1. Nobody will be the wiser.
谁也不会更为聪明。(误)
谁也不懂得。(正)
注:英语形容词wise 有三个基本意思:(1) 聪明的,如You were wise not to go.(你不去是聪
明的)。(2) 饱学的,如He is wise in the law.(他精通法律)。(3)知道的,如We are
none the wiser for his explanations.(听完他的解释,我们还是不明白)。上例便是第三义
,等于说Nobody will know it. 通常比较级,意为“至今不知道的事,现在知道了”,所谓
none the wiser= no wiser than before= as wise as before,照旧。
2.Don't you see the writing on the wall?
你看不见墙上的字吗?(误)
难道你看不到灾难的迫切吗?(正)
注:The writing on the wall (or sometimes 'handwriting on the wall') is an
expression that suggests a portent of doom or misfortune. It originates in the
Biblical book of Daniel - where supernatural writing fortells the demise of the
Babylonian Empire, but it has come to have a wide usage in language and literature.
3.Truth lies at the bottom of the decanter.
真相从玻璃酒瓶地下看出来。(误)
酒后吐真言。(正)
4.Don't tell him home truths.
不要告诉他家里的真相。(误)
不要对他讲逆耳的事实。(正)
注:Home truths are unpleasant facts that you learn about yourself, usually from
someone else. (BRIT)
5.This will go a long way in overcoming the difficulty.
在克服困难上要走很远的路。(误)
这在突破难关时是很有帮助的。(正)
注:go a long way = will be helpful. 又,go a little way with a person, 意为对那人一
点效果也没有,对他影响很小。
6.He has a yellow streak in him.
他身上有一条黄色的纹路。(误)
他有胆小的气质。(正)
7.One or two of the jewels would never be missed.
一两粒宝石是决不会不见的。(误)
失去一两粒宝石是决不会知道的。(正)
8.Iknow he meant business.
我知道他的用意在生意。(误)
我知道他不是开玩笑的。(正)
注:口语用法的mean business = be serious;be earnest。做生意的人是要认真的,
讲求信用的,因此引伸出上面这种意思来了。
9.This failure was the making of him.
这次失败是他造成的。(误)
这次失败实为他成功的基础。(正)
注:动词make 原是“造成”的意思,又可作“发展或发达的过程。成功的原因或手段”解,例
句中所用的便是这个意思。making 还可以加复数,而构成“要素”,“素质”之意,如He has
in him the makings of a poet.(他有诗人的素质。)
10.He has never recovered her loss.
他永为能补偿她的损失。(误)
他用含失恃之悲。(正)
注:这是英语中最容易弄错意思的一种表现法。英语属格分主格作用和宾格作用两种。李据说的
是宾格作用,所谓her loss = the loss of his mother, 而不是his mother's loss, 不是他母
亲的损失,而是他失去母亲。如果说成She has never recovered her loss. 就是主格作用,因
为She 和her是同一人,her loss就是她的损失。从及物动词变来的名词,就能有这两种作用。