英語四級翻譯：那些復(fù)雜到讓你困惑的簡單小事(8)

英語四級翻譯：那些復(fù)雜到讓你困惑的簡單小事(8)

8.Defining The Word 'The' Is Really Difficult

給單詞"The"下定義是一件十分困難的事兒

The word "the" is one of the most commons words in the English language. It's so ubiquitous that most of us have probably never stopped to think about how strange of a word it actually is.

單詞"The"是英語中最常見的單詞之一。它真的是太常見了，以至于我們大多數(shù)人也許從未曾停下來想一想，這個單詞實際上是多么地奇怪。

As discussed here, it's easily one of the most difficult words to explain to a non-native English speaker because it has such a massive range of applications, some of which are remarkably odd when looked at objectively. To quote:

正如這里所談到的，由于"the"的用法十分廣泛，而且客觀地考慮，其中一些用法還非常奇怪，它是人們很難向非英語母語人士解釋清楚的單詞之一。引用《為什么人們很難給單詞"the"下定義》(Why Is the Word the So Difficult to Define?)一文中的例子：

"Why do we say, 'I love the ballet,' but not 'I love the cable TV?' Why do we say, 'I have the flu,' but not 'I have the headache?' Why do we say, 'winter is the coldest season,' and not 'winter is coldest season?' "

"為什么我們說'I love the ballet(我喜歡芭蕾)'而不說'I love the cable TV(我喜歡有線電視)?'為什么我們說'I have the flu(我得了流感)'而不說'I have the headache(我頭疼)?'為什么我們說，'winter is the coldest season(冬天是最寒冷的季節(jié))，'而不說'winter is coldest season?'"

Think about it-we use the word "the" in dozens of different situations and in reference to many different concepts, ideas, and objects interchangeably. We can use the word to refer to everything from a specific item to an abstract metaphorical concept, and native speakers can instinctively tell when it's being used incorrectly without thinking about it.

想想吧-我們在許多不同的情境中交替使用"the"這個單詞，用它來修飾許多不同的概念，觀念或事物。從具體物品到抽象的隱喻概念，我們可以用這個單詞修飾其中一切事物。當(dāng)該詞使用不當(dāng)時，以英語為母語的人不需要思考就可以本能地指出。

As noted in the linked article above, the dictionary itself lists almost two dozen different ways the word can be used in a sentence correctly, which makes an exact definition of the word that much more difficult to pin down. Don't believe us? Try defining it yourself in the comments and let us know how it goes.

正如以上鏈接的文章(指Why Is the Word the So Difficult to Define?)所指出的，字典上列出的該單詞在句中的正確用法有將近20種，這使得該單詞的定義更為準(zhǔn)確，卻也使人們更難明晰其具體的含義。不相信我們?那么你自己試著定義一下吧，然后寫在評論中，讓我們看看你是怎么定義的。

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