第二句“And therein exists another belief that by taking differing from others too far causes people’s failure to see the meaningful similarities among related things.” 由于用了“therein”一詞,本句在邏輯上存在嚴(yán)重矛盾。從內(nèi)容上看,本句所陳述的意思是,如果過(guò)分地采取與眾不同的做法則會(huì)阻礙人們認(rèn)清相關(guān)事物之間的共同點(diǎn)。這一論點(diǎn)是與第一句所表述的論點(diǎn)截然相反的另一種觀(guān)點(diǎn)(another belief),但 “therein”(“在那個(gè)里面”)卻規(guī)定了這第二個(gè)論點(diǎn)是包含在第一個(gè)論點(diǎn)之中的。這便產(chǎn)生了兩個(gè)邏輯矛盾。第一:全然相反的第二個(gè)論點(diǎn)怎么能被包含在與之矛盾的第一個(gè)論點(diǎn)之中呢?第二:“another”暗示第一個(gè)句子中應(yīng)包含二個(gè)“beliefs”,但我們?cè)诘谝粋€(gè)句子以外,所能讀到的卻只有一個(gè)“belief”,缺乏另一個(gè)“belief”的存在。這里,作者可能出于炫耀詞匯的心理,用了一個(gè)不常用的帶有故舊色彩的“therein”,如同上文中的“personality”一詞那樣,均是囫圇吞棗、沒(méi)有透徹把握而造成誤用的表現(xiàn),改成“there”,變?yōu)?“there exists another belief…”便可。
在語(yǔ)言上,介詞結(jié)構(gòu)“by taking differing from others too far” 是不能做主語(yǔ)的,“by”一詞應(yīng)去掉,變成現(xiàn)在分詞短語(yǔ)才可以充當(dāng)主語(yǔ),這里顯示出作者受到了中文思維的干擾。此外,在及物動(dòng)詞“taking”之后出現(xiàn)的名詞,在“differing”和“differences”之間應(yīng)首選“differences”。但即使這樣,“taking differences”在搭配上也是生硬的,應(yīng)改成“taking on differences”或“assuming differences” 方為貼切。最后,以副詞形式出現(xiàn)的“too far”修飾“taking (assuming)”也顯別扭,最好改成形容詞“excessive”,放在名詞“differences”之前來(lái)修飾,才符合英文習(xí)慣表達(dá)方式。
這一句可改為:“On the other hand, there exists an opposite belief that assuming excessive differences from others can result in people’s failure to see meaningful similarities among related things.”
第三句:“As far as I am concerned, however, that pursuing differences or personality and seeking similarities between counterparts are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and that a coalition of them both can be possibly and necessarily realized if handled properly, which will benefit our society a lot with the appropriate proportion of them each to blance each other out.”?對(duì)于本句,先說(shuō)語(yǔ)言上的問(wèn)題。如果保持“As far as I am concerned”這一從句,則后面的內(nèi)容應(yīng)該表現(xiàn)為主句,故“pursuing differences”和“a coalition of them both” 之前的兩個(gè)“that” 應(yīng)刪除,不然會(huì)出現(xiàn)全句只有數(shù)個(gè)從句而沒(méi)有主句的嚴(yán)重語(yǔ)法問(wèn)題?;蛘撸3忠?ldquo;that” 引導(dǎo)的兩個(gè)從句,將“As far as I am concerned ”改為主句“I think /believe/hold/maintain…”。其次,“similarities between counterparts” 是對(duì)原文similarities among ideas, individuals, and groups” 的篡改,因?yàn)?ldquo;counterparts”指的是同類(lèi)的或?qū)Φ鹊娜嘶蚴挛?,但題目中“similarities among ideas, individuals, and groups”指的是表面上視若不同的思想之間、個(gè)人之間和群體之間在深層次上的共同點(diǎn)”。其次,“coalition”一詞常指政治和軍事上的聯(lián)盟,表示兩者的融合應(yīng)該用“combination”,或“integration”, “fusion”, “incorporation”等詞匯。此外,“possibly and necessarily”是自相予盾的,應(yīng)改成“possibly or necessarily”才免強(qiáng)可行。最后,“them each”應(yīng)改成“each of them”, “blance”為拼寫(xiě)錯(cuò)誤,應(yīng)改成“balance”, 但“balance each other out”也是中國(guó)式英語(yǔ),應(yīng)改成“to keep a balance between the two”。整句可改為:“As far as I am concerned, however, pursuing differences or individuality and seeking similarities among apparently different entities are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and a combination of both can be possibly or necessarily realized if handled properly, which will considerably benefit our society with an appropriate proportion of each of them to maintain a state of balance or equilibrium.”經(jīng)過(guò)上述修改之后,第一段本身已變得層次清晰,連貫通順。作者先指出了兩個(gè)均帶片面性的他人的論點(diǎn),然后提出了有別于這兩個(gè)片面論點(diǎn)的屬于自己的折衷觀(guān)點(diǎn)。