英語小陷阱(5)

He is a good sailor.
    他不會暈船.
    ----------------------------------------
    此句不能譯作: "他是一個好水手." 如要表達此義,
    應該說: He is a skilled seaman.
    He is a good sailor. 的真正涵義是: He is not liable to seasickness.
    或He is seldom seasick in rough weather. 因此, a good sailor 的內(nèi)涵是: "不會暈船".
    四十年代出版的一本《英漢四用辭典》把He is a good sailor.
    譯作:"他是一個好水手,因為它沒有把這個句子的真正涵義表達出來.
    下面是關(guān)于會暈船和不會暈船的兩段對話:
    What kind of sailor are you?
    I'm a bad sailor.{或I'm not much of a sailor.}
    你暈不暈船?
    我會暈船的.
    Are you a good sailor?
    Yes, I'm a good sailor.
    你會暈船嗎?
    我不會暈船.
    從上面的例句可看出, a bad sailor是a good sailor的相對語, 因此,
    它也不能照譯作:"一個壞水手", 而應譯作:"會暈船"或"容易暈船". 請再看下面幾個例句:
    Lao Li is a bad teacher. (或Lao Li is not much of a teacher.)
    老李不善于教書.
    Hsiao Wang is a good learner.
    小王善于學習.
    John is a good thief.
    約翰的偷竊本領(lǐng)很高明.
    從上述例句可以看到, good和bad是表示"能力的大小"和"動作的特征",
    是用來指"航海", "教書", "學習", "偷竊"的動作特征, 而不是指人的道德品質(zhì)而言,
    因此 a good thief的內(nèi)涵是 someone who thieves well; a good learner
    的內(nèi)涵是someone who learns well. 其余可以類推.
    英語有句名諺: A bad workman always blames his tools.
    (自己笨,怪刀鈍)句中的bad也不是指workman的品德不好, 而是"笨手笨腳"的涵義.
    a bad workman是"能工巧匠"的反語, 可譯作:"技藝差的工匠". 同理,
    a bad driver是"駕駛技術(shù)拙劣的司機"; a bad nurse是"不稱職的護士".
    在其他場合里, "bad"還可能譯為:"不勝任的", "令人不滿意的", "差勁的".
    總之, bad和good的譯法必須根據(jù)具體的場合和搭配詞才能選定.