大白英语外刊精读

第94届奥斯卡颁奖典礼上，颁奖人克里斯·洛克开了史皇妻子的玩笑，被史皇当场教做人。有意思的是，在这足以载入奥斯卡史册的一巴掌之后，奥斯卡的收视率逆势上涨。 近几年，奥斯卡收视率连年下滑，院线电影票房也越发不景气。是什么原因造成了这样的局面？看《洛杉矶时报》如何剖析。 本篇推送原文选自《洛杉矶时报》，译文为机器翻译基础上的调整。笔记由 知新共学外刊群（3月15日开始） 笔记大大Zoe制作。 We Aren't Just Watching the Decline of the Oscars. We're Watching the End of the Movies. 我们不只见证着奥斯卡的衰落，也在见证电影的终结。 Watch the Decline of the Oscars见证着奥斯卡的衰落 这里面我们可以提炼出句式： Watch the decline of... 见证...的衰落 Decline: [ Cusually sing.U ] ~ (in sth)~ (of sth) a continuous decrease in the number, value, quality, etc. of sth （数量、价值、质量等的）减少，下降，衰落，衰退 urban/economic decline 城市衰落；经济衰退 The Oscars are declining because the movies they were made to showcase have been slowly disappearing. Within the larger arc of Hollywood history, this is the time to call it: We aren't just watching the decline of the Oscars; we're watching the End of the Movies. 奥斯卡日渐式微，因为这些奖项设置的目的就是展示电影，而这些电影在逐渐消失。纵观更宏大的好莱坞电影史，现在是时候宣告终结了：我们不只是见证着奥斯卡的衰落，我们也在见证电影的终结。 Showcase 此处是用作动词：V-T If something is showcased, it is displayed or presented to its best advantage. 展示 Restored films are being showcased this month at a festival in Paris.本月的巴黎电影节将展映一些修复版的电影。the larger arc of Hollywood history更宏大的好莱坞电影史 Arc 弧，这里的取义是：(in a novel, play, or film) the development or resolution of the narrative or principal theme（小说、戏剧或电影）情节（或主题）的发展（或结局） His transformation provides the emotional arc of the story.他的转变为故事提供了情感发展轨迹。What happened was complicated in that many different forces were at work but simple in that they all had the same effect. The happiest of these changes was a creative breakthrough on television, which enabled small-screen entertainment to vie with the movies as a stage for high-level acting, writing and directing. 这种现象之所以复杂是因为有许多不同的因素共同作用；说简单也简单，因为这些因素的影响大同小异。在这些变化之中，尚且令人欣慰的就是电视节目的创造性突破：小屏幕上的视听娱乐，如今也能和电影一争高下，展示高水平的表演、剧本创作和导演水平。 第一句话乍看上去有点绕： What happened was complicated in that...but simple in that... In that这里引导原因状语从句，相当于for the reason that, because 来一个富有哲理的例句： Criticism and self-criticism is necessary in that it helps us correct our mistakes.批评与自我批评是必要的，因为它可以帮助我们纠正错误。 Its craft are unusual in that they are reusable, rather than disposable.它的火箭非同寻常，因为可以重复使用，而不是一次性的。Vie ：~ (with sb) (for sth) ( formal ) to compete strongly with sb in order to obtain or achieve sth 激烈竞争；争夺 a row of restaurants vying with each other for business 彼此争抢生意的一排饭馆But these productions are still a different kind of thing from The Movies as they were — because stories told for smaller screens cede certain artistic powers in advance. 但这些电视作品还是难以和过去的电影相提并论，因为那些为小屏幕而生的故事，在创作前期就要舍弃某些艺术表现力。 Cede : [ VN ] ~ sth (to sb) ( formal ) to give sb control of sth or give them power, a right, etc., especially unwillingly 割让；让给；转让 Only a short campaign took place in Puerto Rico, but after the war Spain ceded the island to America. 波多黎各岛仅经历了一场短暂的战斗，但大战后西班牙把该岛割让给了美国。 此处言下之意是“为了适应小屏幕而舍弃了部分艺术表现力”First, they cede the expansive powers inherent in the scale of the moviegoing experience. Not just larger-than-life acting but also the immersive elements of the cinematic arts, from cinematography to music and sound editing, which inherently matter less when experienced on smaller screens and may get less attention when those smaller screens are understood to be their primary destination. 首先被放弃的，是在影院观影体验中自带的张力：不仅是高于生活的表演，而且还有电影艺术里的沉浸式元素，包括电影摄影技术以及音乐、声音剪辑等等；而对于小屏幕观影体验而言，这些元素原本就没那么重要，而且如果某些电影一开始就打算在小屏幕放映，那么人们也就不会太关注这些元素。 [语法] 本段第二句话其实只是一个短语，没有完整的主谓宾： Not just larger-than-life acting but also the immersive elements of the cinematic arts（主干主语）, from cinematography to music and sound editing（插入语）, which（定从） inherently matter（定从谓语1） less（状语） when experienced on smaller screens（条件状语从句） and （并列连词）may get（定从谓语2） less attention （定从宾语）when those smaller screens are understood to be their primary destination（条件状语从句）. 所以这部分的主要成分只是： Not just larger-than-life acting but also the immersive elements of the cinematic arts. 定从的部分我们重点看下： Which inherently matter less  which的先行词就是前面的所有部分，也就是舍弃的具体内容： 这些元素原本就没那么重要 什么情况下没那么重要？—— when experienced on smaller screens.对于小屏幕观影体验而言 and may get less attention还可能得不到太多的关注，换个说法就是：人们不会在这些方面花那么多的心思 这又是什么情况下呢？—— when those smaller screens are understood to be their primary destination某些电影最初就被设计为在小屏幕放映的时候 Inherent :~ (in sb/sth) that is a basic or permanent part of sb/sth and that cannot be removed 固有的；内在的 an inherent weakness in the design of the machine 机器设计中的内在缺陷 cinematic  /ˌsɪnəˈmætɪk/  arts电影艺术Second, the serial television that dominates our era also cedes the power achieved in condensation. This is the alchemy that you get when you're forced to tell an entire story in one go, when the artistic exertions of an entire team are distilled into under three hours of cinema, when there's no promise of a second season or multiepisode arc to develop your ideas and you have to say whatever you want to say right here and now. 其次，主导着我们这个时代的电视连续剧也舍弃了电影所具有的凝练。这就像是电影制作中的一种“炼金术”：你不得不一口气讲完一个完整的故事；整个团队的艺术探索都被浓缩到一部不足三小时的影片中；而且不一定有机会以第二季或多剧集的形式去展开呈现你的构想，因此你必须就在此时此刻说出所有要表达的想法。 the power achieved in condensation 凝练力 condensation  /ˌkɒndenˈseɪʃn/ :[ U ] drops of water that form on a cold surface when warm water vapour becomes cool 凝结的水珠 *这里是修辞手法了Alchemy 炼金术，这里指：( literary ) a mysterious power or magic that can change things （改变事物的）神秘力量，魔力[语法] 又来一个大长句： This（主干主语） is（主干系动词） the alchemy（主干表语） that （定从，先行词alchemy）you（定从主语） get（定从谓语） when you're forced to tell an entire story in one go（时间状语从句）, when the artistic exertions of an entire team are distilled into under three hours of cinema（时间状语从句, when there's no promise of a second season or multiepisode arc to develop your ideas and you have to say whatever you want to say right here and now（时间状语从句. 主干很简单： This is the alchemy.3 个并列的时间状语从句分别看下： when you're forced to tell an entire story in one go 不得不一口气讲完整个故事in one go 一口气，一下子 Go : ( BrE ) [C] ( NAmE BrE also try ) an attempt at doing sth （做某事的）尝试，一番努力 It took three goes to get it right. 试了三次才把它弄好。 I doubt if he'll listen to advice from me, but I'll give it a go (= I'll try but I don't think I will succeed) . 我怀疑他是不是会听我劝，不过我想试试看。when the artistic exertions of an entire team（从句主语） are distilled （从句谓语）into under three hours of cinema 整个团队的艺术探索都要浓缩到不到三小时的电影里 Exertion :[U] ( also ex·er·tions [ pl. ] ) physical or mental effort; the act of making an effort 努力；尽力；费力 He needed to relax after the exertions of a busy day at work. 他忙碌工作了一天后需要休息。 Distil :~ sth (from/into sth) ( formal ) to get the essential meaning or ideas from thoughts, information, experiences, etc. 吸取…的精华；提炼；浓缩 The notes I made on my travels were distilled into a book. 我的旅行笔记精选汇编成了一本书。 Promise :[ Using. ] ~ of sth a sign, or a reason for hope that sth may happen, especially sth good 吉兆；迹象 The day dawned bright and clear, with the promise of warm, sunny weather.拂晓时晴空万里，预示着温暖晴朗的天气。Even if the End of the Movies cannot be commercially or technologically reversed, there is cultural life after this kind of death. It's just up to us, now, to decide how abundant it will be. 尽管电影的终结不能通过商业或技术手段得以逆转，但在其消亡之后，我们对文化生活的需求依然存在。而未来这种生活能有多丰富，当下就取决于我们。 Abundant :( formal ) existing in large quantities; more than enough 大量的；丰盛的；充裕的 Fish are abundant in the lake. 湖里鱼很多。Reverse : [ VN ] to change sth completely so that it is the opposite of what it was before 颠倒；彻底转变；使完全相反 to reverse a procedure/process/trend 彻底改变程序╱过程╱趋势[翻译技巧] 常见的英语副词翻译方法 为使译文通畅，意思连贯， 可把英文的一个副词译成句子，使原文的一个句子分译成两个或两个以上的句子 ，比如： The Chinese seemed justifiably proud of their economic achievements. 中国人似乎为他们在经济上取得的成就而自豪，这是合乎情理的。 如果副词在句中作插入语，试着前置。 比如： Telecommunications means, simply, communication from a distance. 简单说来，电讯就是远距离通讯。 如果英文的副词在汉语中找不到对等的副词，可以试着转换词性。 比如： They have not done so well ideologically.他们没有做好思想工作。 The attractive force between the molecules is negilibly small. 分子间的吸引力可以小到忽略不计。 翻译成 “在……上”、“在……方面”、“以……的方式” ，比如： What he asserts is only theoretically true.他的提法只是在理论上能成立。 Even if the End of the Movies cannot be commercially or technologically reversed, there is cultural life after this kind of death.尽管电影的终结不能通过商业或技术手段得以逆转，但在其消亡之后，我们对文化生活的需求依然存在。 本文完。