非謂語動詞的譯法

    英語中非謂語動詞包括分詞不定式和動名詞動名詞與名詞具有類似的功能,在翻譯時可以參考名詞性從句或抽象名詞的譯法, 下面, 我們主要通過一些實例說明動詞不定式和分詞的翻譯方法。

    例1.Americans do not like to be called materialistic because they feel that this unfairly accuses them of loving only material things and of having no religious values. 美國人不喜歡被稱為物質主義者, 因為他們認為指控他們只重物質利益, 沒有宗教價值觀是不公正的(不定式作賓語)

    例2.The writer? s purpose may be simply to inform, or to make readers aware of similarities or differences that interesting and significant in themselves. 作者的目的或許只是想告訴讀者或者讓讀者意識到(存在于比較對象之間的)很有趣值得注意的相似和不同之處(不定式作表語)

    例3.The aim of science is to describe the world in orderly language, in such a way that we can, if possible, foresee the results of those alternative courses of action between which we are always choosing. 科學的目的在于用規律的語言來描述世界這樣, 如果可能的話, 我們就能預見到可供選擇的兩個行動方案的結果我們經常遇到這種選擇(不定式作表語)

    例4.It is the business of the scientist to accumulate knowledge about the universe and all that is in it, and to find, if he is able, common factors which underlie and account for the facts that he knows. 科學家要做的事就是積累有關宇宙和宇宙中的一切事物的知識, 而且要是可能的話, 找出那些既能構成科學家所知事實的基礎, 又能解釋這些事實的共同因素(不定式作主語)

    例5.It is a difficult task to compare two systems of education which stem from different roots and often produce contrasting effects. 兩種教育制度體系源于不同的根基, 并常常產生對照鮮明的不同效果, 因而,要將它們作一比較, 確非易事(不定式作主語)

    例6.This tendency to escalate a situation into its worst possible conclusion is what I called awfulizing, and it can be a key factor in tipping the balance toward, illness or health. 把一種情況逐漸地想象為最壞的結果, 我稱之為“杞人猶天”, 這或許能打破你體內平衡, 或使你患病, 或使你健康(不定式作定語)

    例7.As never before, the nations of the world demonstrated a willingness to put aside ideological and individual differences to confront a common threat. 世界各國決心要把意識形態分歧和各自的不同意見放在一邊而來正視這個共同的威協, 這在以前從來沒有過(不定式作定語)

    例8.To communicate precisely what you want to say, you will frequently need to define key words. 要準確表達想要表達的內容, 就經常需要對關鍵詞進行釋義(不定式作狀語

    例9.To make calculations manageable even by computers, most of the models suppose either that the oceans are a shallow, motionless swamp or that they don? t exist at all. 為了使這些計算甚至可以用普通的計算機來處理, 大多數模型要么假設海洋是既淺又靜止的沼澤, 要么假設它們根本不存在(不定式作狀語)

    例10.We can have greater confidence in the reality of a healing system that is beautifully designed to meet most of its problems. 我們對下述事實應抱有充分而信心: 人體的健康機制十分精妙, 足以應付大部分疾病(不定式作狀語)

    例11.Having disproved and disputed the theory for more than two decades, some biologists are now embarking an undertaking to interpret it in a new approach. 20多年來, 某些生物學家一直對該理論持否定與爭議的態度, 現在他們正在開始一項研究, 以新的方法解釋這一理論(現在分詞做狀語) 

    例12.The first cause of the liberation of women was the development of effective birth-control methods, freeing women from the endless cycle of childbearing and rearing. 婦女的解放首先起因于有效的節育措施的出現, 從而將女人從生養孩子的無盡循環中解放出來(現在分詞做狀語)

    例13.At every crossways on the road that leads to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed by thousands of men appointed to guard the past. 在通往未來道路的每一個十字路口上, 每一個具有進步思想的人都會遭到受命維護過去的千千萬萬名衛道士的反對(過去分詞做定語)

    例14.The very first flight of Spacelab, manned by an international team of scientist-astronauts, demonstrated that a Nobel-prize-winning theory on the function of the inner ear was incorrect. 正是這第一座由跨國科學家和宇航員操作的太空試驗站, 證明了一項曾獲諾貝爾獎的關于人體內耳作用的理論是不正確的(過去分詞做定語)

    例15.But the details of this movement -- what causes it, how it relates to other processes occurring in the ocean at the same time, and how it interacts with the earth? s atmosphere -- remain sketchy. 但這種洋流的詳細情況-- 諸如什么導致了這種洋流, 它與伴隨它的其他海洋特征有什么聯系以及它與地球的大氣是怎樣相互作用的-- 都還不太清楚(現在分詞做定語)