钱歌川-翻译的技巧-写作材料.doc

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l It is no use +Gerund = It is of no use + Infinitive
It is no use talking about it. (It is no use dong. = It is no good doing) It is of no use to talk about it. It is useless to talk about it.
More examples:
It is no use crying over spilt milk.（覆水难收。）
It is no use your trying to deceive me.（你休想欺骗我。）
It is no good talking about the greatness of our country, unless we do something to make it great.
l Something (much) of; nothing (little) of
Something of = to some extent (“Something” is somewhat derogatory)
He is something of a philosopher.
He is nothing of a musician.
He is very much of a poet.（他大有诗人气派。）
He is little of a scholar.（他几无学者风度。）
More examples:
They say that he had no university education, but he seems to be something of a scholar.
He has no much education, but he seems to be very much of a gentleman.
That’s too much of a good thing.
If he is anything of a gentleman, he will keep his promise, I should think.
There was only a wooden latch to his door, because he had been too much of a skinflint to pay for one of the new iron lacks to be fixed on.
l (a) noun (A) + of + (a) noun (B)
It was a great mountain of a wave.
a devil of a man, a rascal of a fellow, an awful fool of a woman, to catch a death of a cold…
More examples:
Those pigs of boys eat so much.
He was a fine figure of a young man.（他是位翩翩佳公子。）
I’ve got the devil of a toothache.（我牙痛不堪。）
I would make the deuce of a scandal.（这会弄得声名狼藉的。）
She was an angel of a wife.（她是一位天仙一般的妻子。）
He was a big clumsy giant of a man with a broad face and small suspicious eyes.
The child is a treasure of a son.
He lives in a palace of a house.
Your fool of a husband said so.
She is an old blackguard of a woman.
l of one’s own doing
It is a plan of his own making.
More examples:
It is a poem of his own composing. (It is a poem composed by himself.)
This profession is of my own choosing.
Usually that which a man calls fate is a web of his own weaving, from threads of his own spinning (Doyle)
l have + the + abstract noun + infinitive
I had the fortune to succeed. (I was so fortunate as to succeed. I was fortunate enough to succeed.)
She had the cheek (impudence) to say such a thing. (she was so impudent as to say such a thing.)
How can you have the heart to drown such darling little kittens? (How can you be so hard-hearted as to drown such darling little kittens?)
Will you have the goodness (kindness) to do it for me? (Will you be so kind as to do it for me?)
He had the courage to express his opinion.
That wretch has had the audacity to touch my children’s doll. (V. Hugo)
l noun (adjective or verb) + as + subject + verb
Child as she was, she was more than a match for him.
Strange as it may sound, it is true.
Try as you may, you will never succeed.（你尽可以试试看，不过你决难成功。）
More examples:
Young as he is, it is but natural that he should commit such a mistake.
l Verbs
1. may well + verb (may well: have good reason; reasonably)
and well + subject + may (and with reason)
He may well be proud of his success.（他获得那样的成功是很可以骄傲的。）
He is proud of his success, and well he may.（他对于自己的成功感到骄傲，也是应该的。）
More examples:
You may well say so.（你很有理由这样说。）
You may well refuse him.（你拒绝他是对的。）
He was proud of his feat, and well he might.
The good lady was in an ecstasy of delight. And well might she be proud of her boy. (N. Hawthorne)
2. may as well…as;（可能的事）
might as well…as（不可能的事）
You may as well call a cat a little tiger as call a tiger a big cat.（你如把虎叫做大猫，同样也无妨把猫叫做小虎。）
You might as well throw your money away as spend it in gambling.（你要把钱花在赌博上，还不如丢掉的好。）
One may as well not know a thing at all as know it imperfectly.（与其一知半解，不如完全不知的好。）
I may as well go at once.（省略句）（比had better语气强）(我还是马上去的好。)
More examples:
You may as well (had better) begin at once.
You might as well throw your money into the sea as lend it to him.（你借钱给他，不啻把钱丢在海里。）
Friendship is a vase, which, if it is cracked by accident, may as well be broken at once.
You might as well expect the sun to rise in the west as expect me to change my opinion.
3. cannot help + gerund
cannot but + bare infinitive
I cannot help admiring his courage.
I cannot but admire his courage.
我对于他的勇气不胜佩服。
More examples:
I could not but laugh on seeing such a funny sight.
The little child was so beautiful that no one who saw her could help loving her.
4. leave + much (nothing) + to be desired (leave much…: be very imperfect; leave nothing…: be perfect)
The book leaves much to be desired.
More examples:
It leaves nothing to be desired.（那毫无缺憾。）
The system of internal communication in England almost leaves nothing to be desired.
4. persuade + object + into + gerund
dissuade +object + from + gerund
I persuaded him into doing so. (I persuaded in to do so.) 我劝说他才这样做的。
I dissuaded him from (out of, against) doing so. (*I dissuaded him to do so.) 我劝阻他才不这样做的。
(I tried my best to reason him out of his fears, but it was all in vain.)
More examples:
He was persuaded into doing it against his own wish.
They dissuaded her from going on the stage.
I honour the man who can neither be bribed nor frightened into doing wrong.
5. only too… + infinitive
Too ready (apt, eager, easy, inclined, willing…) + infinitive
I am only too glad to do so.
She is too ready to speak. (She is too talkative.)
More example:
You know but too well to hold your tongue.（他深知少说为好。）
They are all too satisfied to take the opinions of theirs without the pain of thought for themselves.
I shall be only too pleased to do my best in that line of work.
We are too apt to overlook our own faults.
The political freedom we have today will never be too easy to preserve.
6. There is no + gerund
There is no knowing what may happen.（未来的事无法知道。）
More examples:
There is no denying it.
There is no telling what will happen.
There is no getting along with him.
There was no saying how he might behave upon these occasions.
He had always been excitable, but now he was beside himself; there was no reasoning with.
7. far from + gerund (far from: not at all) (far from it: 习语：决无其事，一点也不)
The noise, far from abating, continued to increase.（他声音不但毫未停止，反而增大了。）
More examples:
Far from reading the letter, he did not open it.
I am far from blaming him.
His explanation is far from (being) satisfactory.
His style is far from perfect. (c.f: His style leaves much to be desired.)
So far from repenting of his errors, he glories in it.
l Negatives
1. not so much as (not even)
He did not so much as turn his face.（他连头也没回一下。）
More examples:
He did not so much as punish one of the murderers, nor did he show the least tenderness to the survivors. (Macaulay)
He went away without so much as saying good-bye.
2. negative + but (but: which not, who not, that not…)
There is no rule but has exceptions. (The exception proves the rule.)
More examples:
There is no one but hopes to be rich.
There is scarcely a man but has his weak side.
There is nothing in the world but teaches us some good lesson.
It never rains but it pours.
No two people can be half an hour together but one shall gain an evident superiority over the other.
3. not so…but; not such a …but (c.f: too…to)
He is not so sick but he can come to school.
He is not such a fool but he knows it.
More examples:
No man is so foolish but he may give another good counsel sometimes.
No man is so old but (that) he may learn.
His income is not so small but he can support his family.
It was not such a cold night but we could go out.
4. not that…but that (that: because)
Not that I love Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.
More examples:
Not that I dislike the work, but that I have no time to do it for the time being.
No, thank you. I don’t want any more, not that I don’t like them, but (that) I am just full and cannot eat anything more.
Our boast is not that we have more ideas, but that our ideas are better and sounder.
We want to get into good society not that we may have it, but that we may be seen in it.
If I accidentally had my attention drawn to the fact that some other boy knew less than myself, I concluded, not that I knew much, but that he, for some reason or other, knew little.
l What, who patterns
1. what he is (his character)
what he has (his property)
We honour him for what he is, not for what he has.
More examples:
It is not a question how much a man knows, but what use he can make of what he knows; not a question of what he has acquired, and how he has been trained, but of what he is, and what he can do.
He has made what I am.
Coal and iron have made England what she is.（英国之有今日是煤与铁赋予的。）
What a man is contributes much more to his happiness than what he has.
Half the unhappiness in the world is caused by losing the blessing which would result from the enjoyment of what we have in envying others and longing for what they have.
2. what + noun (all the…that; that…which)
What little + noun（仅有的）
He gave me what money he had about him.
I gave him what little money I had.（我竭尽绵薄讲我仅有的钱都给他了。）
More examples:
I will lend you what books I can spare.
He does read many books, but what books he reads, he reads very carefully.
I have come to render what service is in my power.
He saves what little he earns.
She waited with what patience she could command.
The leaves were trembling with what little breeze there was.
One of the saddest sights is that of a young man who has sacrificed what little health and constitution he had for a college course.
3. what with…and what with (what: somewhat; partly) (with: reason)
What by…and what by (by: method)
What with illness and what with losses, he is almost ruined.
What by bribes and what be extortions, he made money.（或由受贿，或由勒索，他发了财。）
More examples:
What with his studies and what with his sports, the school-boy has no time left for idle thoughts.
What with the wind and (what with) the rain, our walk was spoiled.
In less than a minute the storm was upon us---in less than two the sky was entirely overcast and what with this and the driving spry, it became suddenly so dark that we could not see each other in the fishing boat.
What by threats and what by entreaties, he finally accomplished his purpose.
4. A is to B what C is to D
The man who cannot be trusted is to society what a bit of rotten timber is to a house. （不能信赖的人对于社会，正如朽木对于家庭一样。）
More examples:
What the blueprint is to the builder what the outline is to the writer.
Air is to us what water is to fish.
What the leaves are to the forest what children are to the world. (…, that to the world are children.)
l Condition and concession
1. noun + interrogatives
Say what you will, I don’t like. (Whatever you may say; No matter what you may say)
More examples:
Do what he could, the king could neither soothe nor quell the nation as he wished. He was at his wit’s end.
Go where I will, I find a house full of peace and cordiality. (Cowper)
Come what will (may), I am prepared for it.
Let others say what they will, I always speak the truth.
Later writers, say what you will of their genius, have rarely equalled the elaborate beauty of the ancients. (Thoreau)
Come what might, they were alone in the world with no one to help them (C. Dickens)
Here, wake at what hour I may, early or late, I lie amid gracious stillness. (Gissing)
Say what you may about, it is your father that made you what you are.
2. be it ever (never) so; let it be ever (never) so
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.
Let it be ever so humble, home is home.
Let it ever be so weak, there is nobody but loves his country.
A man thinking or working is always alone, let him be where he will.
Let his occupation be what it may, he must devote himself if he is to succeed.
3. were to
If the sun were to rise in the west, I would not do so.
(were to：万一，表示与未来事实相反的假设，稍古一点的说法是should，意思一样，不过were to比should更不确切，所以现代英语普遍用来代替should，口语中如主语是单数，were也可用was)
More examples:
If he were to call, tell him to wait.
Even if you were to try, you wouldn’t be able to do it.
If you were to start early tomorrow, you would (could, might, ought to, should) be at your destination by evening.
Supposing I were to die as I sit at this table, what would the difference be. (K. Mansfield)
If anything were to happen to him, the family would be left poorly off.
If the sun were to be extinguished, the whole earth would be fast bound in a frost so terrible that every animal would die.
l Adjectives and adverbs
1. so much so that
He is very ignorant so much so that he cannot read his own name.
(He is very ignorant to that extent or degree so that he cannot read his own name. He cannot so much as read his own name. He is very ignorant so much as to read his own name.)
More examples:
The invalid was very tired when he returned form the ride; so much so that he could not sit up.
He is poor---so much so that he can hardly get enough to live.
It is very fierce and savage---so much so that the natives dread it more than they do the lion.
2. more than + verb（深为、十二分的）
This more than satisfied me.
More examples:
He more than hesitated to promise it.
Rose’s cheeks were more than touched by the sun. (Gissing)
He has more than repaid my kindness.
She was more than pleased with her daughter’s performance.
I prefer autumn to spring. What we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits.
He more than smiled, he laughed outright.
l Connectives
1. and that (ellipsis for emphasis)
Return to your work, and that at once.
You must tell him at once.
You must tell him, and tell him at once.
You must tell him, and that at once.
More examples:
The snow began to come down and that in earnest.（而且下得很大）
He makes mistakes, and that very often.
He speaks English, and that very well.
He will come, and that soon.
All men seek after happiness, and that without any exception.
Every moment may be put to some use, and that with much more pleasure than if unemployed.
2. at once…and
The novel is at once pleasing and instructive. (at the same time; both…and)
More examples:
I was at once comforted and terrified by this thought.
The expression was at once grand and sweet. (Hawthorne)
He was at once detested and despised.
Very few will doubt that it is science which has at once quickened the demand for general education in modern times and made the education itself effective.
l One more thing
1. “it” and “one
If you want the watch, you can have it.
If you want a watch, you can have one.
I have lost my umbrella; I think I must buy one.
When the telephone was invented and was ready to use, hardly anybody cared to install one.
l Distinguishing between similar patterns
1. A number of members are absent.
The number of members is alarming.
2. They are the students of our school.（全部）
They are students of our school.（一部分）
3. He is rather a foolish fellow.（说他是一个愚笨的人更为恰当。）
He is a rather foolish fellow.（他是一个有点愚笨的人。）
4. He served me with a kind of coffee.
He served me with coffee of a kin