原文:
The food in this restaurant is really out of this world and they don't pad the bill like the restaurant down the street.
原译:
这家餐馆的食物简直没治了,而且他们不像街那头那家餐馆那样另外收费。
辨 析:
out of this world是美国俚语,其意思可以从字面意思推导出来:“不是属于这个世界的”,用来形容某物非常出色或令人难以置信。,如:
Their performance was out of this world .他们的表演令人叫绝。
pad the bill中pad的原义是“铺垫”、“充填”,如“棉袄”是padded coat(填进去的东西叫fillings);而bill在这里是“账单”的意思(“我来埋单”是Let me foot/meet the bill;“结清账款”则说square a/the bill)。pad the bill字面的意思是“让账单变厚”,指在账单上增加额外的费用,通常是不正当的或不透明的,如:
The hotel charged us for ten trunk calls that we hadn't made at all. I think they are trying to pad the bill .旅馆要我们付10次长途电话费,可是我们根本就没有打过,我看他们是虚列账单想多收钱 。
The salesman padded his bill for his traveling expenses by exaggerating his food expenses.那个推销员夸大伙食费用,虚报 差旅费。
pad the bill不同于overcharge,后者指抬高价格的收费,而“另外收费”,如收小费、服务费、开瓶费等另外的费用,英语说additional charge 或extra charge。
还有一点,food有很多意思,如World Food Day是“世界粮食日”。这里译为“食品”不准确,餐馆里food译为“饭菜”更好一些。
所以原文可译为:这家餐馆的饭菜确实别具一格,而且不像街那边那家餐馆老虚开账单,多收钱。