有这样一句话“Joe lives on easy street and can buy all the new things that make life easy.”,如果稍不注意,你有可能会翻译为“乔住在一条很方便的街上,那里买东西方便,生活很舒服。”不看原文,这句话翻译得很通顺,但恰恰却失去了“easy street”这个看似不起眼却十分重要的短语。如果说是要形容某一条街,那前面应该有不定冠词,例如“a busy/quiet street”或是复数形式;如果是街名,则应该大写。“一条很方便的街”显然是根据原文字面意思翻译的。
的确,“easy”除了“容易”这个意思之外,还有“方便”的意思。例如The new house is within easy distance of the shopping mall.(新房子到购物中心很方便。)
Easy还有“平坦”的意思,比如“an easy slope”就是“平缓的斜坡”的意思,但如果形容街很平坦,则不用easy而用level。其实easy street是一个美国习语,easy在这里与其说是形容“street”,还不如说是形容Joe。想象一个人经常随意地走在大街上,一定生活得自由自在。Easy在这里与在easy life中的意思是一样的,指“舒适的,安逸的”。下面有一些例子:His parents left him a large legacy and he is now living on easy street.(他的父母留给他一大笔遗产,他现在过着无忧无虑的舒坦日子。)
原句中“can buy all the new things”也不是说那条街上可以买到很多东西,而是可以买得起很多东西。所以原句可以翻译为“乔过着逍遥自在的日子,买得起各种东西,生活很舒适。”
如果要说日子过得苦,难以维持生计,也恰巧有一个与“street”有关的短语:out on the street。例如:Most men in that area are out on the street.(那里的人大多生活艰难。)
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