面對即將開啟的留學生活, 有同學經常問: Kaye, 到國外該怎么跟教授發郵件溝通？
其實哪有什么模版和速成訣竅啊, You are what you read. 講真的, "扛打的"表達能力都是研習優秀語料和堅持積累養成的。No shortcut, period.
翻譯學有“信達雅”三重原則, 作為二語習得者, 我們的語言能力進階之路也有三重：準確表達無歧義-具備母語使用者表達習慣-自然表達且讓人印象深刻。
好消息是, 這個時代優秀的語言文字觸手可及, 而信件算得上是其中用詞考究且邏輯嚴謹的媒介之一, 所以我會定期選一些“私房好料”, 和大家一起來探討表達之道, 話不多說, 咱們一起來言而有“信”吧！
Previously on Billions…
《億萬》上集提要:
公關危機: public relation crisis
人設崩塌: personal image collapse
reputation ruined
Mr.Rhodes 處于競選紐約司法部長關鍵時期，競爭對手以曝光其個人隱私威脅其放棄競選。
四面楚歌之際, 他是選擇“無可奉告” no comment, 還是聲稱 claim “捏造事實” false accusation? 吃瓜群眾們 folks, 請搬出你的小板凳 We'll see about that.
1. “A lie," the wise man, Winston Churchill, purportedly said, “gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”
智慧之仕丘吉爾：等不到真相提褲子，謊言早已路人皆知。比速度，真相連車尾燈都看不到。
purportedly: 據報道, 副詞修飾以示準確。
e.g. That lady's being verbally insulted by a mob.
那位女士正在被一群流氓出言調戲。
如果換成physically insulted, 指的是“動手動腳..."；下一個鏡頭就該是男主角標準開場白: 光天化日之下，竟敢調戲良家婦女!
get one’s pants on: 意為真相大白,水落石出
shit/piss one’s pants: 嚇尿了
get into one’s pants: 騙人滾床單
e.g. Making money in New York City is as easy as getting laid at the prom.
get laid: 滾床單
prom: 美國高中畢業舞會
Kaye: 在每個人都可以是一個自媒體的時代，謹言慎行未必能自保，，辯證思維屬于基本防御工事，聽風就是雨那只能是待割韭菜。
銀河護衛隊的智慧擔當星爵寫過：
It is our hope that what has transpired can serve as an example for all of us to realize the enormous responsibility we have to ourselves and to each other regarding the use of our written words when we etch them in digital stone.
2. But, I have a feeling that this truth will find its way quick enough. And it’s high time for truth, too. For openness. For unburdening.
是時候讓真相大白了。
get..off my chest: 坦白,表白,說心里話..
openness: 中文表達里詞性特征并不突出, 但英文中注意詞性是對語法最基本的尊重。
e.g. I appreciate simplistic designs.
我喜歡極簡風格的設計。
e.g. I favor MUJI for its simplism.
我喜歡無印良品是因為他的極簡風格。
正確使用長形容詞的名詞形式是寫作中比較炫技討巧的做法。
3. I'm not here, as most politicians might be, to ask you to trust me. No. Instead, I am asking if I may trust you with my deepest fear, which is that you might know me, who I really am.
和很多政客不一樣, 今天我來不是讓你們信任我. 相反, 我是想看看我能否信任你們, 讓你們了解我內心最深的恐懼, 了解我的為人。
As most politicians might be, 插入語是表達者在表述過程中即興想起或想補充的內容, 體現嚴謹。
e.g. I’m writing to ask, if I’m allowed to, about the status of the application I submitted last month.
我寫信是為詢問, 當然如果我被允許的話(體現謙遜禮貌), 關于我上月提交申請的狀態.。
4. The job of the prosecutor is to expose that, which is hidden away, the evil, the dirty, the crooked and the untruthful. To shine light and reveal what’s under all that darkness. And I have come to realize that in order to do it right, I must first shine that light on my own dark parts. Which is why I have asked you all here today.
檢察官職責是曝光隱藏的黑暗,卑劣,不正當和謬誤種種.知行合一, 我今天也給大家交個底。
Kaye: 把自己難以啟齒“黑料”轉成獲得大家信任的leverage 籌碼. 成功甩鍋, 這是高手...
The+adj: 表示一類人或事物
e.g. Philanthropy is a common cause to help the unfortunate.
慈善是一項幫助不幸人群的公共事業。
5. I’m just going to say it. I, in my private life, in the confines of my happy marriage, with my consenting wife, practice sadomasochism. Bondage, dominance, all the rest. Masks. Binds. Ropes. Fire. Even just saying it like that I can feel my shoulders loosen for the first time in decades. I am a masochist. In order to achieve sexual gratification, I need to be tied up, punched, pinched, whipped, kicked or otherwise tortured, by my loving wife.
據有關部門規定, 具體操作細節不便翻譯。
consent: n&v.同意
consenting: adj.自愿協同的
consensual&Non-consensual: Sex&Rap
sadomasochism, 俗稱"SM"
practice: 踐行..理念,實施..措施,行使..權
Kaye: 準確用詞是優秀表達基本姿勢, 例如都是表達"發起", 但最適合的用詞并不一樣。
e.g. wage a war 發起戰爭, launch a campaign 發起活動
所以想表達地道純正，從積累做起！
川普對非法移民采取family separation政策
6. Here’s the bigger truth. All of us need something, right? You know, I don’t know what you do in your bedroom, with your loved one, but I do know this: you’re probably a little embarrassed about it. You probably don’t want the rest of us looking at you while you do it—unless that’s your thing and if so, great. But wouldn’t we be better off if we didn’t let shame win. If we didn’t feel sheepish, didn’t feel like we had to hide what moves us?
其實每個人都有隱密, 也或多或少有“窺探”欲, 但我們不能因為羞愧而否定自我, 因為那也是我們真實的一部分, 我就是我, 很不一樣的煙火!
shameful: adj. 難為情的，丟臉的
shame on you: 你真不害臊
權游Cersei王后贖罪游行atonement walk
7. Chuck, are you still gonna run?
run: v.競選，run for presidency: 競選總統
running campaign: 競選活動
e.g. Running a company means more than managing a group of people, but keeping it growing and prospering.
8. There are those who believe that I have just ended my legal and political careers. They don’t think you can handle what I just told you. In fact, political opponents of mine were plotting to use it against me. I said “bring it.”
有些人一定覺得我剛才親手終結了自己的政治生涯.因為他們覺得你們承受不了我告訴你們的事實-給聽眾戴高帽,我知道我的對手也曾預謀要對付我,我只想說:你過來呀!
plot: n.情節, v.密謀設計…
conspire: v.共謀, conspirator: 同伙
conspiracy:陰謀,conspiracy theory:陰謀論
e.g. They are conspiring a coup against the sitting president.
他們正密謀政變, 推翻現任總統。
9. And that’s why I told you I was here to trust you. Because I know that you can handle it. That you may laugh a little. But that at the end of the day, you’ll get it, because you want the truth.
就像我說的一樣，我是來信任你們的，因為我相信你們能扛事. 也許你們會笑一笑，但你們會懂我的，因為我知道你們想要事實。
Kaye: 在演講最后呼應開頭-I was here to trust you，形成完整的篇章邏輯結構.。寫作中我們往往會糾結某些詞或詞組的"高端用法"，但其實句子與句子之間的邏輯關系，段落和段落之間的邏輯關系，整篇文章的邏輯架構，才是衡量一篇優秀更重要的標準。
我會更關注你的帽子，上衣，褲子，鞋和包包之間搭配，而不會在意你上衣哪顆紐扣多出眾，更何況大多數情況下，這顆紐扣你系地都是錯的。
10. At worst, maybe it won’t stop you from getting to the polls to support me. At best, maybe on the way you tell someone who you really are. Maybe they like it.
我能想到的最糟糕的情況是，你們不給我投票。不過，你也可能會向身邊的人介紹我是什么樣的人，也許他們都會喜歡我。
11. And maybe you feel just a little more comfortable in your own skin. As I finally do in mine. Thank you.
可能在坐的每一位當下都挺自適的, 而我現在也能如此了, 比心哦!
Kaye: 解決危機是公關當事人的基本使命，Mr.Rhodes巧妙地轉移話題戰場，轉換主被動信任關系，不解釋，不掩飾，于是吃瓜群眾被真誠地洗腦了。
