问英语｜英语常见问题解答

age¹

问

He may be conceited, illmannered, presumptuous or fatuous, but I do not turn for protection to dreary clichés about respect for elders — as if mere age were a reason for respect. (New Concept English, Book 4, L. 6)

[原译1]他也许骄傲自满，不懂礼貌，无所顾忌或愚昧无知，但我不会搬出一套应该尊敬长者云云的老生常谈来维护自己的尊严——似乎唯有年龄才是受人尊敬的理由。（安徽科技出版社版，L.6）

[原译2]他可能自命不凡，举止粗鲁，狂妄自大或者愚昧无知，但是我不会用那些对长者应当尊敬这类使人生厌的陈词滥调来自我辩解，仿佛仅仅年龄就该成为受人尊敬的理由似的。

[原译3]青年人可能自命不凡，举止粗鲁，自行其是或者沾沾自喜，但我并不为了保护自己而求助于一些枯燥的陈词滥调以表达对长者的尊敬——仿佛只有年龄才是尊敬的理由。（朗文出版公司、世界图书出版公司版，p.26）

上面三个译本均将 age 译成了“年龄”。但年龄有大，有小，到底是“年龄大”是受尊敬的理由，还是“年龄小”是受尊敬的理由呢？

答

英语里有一个很有趣的现象,就是某些表示上端含义的形容词,如big(大),tall(高),old(老),many(多),在某些情况下会转化为表示度量(大小、高度、年龄等)。请看下面的实例:

He is two years old. 他两岁了。
He is only five feet tall. (MD) 他身高仅 5 英尺。
How big is it? (Palmer) 它有多大?
Paul has only as many friends as I have. (CGEL) 保罗的朋友和我的朋友一样少。
I have only as much money as you have. (CGEL) 我的钱和你的一样少。

英语里还有一个与此相反的现象, 就是某些表示度量的名词, 如 age, weight, magnitude, 在某些情况下会转化为表示该词的上端意义。age(年龄)——年老(年纪大), weight(重量)——巨大重量(很重), magnitude(程度)——巨大程度。

the principle of end-weight 尾重原则(即把长而复杂的句子放在句尾的原则,有的译本将此原则误译为“末端重量”原则)
Because of his age his words carried weight. (Sinclair) 由于他年纪大,他的话具有很大的份量。
It is difficult to comprehend the magnitude of his crime. 他的罪行之严重,简直难以理解。

age²

问

What is your age? 的说法是否正确？它与 How old are you? 是否有区别？

答

What is your age? 可用于相当正式的语体,平时不大使用。最常说的是 How old are you?

请做下面的试题：

Which is correct? ____

A. How old he is? B. How many years has he?

C. What age he has? D. What is his age? (Nelson, 150C)

age³

问

They were the same age.

这个句子似乎不合逻辑,they 怎么会 = age 呢?

答

见 colour。

age⁴

at the age of/in one's + 基数词复数/by the age of

问

（1）The hero of the story is an artist in his ____.

A. thirtieth B. thirty C. thirty's D. thirties(全国高考,91-36)

(2) He looked quite healthy though he was ____.

A. in seventy B. in his seventy

C. at seventies D. at the age of seventy(上海高考,93-20)

《2000 英语高考题型解析》(华东理工大学出版社, p.76) 对试题(1)作了如下解答:

“in one's + 基数词复数表示‘年龄’、‘岁’”。照此解释，它不是跟 at the age of 同义了吗？

答

at the age of 作“在……岁时”解,表示的是准确的岁数,而 in one's + 基数词复数作“在几十多岁时”解,表示的是非精确的岁数。请对比:

I was born and brought up in the small town of Pineville, which I left at the age of sixteen. （全国高考）我生长在帕尼维尔小镇，我16岁时离开了它。
At the age of eight, he joined a group of child dancers. 他8岁时参加了儿童舞蹈团。
Edgar Snow first came to China in 1928, at the age of twenty-two. 1928 年, 埃德加·斯诺 22 岁首次来到中国。
Marx was already in his fifties. 马克思已经五十多岁了。
He is still in his twenties. 他才二十多岁。

by the age of 则是指“在……岁之前”“到……岁时”：

By the age of 21 he had already begun to notice that it was difficult to move around without falling over. 到 21 岁时,他就已经察觉到他一走动就难免摔倒。