原文:http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI5MzQ0NjMyMw==&mid=2247485299&idx=1&sn=1b6b27d6a145ae8ebeba71e1a40360ac&chksm=ec70b0afdb0739b9d33ac40bed86d21fc1c91291fde688f062cfc36ced6c1d790bb10f085206#rd
今天我从CNBC、CNN以及New York Times关于这起滴滴安全事件的报道中找了几个地道表达,与大家分享。内容不多,但也是熬夜通宵用心准备的,希望你们能够喜欢!
1. expand at a frenetic pace
《纽约时报》中这么描述滴滴的发展势头:
It has been expanding at a frenetic pace in China and around the world, and it is widely expected to raise billions of dollars should it seek to sell shares on public markets.
frenetic是形容词,读音为[frə'net.ɪk],英文解释是:extremely active, excited or uncontrolled 发狂的,狂乱的。
expand at a frenetic pace便是“疯狂发展、疯狂扩张”的意思了,这一表达可以放在写作开头用来描述时代背景,替换With the development of..., As...develops,比如:
With the development of technology in China and around the world...
→
Technology has been expanding at a frenetic pace in China and around the world...
should it seek to sell shares on public markets是一个省略了if的虚拟从句倒装,写成正常句子的形式是:
It is widely expected to raise billions of dollars if it should seek to sell shares on public markets.
如果它寻求在公开市场上发行股票,人们普遍预计可以筹集数十亿美元的资金。
把if省去,should提前,便是文中的表达。
在第六期第二单元的泛读文章中,我们也遇到了省去if的倒装:
Were the government to roll out a shorter break nationally, it would prompt sighs of relief from many working parents.
如果政府在全国范围内缩短假期,这会让很多工薪父母长舒一口气。
正常的句子形式是:
If the government were to roll out...
2. counterpart
counterpart的意思是:someone or something that has the same job or purpose as someone or something else in a different place,翻译成中文便是“职务相当的人,作用相当的事物”。它自带简洁特效,比如“中美领导人举行会晤”,我们可能会说“Chinese president met American president”,英文是一门追求精简、忌讳重复的语言,此处正犯了重复的大忌。如果我们用counterpart替换president,效果好很多:
Chinese president met his American counterpart.
his American counterpart指的就是美国与之职务相当的人,也就是“美国总统”了。
当你像老外介绍中国的某家公司、品牌、产品或服务时,也可以用到counterpart一词,比如美国财经频道(CNBC)的报道标题:
Uber's China counterpart, Didi Chuxing, is facing its own social media backlash.
大多数老外对中国是不甚了解的,但对他们本国的事物却了如指掌。我们在向老外介绍滴滴时,可以介绍这家公司的业务模式、发展、市场情况等,这是可行的,不过比较麻烦。如果我们说Uber's China counterpart “优步在中国与之作用相当的事物”,即“中国的优步”,老外听了便会恍然大明白。
再比如,在介绍微信时,我们可以说:微信是一款免费的即时通讯应用,由腾讯研发,是中国最大的即时通讯平台。
也可以说:Wechat is WhatsApp's China counterpart.
介绍新浪微博时,我们可以说:Weibo is Twitter's China counterpart.
CNN用到了另一表达:
Actress Zhang Ziyi slammed Didi on Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform.
China's Twitter-like platform 中国类似推特的平台。
我们借用形容微信:Wechat is China's WhatsApp-like platform.
或者用version。
version是“版本”的意思,这个词非常直观了,比如:
Weibo is China's version of Twitter.
微博是中国版的推特。
我们还可以用equivalent这个词来替换。
equivalent既有名词也有形容词,更常见的为名词,它的英文解释是a thing, amount, word, etc. that is equivalent to sth else,翻译成中文“对应物,对等物”,常见搭配为sb's/sth's equivalent of/to。理解起来比较抽象,但如果我们知道使用场景,会发现它是一个非常好用的小词。
比如在介绍微信时,我们可以这么说:
Wechat is China's equivalent of WhatsApp.
介绍新浪微博时,我们可以说:
Weibo is China's equivalent of Twitter.
最后讲一讲answer这个词。
answer在这里作为熟词僻义来用,它的英文解释是someone or something that is considered to be just as good as a more famous person or thing 相当的人,不相上下的事物,搭配为 sb's answer to sth。
比如:
Wechat is China's answer to WhatsApp.
微信是中国的WhatsApp。
Weibo is China's answer to Twitter.
微博是中国的推特。
去年People's Daily评《芳华》时,称冯小刚为 the Chinese answer to Steven Spielberg. 中国的史蒂芬·斯皮尔伯格。
我们也可以说雄安新区是 north China's answer to Shenzhen and Pudong.
中国北方的深圳和浦东。
敲黑板
今天我们学到了:
一个作文开头模板:
expand at a frenetic pace,替换with the development of...
写作中可以提高逼格的省略if的虚拟倒装:
if it should seek to sell shares on public markets→should it seek to sell shares on public markets
if the government were to roll out a shorter break nationally→were the government to roll out a shorter break nationally
向老外介绍中国品牌、企业、产品、服务必备词汇:
counterpart
like
version
equivalent
answer
今天就到这里,感谢阅读!