中式英语之鉴100句（六）

何航

51. 那本书毫无价值可言。
[误] That book is invaluable.
[正] That book is valueless.
注：invaluable 和 valueless 一个是在形容词 valuable（有价值的）之前加上否定形容词前缀 in-；另一个是在名词 value（价值）的后面加上否定形容词 -less，但它们的意思却刚好相反。invaluable 是指“非常贵重的，无价的”（highly valuable, precious），其同义词是 priceless；valueless 的意思却是“毫无价值的”，相当于 worthless。现将这两个词用在同一个句子中，以便区别：The book that he considered valueless proved invaluable to us（他认为毫无价值的那本书对我们来说却是无价之宝）。
52. IBM公司一直处在电脑行业的前沿。
[误] IBM is always in the front line of computer industry.
[正] IBM is always at the cuttting edge of computer insustry.
注： front line 是“前线，第一线”的意思，常指最危险或最艰苦的地方。例如：Many doctors are in the front line of the fighting against SARS（许多医生战斗在抗击“非典”的第一线）。at the cutting edge 最早出现在20世纪50年代，它最初指“锐器的锋利部位”，现在常隐喻“处在（高科技的）最前沿。
53. 一位有经验的教师曾经说，上课之前他觉得如临大敌，上课时他是如履薄冰，只有上完课后他才会如释重负。
[误] An experienced teacher once said that before class he felt as if faced with a formidable enemy, in class he felt like walking on ice, and only after class would he feel relieved.
[正] An experienced teacher once said that before class he felt as if faced with a formidable enemy, in class he felt like walking on eggs, and only after class would he feel relieved.
注： 中文的“如履薄冰”是比喻一个人“做事十分小心谨慎或战战兢兢”，而英语的类似说法却是 walk on eggs 或 tread on eggs，要注意中英文喻体的不同。
54. 我有一个舒适的家。
[误] I have a cozy family.
[正] I have a cozy home.
注： family 和 home 虽然翻译成汉语时都是“家”，但它们在英语中却不是同义词。family 主要指家庭成员；而 home 主要指居住地，即“住宅”。原文中用“舒适的”来修饰“家”，显然是指“舒适的房子”。如果原文是“我有一个和睦的家”，就应该翻译成 I have a harmonious family 了。
55. 每节课老是都会点名。
[误] The teacher will call our names in every period of class.
[正] The teacher will call the roll in every period of class.
注： 英语的“点名”是 call the roll，而 call one's name(s)的意思是“谩骂某人”。rool 有“名册”的意思，又如：remove sb.'s name from the rool（把某人除名）。
56. 我的学习很忙。
[误] My study is very busy.
[正] I am very busy with my study.
注：第一句译文完全套用汉语的结构和语序，却犯了英文的句法错误。因为在英语中，study（学习）是一个行为，并不懂得忙不忙，感到忙的应是进行这一行为的人。所以，be busy with sth. 或 be busy (in) doing sth. 才是地道的英语表达。
57. 给他当二把手我看也值得。他太能干了。
[误] I feel it worth being a second hand to him. He is so capable.
[正] I feel it worth playing second fiddle to him. He is so capable.
注：英语的 second hand 作名词指“中间人”、“旧货”或“助手工人”，而汉语的“二把手”是“副手”，即“第二负责人”的意思，所以二者不是一回事。play second fiddle 则源于管弦乐队中第一提琴手（first violin）不在的时候由第二提琴手负责，并被人们引申为“当主要领导人的副手”，也就是我们所说的“当第二把手”。由此，不难猜出“当一把手”译成英语应该是 paly first fiddle了。
58. 电车上十分拥挤，几乎没有立足之地。
[误] The tram was so crowded that there was hardly sufficient room for you.
[正] The tram was so crowded that there was scarcely sufficient room for you.
注：副词 hardly 和 scarcely 虽然都含有“几乎不”等否定含义，有些时候也可以互换，如：I could hardly/scarcely recognize her（我几乎认不出她来了），但仍有细微的差异。如在强调数量“不足”时只能用 scarcely，这时它常与 enough、sufficient等词连用。
59. 他被戴上了绿帽子。
[误] He is made to wear a green hat.
[正] He is a cuckold.
注：中文的“戴绿帽子”是指某人之妻与他人私通，但直译成英文西方人只会按字面意思理解为“某人头上被戴了顶绿色的帽子”，无论如何也不会理解汉语的喻义。而英语的 cuckold 是指“奸妇的丈夫”（a man whose wife deceives him by having a sexual relationship with another man），所以用 be a cuckold 才能正确表达原文的意思。
60. 我在新闻片里看到你站在总裁的身旁。
[误] I saw you stand by the president in the newsreel.
[正] I saw you stand beside the president in the newsreel.
注：stand by someone 的意思是“支持某人”（to support someone）；to stand beside someone 才是“立于某人旁边”（to stand by the side of someone）。但是，如果 stand by 后面的宾语不是人，那倒是可以与 stand beside 互换，表示“在...之旁”，例如：Their house stands by a forest（他们的房子在森林旁边）。除此之外，stand by 还有“袖手旁观”之意，例如：How can you stand by and watch while your allies are attacked？（当你们的盟友受到攻击时，你们怎能袖手旁观呢？）