原文:
It is better to fight for justice than to rail at the ill.
原译:
为正义而斗争胜过尾随邪恶。
辨 析:
rail at译成“尾随”是不对的!
rail 的原意是“轨道”,而原文中的rail是一个不及物动词,意思是“责骂/怒斥”或“抱怨”,后面一般接at, against, about。
"Rail at":表示公开抱怨或责备某人或某事。 例句:He constantly rails at his colleagues for their incompetence.
"Rail against":表示公开批评或抱怨针对某个特定对象或主题。 例句:The protesters were railing against government corruption.
"Rail about":表示激烈抱怨或责备某个主题或问题。 例句:She was constantly railing about the state of public transportation.
而"尾随" 的英文应该是 "follow" 、"trail"、"tail"。
"follow":这个词通常用于表示跟随某人或某物,以保持一定的距离或观察他们的行动。例如:
"The detective followed the suspect through the crowded streets."(侦探在拥挤的街道上跟踪嫌疑人。)
"trail":这个词通常用于描述在某人或某物后面保持一定距离的跟踪。例如:
"The hiker trailed the group by a few hundred meters, struggling to keep up with them."(徒步旅行者跟在队伍后面几百米,努力跟上他们。)
"tail":这个词在某些情况下可以表示悄悄地或秘密地跟踪某人或某物。例如:
"The private investigator tailed the suspect for several days to gather evidence."(私人侦探跟踪嫌疑人几天,以收集证据。)
所以,原句的正确译文应该是:(为正义而战,胜过抱怨不幸)与其责骂邪恶,不如伸张正义。