少数派《越狱》第4季第1集 语言文化要点讲解

英语自学网

1.
I will seek the justice that I now know the system cannot provide. So if you're reading this letter, you'll know I died avenging Sara's death.
英语里有关“仇”有很多词。
avenge一般作动词，指替…报仇。比如She avenged her mother's death upon the murderer. 她惩处了凶手, 为母亲报了仇。1998年Uma Thurman、Ralph Fiennes和Sean Connery　主演的电影《复仇者》就叫The Avenger.
revenge一般做名词居多，指复仇报仇。比如2005年的《星球大战前传》叫Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith。
vengeance 也指报复报仇，用的较少，而是以短语形式with a vengeance出现居多。with a vengeance是副词短语，指To an extreme degree, with greater force。比如电影《虎胆龙威》(Die Hard)的第三集的片名就叫Die Hard: With A Vengeance.再比如December has turned cold with a vengeance. 十二月已经是透骨寒冷了。另有谚语Heaven's vengeance is slow but sure. 天网恢恢, 疏而不漏。
retaliation指报复，但往往强调以恶制恶，以不好的类似的举动回敬对方。比如军事上有一种打击叫做报复性打击，英文就是retaliation.
retribution该词侧重偿还这个概念，很多情况下指宗教上的来世报应：一个人在来世生活中，根据他在今世的所作所为所得到的惩罚或奖赏。
vendetta侧重族间血仇，即blood feud，比如罗密欧与朱丽叶各自的蒙太古与凯普莱特家族之间的血仇。2005年的电影《V字仇杀队》的英文名字就叫V for Vendetta.
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2.
- I've jumped through all your hoops. I've agreed to meet you here.
- Do you want to sell the card to me or not?
- Be right back. That's a lot of secrets on a little piece of plastic. Let me give you a little bit of advice--and this is on the house-- watch your step with that thing. The company will do anything to get it back.
jump through hoops指to do a lot of extra things so you can have or do something you want. 比如The company is jumping through hoops these days to try to please advertisers. 其中hoop本指圈，箍，环。比如呼啦圈hula hoop；再比如马戏团里有人或动物跳火圈fire hoop。另外hoop还可以指篮筐，shoot hoops则指打篮球。
If food or drink is on the house in a bar or restaurant, it is provided free by the owner. 比如We had to wait for a table so they gave us all drinks on the house.在本句是指卖家主动提出小小建议，不另外收费。
[w]
watch one’s step[/w]原用于走路要注意脚下，后泛指做事要小心谨慎。
3.
- What I'm getting at, Gretchen, is even the best plan is only as good as the moving parts on the ground executing it.
- General, we got your card-- what's the problem?
- We have nothing. It's a duplicate. Almost flawless, but a duplicate.
- That's impossible. I saw...
- You know how important the retrieval of this card is to me, Gretchen. You know that this is a security breach that could have catastrophic ramifications for the company.
- The only thing I can think of... there was a blind spot when Whistler was hitting the target. Maybe he made a duplicate and he still has the original.
get at指 hint at, suggest(暗示)比如I don't know what you're getting at.
The best plan is only as good as the moving parts on the ground executing it翻译成汉语就是“计划再好也得靠人去执行”。 as good as的用法和意思很灵活，一种就是纯粹比较，但往往有别的用法，比如可以是 as same as比如 as good as new跟新的一样;还有一种指 almost实际上几乎是,比如 What he did has as good as shown that he is dishonest. 英语还有 as good as it gets指is not going to improve (get better), the best it can be.比如I went to Hawaii for a vacation and Hawaii is as good as it gets - sun, beaches, warm weather, beautiful plants.
ramification指A development or consequence growing out of and sometimes complicating a problem, plan, or statement.比如the ramifications of a court decision. 其动词ramify有分叉分支的意思
blind spot盲点，原指视网膜上视觉纤维汇聚向视觉中枢传递的出眼球部位,无感光细胞,故视野上呈现为固有的暗区,称生理盲点，专业术语叫scotoma。后来If you say that someone has a blind spot about something, you mean that they seem to be unable to understand it or to see how important it is.比如 The Prime Minister has a blind spot about ethical issues.
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entwo

4.
- What do you want from me?
- You're looking at major time. You know that, right? So how would you like to walk away from it all... not do a day?
- In exchange for...
- Scylla.
- All right. Sara Tancredi, last seen in Panama. If you help me find her, maybe we've got a deal.
- I'm sorry, she's not my department, Scylla is.
- Then go find it yourself. It seems to me, the U.S. Government should have a little more reach than someone who's looking at major time.
- To perform the operation, Michael, that would require signatures from about 20 different department heads. Do you want to bet at least one of them is company? The only way this is going to work is via freelancer, off the books.
- It sounds complicated. I'll take a pass.
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time在这里指a prison sentence刑期，本集里多次出现这个用法，比如I'm giving you an opportunity to avoid 15 years in jail, not to mention the time that your brother's facing.以及But I just made a deal with the Panamanian authorities for him to serve out his time in the U.S.
Scylla原指希腊神话中吞吃水手的女海妖，有六个头十二只手，腰间缠绕着一条由许多恶狗围成的腰环，守护着墨西拿海峡的一侧。第二集里提到了这个典故。
department在这里是非正式用语，指专长特长。比如Getting the kids to bed is my department. 哄孩子们上床睡觉是我的专长。
reach在本句作名词，指range or scope of influence or effect 影响力势力范围
off the books的books原指账本，该短语指without being included on official financial records. 比如Waiters, cashiers, and busboys(餐馆打杂) often work off the books, getting paid in cash.在本句这个短语是在说此次行动不走官方渠道，没有任何记录。
to take a pass是指to decline an opportunity. 比如- Check out the new Harry Potter book. – Well, I think I would take a pass on that type of book.
5.
- You've broken out of two penitentiaries. I'm thinking, uh, breaking into a building isn't too far outside your wheelhouse.
首先谈谈监狱和坐牢。监狱牢房最普通的说法就是prison (prison break嘛), 此外还有比较正式的penitentiary，一般都是指联邦或州的监狱，关了不少重犯；俚语还有pen(pen的一个意思指围栏，后可指牢房)以及hole。关押坐牢的单词也很多，比如imprison, incarcerate(本集一开始史高飞用了这个词)。
wheelhouse即pilothouse，原指（船上）驾驶舱，操舵室：建于船上驾驶台的封闭区，船在航行中由其控。当你说something is in one’s wheelhouse就是指这个东西是某人最拿手熟练的。

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