2012年4月5日星期四

古德明: 以性慾眼光看大自然



問:讀書見到以下一句: For prudish Britons, this sexualised version of nature verged on the pornographic, and battles over botanical textbooks resembled current debates about allowing children to watch violent videos。按 pornographic是形容詞,其後沒有名詞,文法對不對?又 about allowing children to watch violent videos可不可改寫作 about whether allowing children to watch violent videos or not

答:謹先把那一句翻譯如下:「對過分正經的英國人來說,以性慾觀描述大自然,近乎色情;植物學課本引起的爭議,於是變得和『應否讓兒童看暴力錄影帶』的爭議一樣激烈。」

Pornographic固然是形容詞,但英文可以用「 the+形容詞」作名詞,例如:( 1 His evidence bordered on the absurd(他的證詞近乎荒謬)。( 2 If there is justice in this world, why are the wicked always rewarded and the righteous always punished?(假如世上有公道,為什麼惡人總會有好報,好人總會有惡報?)讀者示下那一句, the pornographic就是作名詞,指「色情」,其後不應再加名詞。

About allowing children to watch violent videos about是介系詞( preposition),其後須用名詞、動名詞( gerund,如 allowing)或名詞子句( noun clause)。那截句子假如改為名詞子句,應作 about whether or not children should be allowed to watch violent videos,不可只加 whether... or not三字。

【代郵】 Sam Sheung先生:「行政長官當選人」就是「候任行政長官」,俱可譯作 Chief Executive-elect,謹覆。