6月1日,上海大面积解封了,苦哈哈的封控岁月终于暂时告一段落了,我们终于重获了自由。各大外刊也纷纷发了新闻,我们来学习几个重点表达。
#01
「解封」用英文怎么说?
我们可以用下面几个词:
lift 本义是「抬起」,引申为「解除,撤销」的意思,lift the lockdown 便指「解封」。我们也可以说:The lockdown lifts.
ease 为动词,指「减轻,缓解」,也可指「使...减轻, 使...缓解」,英文解释为to become or to make sth less unpleasant, painful, severe, etc。
因此,我们既可以说:The lockdown eases. 也可说:ease the lockdown。
#02
如何表达「复工复产」?
我们可以用动词短语:resume work and production 或者 Work and production resume。
《中国日报》5月13日的报道就用的这个词:
resume 作动词,可指「恢复,重新开始」,也可指「使...恢复,使...重新开始」,尤其是用于指中断之后重新开始。
再举一个《南华早报》的例子:
Public transport has resumed and some shops have been allowed to reopen.
公共交通已经恢复,部分商店已允许开放。
名词短语为:the resumption of work and production。
「积极有序复工复产」我们可以说:actively support the orderly resumption of work and production
除此之外,我们还可以用restore这个词。
restore 也可指「恢复」某种情况或感受,英文解释为:to bring back a situation or feeling that existed before。
比如:restore one's confidence 恢复某人的信心。
《华尔街日报》的一篇报道里也用到了这个词:
Ms. Chan said she didn’t need to go back into the office until the city’s transport system was fully restored, which suited her well as she loves working from home.
Chan表示,在上海的交通系统完全恢复之前,她不需要回到办公室,这正合她的心意,因为她喜欢在家办公。
#03
如何形容解封后的心情?
在英国《卫报》里读到这样一句话,精准地描述了许多上海市民的心情:
City revels in freedoms after two months of lockdown but happiness is punctuated by fears that restrictions could return
历时两个月的封城结束后,整座城市开始为自由狂欢,但这种解封后的快乐仍不时被恐惧笼罩,人们害怕禁令还会回来。
revel [ˈrevəl] 本来是「狂欢」的意思,revel in sth 是个固定搭配,指「陶醉于,纵情于...」,相当于enjoy sth very much。
punctuate 这个词非常妙。punctuate 有「给...加标点」的意思,加标点,意味着中断,因此punctuate 可表示「不时打断...」(to interrupt sth at intervals)。这个词很生动地形容出了人们内心时不时的担忧。
再举个例子:The silence was occasionally punctuated by laughter.寂静间或被笑声打破。
《纽约时报》是这样描写上海人民的:
During the day, people — all wearing masks — basked in the novelty of previously mundane pleasures like meeting friends and relatives, strolling in parks, and driving through streets that had been largely empty since early April.
白天,人们(所有人都戴着口罩)出门与亲朋好友见面、在公园散步、开车行驶在自4月初以来大多空无一人的街道,享受着这些曾经平凡的乐趣带来的新鲜感。
bask本来是「晒太阳」的意思,短语bask in sth 形容「沉浸于...,尽情享受...」(to take pleasure from something that makes you feel good),和revel in sth可同义替换。
novelty 作不可数名词,指「新鲜感,新奇」,作可数名词,指「新奇的事物」。
如果要表达新鲜感消失,我们可以用wear off 这个词,举个例子:
The novelty of these toys soon wore off and the children became bored with them.孩子们对这些玩具的新鲜感很快消失了,开始厌倦起来。
《绝望主妇》里也出现过这个词:
novelty 还可作形容词,指「新奇的,风格独特的」。
novel 不仅可指「小说」,也可作形容词,指「新颖的,与众不同的,新奇的」(not like anything known before, and unusual or interesting)。
举个美剧《浪子神探》里的例子:
mundane [mʌnˈdeɪn] 作形容词,指「平凡的,平淡的;乏味的」(ordinary and not interesting or exciting)。previously mundane pleasures 便指「曾经平凡的乐趣」。
the mundane 为名词,指「平淡的事,平凡的事」。
《华尔街日报》用的是indulge in sth这个词:
indulge in sth / indulge oneself in sth 也可表示「沉湎,沉迷,沉溺于…」( to allow yourself to have or do sth that you like, especially sth that is considered bad for you)。
标题里的indulge in the mundane 便指「沉溺于平凡小事」。
#04
「禁止堂食」用英文怎么说?
「堂食」我们可以说:dining-in / in-house dining / indoor dining
《华尔街日报》的一篇文章是这样写的:
Dining-in remains barred at restaurants.
上海的餐馆仍然禁止堂食。
bar 作名词,有「栏杆」的意思,作动词,指「禁止,阻止」,惯用搭配为bar sth from doing sth。
我们还可以说:Dining-in / in-house dining / indoor dining is not allowed / banned.
#05
如何表达「常态化核酸」
我们可以说:normalized / regular nucleic acid testing
核酸亭数量还不够,动辄要排一两个小时,人们怨声载道,路透社的报道也提到了这一点:
In Shanghai, lockdown blues make way for COVID testing gripes
上海居民不再为封城忧郁,转而开始抱怨核酸检测。
blue 可不仅仅有「蓝色」的意思,blues作名词,还可表示「忧郁,沮丧」( feelings of sadness)。
make way for sth 是一个词组,字面义是「给...让路」,还可表示「让位给」新事物(to make it possible for something newer or better to be built, organized et)。
gripe 作名词,指「抱怨,发牢骚」,相当于complaint。
连起来:In Shanghai, lockdown blues make way for COVID testing gripes 意思便是:在上海,人们不再为封控感到忧郁,开始抱怨核酸检测。
gripe 还可作动词,gripe about sth 指「抱怨某事」,相当于complain about sth。近义词还有groan about sth, grumble about sth, whine about sth。
我在经济学人:拒绝被割韭菜,年轻人选择躺平这篇文章也讲过,同学们可回头再复习一下。
注意gripe是口语词,写作里勿用。
正文里是这样的说的:
Shanghai residents' relief over the easing of a two-month COVID-19 lockdown is giving way to frustration as they face hours waiting in line for virus tests and must show negative results to be permitted to enter public spaces.
上海居民被困两月得以解封的轻松快乐很快变为沮丧——他们不得不为了检测核酸排上几小时的长队,并且只有健康码阴性才能进入公共场所。
relief 指「放松,解脱」。
give way to sth 字面是「给…让路」的意思,A gives way to B 常常引申为「被…取代/淘汰」,可以替换A is replaced by B。
比如书信逐渐被被电子邮件取代。
Letters are gradually replaced by emails.
Letters gradually give way to emails.
give way to sth 经常用于形容感情的变化。电影《怦然心动》里也用到了这个词:
Loyalty gave way to desire.
give away to sth 还常用来形容风景的变化,比如爱情宿命论 | 阿兰·德波顿的碎碎念里有这样一句话:
We had recently crossed the Normandy coast, where a blanket of winter cloud had given way to an uninterrupted view of brilliant blue waters.
⻜机刚刚⻜越诺曼底海岸的上空,冬天的云层散开退去,下面是一览无遗的碧蓝海水。
在《彭博社周刊》读到这样一句话:
Shanghai residents must also submit to PCR testing every two or three days as they move about the city, in a strategy of early detection that the financial center hopes will keep future outbreaks at bay.
为了出行,他们必须每两到三日进行一次核酸检测,这座金融中心希望凭借此早期监测手段阻止未来疫情爆发。
这句话有好几个语言点值得我们学习:
带有插入语的定语从句 句中the financial center hopes是一个主谓结构,在定语从句中作插入语,去掉后,句子就好理解了:
..., in a strategy of early detection that will keep future outbreaks at bay
关系代词that指代前面的a strategy of early detection,作定语从句的主语。
作者加上the financial center hopes来表明这是上海希望的结果,而不是既定的事实。
submit to sth 指「顺从,屈服...;不得已接受...」(to allow another person or group to have power or authority over you, or to accept something unwillingly)。
我在电影《爱玛》里也遇见过这个词:
move about 副词about 指「处处,各处」,move about in the city 即「在这座城市里流动」。
detection 为名词,指「察觉,发现;侦察」,early detection of sth 指「早期发现某物」。
detect 为动词,指「发现,察觉」,后面多跟不易察觉的东西。比如:
Many forms of cancer can be cured if detected early.如果发现得早,许多种癌症都可以治愈。
detective指「侦探」,大家都很熟悉,把detect,detection和detective连起来,就好记忆了。
keep sth at bay 是一个习语,字面意思是「困住某事」,用来表示「阻止…发生,不让…接近」,很有画面感的一个词,经常用来表示「远离病毒」。
我们在豆瓣8.2,推荐一部超治愈的电影这篇文章详细讲过,回顾几个例子:
《经济学人》去年在报道东京奥运会奥组委的防疫努力时,就有用到这个表达:
《南华早报》之前在报道上海疫情里曾提到前两年上海抗疫的成功,也有用到这个表达:
形容情绪变化:A makes way for B, A gives way to B
忧郁:blues
抱怨,发牢骚:gripes, gripe about sth
被...时不时打断:be punctuated by sth
远离新冠病毒:keep covid-19 at bay