如何通过《经济学人》提高英文写作水平?

原文:http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI5MzQ0NjMyMw==&mid=2247486814&idx=1&sn=e2118e560ba259ae88b24aa9b899f952&chksm=ec70ba82db0733941bd865ef17008731fbc94a94d735c2a25820156116d51cde2cbed940c7f4#rd

文章介绍

阅读是写作的基础,要想提高写作水平,离不开大量阅读。当然仅有阅读是不够的,我们还要对其篇章、逻辑、用词等方面进行分析,消化入肚,并进行仿写。长此以往地练习,才能逐步提高写作水平,最终才有可能像《经济学人》的编辑一样去写作。

今天我们就通过《经济学人》中关于“共享经济”的报道,看一看如何通过阅读外刊来提高自己的英文写作水平。

1

文章开门见山,介绍了什么是“共享经济”,并点明共享经济的好处:
IT IS not hard to find evidence of the success of the “sharing economy”, in which people rent beds, cars and other underused assets directly from each other, co-ordinated via the internet.
……

翻译

“共享经济”指人们通过互联网进行协调,直接互租床位、汽车以及其它未充分利用的资产的一种经济模式,我们不难发现其成功之处。……


语言点拨

作者开门见山,先通过IT IS not hard to find evidence of the success of...肯定了共享经济的成功之处,又通过定语从句in which对这种经济模式进行介绍。从中我们可以捕捉到共享经济的三个特点:
1)underused assets 未被充分利用的资产;
2)directly from each other 直接从他人那里出租(不经过中间商);
3)via the internet 通过互联网。


那么基于这个定义我问大家,共享单车、共享雨伞、共享充电宝属于“共享经济”吗?
答案是否定的。“共享经济”指直接从他人那里出租未被充分利用的资产,比如在滴滴业务中,车属于个人未被充分利用的资产(而非公司资产),通过互联网(滴滴平台)匹配到乘客进行租用。而单车、雨伞、充电宝这些资产属于公司所有,本质上是“租赁经济”。


写作思路

在写作中,我们就可以先写“It is not hard to find evidence of the success / popularity of XX”,点明某事物的成功、流行,然后通过for example, examples include...等进行举例论证。
必要的话,我们还可以在总领句后面补一个定语从句,对XX展开介绍,可以使文章内容更加具体丰富。

2

接下来作者介绍了反对者的声音:
The newcomers’ opponents, whether competitors, officials or worried citizens, complain that the likes of Airbnb and Lyft dodge the rules and taxes that apply to conventional businesses. 
……

翻译

“共享经济”的反对者,不管是其竞争对手、政府官员、还是忧心忡忡的市民,都抱怨Airbnb和Lyft之类的企业避开了适用于传统企业的规则和税收。


语言点拨

这句话的主干是:The newcomers’ opponents complain that the likes of Airbnb and Lyft dodge the rules and taxes.


主语为:The newcomers’ opponents 新来者的反对者。
newcomer本义是“新来者”,可以用来指一种新技术或者新现象,在文中用来代指sharing economy,以避免重复。
和newcomer相对的,是conventional, traditional, incumbent, existing ones等。比如,2019年5月的《经济学人》中有篇文章讲到了新加坡传统银行是如何应对挑战的,文中有句话就用到了incumbent一词:

But they have also been supported by a regulator that wants incumbents to be well-placed to survive the coming competition.

但这些传统银行也得到监管机构的支持,后者希望它们能很好地在即将到来的竞争中生存下来。

they和incumbent都指“传统银行”。incumbent本义是“在职者、现任者”。


the likes of...是外刊中很常见的一个表达,意思是“...一类人/物”,也可以用“... and the like”替换,比如:

The likes of Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei have become the crown jewel of China economy.


Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei and the like have become the crown jewel of China economy.

阿里巴巴、腾讯、华为之类的企业已经成为中国经济的王牌。(crown jewel字面意思是“王冠上的珠宝”,常用来比喻十分宝贵、重要的事物,可用来替换valuable的含义。)

通过这两个例句我们发现,写作中可以用“...and the like”或“the likes of...”表达“等等”的含义,替换常用的“and so on”。


文中the likes of Airbnb and Lyft的意思是:爱彼迎和来福车这类企业。(爱彼迎是美国的民宿预定平台,类似携程、去哪儿的民宿预订服务;来福车相当于中国的滴滴出行。


dodge the rules and taxes就是“避开规则和税收”的意思。因为共享经济企业是newcomers,尚无法律对其进行规范,所以它们可以dodge the rules and taxes that apply to conventional businesses.


我们最后再梳理一遍主干:The newcomers’ opponents complain that the likes of Airbnb and Lyft dodge the rules and taxes.


在主语opponents的后面,作者又加了一个whether结构,对opponents做具体的补充:
whether competitors, officials or worried citizens
不管这些反对者是竞争对手、政府官员,还是忧心忡忡的市民。


写作思路

写作中我们可以通过“The newcomers' opponents, whether XX or YY, complain that...”或“The newcomers' supporters, whether XX or YY, hail that...”引出反对者或支持者的声音。

3

然后作者对反对者的观点进行评价:
The objectors have half a point. Taxes must be paid: a property-owner who rents a room should declare the income, just as a hotel should. Safety is also a concern: people want some assurance that once they bed down for the night or get into a stranger’s car they will not be attacked or ripped off. Zoning and planning are also an issue: peace-loving citizens may well object if the house next door becomes a hotel.


翻译

反对者也有一些道理。首先,必须纳税:租赁方应该申报收入,就像酒店一样。安全也是一个问题:人们在下榻过夜或搭乘陌生人汽车时必须得到保证:他们不会被袭击或敲竹杠。城市的分区规划也是一个问题:喜欢安静的居民可能会强烈反对把隔壁房子变成一个酒店。


语言点拨

这段话是“总→分1→分2→分3”的结构,首先作者对反对者的观点进行概述评价:
The objectors have half a point.
反对者是有一些道理的。


这里的“反对者”由opponent变成了objector,体现了“英文忌讳重复”的现象,此外我们也可以用naysayerdetractorsceptic等表示。


XX have half a point是一个很地道的表达,字面意思是“有一半的道理”,即“有一定的道理、有一些道理”。
我们在《<经济学人>中有哪些精彩表达(25)》中也讲过一个类似的句子:

There is a grain of truth to this.

 可点击链接前往复习。


接下来作者从三个方面进行分析:
1)Taxes must be paid 必须纳税;
2)Safety is also a concern 安全也是一个担忧;
3)Zoning and planning are also an issue 城市的分区规划也是一个问题。


注意一个表达:rip off,意思是“坑钱、敲竹杠”,《经济学人》中曾有篇文章讲到了中国的老龄化现象,文中有句话就用到了这个表达:

Chinese customers worry constantly about being ripped off.

中国消费者无时无刻不在担心被坑。


写作思路

写作中,我们可以采取这种格式对反对者的态度予以评价:
The objectors have half a point.
To begin with...
XX is also a concern.
YY is also an issue.

4

接下来作者讲了共享经济企业为了消除这些concern / issue所采取的措施:
Sharing-economy firms are trying to mitigate these problems. They have ……


翻译

共享经济公司正试图缓解这些问题。它们……


语言点拨

mitigate的意思是:to mitigate something means to make it less unpleasant, serious, or painful. 可翻译成“减轻、缓解”,类似alleviate
在气候变化领域有一个常见的术语:Climate change adaptation and mitigation 气候变化的适应和减缓,简称“气候变化的减适”(一方面人们要采取措施减缓气候变化的进程,另一方面人们要积极主动地适应气候变化)。


写作思路

写作中我们可以通过“XX are trying to mitigate these problems. They have ……”引出解决方案。

5

最后作者提出自己的看法:
This all argues for adaptation, not prohibition……
The sharing economy is one of the great unforeseen benefits of the digital age. Cities should not ban it but welcome it.


翻译

所有这些都说明,我们要调整适应,而不是禁止。……
共享经济可以为数字时代带来很多难以预料的利处,各大城市应积极欢迎,而非禁止。


语言点拨

关键词:for adaptation, not prohibition 要调整适应、而非禁止。
同时,adaptation和prohibition都以“-tion”结尾,押韵,读起来多了一层艺术效果。
最后not ban it but welcome it 再次点明作者的接纳态度,同时呼应开头“It is not hard to find evidence of the success...”。


写作思路

最后在亮明观点态度的时候我们可以采用以下句型:
This all argues for adaptation, not prohibition……
The sharing economy is one of the great unforeseen benefits of the digital age. Cities should not ban it but welcome it.

总结

下面我们梳理全文,提炼写作模板:
1、先通过“It is not hard to find evidence of the success / popularity of XX”体现出某事物的成功、流行,(必要的时候,我们可以在总领句后面补一个定语从句,对XX展开介绍。)然后通过for example, examples include...等进行举例论证。
2、然后通过“The newcomers' opponents, whether XX or YY, complain that...”引出反对者的观点。
3、接下来对反对者的观点进行评价:可先通过“The objectors have half a point.”总领,然后通过“XX is a concern”“YY is also an issue”引出分论点。(注意concern和issue的同义替换)
4、下一步就是讲相关方为解决这些问题所采取的措施:XX are trying to mitigate these problems. They have ……
5、最后进行评价总结,亮明自己的观点:This all argues for adaptation, not prohibition……
XX is one of the great unforeseen benefits of the digital age. We should not ban it but welcome it.

仿写创作

最后我们采用这个模板,写一篇关于“人工智能”的议论文:
①It is not hard to find evidence of the success of artificial intelligence, or AI for short. ②It has broad applications, from teaching computers to recognise faces to translating between languages. ③Another example involves its use to help HR sort through reams of CVs, greatly making their work more efficient.

第一段以“It is not hard to find evidence of the success of...”引出对人工智能的评价,奠定全文基调(①)。随后进行举例,以证明其“success”。在举例论证部分(②③),“broad applications”(广泛的应用)是概述(②),然后通过from...to...和another example involves引出具体的三个例子(②③):人脸识别、智能翻译、筛选简历。


①However, the newcomers' opponents, whether workers or officials, fear that AI may displace human beings. ②They have half a point. ③To begin with, jobs risk being taken away by robots. ④According to an estimate, by 2030, up to 375m people, or 14% of the global workforce, could lose their jobs. ⑤Safety is also a concern. ⑥As seen in countless sci-fi films, robots, with their impressive wit and power, might one day get out of control and threaten the existence of human beings.

第二段开头以however构成转折,引出反对者观点(①);随后②句对反对者观点予以概括性的评价:have half a point.

接下来③-⑥句从两个角度对反对者的观点进行详细评价:

角度一:就业。③句为概括,④句为数据论证;

角度二:安全。⑤句为概括,⑥句为举例论证。


①Humans are trying to mitigate these problems. ②Governments are updating their welfare systems to smooth the transitions between jobs and to support workers while they pick up new skills. ③Universities and colleges are making education and training flexible enough to teach new skills quickly and efficiently, and they also put a greater emphasis on lifelong learning and social skills, which can give humans an edge over machines.

第三段以“Humans are trying to mitigate these problems”引出人们的应对办法,为本段总领(①)。②③两句分别从“政府”和“大学”两个角度进行展开:

政府:完善福利体系,为失业者提供保障;

学校:提高教学效率,改革教学方向。


①This all argues for adaptation, not prohibition. ②With the right strategies, the intelligent machines will end up as assistants to human beings, rather than replacements for them. ③In a nutshell, we should not ban it but welcome it.

第四段点明作者的观点态度:adaptation not prohibition 适应而非禁止(①),②句进行展开分析:采取正确的措施,人工智能会成为人们的帮手,而非取代人类。③句再次总结,呼应全文。

 今天就到这里,感谢阅读!


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