者,这也与文章主题形成呼应。

    5.problem-solving

    在写问题解决类话题时我们经常会碰到这样的表达:……导致了……问题,对于这类情形,可以参考下面两个句式:

    Two long-standing structural problems are largely to blame: understaffing and overcrowding.

    句式基本结构为:...are largely to blame...,例如在关于健康的话题里面,我们可以写:

    As to rising obesity rate, two factors are to blame: too much exposure to fast food and sedentary lifestyles. The proliferation of fast-food chains offers a great variety of quick meals that are high in salt and calories, and having such foods contributes to people's bulging waistline. Desk-bound work also does its bit. As office workers spend long hours sitting in front of computer screens and are constantly stressed by deadlines and work challenges, they seldom have time for physical exercise, and this could lead to the accumulation of fatty substances in blood vessels.

    这里还有另外一个句型:

    The obvious culprit for rising prices is the 15% drop in sterling since June. Britain imports nearly all of its clothes, and month-on-month inflation in clothing now exceeds 5%.

    句式的基本结构是:The obvious culprit for...is...  其中 culprit 是一个很好用的词,它的本义是“过失者,责任人”,可以引申为“问题的起因”。举个例子,关于犯罪与法律的话题可以说:

    The obvious culprit for rising crime rate in large cities is economic recession. As economic climate deteriorates, many companies have to scale down their workforce to save costs, and it is young people who bear the brunt of unemployment. In the face of this, some youngsters may turn to crime such as burglary, kidnapping and drug trafficking, the effects of which could destabilize the economy further.

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