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外刊中有哪些精彩表达?(4)

Soren 经济学人双语精读 2022-06-09

近年来,“低头族”已成为考试写作中的一大热点话题,因此我前几天给学员布置了一个任务:按照我讲的方法搜集外刊中有关“低头族”的报道,并梳理文章观点,整理地道表达、句型句式等,最后,在此基础上,写一篇200词以上的作文。


因为有相关材料的输入,所以学员在写作文的时候并没有遇到太大的障碍,既解决了“写什么”的问题,也解决了“怎么写”的问题。这也是我一直推崇的英语学习理念:先输入(阅读、听力),再输出(口语表达、写作、翻译)。


今天和大家分享一些地道、漂亮的表达。




一、be glued to


《西雅图时报》的开头是这么说的:


The many men, women and children / who spend their days glued to their smartphones and social-media accounts / might learn something from Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the groundbreaking megahit “Hamilton.”


(夜夜思君不见君,还得埋头玩手机)


这篇文章在一开头就描述了人人低头玩手机的场景,men, women, children体现出这一现象之普遍,而glue又刻画出人们对手机的痴迷程度,很有画面感。


glue,幼儿园词汇,是“胶水”的意思,作动词,表示“用胶水粘”。这个单词我们已经学了十几年了,但很少有人能想到可以用 be glued to 来形容对某件事的痴迷——就像被胶水粘住一样,形象又生动。


比如,回家久了你妈可能会骂你:头发掉了一地,不学习不干活,一天到晚就知道玩手机。用英语可以说:All you did is spending your days glued to the smartphone screen.


“低头族”已经成为四六级、考研写作的一大热点话题,在作文开头我们可以先描述一下“低头族”现象:

A spurt of technological progress has given rise to a prevailing phenomenon that men and women are spending their days glued to their smartphones and social media accounts, head bowed.(head bowed作独立主格。)


除了 be glued to,我们还可以用be addicted to, bury oneself in, be obsessed with, be engrossed in等来表示“痴迷于”。




二、bombard


这篇文章里还说道:


As with so much else in life, moderation in our digital world should be the hallmark of a healthy relationship with technology. Too many of us have become slaves to the devices that were supposed to free us, giving us more time to experience life and the people we love. Instead, we’re constantly bombarded by bells, buzzes and chimes that alert us to messages we feel compelled to view and respond to immediately.


在数字化时代,“适度”应该是建立人与科技之间健康关系的标志之一,生活中的方方面面亦是如此。科技本应解放人类,给我们更多时间去体验生活、和所爱之人相处,但很多人却沦为科技的奴隶,我们总是不断的被电话、短信和微信声音(归化处理)所轰炸,提醒我们有新的消息,而我们不得不马上去处理。


bombard是“轰炸”的意思,比如,America is bombarding Syria. 美国在轰炸叙利亚。


这里用了bombard的比喻义,手机一阵又一阵的响起,短信微信一条接着一条轰炸过来,本来井井有条的生活被这些“炸弹”所扰乱。Bombard用在这里既形象又贴切,而且突显了科技对生活带来的负面影响。


父母经常会给我们转发一些公众号文章:“警惕!这些食物千万别吃”、“这些食物有你不知道的好处”、“还在炒菜放大蒜吗?赶紧看看吧,现在看还来得及!”、”常吃这五种食物竟然能长命百岁!“……我们可以说:

We are now bombarded by our parents with articles on what to eat and what to avoid.


除了bombard,这段话字字珠玑,比如 "too many of us have become slaves to the devices that were supposed to free us",把人与科技的畸形关系描绘的淋漓尽致。如果我们把这一段稍作修改放在写作中,用来表达对“低头族”现象的看法和建议,一定会把阅卷老师惊艳到。




三、wean...off / from...


PC Magazine中有篇文章教大家如何摆脱手机瘾,题目是这么说的:


How to Wean Yourself Off Smartphones and Social Media


You probably can’t cut tech out of your life completely, but here are some tips to take back control of your apps and devices.


之后又写到:


Here are some tips to wean yourself off compulsive smartphone and social media habits, and how to regain control over how you consume technology.


《华盛顿邮报》的相关报道里也出现了wean...off / from...这一用法:


There’s a paradox to using technology to wean us from technology, but Huffington has an explanation. “Going to sleep with the lights off doesn’t make us anti-electricity,” she told me. “In the same way, turning off our phones to be able to reconnect with the people and things we most value doesn’t make us anti-technology.”


通过科技手段来摆脱对科技的依赖似乎自相矛盾,但赫芬顿解释道:“上床关灯并不意味着排斥电,同样,关掉手机,和朋友以及我们重视的事物重新建立联系并不意味着排斥科技。”



wean本是“使(婴儿、幼崽)断奶”的意思,因此,wean...off / from 可以理解为“断掉,戒掉(某一习惯)”,它和 get rid of 表达同样的意思,但不同的是,wean更能从侧面体现出人们对手机的严重依赖。

问君能有几多愁,恰似一天到晚没手机。


比如“戒烟”,我们除了说 give up smoke, get rid of smoke,还可以说 wean yourself off / from smoke.


今天就到这里,感谢阅读!





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