原文:
The letter was an eye-opener: she wanted to divorce me!
原译:
这封信让我大开眼界,她要同我离婚!
辨 析:
eye-opener确实有“使人开阔眼界的事物”的意思,如:
The exhibits from the British Museum were real eye-opener to most visitors. 来自大英博物馆的展品使大多数参观者大开眼界 。
事实上,eye-opener是一个中性的词语,除了指“令人恍然大悟的(新鲜或好)事物”,也可以指“令人惊讶的(坏)事物”,如:
The declassified wartime documents revealed many unthinkable atrocities committed by the Japanese aggressors and were an eye-opener to many people.解密的战时文件揭露出日本侵略者犯下的许多让人想象不到的暴行,令人震惊 。
原文中表示的也应该是贬义的意思,所以全句应译为:这封信让我大为惊讶,她居然要同我离婚!
英语里有许多中性的成语,翻译成褒义还是贬义,一定要根据上下文决定,例如:
birds of a feather(兴趣爱好相同的人/一丘之貉);
enough to make the cat speak(绝妙的/非常糟糕的,以至于连猫都会惊讶得开口说话);
full of ambition(有雄心壮志/野心勃勃的);
hand in glove with(亲密无比/狼狈为奸);
take example by...(以……为榜样/吸取……的教训)
eye-opener来自动词短语open one's eye,其本来意思是“使人睁大眼睛”,如:
When I told him so, he opened his eyes的意思并不是他张开原来闭着的眼睛,而是“惊讶得睁大眼睛”。
叫人把眼睛睁大一点则要说Open your eyes wider。而 open someone's eyes to something 的意思是“启发某人认识某件事”,如:
That incident opened my eyes to the true character of this young man.这次事件让我认清 了这位年轻人的真正品格。