原 文:
When there is anything wrong, he'll just beat it.
原 譯:
出什么問題時, 他便戰(zhàn)勝它。
辨 析:
beat確實有“打敗、戰(zhàn)勝”的意思,如The England team once again beat its opponent.(英格蘭隊又一次戰(zhàn)勝了對手。)但是在he'll just beat it中,beat it 是一個短語?!队⒄Z習語大詞典》(商務印書館)的解釋是:[俚]逃走;拔腿就跑;快快地逃走。而The New Oxford Dictionary of English的解釋是[informal] leave。(可惜《英華大詞典》、《英漢大詞典》等許多詞典都未單獨列出該短語,對初學者來說不方便。這也告訴我們,翻譯時要多查幾本詞典。)所以全句應譯為:出了問題他就溜之大吉/匆匆躲開。此外,beat it也可以用于祈使句,意為“滾蛋”:Don't stay here-beat it! (別呆在這兒,滾開?。┊斎灰矔霈F(xiàn)在間接引語中:He kept bothering me so I told him to beat it.(他老煩我,我只好叫他滾蛋。)從語法角度說,這種用法中的it不指任何事物,沒有實際意思,有人稱之為“假賓語(sham object)”。下面是一些常見例子:
I can't help it either.我也沒有辦法 / 幫不上忙。
He shouted excitedly, "I've made it ! I've made it!" 他激動地喊:“我成功了!我成功了!”
John knew he would catch it when he got home in the evening.約翰知道晚上回家他準會挨罵。
有時亦用于臨時作動詞的名詞之后,如:
They finally legged it back to the camp.最后他們還是步行回到了營地。
The Broom family of four adults and five children had to pig it in the two rooms.布魯姆一家四個大人五個孩子只好擠在那兩間屋里。
There's no time to prepare. I guess we're just going to have to wing it.沒有時間準備了。我看我們只好湊合著對付了。
Cool it, man!冷靜一點,老兄!