对这类口语往往弄错原意 Thread poster: redred
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redred 
China
Local time: 22:15
English to Chinese
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转贴:
1.Do you have a family?
你有孩子吗？
2.It's a good father that knows his son。
就算是最好的父亲，也未必了解自己的儿子。
3.I have no opinion of that sort of man。
我对这类人很反感。
4.She put 5 dollars into my hand,"you have been a great man today."
她把5美圆塞到我手上说："你今天表现得很好."
5.I was the youngest son, and the youngest but two。
�... See more 转贴:
1.Do you have a family?
你有孩子吗？
2.It's a good father that knows his son。
就算是最好的父亲，也未必了解自己的儿子。
3.I have no opinion of that sort of man。
我对这类人很反感。
4.She put 5 dollars into my hand,"you have been a great man today."
她把5美圆塞到我手上说："你今天表现得很好."
5.I was the youngest son, and the youngest but two。
我是最小的儿子，但是我还有两个妹妹。
6.The picture flattered her。
她比较上照。
7.The country not agreeing with her, she returned to England。
她在那个国家水土不服，所以回到了英国。
8. He is a walking skeleton。
他很瘦。
9.The machine is in repair。
机器已经修好了。
10.He allowed the father to be overruled by the judge, and declared his own son guilty。
他让法官的职责战胜了父子的亲情，最终宣布儿子有罪。
11.You don't know what you are talking about。
你在胡说八道。
12.You don't begin to understand what they mean。
你根本不知道他们在干嘛. don't begin ：决不
13.They didn't praise him slightly。
他们大大地表扬了他。
14.That's all I want to hear。
我已经听够了。
15.I wish I could bring you to see my point。
你要我怎么说你才能明白呢。
16.You really flatter me。
你让我受宠若惊。
17.He made a great difference。
有他没他结果完全不一样。
18.You cannot give him too much money。
你给他再多的钱也不算多。
19.The long exhausting trip proved too much。
这次旅行矿日持久，我们都累倒了。
20.The monk is only not a dead man。
这个和尚虽然活着，但跟死了差不多。
21.A surgeon made a cut in the patient's stomach。
外科医生在病人胃部打了个洞。
22.You look darker after the holiday。
你看上去更健康了。
23.As luck would have it, he was caught by the teacher again。
不幸的是，他又一次被老师逮个正着。
24.She held the little boy by the right hand。
她抓着小男孩的右手。(这里"by"与"with"动作主语完全相反。)
25.Are you there?
等于句型：Do you follow me?
26.If you think he is a good man, think again。
如果你认为他是好人，那你就大错特错了。
27.She has blue eyes。
她长着双蓝眼睛。
28.That took his breath away。
他大惊失色。
29.Two is company but three is none。
两人成伴，三人不欢。
30.The elevator girl reads between passengers。
开电梯的姑娘在没有乘客时看书。
"between"="without":相同用法：She modeled between roles。译成：她不演戏时去客串下模特。
31.Students are still arriving。
学生还没有到齐。
32.I must not stay here and do nothing。
我不能什么都不做待在这儿。
33.They went away as wise as they came。
他们一无所获。
34.I won’t do it to save my life。
我死也不会做。
35.Nonsense, I don’t think his painting is any better than yours。
胡说，我认为他的画比你好不到哪去。
36.Traditionally, Italian presidents have been seen and not heard。
从传统上看，意大利总统有名无权。
37.Better late than the late。
晚了总比完了好/迟到总比丧命好。
38.You don’t want to do that。
你不应该去做。
39.My grandfather is nearly ninety and in his second childhood。
我祖父快90岁了，什么事都需要别人来做。
40.Work once and work twice。
一次得手，再次不愁。
41.Rubber easily gives way to pressure。
橡胶很容易变形。
42.If my mother had known of it she'd have died a second time。
要是我妈妈知道了，她会从棺材里爬起来。
[Edited at 2011-11-17 09:18 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Phil Hand
China
Local time: 22:15
Chinese to English
| Right, what is this weird misunderstanding about colloquial English? | Nov 17, 2011 |
非常奇怪的事，好像我认识的很多中国人（学英文的中国人）都在『口语』和『难』之间画个等号。
结果，他们以为口语一定很难，难理解的一定是口语。
实际上，这种想法没有任何依据。在我的经验中，往往是写的比较复杂的书面语（如经济学家杂志等）才最难理解。口语要认真听，但在我认识的人中，英语听力好的比英文阅读能力好的多很多。
（不得不说，这跟中国中学教育有非常大的关系，人家在高中背了几篇英文，以为这就是阅读，其实他们对文章的意思毫无概念。）
Anyway，楼主的这些谚语与口语没有太大的关系，甚至有几条看起来与英文没有太大的关系。这类谚语杂会有和大的水分。
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redred列出的句子中，有一句：
6.The picture flattered her。
她比较上照。
让我联想起有一与这句话相关的电影对白：The camera loves you！(你很上镜哦）
一直以来，个人觉得有一种倾向：学口语是用来聊天的，而口译是用来赚钱的。阅读能够增长知识面，写作（或翻译）才是谋生的。不知这样看法是否恰当？或许，算是一种实用主义吧～：）
| | | | redred
China
Local time: 22:15
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
9.The machine is in repair。
机器已经修好了。
不是正在维修吗?
This building is in repair．This building is under repair．
在英语句子里，使用不同的介词往往会使该句产生截然不同的意义，题例两句就是如此。
“This building is in repair．”的意思是“这幢大楼已修理好了”，in repair等于in good repair之意。“This building is under repair．”的意思是“这幢大�... See more 9.The machine is in repair。
机器已经修好了。
不是正在维修吗?
This building is in repair．This building is under repair．
在英语句子里，使用不同的介词往往会使该句产生截然不同的意义，题例两句就是如此。
“This building is in repair．”的意思是“这幢大楼已修理好了”，in repair等于in good repair之意。“This building is under repair．”的意思是“这幢大楼正在修理中”，它相当于“This building is undergoing repair．”。其意为该楼在修理，但还没有修理好。
In good repair相当于in repair，其对义语为 in bad repair in（a state of）disrepair／fallen into disrepair。out of repair是“已损坏”；past repair/beyond repair是“坏得不能修理”；need putting into repair和stand in need of repair 都是“需要修理”。repair是名词或动词。
Repairs done while you wait．（名词）
= Repair while you wait．（动词）
马上修理，稍等可取。
13.They didn't praise him slightly。
他们大大地表扬了他。
要紧记“双重否定表示肯定”。
17.He made a great difference。
有他没他结果完全不一样。
他产生炯然不同的结果。
23.As luck would have it, he was caught by the teacher again。
不幸的是，他又一次被老师逮个正着。
反话。
30.The elevator girl reads between passengers。
开电梯的姑娘在没有乘客时看书。
"between"="without":相同用法：She modeled between roles。译成：她不演戏时去客串下模特。
我想大家会这样认为“开电梯的姑娘在乘客中看书”。
31.Students are still arriving。
学生还没有到齐。
are still arriving, 在路上?
39.My grandfather is nearly ninety and in his second childhood。
我祖父快90岁了，什么事都需要别人来做。
his second childhood, 指还像小孩子一样。
[Edited at 2011-11-17 13:40 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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kenny2006woo (X)
Local time: 22:15
English to Chinese
Phil Hand wrote:
Anyway，楼主的这些谚语与口语没有太大的关系，甚至有几条看起来与英文没有太大的关系。这类谚语杂会有和大的水分。
Phil，“跟英文没有太大的关系”是什么意思？
我同意你的看法，写比说难很多。
[Edited at 2011-11-18 00:33 GMT]
| | | | Phil Hand
China
Local time: 22:15
Chinese to English
| 以下八條根本不是英文，要么看不懂，要么非常牽強 | Nov 18, 2011 |
3.I have no opinion of that sort of man。
4.She put 5 dollars into my hand,"you have been a great man today."
5.I was the youngest son, and the youngest but two。
9.The machine is in repair。
20.The monk is only not a dead man。
37.Better late than the late。
40.Work once and work twice。
42.If my mother had known of it she'd have died a second time。
| | | | kenny2006woo (X)
Local time: 22:15
English to Chinese
谢谢你，Phil, 母语不是英文的人还真难辨别这些句子。
我还是喜欢多看书，对这些口语资料一向并不感冒，呵呵。
| | | | wherestip
United States
Local time: 09:15
Chinese to English
+ ...
| Awkward sentences | Nov 18, 2011 |
Phil Hand wrote:
以下八條根本不是英文，要么看不懂，要么非常牽強
3.I have no opinion of that sort of man。
4.She put 5 dollars into my hand,"you have been a great man today."
5.I was the youngest son, and the youngest but two。
9.The machine is in repair。
20.The monk is only not a dead man。
37.Better late than the late。
40.Work once and work twice。
42.If my mother had known of it she'd have died a second time。
I agree with Phil. It seems like whoever put these sentences together was trying to be clever, but in effect was anything but.
In real life, nobody in his right mind talks that way. ..
~*~*~*~*~*~*
With regard to the last sentence, there is the saying of the deceased turning over in his or her grave. For example, "Mao must be turning in his grave, or mausoleum in this case." ( http://www.proz.com/post/358487#358487 )
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/turn%20in%20one's+grave turn in one's grave Idioms & Phrases turn in one's grave Also turn over in one's grave . Be very upset. This idiom is used only of a dead person, who in all likelihood would have been upset by developments in question, as in If she knew you'd sold her jewelry, she'd turn over in her grave . [Late 1800s] http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/turn%20in%20grave turn in your grave (British, American & Australian) also turn over/spin in your grave (American) if you say that a dead person would turn in their grave, you mean that they would be very angry or upset about something if they knew. She'd turn in her grave if she knew what he was spending his inheritance on.
[Edited at 2011-11-18 16:03 GMT]
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wherestip
United States
Local time: 09:15
Chinese to English
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| the spoken word | Nov 19, 2011 |
wherestip wrote: In real life, nobody in his right mind talks that way. ..
Just to be clear, I'm not saying that these sentences are flat-out wrong. However, they're pretty stuffy, and even if acceptable, pretty outdated. The roundabout way of expressing an idea is mostly from a bygone era anyway. In real life, if you spoke like that, people would either think that you're putting on airs, or that there's something wrong with you(from another planet, maybe. ...)
Colloquialisms and idioms are an integral part of the English language. English is like any other language, Chinese for example, a good part of the spoken language finds its way into the written language. So proficiency in the spoken word is extremely important to a translator.
[Edited at 2011-11-20 12:02 GMT]
| | | | Phil Hand
China
Local time: 22:15
Chinese to English
| Relationship between written and spoken | Nov 19, 2011 |
Is a really interesting one, in English and Chinese.
First, it's interesting how in general we come at it with different assumptions. In Chinese, I think a lot of people expect 书面语 and 口语 to be different. There's a lot of factors that go into this, but the historical factor of 文言文 is one, I think: back 100 years ago, the written and spoken languages were often literally different languages.
In English, that tradition (speaking English but reading & writi... See more Is a really interesting one, in English and Chinese.
First, it's interesting how in general we come at it with different assumptions. In Chinese, I think a lot of people expect 书面语 and 口语 to be different. There's a lot of factors that go into this, but the historical factor of 文言文 is one, I think: back 100 years ago, the written and spoken languages were often literally different languages.
In English, that tradition (speaking English but reading & writing Latin only) died out 500-600 years ago. It's my impression that people generally expect written language to be basically the same as spoken language.
Obviously, neither of these views is completely true. There are lots of ways in which written English differs from spoken (ask a good reader to read a newspaper headline out loud, and often they won't, because it's a specifically written form, and they sound kinda weird when spoken). And as you say, there's a lot of colloquial expressions that find their way into Chinese. (Guy who taught me interpreting had a great theory about that: he reckons that during the civil war, the communists picked up lots of local variant vocabulary from the rural places they hid in, and that vocabulary ended up being a part of the standard government lingo, and has thence become a part of normal language, which is part of why modern Putonghua isn't exactly the same as the northern/Beijing dialect.)
And in both languages, the internet is huge - a completely written medium that feels like spoken language. There's a linguist called David Crystal who's just written a whole book on it. According to a reviewer, he says: "Internet language cannot be identified with either speech or writing; instead, it selectively and adaptively displays properties of both, giving rise to a fresh, mixed medium." ▲ Collapse
| | | | wherestip
United States
Local time: 09:15
Chinese to English
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Phil Hand wrote:
(Guy who taught me interpreting had a great theory about that: he reckons that during the civil war, the communists picked up lots of local variant vocabulary from the rural places they hid in, and that vocabulary ended up being a part of the standard government lingo, and has thence become a part of normal language, which is part of why modern Putonghua isn't exactly the same as the northern/Beijing dialect.)
Phil,
I agree with most everything what you said. But this theory of your instructor's, I would take with a huge grain of salt.
| | | | wherestip
United States
Local time: 09:15
Chinese to English
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redred
China
Local time: 22:15
English to Chinese
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TOPIC STARTER
Guys,
那些英文不知是哪位人士鼓搗出来，从大家的发言看出英文为母语者也会觉得费解．
[Edited at 2011-11-20 02:11 GMT]
| | | | wherestip
United States
Local time: 09:15
Chinese to English
+ ...
| 故意卖弄 － 瞎转（ㄓㄨㄞˇ） | Nov 20, 2011 |
redred wrote:
Guys,
那些英文不知是哪位人士鼓搗出来，从大家的发言看出英文为母语者也会觉得费解．
redred,
费解倒不是，作者的原意很容易看出来。 只是 Phil 指出的那些句子，有的根本说得不好，有的如今一般口语中没有人那样说了。依我看，好几句纯粹是在故弄玄虚、故作深奥。 实际生活中，这样说话很晦涩，别人是会冷眼相看的。如果再加上发音不准的话，人家更可能觉得 "莫名其妙" 了。其结果岂不是 适得其反，自己给自己找难堪？
举个例子吧： "I was the youngest son, and the youngest but two". Such a simple idea, why not just speak like a normal person, and phrase the sentence in a simpler, more direct manner? For example, "I was the youngest son with two younger sisters".
Perhaps unbeknownst to some folks, in the English-speaking world, to be plain-spoken is actually a virtue.
其实这方面，普通话 又何尝不是一向提倡通俗易懂的呢？
http://www.zdic.net/zd/zi/ZdicE8ZdicBDZdicAC.htm ...
[转文］指说话或写文章时有意不用通俗易懂的词句，而使用文言文词语以显高雅。
至于其它的句子，绝大部分都是很普通的用语, such as "Students are still arriving", "He made a great difference", "My grandfather is in his second childhood", etc.. Most of these are very basic English sentences; I honestly don't see why the author thought some were even worth including in a special list.
BTW, 你作的解释很不错。 不过提一下，最后一句意思是 "我爷爷老糊涂了"，指他年迈得日常生活已经不能自己照料自己了。
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/second%20childhood
second childhood
noun
senility; dotage.
[Edited at 2011-11-21 00:00 GMT]
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