请教一个英语句子的理解
2024-10-08 21:59:50 学考宝 作者:佚名
问题描述
Art is human activity having as its purpose transmission to others of the highest and best feeling to which we have risen.
个人理解为:以传递最崇高和最美好的情感,使人们得以提高的人类活动,就是艺术。
网上翻译为:把我们所达到的最高尚和最优秀的情感传递给他人,以此为目的的人类活动就是艺术。
这句中的 to which we have risen 是什么成分,以及这个句子应当如何理解,还请各位坛友指教,谢谢。
老师答疑
刘老师:
Art is human activity having as its purpose transmission to others of the highest and best feeling to which we have risen.
【翻译】艺术是人类的活动,其目的是把我们已达到的最崇高和最美好的情感传递给别人。
【说明】这位网友的翻译不错,比原来的翻译更好。我特别赞同他的这个翻译:“最崇高和最美好的情感”。我的意见是:先把句子的主干翻译出来:“艺术是人类的活动”。这实际是在给“艺术”下定义,理应把“艺术”作为主语,而不是表语。然后再处理 having as...结构,免得定语太长,给人感觉别扭。其实,have ... as its purpose “有......作为目的”,就是把as its purpose 理解为:“其目的是”,这样处理既不失原意,又符合汉语习惯。
【句子结构分析】
1. 句子主干是主系表结构:Art is human activity (艺术是人类的活动)
2. having as its purpose:现在分词短语作定语,修饰human activity
3. transmission to others of the highest and best feeling:是having的宾语,因太长而后置,结果把as its purpose提前。
此外,该短语被to others分隔,因为feeling后有定语从句,而把to others提前。正常语序是transmission of A to B:transmission of the highest and best feeling to others。
4. to which we have risen:是定语从句修饰the highest and best feeling。意为:“我们所达到的(最崇高和最美好的情感)”。