get

从词义上看, get a coffee 不是指“喝杯咖啡”, 而是指“买杯咖啡”, 因为 get 本来就具有 “买” 的含义:

1. Where did you get (ie buy) that skirt? 你那条裙子是从哪儿买的？

2. Please get me some food. 请给我买点儿食品。

3. Oh, could you get some for me, too? 哦, 你可以给我也买一些吗?

再从上下文看, get a coffee 就更不是指“喝杯咖啡”了。汉克本计划买杯咖啡带到座位上喝, 但由于火车跑得很快, 左右摇晃, 他才决定在餐车里喝掉, 而没有带回座位上去。因此, 把 get a coffee 译为“喝杯咖啡”, 是与课文的故事情节相违背的。

that 从句是定语从句,其中心词是 the determination。关系代词 that 是从句的主语。got 是 get 的过去时,作“买”解。that geography book 是 got 的直接宾语,而 you 是 got 的间接宾语。有人可能会问:“the determination 怎么会买书呢?”这里使用了拟人化的修辞手法。下面是 get 同时要求直接宾语和间接宾语的实例:

What did she get you for your birthday? 她为你的生日买了什么东西？

[试译]30年前使你买到那本地理书的坚强意志，今天挽救了我们大家的生命。

除助动词 be 之外, 动词 get 也可构成被动句。例如:

1. Our team got beaten by the visitors. (CGEL) 我们的队被客队打败了。

2. You should see the crap wages I get paid. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 你看看我拿的那一丁点儿薪水就知道了。

3. Hundreds of people get killed every year by traffic on the roads. (EGS) 每年在公路交通事故中遇难身亡的人数以百计。

4. James got caught by the police. (CGEL) 詹姆斯被警察抓走了。

get v-ed 和 be v-ed 大致有如下几个差别：

A. be v-ed 既可以表示动作, 又可以表示状态。有时候难以分清。例如:

1. They were married.

2. The chair was broken. (CGEL)

3. We were lost.

而 get v-ed 却明白无误地表示动作。例如：

1. ... he had tried to break into the shop during the night but had got stuck in the chimney. (New Concept English, Book 3, L. 35) ……他企图在夜间钻进商店，但被卡在烟囱里了。

2. They are married now, but I can't tell you when they got married. 他们现在已结了婚，但我不知道他们是什么时候结的婚。

3. If an explanation is confusing, you get confused. (PEU) 如果一个解释令人糊涂，你就会被弄糊涂的。

B. get v-ed 常常表示不合心意的事情。如 get hurt(受伤), get slapped(beaten)(挨打), get dismissed(被开除), get killed(被杀), get caught(被抓), get caught in the rain(遇上雨)

1. That picture got damaged when we were moving. (PEU) 我们搬家时,那张画碰坏了。

2. How did that window get opened? (CGEL) 怎么竟然把窗户打开了?

3. You may get cheated, robbed and murdered in London. 在伦敦你可能受骗，可能被抢，也可能被谋杀。

C. get v-ed 不大用于正式语体。

get + v-ed 可构成被动语态，见 get $^{4}$ 。上句中的 get paid 相当于 are paid，意为“得到报酬”。这里要明白，pay sb. 是指“向……付款”的意思：

1. I haven't paid the doctor yet. 我还没有向医生付费呢。

2. Has the dressmaker been paid? 给裁缝付款了吗?

在表示“得到(acquire)”“使(cause)”“变为(become)”等含义时，在美国英语中常常用gotten代替got。例如：

1. ...they could have gotten $50,000 for their old house. ……他们的旧房子可能卖了50,000美元。

2. He had not really gotten used to the food. 他还没有真正习惯吃这种食品。

3. Your driving has gotten better. = Your driving has got better. (= It has become better.) 你的驾驶技术提高了。

但是,表示“现在拥有”的 have got/have 却不能用 have gotten 来代替。请比较:

He's got a new job. (= He has a new job.) 他有一个新的工作岗位。

1. $\left\{ \begin{array}{l} \text{He's got a new job. (= He has a new job.) 他有一个新的工作岗位。} \\ \text{He's gotten a new job. (= He has found a new job.) 他找到了一个新的工作。} \end{array} \right.$

I've got a new bike. 我有一辆新自行车。

2. {I've gotten a new bike. 我刚刚买了一辆新自行车。

因此,下列各句中的 have got 均不能改为 have gotten:

1. I haven't got an evening dress for the ball! 我没有参加舞会的晚礼服啊!

2. We've got some cheaper ones in the back room. 后面房间里有一些比较便宜的。

3. It's locked and I haven't got a key. 房间上了锁,我没有钥匙。

把 got to 译为“一定”，显系误译。know 是个静态动词，既没有动作的起点，也没有动作的终点。要想表达动作的起点，怎么办呢？只要加上 come to 或 get to 就行了。get to know 使 know 这个静态动词具有了动态的含义：“认识了”“熟悉了”“结识上”“开始认识”。

I shall get to like them in time, I suppose. 我想到时候我会喜欢上他们的。

[试译]在随后的几天里他们就熟悉了这个城市。

(参见 come $^{6}$ )