Rather than concluding that children make parents either happy or miserable, Senior suggests we need to redefine happiness: instead of thinking of it as something that can be measured by moment-to-moment joy, we should consider being happy as a past-tense condition.
劈树:本句共包含五个谓语成份:“make”,“suggests”,“need to redefine”,“can be measured”,“should consider”,可以将本句切分为五个独立的小分句。
第一分句为:Rather than concluding…, Senior suggests;
第二分句为:that children make parents either happy or miserable;
第三分句为:we need to redefine happiness;
第四分句为:instead of thinking of it as something…, we should consider being happy as a past-tense condition;
第五分句为:that can be measured by moment-to-moment joy;
造竹:第一分句为主句;第二分句为第一分句中“concluding”的宾语从句,由“that”引导;第三分句为第一分句中“suggests”的宾语从句,省略了引导词“that”;第四分句为第三分句的同位语从句,由冒号引导;第五分句为第四分句中“something”的定语从句,由“that”引导。
各分句中难词(词组)及在句中的含义:
miserable (不幸的,悲惨的)
redefine (重新定义)
moment-to-moment (即刻的,当下的)
past-tense (过去式)
第一分句:Rather than concluding…, Senior suggests;
“Rather than concluding…”中“concluding”的逻辑主语为“Senior”,翻译时应该补充出来;
“Rather than concluding”可以翻译为“Senior没有做结论说”;
“concluding”是动名词,后面接宾语;
“Senior suggests”可以翻译为“Senior 认为”;
第二分句:that children make parents either happy or miserable;
“either … or …”常常翻译为“要么...要么…”;
“children make parents either happy or miserable”可以翻译为“子女们让父母要么幸福,要么悲惨”;
第三分句:we need to redefine happiness;
“we need to redefine happiness”可以翻译为“我们需要重新定义幸福这一概念”;
第四分句:instead of thinking of it as something…, we should consider being happy as a past-tense condition;
“instead of”通常翻译为“不是,不要”;
“it”指代“happiness”;
“instead of thinking of it as …”翻译为“不要将幸福想成…”或“不要认为幸福是…”;
“consider…as…”的含义等同于“thinking of …as… ”;
“we should consider being happy as a past-tense condition”可以翻译为“我们应将幸福看作是一种过去式的状态”;
第五分句:that can be measured by moment-to-moment joy;
“can be measured by...”含义为“可以通过…衡量”;
“moment-to-moment joy”含义为“即刻就能体会到的快乐”;
“can be measured by moment-to-moment joy”可以翻译为“可以通过即刻就能体会到的快乐衡量”;
第一分句翻译为:Senior没有做结论说…,Senior 认为;
第二分句翻译为:子女们让父母要么幸福,要么悲惨;
第三分句翻译为:我们需要重新定义幸福这一概念;
第四分句翻译为:不要认为幸福是…的事物,我们应将幸福看作是一种过去式的状态;
第五分句翻译为:可以通过即刻就能体会到的快乐衡量;
原文回顾:Rather than concluding that children make parents either happy or miserable, Senior suggests we need to redefine happiness: instead of thinking of it as something that can be measured by moment-to-moment joy, we should consider being happy as a past-tense condition.
全句翻译为:Senior没有做结论说子女们让父母要么幸福,要么悲惨,Senior 认为我们需要重新定义幸福这一概念:不要认为幸福是可以通过即刻就能体会到的快乐衡量的事物,我们应将幸福看作是一种过去式的状态。
句式结构考点:宾语从句,同位语从句,定语从句;
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