Husband(H): Honey, I gotta talk to you. 用gotta不用have got to表示亲密,随便。
Wife(W): Sure. Is something wrong? 遣词准确。用something不用anything,以为丈夫说"我一定要跟 你谈谈",妻子预感有事。 另例:Is there anything to eat? (=I'm hungry!) 无预期。 Is there something to eat? (=I can smell food!) 有预期。
H: Well, sort of. Yes. 心情复杂、措词困难的谈话开始了,所以用Well开始;先想淡化一下 气氛。用sort of,后一想,事情是严重的,不容躲闪,不如爽快地正视 现实,用一个严肃的Yes。 W: Bob, something in your voice scares me. Have I done anything? 表示吃惊、惶恐、不安,用scare,不用frighten、terrify等同义词, 因为scare比较informal and mild,分寸最恰当。"我做了什么严重事情 了?" anything用得好。此处anything不是"任何事情",而是"严重 事情"。如: I was cut a little in the fight, but it wasn't anything. 我在搏斗时破了一点皮,不严重。 He isn't anything in the local government. 他在当地政府中不是什么举足轻重的人。 作者: 老鼠飞上天 时间: 2004-6-1 20:54
H: No. It's me. I've done it. Sheila, remember when you were pregnant with Paula? 三个短句,三个句点,表示丈夫无可推诿,急于认过的心情。转入回忆 中的背景。
W: Yes? 让他说下去。必是上升语调。
H: I had to fly to Europe--Montpellier--to give that paper... 当时我必得飞去欧洲--蒙彼利埃--去宣读论文。注意,在提到事件发生 的具体地点时,前后用了两个破折号,表示在回忆中一步步走近婚外恋的现 场,甜蜜、苦涩、歉疚、悔恨,真是百感交集,不知如何措词才能把事件的 冲击波减小到最低限度。种种迟疑与犹豫,用破折号表现出来了。
W: And? 妻子情知不妙,急于了解真相,不暇多说,只用一个词敦促交代。
H: I had an affair. 难熬。注意:英语中的affair(事务)与法语中的affaire(风流韵事,短期 私通)出自同根(古法语中的afaire,意为to do)。"恋爱/桃色事件"完整 的说法是love affair(英),affaire d'amour(法),但如指婚外事件, 通常省love/d'amour。所以,I had an affair.用词准确。
W: No. This is some terrible joke. Isn't it? 此处No不是否定词,而是感叹词,表示惊讶、怀疑、惶惑(astonishment, skepticism, bewilderment)。
H: Her--her name was Nicole Guirin. She was a doctor. 说出名字前用破折号,表示和盘托出还是有痛苦的。
W: And how long did it last? 持续多久?普通的白话,但在此特定情景中,盘诘的口吻显而无疑。
H: Two, three days. two和three之间,省了个or,表示小事一桩,无须深究。力图轻描淡写。
W: Two days or three days? I want to know. 妻子认真,细节必究,or就不能省。非但不省,还要补足两个days。 这是家庭道德法庭上的审讯,该严肃,所以问Two days or three days? 一丝不苟。接着是一字一顿、掷地有声的I want to know,一听全是白描词句, 属于交际修辞,但是远远胜于任何精心雕琢的辞格。
H: Three days. Does all this matter? 言下之意:细微末节,何必追究。
W: Everything matters. 一主一谓,全句两个词。越短越有力。表现出妻子的愤怒、威严、锋利。 W: I thought our marriage was based on total honesty. Why didn't you ever tell me? 不说你不忠贞,而说我原以为我们之间是赤诚相待的。从正面表示过去的 误解,代替从反面发泄当前的怨恨,显示出知识分子家庭关系中的素养,符合 人物的特征。满腔委屈见于ever一词。
H: I was waiting for the right moment. 苍白无力的辩解。 作者: 老鼠飞上天 时间: 2004-6-1 20:54
W: And ten years later was the right moment? No doubt you thought it would be easier. On whom? 十年之后时机就恰当了? 有了第三者,必须揭开疮疤。对你,对我,对她?对谁好受些?(easier on whom?)
H: I didn't want to hurt you, Sheila. If it's any consolation, that's the only time. 有罪的丈夫竭力想安慰妻子,但说出来的只可能是象前一句那样的废话。 第二句中的if和any都用得很好,"倘若"、"万一"、"任何"---- 姑念只此一次,能否稍有宽慰?
W: No, it isn't any consolation. Once is more than never. 断然粉碎幻想。这种事本该从不发生,一次也不能原谅。 通常说more than ever. 如:I love you more than ever. 字母,满腔愤慨就溢于言表了。用词精当,给小小一词,加上千钧份量,这 就是交际修辞渗透于美学修辞。
H: Sheila, that was so long ago. I had to tell you now because ---- I mean ... she's dead. 借助标点,表示心知下文更加难以启齿。她已死了。一主语一谓语,表示 a cold fact.
W: For God's sake. Bob, why are you telling me all this? 如释重负,松了一口气。称呼又从Robert回到呢称Bob。
H: Sheila, I am telling you because she had a child. 主题出现。注意: I am telling you ...,而不是I'm telling you. 表示我现在郑重相告,一旦用了缩略形式,就显得心情轻松了。只差一个字 母,但口吻、气氛迥然不同。
W: And we have two--so what? 注意a的精妙。上句中,丈夫说She had a child,他是以属概念(generic use)来理解和使用a的,表示同类事物中非特指的一个;妻子则把a理解为基数 概念one。因此,反问We have two。那又有什么呢?一个不定冠词,加强了戏 剧性? 主题出现。The boy和He指称对象同一,同义重复;用is,不用's,以示 严肃。 作者: 老鼠飞上天 时间: 2004-6-1 20:55
W: Oh, no, it can't be true. 在事件严重性的震撼下,妻子第一次,也是唯一一次用了感叹词Oh。
H: Yes, it's true. I didn't know about him. Sheila. please believe me. 用know about,不用know of。前者表示"知道关于......的情况", 后者意为更深入一些的了解。如: The police know of his activities, and are watching him. What do you know of this theater company? As I know more of mankind I expect less of them, and am now ready to call a man a good man more easily than formerly. (James Boswell: Life of Johnsom) 随着我对人类了解越多,期望越低,现在说人家是好人,比过去容易多了。 回到原文,选用know about,不用know of,表示一无所知。既符合事实, 也可能易于得到谅解和宽恕。这表明,遣词的选择就是修辞。
W: Why? Why should I believe anything you tell me now? should带虚拟语气,表示感情上难以接受。
W: Bob, why'd you have to tell me? Why? 妻子疑窦丛生。have to 触及实质性问题。
H: Because I don't know what to do. And because I somehow thought you'd help. 前一句用现在时态,后一句用过去时态,转得好极了。前者表示现在自己 还是不知所措,语言文字毫无虚饰,易于获得怜悯。后者表示你不会帮助我了, 不寄希望了,反而激上一将。
W: You can't know how it hurts. I trusted you. I trusted. ---- 激将的结果,现在轮到妻子辩白了。妻子述怀,重复trusted,表示方寸 顾不得叠用一词,预示女人色厉内荏,阵脚动摇了。接着是删节号,可能涕泪 俱下,痛哭失声了。 作者: 老鼠飞上天 时间: 2004-6-1 20:56
H: Please, honey. I'll do anything to make it right. 丈夫保证do anything。可称坚决。
W: You can't. can't 不是指你能力不行,而是指没有可能性。 can / could 表示可能性,如: The problem can and must be solved. 这个问题能够而且必须解决。 Can the news be true? 这消息会是真的吗? You can't be hungry yet; you had a big cake only half an hour ago. 你现在不可能饿,半小时前你才吃过一只大蛋糕呀! One cannot have done it single-handed. 谁也不可能单枪匹马做成这见事的。 Nothing could be more wrong. 错误之大,莫过于此。 回到原文,丈夫尽管主观上努力想挽回,但妻子的创伤难以愈合。所以, 丈夫的保证Make it right客观上不可能实现了。
H: You don't mean that you want to split ...? split指离婚,divorce说不出口。 作者: 老鼠飞上天 时间: 2004-6-1 20:56
W: Robert, I don't have the strength right now. For anything. You could do me a big favor. 转口又称大名Robert,表现出妻子经过感情波动,又冷静下来,重新考虑 两人关系。所以不用呢称Bob。精神几乎崩溃,无力应付了。For anything, 含蓄得好,可以理解为:暂无精力提出离婚的诉讼。 Do me a big favor.帮我大忙。时态似乎突然出现转折的可能。
H: Anything? 急切之至。
W: Sleep in your study, please. 卧室分开。丈夫一听a big favor,原以为有机会可以表示悔改,不料 分居就是妻子最大的渴求。裂痕终难弥合。此章戛然而止。