當地時間3月16日,美國總統川普在推特上將新冠病毒稱為「中國病毒」。
中國現代國際關係研究院美國研究所助理研究員孫成昊發表了自己對「中國病毒」言論的看法。
今天我們一起來學習吧!
Ignoring a growing chorus of criticism, U.S. President Donald Trump continues to call the COVID-19 the "Chinese Virus" following the practice of the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and some Congressmen, complicating the U.S. domestic politics and poisoning the atmosphere for China-U.S. cooperation on combating the coronavirus pandemic.
繼美國國務卿邁克•蓬佩奧和部分國會議員之後,美國總統唐納德•川普無視日益強烈的批評聲,仍將新冠病毒稱為「中國病毒」,這使美國國內政治局面變得更加複雜,破壞了中美聯合抗「疫」的大環境。
我們來看兩個單詞
1. chorus
A chorus of sth: the sound of a lot of people expressing approval or disapproval at the same time 齊聲,異口同聲
A chorus of praise 一片讚揚聲
A chorus of complaint 一片抱怨聲
A growing chorus of criticism 一片日益強烈的批評聲
2. poison
我們都知道這個詞做名詞時,表示「毒藥,毒素」。
當它做動詞時,我們來看看對應的英文釋義:
poison : to have a bad effect on sth. 毒化,敗壞,使惡化
His comment served only to poison the atmosphere still further.
他的評論只有使氣氛更加惡化
我們來看原文,「破壞了…的大環境」。
看中文,我們可能會首先想到damage, destroy, undermine, sabotage, vandalize這類的詞。
但是原文用的是「poison」,所以下次我們自己在進行漢譯英的時候,不妨也考慮poison這個詞。
Trump did not use the term "Chinese Virus" until this week. As recently as February, he mentioned cooperation with China on fighting the novel coronavirus in his State of the Union. The changing attitude is underpinned by three considerations.
川普直到本周才使用「中國病毒」一詞。就在今年二月,他還在國情諮文中提到與中國合作抗擊新冠肺炎疫情。他的態度變化背後有三點考慮。
分析
我們一起看看underpin這個詞
underpin: to support or form the basis of an argument, a claim, etc. 加強,鞏固,構成…基礎
The report is underpinned by extensive research.
這份報告以廣泛的研究為基礎
be underpinned by…. = be based on….
我們看看十九大報告中的幾個句子
1. 發展是解決我國一切問題的基礎和關鍵
Development is the underpinning and the key for solving all our country's problems
2. 以上十四條,構成新時代堅持和發展中國特色社會主義的基本方略。
The above 14 points form the basic policy that underpins our endeavors to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era
3. 健全貨幣政策和宏觀審慎政策雙支柱調控框架
We will improve the framework of regulation underpinned by monetary policy and macro-prudential policy,
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has severely threatened the public health, one of the major components of national security, while the market turmoil and a dramatic decline in economic activities have severely undermined the issue of economic security.
新冠肺炎疫情在美國的蔓延嚴重威脅公共健康,而這正是國家安全的重要組成部分。此外,市場動蕩和經濟活動驟減嚴重破壞了經濟安全。
分析
1. turmoil
我們首先一起看看這個詞的英文釋義:a state of great anxiety and confusion 動亂,騷亂
說到「金融危機」,我們常常會用financial crisis, 其實我們還可以說:financial turmoil
它的意思和upheaval, chaos, riout很像
political turmoil 政治動亂
mental turmoil 精神上的混亂
2. dramatic decline 急劇下降,大幅下降
我們一起來回顧有哪些表示「急劇下降,大幅下降」的表達
a. dramatic = precipitous decline
a precipitous decline in exports 出口的急劇下降
b. plummet, plunge, dive, nosedive
The share price dived from 49p to an all-time low of 40p
股價從49便士暴跌到40便士的歷史最低位
同時,我們再來回顧一下有哪些詞表示「下降」
最容易想到:reduce, decrease, go down,fall, drop
除了這些,還有一些短小精悍的小詞,例如shrink, slide, slip, cut
還有一些詞組,例如cut down, tail off
表示暴跌還可以用 nosedive (dive), slump, plummet
跌倒谷底可以用:hit the bottom
可積累的表達
scapegoat 替罪羊
JP Morgan 摩根大通
A handful of 有一些,有一點點
Tackle economic crisis 應對經濟危機
Trump was once extremely confident that the outbreak was under control.
川普曾非常有信心地表示疫情已得到控制。
分析
我們來區分under control 和 in control
A is under control
A得到控制,處於控制之下(A被控制了)
A is in control (of sth)
A掌管著.., A控制著(A主動控制)
He 『s reached retiring age, but he’s still firmly in control.
他雖然已經到達退休年齡,但仍大權在握
可積累的表達
平息公眾憤怒 pacify the public anger
醫療物資和人員
medical supplies and personnel
對…造成嚴峻挑戰
a formidable challenge is posed by…
公眾恐慌情緒 the public anger
During a conference call on March 16, Trump asked governors across the country to find ways to cope with the huge demand for supplies like masks and ventilators instead of waiting for the federal government to provide them. It is obvious that the Trump administration is very weak in the prevention and control of the epidemic, and trying to use the racism card against China to distract from his disastrous coronavirus response.
在3月16日的電話會議上,川普要求美國各州州長想辦法解決口罩和呼吸機等醫療物資的短缺問題,而不是等待聯邦政府提供援助。顯然,川普政府在疫情防控方面能力不足,並試圖針對中國打「種族主義」這張牌,從而轉移人們的視線,使大家不再關注他糟糕的疫情應對舉措。
分析
我們來看看兩個詞
1. ventilator
Ventilator: a piece of equipment with a pump that helps sb to breathe by sending air in and out of their lungs 通氣機,呼吸器
He was put on a ventilator 給他戴上了呼吸器
這個詞的動詞是ventilate 使通風,使通氣
A well-ventilated room 通風良好的房間
The bathroom is ventilated by means of an extractor fan.
這個浴室使用抽風扇通風
2.disastrous
我們看看這個單詞的出處:
…trying to use the racism card against China to distract from his disastrous coronavirus response
使大家不再關注他糟糕的疫情應對舉措。
我們再來看中文「糟糕的疫情應對舉措」。看到「糟糕的」,你會想到什麼詞呢?
文中用的是diastrous這個詞,在這裡它的意思就和unsuccessful 是一樣的
The distinguished American scholar Paul Krugman even argued that the coronavirus outbreak should probably be referred to as the "Trump pandemic" due to the administration's "catastrophically slow and inadequate response."
美國知名學者保羅•克魯格曼甚至認為,由於美國政府「災難性的行動遲緩且響應不足」,新冠肺炎疫情可被稱為「川普大流行病」。
分析
我們仍然關注catastrophically這個詞,它和前面談到的disastrous 是同義詞
catastrophically: if you describe sth as catastrophic, you mean that it is very bad or unsuccessful
所以無論是catastrophically還是disastrous,都可以表示unsuccessful的意思。
是不是對這兩個詞有了新的發現?
我們再來回顧這兩句話:
1. …trying to use the racism card against China to distract from his disastrous coronavirus response
使大家不再關注他糟糕的疫情應對舉措。
2. as the "Trump pandemic" due to the administration's "catastrophically slow and inadequate response."
由於美國政府「災難性的行動遲緩且響應不足」
可以積累的表達
堅定支持者 hardcore supporter
仇外心裡 xenophobia
慣用伎倆 common tactics
總統任期內 during his presidency
Anti-China hawks in the administration like Pompeo have long intended to use the outbreak as part of the strategy to undermine China's global image. With the epidemic clearly affecting the election, Trump has turned to endorse such calculations.
蓬佩奧等美國政府中的反華鷹派一直打算將疫情用作破壞中國全球形象的戰略工具。考慮到疫情已經明顯影響到他勝選連任,川普也轉而認可這種思路。
分析
背景拓展:鷹派
鷹派 一個廣泛用於政治上的名詞,用以形容主張採取強勢外交手段或積極軍事擴張的人士、團體或勢力。
另一解釋為以強硬態度或手段維護國家民族利益的個人、團體或勢力。鷹派的反義詞為"鴿派"。
接著我們來看看endorse和calculations這兩個詞
1. endorse
我們先來看看它的英文釋義:to say publicly that you support a person, statement or course of action
公開贊同,支持,認可
I wholeheartedly endorse his remarks
我真誠地贊同他的話
所以,其實endorse = publicly support
除此之外,endorse在國際貿易中經常表示「背書」
endorse: to write your name on the back of a cheque so that it can be paid into a bank account
那麼什麼是背書呢?
背書是指持票人為將票據權利轉讓給他人或者將一定的票據權利授予他人行使,而在票據背面或者粘單上記載有關事項並籤章的行為。
簡單來說,就是你有一張票據,你想把這張票據轉讓給其他人,那你在票據背面進行籤章。
2. calculation
見到這個詞,我們首先想到的都是「計算」之類的意思,但其實它還可以表示:
calculation: the process of using your judgement to decide what the results would be of doing sth 估計,預測,推測
和forecast有點相似
我們再來會回顧一下這個句子:
With the epidemic clearly affecting the election, Trump has turned to endorse such calculations.
考慮到疫情已經明顯影響到他勝選連任,川普也轉而認可這種思路。
The "Chinese Virus" label will by no means help the U.S. stop the spread of the coronavirus, but will only make the country's domestic politics more fragmented.
所謂「中國病毒」的標籤絕不會幫助美國阻止新冠病毒的傳播,反而會使美國國內政治格局更加支離破碎。
分析
我們一起看看這句話
The "Chinese Virus" label will by no means help the U.S. stop the spread of the coronavirus
所謂「中國病毒」的標籤絕不會幫助美國阻止新冠病毒的傳播
其中「阻止新冠病毒的傳播」可以用「stop the spread of the coronavirus」來表達
「阻止、控制新冠肺炎的傳播」是一個非常常見的短語,它對應的英文翻譯也多種多樣。
我們一起來看看幾個常見的,方便在漢譯英的時候進行同義替換。
a. get a grip on covid-19
b. curb/ contain/suppress the covid-19
c. get a handle on covid-19
d. stop/halt the spread of the virus
e. make the pandemic less intense
同時,the virus,可以用the pandemic, the epidemic, covid-19, the disease, coronavirus替換
這些是最新一期的《經濟學人》中《paying to stop the pandemic》一文中所使用的同義替換,我們可以多多積累,應用在自己的語言表達中。
The misnomer will also poison the atmosphere for China-U.S. cooperation.
這種錯誤的表述也會破壞中美兩國的合作氛圍。
分析
我們來看看misnomer這個詞
misnomer: a name or a word that is not appropriate or accurate 使用不恰當,用詞不當
Herbal 「tea」 is something of a misnomer because these drinks contain no tea at all.
花草「茶」是個誤稱,因為這類飲料裡根本不含茶
可以積累的表達
物資支持 material support
防護物資 protective equipment
防護服 protective suits
拒絕 turn back on
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