may as well/may well

may（might）as well 与 may（might）well 的含义是完全不同的。may（might）well 确实可以用来表示可能性。例如：

1. It $\left\{\begin{array}{l} may \\ might\end{array}\right\}$ well be true. 这很可能是真实的。

2. He may (well) have gone abroad. 他很可能已到国外去了。

但是, may（might）as well 则是表示非强烈意愿的一种方式, 其含义相当于 had better, 但比后者弱得多, 常常表示“勉强”“迁就”“无奈”的意思。一般可译为“最好”“还是……的好”“不妨”等。例如:

1. You may as well repeat the experiment. 你还是把这个实验重做一次为好。

2. I might as well have them. 我还是买下来的好。

3. Since we've got nothing better to do, we might as well go for a walk. 既然我们没有什么更好的事情可做,我们不妨去散散步。

4. When traffic crawls “at a snail's pace”, it might as well stand still, for a snail manages to move only about two inches a minute. 在交通车辆以“蜗牛速度”徐徐缓行的时候，那还不如停下来的好，因为蜗牛每分钟只能移动大约两英寸。

5. Tom: I'll go on Monday by the slow train. Ann: You might just as well wait till Tuesday and go on the fast one. 汤姆: 我将在星期一乘慢车走。安: 你还是等到星期二乘快车走为好。

6. You may as well tell the truth. 你还是把真情说出来的好。

7. You might as well throw your money into the sea as lend it to him. 你与其把钱借给他，还不如把钱扔到海里去的好。

8. One may as well not know a thing at all, as know it imperfectly. 知道得不完全, 还不如完全不知道的好。

9. I shall have to pay the bill some time, so I may as well pay it now. 我以后总得付这笔账，还是现在付清为好。

10. No one will eat this food; it might just as well be thrown away. 谁都不愿意吃这种食品；还是把它扔掉吧！

由此可以看出，《翻译的技巧》上的那个句子的意思应当是：如果花瓶有了裂痕，就不宜再用了，与其摆个有裂痕的花瓶，还不如立刻把它打碎的好。友谊亦是如此：与其保存有了裂痕的友谊，还不如立即中断的好。

[试译]友谊好比花瓶,如果偶然发生了裂痕,还是立刻把它打碎的好。