7.4 过去虚拟（ZgCg）

7.4 过去虚拟（ZgCg）

（一）
只要有Love，就会有Wealth和Success

有一天，一位老妇人在自家门口发现有三位老人正坐在她家前院。但她并不认识他们，于是她对他们说道：“我想我应该不认识你们，但我想你们一定是饿了，请来我家吃些东西吧（I don’t think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat.）”。听了老妇人的话，他们说道：“我们三个人不会同时进去的（We do not go into a house together.）”，老妇人很是纳闷，就问:“为什么呀”？

这时，有位老人就告诉她理由。他指着其中一位老人说道：“他名叫‘财富’（His name is Wealth.）”，又指着另一位老人说：“他是‘成功’，我是‘爱’（He is Success and I am Love.）”。说完，他又补充道：“现在请你回家与你丈夫商量一下，我们这三个人你们愿意邀请谁进去（Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.）”。

于是，老妇人回到家里告诉她老伴儿院子里发生的事，并且跟她老伴儿商量，有Wealth，Success和Love三位老人，到底该邀请谁进屋呢？她老伴儿提议说：“既然这样，那我们就邀请‘财富’老人进来吧，这样我们家就会充满财富（Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!）”。

但是老妇人对此并不同意，她说道：“老头子，我们为什么不邀请‘成功’老人呢（My dear, why don’t we invite Success?）”？

这时，他们的儿媳妇听到了老两口的对话，说出了自己的想法：“如果我们把‘爱’邀请进来不是更好吗？这样我们家就会充满爱（Wouldn’t it be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!）”。老两口最后一商量，也都赞成儿媳妇的意见，于是老人对老妇人说：“那我们出去把‘爱’请进来作为我们的客人吧（Go out and invite Love to be our guest.）”。随后老妇人又来到门口准备邀请“爱”进来做客。看着三位老人，她问道：“你们仨谁是‘爱’呀？请进来做客吧（Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.）”。

这时，老人“爱”就站起身开始朝屋里走去，但与此同时另外两个老人“财富”和“成功”也跟在“爱”的后面朝屋里走。老妇人很惊讶，就问“财富”和“成功”：“我刚才只邀请了‘爱’，你们俩为什么也要进来呀（Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success,“I only invited Love. Why are you coming in?）”？

下面是这两位老人的精彩回答：

1 The old men replied together,“If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would’ve stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever he goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!”

两位老人齐声回答道：“如果你刚才只邀请了‘财富’或‘成功’中的任何一位，那剩下两位都将留在门外。但是，既然你已经邀请了‘爱’，所以，他去哪里，我们就跟到哪里，因为只要有‘爱’的地方，就会有‘财富’和‘成功’”!

这个故事的寓意不需在此赘述。我们再看看两位老人最后的回答：

If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would’ve stayed out.

但实际上被邀请的是Love，所以这句话说“如果你刚才邀请了‘财富’或‘成功’”，显然是对过去事实的一个相反的假设，也就是对过去的虚拟。根据英文的思维表达，表示对过去的虚拟，主句的谓语要采用would have done的形式，从句的谓语则要用过去完成时态had done。所以，上述例句正是采用了这一虚拟形式：would have stayed和had invited。

（二）

上面这个故事告诉我们：“只要有爱，就会有财富和成功”。这并不是说“爱”就真的一定会给我们带来物质和金钱上的财富，而是要告诉我们，爱与被爱才真正赋予了生命的意义，就如同人们说的“Love is a reason to live.”。还有一句至理名言是这样说的：“Love makes the world go around.”。下面这个故事也许会给恋爱中的你带来另外的启示：

2“Do you love me?—Yes. Do you really, really love me?—Yes.”It was a question that has been posed to many a lover. But Stephanie Powell had a special reason for asking her boyfriend, Wayne, if he loved her. Because Stephanie had just won $7 million on the lottery and wanted to make sure of Wayne’s devotion before she told him the good news.“If he had known about the win I would never have known whether it was me or the money he would want to stay with,”she said.“I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t answered yes. I love him and want to enjoy spending the money with him.”

“你爱我吗？——爱。你是真的爱我吗？——真的爱。”这样的问题许多恋人相互之间都问过，但是斯蒂芬妮·鲍威尔问她的男朋友韦恩是否爱她时，却是有特别的原因。因为她刚中了700万美元的彩票，想先确证她男友是否真的爱她，然后再告诉他这一好消息。她后来说：“如果他先知道我赢得了这个大奖，那我就无从知晓他和我交往是因为爱我，还是因为爱我的钱。如果他当时没有回答说爱我，我真不知道该怎么办，因为我爱他，所以愿意和他分享这笔巨款。”

从这个故事我们看到，韦恩因为说了“爱”，而获得与女友一起分享700万美元巨款的机会。所以，当如果有同样的“机会”惠顾你时，记住一定要毫不犹豫地告诉他/她“爱”，因为“有爱的地方，就会有财富（Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth!）。”

故事中的斯蒂芬妮·鲍威尔说的两句话：

1） If he had known about the win, I would never have known whether it was me or the money he would want to stay with.

2） I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t answered yes.

妙语点睛　这显然是在她后来回顾这件事时说的话，此时，这件事已成为过去。斯蒂芬妮用了两个假设从句说“假如他知道”和“假如他没有回答‘是’”，这两个从句都表示与过去的事实相反。主句同样也是表示过去虚拟假设。因此，主句和从句的谓语分别用了would never have known和had known，以及would have done和hadn’t answered这样的动词虚拟形式。

爱情是人类永恒的话题，但并不是每段美好的爱情最终都能走进幸福的婚姻。如果婚姻不幸，最终导致离婚，那对孩子的伤害应该是最大的。下面这篇短文就是英国球星贝克汉姆谈论父母离婚给他留下的阴影——他始终认为父母的离异或许是自己的错。

3 Beckham and Divorce

I grew up in the love of a family. Without Mum and Dad, none of my story would be here for the telling. Like any son, I wouldn’t have grown up into the person I am if they hadn’t passed on their values to me. Marriage and parenthood, I think, are the two most important things any of us ever take on in our lives. That explains why my parents’ splitting up has been probably the most difficult episode I’ve ever had to face up to in my whole life. To be honest, I’m still trying to face up to it now, probably the hardest thing to deal with has been thinking—or being made to think—that the split was somehow my fault. I remember the time and the energy they both put into me as a son and as a promising footballer. Should they have given some of the attention they gave me to each other instead?

However old you are when it happens, children in a divorce always find themselves feeling guilty. I believe that what happens between husband and wife, deep down, is between husband and wife and nobody else; not even their sons and daughters can change the outcome.

The story of my parents’ marriage makes me feel sad, empty inside. What was home isn’t anymore. Who can tell what lies down the road for you in your own life?

精品译文　贝克汉姆与离婚

我是在家人的关爱中成长的。没有父母，就没有今天我在这里所说的一切。像世间任何一个子女一样，没有父母的教诲，我也就不能成为现在的“我”。我认为，婚姻和亲子关系是生命中最为重要的东西。所以，父母的离异有可能是我整个人生中必须面对的最艰难的一关。老实说，直到现在我都还在努力克服这件事带给我的影响。也许，最困难的还是自己的想法——或者说是被迫去想——认为父母的离异或许是自己的错。我仍然铭记他们俩对我付出的时间和精力，不论他们是把我看作一个儿子还是一个有前途的球员。他们是否应该把部分放在我身上的精力投到彼此身上呢？

不论父母离异时孩子有多大，孩子都会责备自己。事实上，我相信，夫妻间无论发生了什么事都是夫妻间的事，与他人无关；即使是他们的子女都不能改变这个事实。

父母的婚姻让我觉得很伤心，心里好像被掏空了。家不成家。谁又能知道在前方等待自己的又是什么呢？

从最后一句，我们能感受到，即使现在谈及自己的家庭时，小贝依然会黯然神伤。但对于父母在他成长过程中给予他的爱，他依然心存感激，所以他在上文中说：

Like any son, I wouldn’t have grown up into the person I am if they hadn’t passed on their values to me. Marriage and parenthood, I think, are the two most important things any of us ever take on in our lives.

贝克汉姆用的是过去虚拟形式wouldn’t have grown和hadn’t passed来表示与过去事实相反的假设，因为事实是小贝已经在父母的教诲下长大成人，而且后来成了世界著名的球星，对此他自己也未曾料到。他曾在一次新闻发布会上说：

4 Two years ago if someone had turned round to me and said“in two years you’ll be England captain”, I would have turned round and said:“I don’t think so!”

妙语点睛　这里同样是一个对过去事实的虚拟：两年前并没有人跟小贝说过“你将在两年后成为英格兰队的队长”，所以，小贝在这里用了虚拟语气：从句用过去完成时had turned，主句用would have turned。

精品译文　如果两年前，有人对我说“你将在两年后成为英格兰队的队长”，我肯定会对此一笑了之。

在这一节中我们讨论的这种过去虚拟语气，其谓语的构成形式的确有点复杂。所以，读者首先需要记准它的结构形式，然后在实践中多加练习、细心体会。只有这样，虚拟语气这种汉语所没有的思维表达方式才能逐步进入我们的思维，从而为我们所运用。所以，语法的学习绝不只是死记结构来应付考试，而更应该理解结构形式背后所反映的说话人真正的意念和思维。我们常常说“言为心声”，说的就是这个意思。如果只是死记规则和结构，而不去体会和领悟英语结构背后的思维规律，那我们只能永远是屈服于英语的“奴隶”，而不能成为驾驭英语的“将军”！

思维总结

这节讨论的是ZgCg型虚拟语气，即主句和从句都表示对过去情况的虚拟。此时，主句谓语用would have done，而从句谓语用过去完成时态had done。

思维训练 7.4 Key

一、请用下面括号中动词的适当形式填空。

1. Tourism is an odd thing. You fly off to a strange land, eagerly abandoning all the comforts of home, and then expend time and money in a futile attempt to recapture the comforts that you ______ （not, lose） if you ______ （not, leave） home in the first place.

2. If I ______ （know） it would come to this, I ______ （act） differently.

3. A: The coat you tried on was really nice, and reasonably priced.

B: I ______ （buy） it right away if they ______ （have） it in my size.

4. If you ______ （choose） where you were born and grew up, what country/culture ______ （be） your choice?

二、请选择最佳答案填空。

5. It would have been just as satisfactory if I ______ at home. I learned nothing in class.

A. had stayed

B. stayed

C. was staying

D. would stay

6. If you ______ Jerry Brown until recently, you’d think the photograph on the right was strange.

A. shouldn’t contact

B. didn’t contact

C. weren’t to contact

D. hadn’t contacted

三、请回答下面的问题。

7. Woman: It’s a shame that you didn’t win your tennis match.

Man: I might have won if I’d listened to my coach.

Question: What does the man imply?

A. His coach didn’t help him enough.

B. He had no chance of winning.

C. He didn’t follow his coach’s advice.

D. His coach didn’t listen to him.

8. If I’d known he was driving downtown, I’d have asked him for a ride.

Question: What does the speaker mean?

A. I asked him if he needed a ride.

B. I’m going to share the driving with him

C. I didn’t ask him for a ride since I didn’t know he was driving.

D. I asked him for a ride as soon as I found out he was going.