按:每个单词、词组在不同的语境,有不同的意思,这里只是注释它们在这篇文章里的意思。
原文: China’s Censors Misfire in Abuse-of-Power Case
1,They were gliding past the campus grocery when a Volkswagen sedan raced down a narrow lane and struck them head-on.
head-on: 迎头撞上。
grocery: 单数 杂货店, 复数 groceries 食品
2,The impact sent Ms. Chen flying and broke the other woman’s leg.
impact: 名词 冲击力 英文解释: the force or action of one object hitting another
3,The 22-year-old driver, who was intoxicated, tried to speed away.
intoxicated: formal drunk 形容词 喝醉的正式用法
speed away: 加速逃跑
speed verb (使)快速移动 加上 副词 away , 就产生了既简单又形象的效果。
我在剑桥在线字典查了一下,speed away并没有作为词组列出,我想是因为这种用法太普遍了吧。
tried:表示想做,放在整句话里,就有了“想加速逃但没成功”的效果。
4,Security guards intercepted him, but he was undeterred. He warned them, “My father is Li Gang!”
intercept: 截住
undeterred: 是 形容词 deterred 加前缀 un-; deterred 是 动词 deter 的过去时;deter 这里意思是: 用坏的后果吓住
5,“There was a small pool of blood.” 有一小滩血。
7,Chen Xiaofeng was a poor farm girl.
陈晓凤是个贫穷的农村女孩。
这里用 farm 感觉并不十分合适。 farm 的英文解释:
an area of land, together with a house and buildings, used for growing crops and/or keeping animals as a business
中国的农村和西方的农场(farm)并不一样。他们农场里是农场主(farmer)和工人(worker)。中国农场主极少,可能没有,我们农村里是农民(peasant)。
这是对“peasant(农民)”的解释:
peasant
n [C] • a person who owns or rents a small piece of land and grows crops, keeps animals, etc. on it, especially one who has a low income, very little education and a low social position. This is usually used of someone who lived in the past or of someone in a poor country
翻译: 有或者租一小块地种庄稼、养牲畜等等,尤其指低收入、几乎没受过教育、低的社会地位。这个词通常指过去,或者生活在贫穷国家的人。
例句:
Tons of internationally donated food was distributed to the starving peasants.
Most of the produce sold in the market is grown by peasant farmers.
Peasant women with scarves around their heads were working in the fields.
所以,个人认为 a peasant girl 可能比较合适些。顺便注意一下 fields 的用法。
8,the deputy police chief in the Beishi district of Baoding.
保定北四区公安分局副局长
chief noun [C]
the person in charge of a group or organization, or the ruler of a tribe
掌管一群或者一个组织的人,或者部落首领
直译应该是一个区的警察的副长官。
这段比较难懂:
9,The tale of her death is precisely the sort of gripping socio-drama — a commoner grievously wronged; a privileged transgressor pulling strings to escape punishment — that sets off alarm bells in the offices of Communist Party censors. And in fact, party propaganda officials moved swiftly after the accident to ensure that the story never gained traction.
她的生死故事精确的说就是一种扣人心弦的社会性戏剧 -- 一个普通人被悲惨的不公正对待;一个拥有特权的罪人拉关系逃脱惩罚 -- 这给共产党的审查办公室敲响了警钟。事实上,党的宣传部的官员事故之后行动迅速以保证这个故事不引起关注。
wrong verb
to treat someone in an unfair or unacceptable way
用不公正、无法接受的方式对待
pull strings 拉关系
string 名词 可数
意思: a series of related things or events 一系列相关的事情或事件
What do you think of the recent string of political scandals?
He had a string of top-twenty hits during the eighties.
sets off alarm bells 敲响了警钟
set off/out 都是出发的意思,这里应该表示: 敲响
10, Curiously, however, the opposite has happened. A month after the accident, much of China knows the story, and “My father is Li Gang” has become a bitter inside joke, a catchphrase for shirking any responsibility — washing the dishes, being faithful to a girlfriend — with impunity. Even the government’s heavy-handed effort to control the story has become the object of scorn among younger, savvier Chinese.
但是,奇怪的是,相反的事情发生了。事故一个月后,很多中国人都知道了这个故事,并且,“我爸爸是李刚”成了一个内里苦涩的玩笑,一个没有后果的推卸任何责任 -- 洗盘子,忠于女朋友 -- 的流行语。甚至政府出重拳控制的努力成为了年轻些的、更精明的中国人鄙视的对象。
heavy-handed adjective disapproving 贬义
using too much force in dealing with someone
scorn noun n [U] 名词 鄙视
a very strong feeling of no respect for someone or something that you think is stupid or has no value
savvy noun [U] informal
practical knowledge and ability
he hasn't got much savvy.
business savvy
后面文章还有很长,不过,最想知道的句子、单词已经看到了,做别的了,老看这个太枯燥了,就到这里了,而且,还是有迫切的需要来关注11.15上海大火的事,那些替罪羊民工还在监狱里吧,他们需要知识分子为他们呼吁吧,如果知识分子这点良心和责任心都没有,岂不让人齿冷。