原文:http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI5MzQ0NjMyMw==&mid=2247485170&idx=1&sn=9552d2f02e2e19d4a8e44b4237a4d970&chksm=ec70b12edb07383817c93f185f55f519df5ceae70a7c8d371a3deeb4c006fbc847a800930394#rd
一、“出尔反尔、食言”用英语怎么说?
在7月19日的外交部例行记者会上,有记者问:
据报道,美国白宫国家经济委员会主任库德洛昨天称,中方阻止中美达成贸易协议以扭转两国紧张的经贸关系。你认为这一说法准确吗?
华春莹的回答中有这么一句话:
本来,美方出尔反尔、言而无信已是世界公认,但是当着全世界人民的面,美方有关官员居然如此颠倒黑白、倒打一耙,还是超出了一般人的想象,令人感到震惊。
“出尔反尔”用英语可以怎么说呢?
首先我们看一下官方的译文:
But right in front of everyone's eyes, the US went back and forth and ate its own words, and the US official still dared to call white black and tried to shift the blame onto China. That honestly entails some extraordinary imagination and is just preposterously shocking.
go back and forth的意思是:move first in one direction and then in the opposite one 来来回回,也就是“出尔反尔”。
eat one's own words直译过来就是“把自己的话吃了”,也就是“食言”。
此外,我们也可以学习一下其他表达,比如,“颠倒黑白”,用英文可以说 call white balck,把白的说成黑的,也可以翻译成“混淆是非,指鹿为马”,还可以说 turn matters upside down。
“倒打一耙”指不仅拒绝对方的指责,反而指责别人,官方译文中用的是shift the blame onto,把责任转移到...身上,我们还可以用一个词来表示:recriminate,它的意思是to accuse in return,也就是“反唇相讥,倒打一耙”。
除了go back and forth, eat one's own words,我们还可以说 flip-flop(v./n.),它的意思是to change your opinion about sth 改变观点,后面加介词on.
5月30日《彭博商业周刊》报道了美国在贸易关税问题上出尔反尔,题目是这么讲的:
China Strikes Back at Trump's 'Flip-Flop' on Tariffs as Trade Spat Heats Up
贸易冲突升级,特朗普就关税问题出尔反尔,中国对此发起反击。
spat的意思是“小争吵”,这里指“冲突、纠纷”。heat up表示“(冲突)升级”,可以用beef up, escalate, tighten替换。
还有backpedal:
前几日特朗普和普京举行会谈,他在普京的记者会上说错了话捅了大娄子,回国后为自己解释道,把wouldn't说成了would,以至于大家把他的意思弄拧了。
Daily News是这么报道的:
President Trump backpedals after controversial Vladimir Putin meeting, claims he misspoke on Russian election meddling.
President Trump backpedals的意思是“特朗普总统改口”。
词典中还有这么一个例句:
You said you would help, but now you are starting to backpedal (on your promise).
你说过你会帮忙的,但现在开始变卦了。
最后一个是backtrack,backtrack本指“原路返回”,引申为“食言”,比如:
The President is backtracking on his promise to increase healthcare spending.
总统食言,不想增加医疗保健开支了。
外交部例行记者会中还有这么一段话:
从一开始,我们就表明了“不想打、也不怕打”的坚定立场。美方高举大棒,胁迫讹诈,蛮横无理,反复无常,出尔反尔,言而无信,是导致事态发展升级的直接和根本原因。
官方提供的译文是:
From the very beginning, we made clear our firm position of not wanting to fight but never afraid of fighting. The US, however, holding high its baton, has been rudely threatening and coercing China, and brazenly engaging in flip-flopping and backpedaling, which is the direct and root cause for the escalation of the situation.
二、“随着电子支付的发展/兴起”用英语怎么说?
近几年电子支付迅速发展,出门逛街再也不用带钱包,一部手机足矣。在有关“电子支付”的话题写作中,我们可能会在开头写到:“随着电子支付的发展/兴起,...”,那我问大家,“随着电子支付的发展/兴起”用英语怎么说呢?
可能很多人第一反应是:With the development of e-payment technology,...
或者会说:as e-payment technology develops,...
这俩虽然都能表达出这层意思,但未免太俗,我们不妨换下思维,用"cashless"表示“电子支付”,比如:
As we move towards a cashless society,...
随着电子支付的发展,...
As China goes cashless,...
随着中国电子支付的发展,...
再比如,“中国不是唯一一个发展电子支付技术的国家”,我们之前可能会说:
China is not the only country to develop e-payment technology.
而现在可以说:
China is not alone in seeking a cashless society.
今年7月,香港《南华早报》中有一篇文章讲到了中国电子支付的发展,题目是这么写的:
As China goes increasingly cashless, PBOC says cash payment is still alive
中国电子支付不断发展,中国银行表示,现金支付依然存在
文中还有这么一句话:
China is often seen as the first nation to move towards a completely cashless society.
中国通常被视为第一个完全实现电子支付的国家。
敲黑板:
有关“食言、出尔反尔”的表达:
go back and forth
eat one's own words
flip-flop
backtrack
backpedal
“随着电子支付的发展”的表达:
As we move towards a cashless society,...
As China goes cashless,...
As China seeks a cashless society,...
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