本周,由Manny為大家分析經濟學人的寫作,主要學習常見詞彙在法律英語中的用法以及一些好用短語,大家可以舊詞新學,吃透一些詞彙短語的用法。內容在精不在多,真正掌握要多做積累、多下功夫。話不多說,我們開始今天的學習內容。
美國當地時間1月20日,拜登在華盛頓宣誓就職美國第46任總統。拜登從1987年開始就競選總統,二十多年過去如願成功競選,但明顯這一任總統接手的是一個處於多事之秋的美國,經濟學人這篇文章談到了疫情給美國包括經濟在內各方面的影響,國會攻佔事件的後續影響,川普管理下美國民生以及對外活動的糟糕情況,最後設想了拜登就職後處理政務的棘手場景。下面我們來看看經濟學人對該事件的描述分析,並學習其中一些表達和作出引申。
學習音頻:
原文片段:
They need China’s co-operation on climate change, even though China is engaged in what the outgoing administration has just labelled as 「genocide」 against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
Tricky corners in the Oval Office
A lot could go wrong. Senate Republicans may oppose everything Mr Biden suggests simply because he is a Democrat. The left of his party may turn sour on him for trying to make deals with Republicans.
Politics has been simple during the Trump administration, which more often governed by inflaming partisan fights than fixing America’s problems. Engaging with reality is much harder—especially when you are buffeted by events.
To have the best chance of success, Mr Biden should stick to his folksy brand of dogged centrism which is so well suited to the moment. Western allies should be patient and not expect a miraculous overnight transformation. The return of restraint to the White House will be only the first step in a long journey, but it is a necessary one for America’s renewal.
【原文】
They need China’s co-operation on climate change, even though China is engaged in what the outgoing administration has just labelled as 「genocide」 against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
【參考譯文】
儘管即將卸任的川普政府剛剛標明中國對新疆維吾爾族人民做的事是「種族滅絕」,他們還是需要同中國進行氣候變化方面的合作。
Outgoing
大家看到Outgoing的時候一定不陌生,平時自我介紹可能也會說I’m an outgoing person,是外向的意思。但是文中是該詞的一個生僻意思,意為即將離任的,可以與administration、president、chancellor等搭配。我們來看一下VOA中的例句:
The outgoing president, Dwight Eisenhower, was seventy years old.
離任的總統德懷特·艾森豪今年70歲。
Outgoing還有一個意思是外出的、離開的,與incoming相反,如:
outgoing phone calls
外撥電話
在法律英語當中,outgoing一般指往外去的,我們來看幾個短語:outgoing inspection出廠檢驗,outgoing partner即將退出的合伙人,outgoing quality limit出廠/檢出質量界限,outgoing streamer離港船,outgoing specie point現金流出點。
【原文】
Tricky corners in the Oval Office
A lot could go wrong. Senate Republicans may oppose everything Mr Biden suggests simply because he is a Democrat. The left of his party may turn sour on him for trying to make deals with Republicans.
【參考譯文】
總統辦公室的棘手情況
可能會出現很多問題。參議院的共和黨人可能會僅僅因為拜登總統是民主黨人而反對他提出的一切建議。民主黨左派可能會因為他試圖與共和黨人做交易而對他產生不滿。
Corners
Corner的常見意思為角落,但corner還有一個較為少見的意思「困境、絕路」,此處和tricky搭配,兩個詞都有「棘手」之意,在政治類文本中較為常見。我們來看個例句:
The writers have painted themselves into a corner by killing off all the most popular characters in the first series.
編劇在第一部中就把所有受歡迎的角色都寫死了,使自己陷入了困境。
Corner還有一個好用短語just around / round the corner,意為即將發生,我們來看個例句:
Economic recovery is just around the corner.
經濟復甦在即。
Cut corners意為馬虎從事;抄近路、走捷徑,如:
Don't try to cut corners when you're decorating.
裝修時不要圖省事。
Have/get a corner on sth意為對某物進行壟斷,我們來看個例句:
The company admitted reducing prices to get a corner on the market.
這家公司承認以降價的辦法來壟斷市場。
turn sour on
sour常見意思是「帶有酸味的」,此處sour的意思是「不友善的」,sour-faced意為繃著臉的。我們來看個例句:
Eliza was tall and thin, with a rather sour face.
伊麗莎又高又瘦,臉上陰沉沉的。
Turn sour on sb 即對某人不友善/不滿,Sour也可以表示關係惡化的,如:
The meeting ended on a sour note with neither side able to reach agreement.
雙方未能取得一致意見,會議不歡而散。
Sour還可以作動詞,意為變得不友善或關係惡化,我們來看一下《生活大爆炸》中的例句:
Indeed. Nothing sours a friendship more than over-familiarity with someone's toilet routine.
確實,沒有比熟知對方的如廁規律更破壞友情的事了。
【原文】
Politics has been simple during the Trump administration, which more often governed by inflaming partisan fights than fixing America’s problems. Engaging with reality is much harder—especially when you are buffeted by events.
【參考譯文】
在川普執政期間,政治治理一直很簡單,更多的時候是煽動黨派之爭,而不是解決美國的問題。實事求是處理問題要難得多——尤其是受到衝擊的時候。
Engage with
Engage with sb/sth意為與某人或某事物建立密切關係,我們來看個例句:
But I think also we have to consistently engage with pressure, public pressure.
不過我也認為,我們必須要一直施加壓力,一直施加公眾壓力。
耶魯大學公開課中《歐洲文明》節有這樣一句:
That they were engaged with humanity.
他們將人文思想融入其中。
文中engage with reality其實就是「和事實建立關係」,也就是實事求是。
Buffeted
Buffet名詞意為自助餐,前面我們也講過buttet作動詞本意是「風、雨、浪」的猛烈襲擊,引申為不好的影響;打擊、傷害。我們來看下經濟學人的例句:
The EU is being buffeted by Brexit and the threat of an Italian-inspired euro crisis.
歐盟正受到英國脫歐和義大利引發的歐元危機威脅的打擊。
Someone buffeted her aside. She could still hear Sansa screaming.
有人在毆打她,想把她趕開。她惟一能分辨的是珊莎的尖叫。(——冰與火之歌)
【原文】
To have the best chance of success, Mr Biden should stick to his folksy brand of dogged centrism which is so well suited to the moment. Western allies should be patient and not expect a miraculous overnight transformation. The return of restraint to the White House will be only the first step in a long journey, but it is a necessary one for America’s renewal.
【參考譯文】
為了獲得最大的成功機會,拜登應該堅持他的一貫作風,繼續秉持溫和主義做派,這很適合目前的情況。西方盟友應該耐心等待,不要期待一夜之間奇蹟般的轉變。白宮恢復克制只是漫長旅程中的第一步,但這是美國復興的必要步驟。
Folksy
Folksy在美式英語中指隨和的、無拘束的,我們來看一下經濟學人的例句:
His charisma and folksy advice have earned him cult-like status among the country’s entrepreneurs.
他的魅力和接地氣的建議讓他在中國企業家中享有神一般的地位。
Folk指民間的、民俗的,folksy指有民間特色的,我們來看一下《老友記》中的例句:
Like acoustic, folksy stuff, you know?
像是原聲樂、民樂之類的。
Dogged
Dog常見意思是狗,而其實dog還能做動詞,意為「(問題或噩運)長期困擾,緊隨(某人)」,我們來看個經濟學人的例句:
Mrs May has been dogged by speculation of a leadership challenge.
梅首相一直被有關領導層將面臨挑戰的流言所困擾。
引申出來的形容詞dogged的意思則是堅持不懈的、頑強的。文中dogged centrism指的就是拜登一直以來的做派都表現為溫和主義者centrist,這裡的dogged就是「一直」的意思。
我們再來看幾個關於dog的有意思的短語,如dog eat dog,我們來看個例句:
It's a dog eat dog world out there.
外面可是個冷酷無情的世界。
中文中有「狗咬狗」的表達,和這個dog eat dog有所區別,但可以看出都是編譯短語,也都有「殘酷」之意。
Live a dog’s life意為苦難的生活/豬狗不如的生活,every dog has its day意為凡人皆有得意日等等。
這篇節選是經濟學人對拜登就職後處理政務的棘手場景作的設想,並給出了一個似有若無的建議。同學們可以再通讀一下無解析版本,回憶剛才所講到的表達和用法。
They need China’s co-operation on climate change, even though China is engaged in what the outgoing administration has just labelled as 「genocide」 against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
Tricky corners in the Oval Office
A lot could go wrong. Senate Republicans may oppose everything Mr Biden suggests simply because he is a Democrat. The left of his party may turn sour on him for trying to make deals with Republicans.
Politics has been simple during the Trump administration, which more often governed by inflaming partisan fights than fixing America’s problems. Engaging with reality is much harder—especially when you are buffeted by events.
To have the best chance of success, Mr Biden should stick to his folksy brand of dogged centrism which is so well suited to the moment. Western allies should be patient and not expect a miraculous overnight transformation. The return of restraint to the White House will be only the first step in a long journey, but it is a necessary one for America’s renewal.
往期更新:
經濟學人寫作:美國大選和最高法院
經濟學人寫作:螞蟻集團IPO上市
經濟學人寫作:美最高法院大法官金斯伯格
經濟學人寫作:黎巴嫩爆炸案
經濟學人寫作:蘋果公司與Epic的「訴訟戰」
經濟學人寫作:美國司法部正式對谷歌提起反壟斷訴訟
經濟學人:美國藥物巨頭強生公司遭起訴
經濟學人寫作:律師拜登勝選下的美國未來
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