4.8 不定式的作用（七）：独立使用的不定式

4.8 不定式的作用（七）：独立使用的不定式

这节主要讨论两个内容：一是不定式引导的短语，作独立成分；二是不定式引导一个完整的句子。

4.8.1 不定式作独立成分

不定式可用作独立成分，用来修饰整个句子，常见的有：to begin with（首先），to tell the truth（老实说），to make a long story short（长话短说），so to speak（可以这么说），to be brief/exact/frank/honest（简单地说/确切地说/坦率地说/坦白地说），to say nothing of （姑且不说），to say the least（至少可以这么说）等等。请看例句：

1 To begin with, on behalf of all of your American guests, I wish to thank you for the incomparable hospitality.

妙语点睛　这是1972年尼克松访华时致的祝酒词开篇的一句话。

精品译文　首先，我谨代表你们所有的美国客人向你们表示感谢，感谢你们无可比拟的盛情款待。

2 About an hour into the match, Eddie's favorite wrestler, Bob Armstrong came into the ring for his match. Eddie was overjoyed to say the least.

精品译文　比赛大约进行了一个小时后，轮到埃迪最喜欢的摔跤手鲍勃·阿姆斯特朗上场比赛了，埃迪简直是欣喜若狂。

3 A: You’re in a pretty lousy mood, huh?

B: To say the least.

精品译文　A：你的心情糟透了吧？

B：何止是啊。

4 I have a point there, to say the least.

精品译文　至少可以这么讲，我说的是有道理的。

5 To make a long story short, he is in hospital now.

精品译文　长话短说，他现在医院里。

4.8.2 不定式引导独立的句子

有时不定式可引导独立的句子，表达愿望、担心、惊讶等强烈的情感。常见的结构是：to think, to imagine，这样的结构常理解为：“你想想……竟有这样的事”。这种句子在TOEFL考试中屡见不鲜。请看例句：

1 To think she wanted to walk all the way to the park.

=It's too far to walk to the park.

精品译文　你想想看，她竟然想大老远地走到公园去。

2 To imagine even for a minute that I would do a thing like that on purpose.

=I would never do that intentionally.

精品译文　你想想看，我能故意做出那种事来吗？

当然，有时也会用其他动词的不定式结构来引导独立的句子，比如：

3 To spend so much money on something he didn't even need.

=He spent money unwisely.

精品译文　他竟然花那么多钱去买一些自己根本不需要的东西。

思维训练4.8 Key

在A、B、C和D选项中，选出与题干中的句子意思最接近的一个。

1. To think she might have missed the plane.

A. It's possible she might have missed the plane.　B. She heard that her flight had been canceled.

C. It's a good thing she didn't miss her flight.　 D.She didn't think the passengers would miss her.

2. To think I trusted you!

A. I never trusted you.　B. I think I can trust you.

C. I thought you trusted me.　 D.I was wrong to have trusted you.

3. To think he used to be overweight.

A. He doesn't think he is overweight.　B. He thinks about his weight too much.

C. He is trying to gain weight.　 D.He isn't overweight any more.

4. To think I originally wanted to take five courses this term!

A. I couldn't have managed five courses.　B. To think I ate all five courses.

C. I thought you wanted to take five courses.　 D.I didn't think I could graduate in five terms.

5. To think she's been here six weeks already!

A. It doesn't seem as though she's been here that long.　B. I think she’ll be ready to travel soon.

C. She's been considering the offer for nearly six weeks.　 D.Every six weeks she comes here to visit us.

6. To think I was once interested in becoming a veterinarian.

A. I don't want to be a veterinarian anymore.　B. Do you think it's a good idea to become a veterinarian.

C. I once met a very interesting veterinarian.　 D.Will you become a veterinarian after college?

7. To imagine even for a minute that I would do a thing like that on purpose.

A. I briefly thought about doing it.　B. I found it difficult to do properly.

C. I would never do that intentionally.　 D.I can't imagine how much time that would take.