The condition of a system may be expressed in terms of certain quantities (for example, pressure, volume per unit mass, temperature) called variables of state. (研考英语试题)
[原译1]一个系统的状况可以用称为状态的变量的某些数量的术语(例如压力、单位质量的体积、温度)来表示。(《英语高考应试要览》)
[原译2]一个系统的情况可以用称为状态变量的某些量词(例如压力、每单位质量的体积、温度)来表示。(《历届研究生留学生英语试题选编》,天津人民出版社,p.196)请问应如何理解in terms of?
应当承认, in terms of 的确有“用……术语(话、字眼)”的意思,例如:
He referred to your work in terms of high praise.
他用高度赞扬的口吻谈到了你的工作。
但是，上例中的 in terms of 则应作“按照”“根据”“用”“借助于”解。类例：
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The passages should be graded in terms of length, complexity and intellectual content... 课文应当按照长短、复杂程度和知识内容分成等级……
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Parts of numbers smaller than 1 are sometimes expressed in terms of fractions, but in scientific usage they are given as decimals. 小于 1 的数, 有时用分数表示, 但是在科学中则用小数来表示。
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Now let us analyze the flight of a spacecraft in terms of what we have learned about motion and gravity. 现在让我们根据已学到的关于运动和重力的知识来分析一下宇宙飞船的飞行。
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It was not until the early part of the 19th century that an explanation of polarization in terms of the wave theory of light was finally provided by Young, Fresnel, and Arago. 直到十九世纪初叶，杨氏、菲涅耳和阿拉哥才根据光的波动学说最终阐明了偏振现象。
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The behaviour of any gas may be described in terms of its pressure, volume and temperature. 气体的性质可以用压力、体积和温度来描述。
[试译]系统的状态可以用某些叫作状态变量的物理量(例如压强、单位质量体积、温度)来表示。
The wealth of a country should be measured ____ the health and happiness of its people as well as the material goods it can produce.
The younger person's attraction to stereos cannot be explained only ____ familiarity with technology.