原文:http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI5MzQ0NjMyMw==&mid=2247484860&idx=1&sn=64246d5d815cad8f95666ebfc441345e&chksm=ec70b260db073b76c719c86f770a6681e5196f6da4400fb525bf150eee2917c8e45624545af0#rd
几天之前宝岛台湾出现了这么一则有趣的事情:台湾民众疯抢卫生纸。这一事件引发各大媒体纷纷报道。如图:
我先来考考大家:“抢购”用英语怎么说?
你可能会想到:buy sth in a rush, buy sth urgently. 这些表达虽然在语法上没什么问题,好像也能传达意思,但老外一般不会这么说。地道的表达还需回归外刊。
最近,Newsweek有一篇关于台湾民众抢购卫生纸的报道,我们看一下它的开头部分:
Shoppers in Taiwan have rushed to their supermarkets to get their hands on as many toilet paper rolls as possible amid fears of an impending price hike.
因担忧价格即将上涨,台湾民众涌入超市抢购卫生纸。
get one's hands on sth 把手放到...上,也就是“弄到,搞到”的意思,是get的高级替换。在get one's hands on sth前加一个能体现出急切心情的动词,比如rush to,则表示“抢购”。
本句的后半部分amid fears of an impending price hike写的是事件发生的背景,impending的意思是“即将到来的”,一般表示不好的事情,相当于looming.
Prce hike, price rise, price increase都可以表示“价格上涨”。
当然,我们也可以把rush to换成其他能体现出急迫心情的词语,比如be desperate to,来表示“抢购”。
今年冬天美国流感爆发,流感引发的咳嗽久治不愈,而在这个时候,我们的川贝枇杷膏隆重登场了,由于它的疗效,枇杷膏迅速成为热门话题,也遭到了人们的抢购。Asia One前几天登了一则题为Chinese cough syrup Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa gains popularity amid New York flu outbreak的报道,里面有这么一句话:
And some patients desperate to get their hands on it have been paying as much as US$70 to third parties, according to The Wall Street Journal.
据《华尔街日报》的报道,从第三方那里抢购枇杷膏的病人买一瓶需花费70美元之多。
这句话的主干是:And some patients have been paying as much as US$70...
desperate to get their hands on it作修饰补充成分,修饰patients, 指patients who are desperate to get their hands on it, 抢购枇杷膏的人群。
我们再回到Newsweek有关台湾民众抢购卫生纸的报道中,这篇报道里还有这么一句话:
The panic buying was prompted by an announcement from toilet paper producers to retailers on Friday saying the cost of the tissues would increase between 10 and 30 percent.
卫生纸生产商于周五向零售商声明,纸巾的成本将提高10-30%,这引发了人们的抢购。
panic buying由panic和buy合成,buy是“购买”,而panic则体现了抢购时的恐慌心情,合起来则为“争购、抢购”。同样的道理,我们还可以说scare buying.
还有一个类似的表达,出自BBC的报道:
But some shoppers said they bulk-bought because of fears the product would run out, rather than over price worries.
一些顾客表示,他们抢购是因为担心卫生纸卖光,而不是担心价格上涨。
bulk的意思是large size or mass 大量,比如in bulk 大批的,大量的。bulk buy则表示“大量购买,抢购”,也可以说buy sth in bulk.
我们继续来看BBC的报道:
Taiwan retailers have seen a rush on toilet paper over the weekend, as word spread of an imminent sharp price rise.
随着即将大幅提价的消息传播开来,本周末台湾出现了抢购卫生纸的现象。
rush这个词不必多说,本身含有一种“慌乱”之意,这里作名词,后面加介词on/for表示a sudden large demand for goods, etc. 抢购,争购。美国十九世纪的Gold Rush(淘金热)取的就是rush的这层意思。
本句中的imminent表示“(不好的事物)即将到来的”,和上文的impending, looming都是同义替换。
还有一个词跟rush的用法相同:run. 比如今年3月3日的《经济学人》的报道:
IN ANXIOUS times, political leaders try to assuage fears. So it was this week when William Lai, Taiwan’s prime minister, appealed for calm after a run on that most essential of goods, toilet paper.
在恐慌期间,政治领导人会设法缓解恐慌。因此,在台湾民众抢购卫生纸这一生活最必需品之后,台湾当局“行政院长”赖清德本周呼吁民众保持冷静。
run在这里是一个熟词僻义,作名词,表示“抢购,争购”,后面加介词on. 金融领域的bank runs(银行挤兑)取的就是run的这层意思。
同样是这篇《经济学人》,里面还有这么一个句子:
Supermarket shelves were stripped bare; tissue paper and kitchen towels were also snapped up.
超市货物架被抢购一空,纸巾和厨房用纸也遭到抢购。
strip的意思是remove, especially clothes 除去(尤指衣物),比如:She stripped down to her underwear. 她把衣服脱得只剩下了内衣。“脱衣舞女郎“就是stripper.
bare是形容词,意思是not covered by leaves or trees 光秃秃的,常形容树木、土地,也可以表示empty之意,用来形容房屋、橱子、架子等。文中说,超市的货物架被strip bare了,意思就是,超市的货物架被抢购一空。
snap up也是“抢购”的意思,最为常见,比如美国全国广播公司亚太财经频道(CNBC)有一篇关于美国人抢购川贝枇杷膏的报道,里面有这么一句话:
Hong Kong-listed Kingworld Medicines Group's shares popped Monday following a U.S. news report that New Yorkers were snapping up its Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa cough syrup.
美国新闻报道指出,纽约市民抢购京都念慈菴蜜炼川贝枇杷膏,这则消息在周一刺激了在香港上市的金活医药集团有限公司的股价大幅上涨。
另外,还有wipe out:
BBC的报道:
Have supplies been wiped out?
卫生纸被抢购一空?
wipe是“擦”的意思,比如wipe the dishes 擦碟子,"out"有“彻底、完全”之意,所以wipe out表示“消除,擦净”,有种“抢购一空”的感觉。
《经济学人》的文章直接用了"wiped out"作为题目,如图所示:
最后再给大家补充一个:fly off the shelves,我们来看新华社有关川贝枇杷膏的报道:
A traditional Chinese cough syrup, called Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa, is flying off the shelves in New York stores this flu season, following a US news report.
fly off the shelves是一个非常生动形象的表达,一件件产品从架子上飞走,即“抢购”。
今天我们讲了一些有关“抢购”的表达,汇集如下:
be desperate/rush to get one's hands on
panic/scare buying
bulk buy, buy sth in bulk
there is a rush/run on sth, 时间 has seen a rush/run on sth.
shelves were stripped bare
wipe out
fly off the shelves
snap up
如果你有好的表达,欢迎补充!
风起于青萍之末,地道的表达还要回归外刊。感谢阅读!