表裡不一的英文字 英文最怕的就是表裡不一的字。 在英文中有一大群看似「主動」,實為「被動」的字。「賣得好」用sell;「由……組成」用comprise;「退讓」用yield to;「委任」用 fall to;「中計」用 fall for……。
在這些中、英文字裡,你看不到一個「被」字,也沒有出現被動(be動詞+過去分詞)用法,但全隱含著被動的意義。 以下,我們就用一些例子來搞定這些表裡不一的英文字。
1. sell 賣,出售 His debut novel was sold well and continued to top the bestseller list. →His debut novel sold well and continued to top the bestseller list. 他的小說處女作賣得很好,持續穩坐暢銷書冠軍。
2. comprise 由…組成 The committee is comprised of representatives from the public sectors. →The committee comprises representatives from the public sectors. 委員會由政府部門代表組成。
3. yield to 被迫接受,退讓 In business negotiation, we shouldn’t be forced to accept all the demands from our clients. →In business negotiation, we can’t just yield to all the demands from our clients. 在商務談判中,我們不應該一昧接受客戶的要求。
4. fall to 被指派,委任 Everyone else on the overworked staff was relieved when the task of handling the new project was assigned to Cindy. →Everyone else on the overworked staff was relieved when the task of handling the new project fell to Cindy. 得知新專案指派給Cindy後,負擔沈重的成員們都鬆了一口氣。
5. fall for 被欺騙,落入陷阱 We were all deceived by the con artist’s scheme and lost $10,000. →We all fell for the con artist’s scheme and lost $10,000. 我們都中了那騙子的詭計,損失了一萬元美金。
6. forfeit 被沒收,喪失權利 If you breach the contract, you will be deprived of your deposit. →If you breach the contract, you will forfeit your deposit. 若違約,訂金概不退還。 認清楚這些字後,是不是覺得中英文都跟著好了一點?常把英文和自己的母語比對思考,你也會有一些新奇的小發現!