一、例句
The notion that warlike sports have no place in the Olympics is hard to square with history. (The Economist)
二、句子解析
参考译文:认为好战的体育运动在奥运会上没有一席之地的观点很难与历史相一致。
这句话选自最新一期《经济学人》 Leaders 版块的一篇社论,讨论了为什么电子竞技比赛应该被考虑纳入奥运会。
句中的一个关键表达是 to square with something,这是个地道、好用的动词短语。《牛津英语词典》的英英释义是:to make two ideas, facts or situations agree or combine well with each other; to agree or be consistent with another idea, fact or situation。中文意思是“(使)与....一致,与...相符”。
所以,这句话更自然的翻译应该是:有人认为好战的体育运动在奥运会上没有一席之地,但(其实)历史上不乏这样的项目。
在这句话之后作者还举了标枪、摔跤和现代五项全能运动的例子来说明好战的体育运动并不是什么新鲜事:
Javelin-throwing and wrestling were introduced in 708bc. They are still there. Modern pentathlon, which includes shooting and fencing, was designed to train soldiers.
当我们想表达“有人认为 X,但这与 Y 不相符”时,还可以使用“The notion that X is hard to square with Y.”这个好用、地道的句式。
其中,X 是完整的句子,Y 是名词。句式中 Y 经常用 evidence, experience, data 等可以支持说话人观点的词。
三、句式临摹
临摹句子:
The notion that warlike sports have no place in the Olympics is hard to square with history.
提炼句式:
The notion that X is hard to square with Y.
注意:
X 是完整的句子,Y 是名词。
造句示范:
a) 场景:有人认为只有经验丰富的员工才对公司有价值,但从经验来看,很多新人也可以创造价值。
The notion that {only experienced workers can contribute to a company} is hard to square with {experience}.
b) 场景:有人认为只要努力,就算出身条件不好也有机会考上一流大学,但从最新的数据来看,并不是这样的。
The notion that {as long as they study hard, poor, rural Chinese students can work their way into prestigious universities like Tsinghua and PKU} is hard to square with {the latest data/trends}. The odds are stacked against them.
四、作业
参考第三部分的句式造句,造句时尽量用中文写出具体的语境。