Advanced Week 206

写在前面的话

“ScalersTalk 口译进阶小组”的前身是“ScalersTalk 交传小组”，成立于 2015 年 2 月，现阶段，小组继续专注高级阶段的交替传译与同声传译训练，在巩固语言基本功的同时训练各类口译技能，从而为承担正式场合的口译打下坚实基础。

本周复盘说明

第 205 周训练的主题为：节日购物送礼主题的反向进英，练习的文章为The Worst Tech Gifts We Give (and How to Do Better) “科技产品送礼指南：如何避免踩雷”。 练习步骤为先看中文译文部分，对着讲英文，然后对照英文原文，学习一下词汇、表达和句式结构。最后再对着中文讲一遍，这个时候把中文作为线索，用你刚刚学过的表达讲故事。

第 205 周——知识点整理

段落一

1216 我永远都不会忘记历年来收到过的最差劲节日礼物。 之所以出现这种差劲的礼物，背后原因并不难解。黑色星期五通常是大家购买礼物的时候，商家为了清空库存中不想要的垃圾，就会大幅降价。这意味着有很多劣质品打折出售。 多年来，我跟《纽约时报》旗下产品评测公司Wirecutter合作，对可疑的黑色星期五优惠向购物者发出警告，同时建议他们如何买到打折的优质商品。 今年，我们归纳了通常会被作为礼物的最糟糕的科技产品，同时推荐更优质的替代选择，其中很多会在黑色星期五打折出售。这可以被当成一份送礼指南，防止你购买最终会被扔到垃圾堆里的礼物，引导你购买会给至亲的人带来欣喜的礼物。

英文原文

I will never forget the worst holiday gifts I have received over the years. There’s no mystery behind why this lousy gift-giving happens. Many holiday purchases happen during Black Friday, when retailers slash prices to clear their inventory of unwanted junk. And that means a lot of dreck goes on sale. For years, I have collaborated with Wirecutter, a New York Times company that tests products, to warn shoppers about dubious Black Friday deals while advising them on how to score discounts on quality items. This year, we are rounding up the worst tech products we often see presented as holiday gifts and are recommending superior alternatives, many of which may go on sale on Black Friday. Consider this a guide to steering away from presents that end up in landfills and toward buying what may bring your loved ones joy.

解析

• 词汇及搭配：

  • advising somebody on how to；

  • warn about；

  • round up sth.: to find and gather together people, animals or things将……聚拢起来；使聚集I rounded up a few friends for a party. 我找了几个朋友聚了聚。

  • A guide to doing sth.；

  • bring someone joy

• 表达：

  • 有关降价的表达：Slash prices；something goes on sale；score discounts on (quality items)； (black Friday) deals；

  • 清空库存：clear inventory;

  • 有关劣质产品的表达：

  • dreck : something that you think is of very bad quality极低劣的东西；蹩脚货The movie is utter dreck. 那电影完全是一堆垃圾。

• poorly-made products: 粗制滥造的产品；

• junk：垃圾；

  • 有关优质产品的表达：quality items; superior alternatives;

  • 产品测评公司：company that tests products

• 句式：

• 背后的原因并不难理解：there is no mystery behind this…；

• steer away from something and toward something: Consider this a guide to steering away from presents that end up in landfills and toward buying what may bring your loved ones joy.

段落二

1217 电源配件 不要买：不知名的品牌 充电器和移动电源是颇受欢迎的礼物，因为按理说，它们非常有用。几乎所有人都拥有移动设备，一天下来能有些额外的电量总归是好事。 但不幸的是，并非所有电源配件都生来平等。 一些不明品牌的充电线很容易磨损，要花很长时间才能给手机充满电。在极少数情况下，粗制滥造的移动电源还有爆炸的风险。更常见的情况是，移动电源用起来很烦人：数年来我检测了许多不明品牌的移动电源，不仅笨重，还根本没法给我的手机充上电。 要买：可靠的品牌，比如Anker和Jackery 我们测试了众多电源配件，以下是更适合作为礼物的选择：给iPhone充电，可以选择Anker的PowerLine闪电数据线，售价为10美元，既耐用又能迅速充电。安卓的设备则可以选择Anker品牌极出色的PowerLine II USB-C数据线，售价为20美元。 移动电源方面，我们推荐36美元的Jackery Bolt，里面嵌有iPhone和安卓的充电线。还有Anker品牌32美元的PowerCore Slim，可以轻松放到口袋里。两款电源都可以给手机充两次电。

英文原文

Power Accessories Don’t buy: Sketchy brands. Power chargers and battery packs make popular gifts because they are theoretically very useful. Just about everyone owns a mobile device and could use extra juice throughout the day. Some charging cables from obscure brands fray easily or are slow at replenishing your phone. In rare cases, poorly made battery packs have the potential to explode. More often, battery packs are just frustrating to use: Over the years, I’ve tested many battery packs from unknown brands that were bulky and couldn’t recharge my phone even once.

Do buy: Reliable brands like Anker and Jackery. Of the power accessories we have tested, these will make better gifts: For iPhones, Anker’s $10 PowerLine Lightning cables are durable and fast. For Android devices, Anker offers superb PowerLine II USB-C cables for $20. As for battery packs, we recommend the $36 Jackery Bolt, which has built-in charging wires for iPhones and Androids, and Anker’s $32 PowerCore Slim, which fits easily in a pocket. Both can replenish a phone twice.

解析

• 词汇及搭配：

• 电源配件：power accessories；

• 充电器：power chargers；

• 移动电源：battery packs；

• 充电线：charging cables; charging wires；

• bulky/'bʌlki/adj.(bulk∙ier, bulki∙est)(of a thing东西)large and difficult to move or carry庞大的；笨重的Bulky items will be collected separately. 大件物品将分开收集。

• juice: electricity电；

• Offers sth. for 20 dollars

• 表达：

• 不知名品牌： Sketchy brands; obscure brands; unknown brands；

• 很容易磨损： fray easily；

• 手机充电：replenish one’s phone；

• replenish：something (with something)(formal)to make something full again by replacing what has been used补充；重新装满SYNTOP UPto replenish food and water supplies 补充食物和水的供应；

• 有爆炸的风险：have the potential to explode；

• 用起来很烦人：are frustrating to use；

• 既耐用，充电又快：durable and fast；

• 内部嵌有：built-in；

• 可以轻松放到口袋：fits easily in a pocket；

段落三

1219 平板电脑 不要买：便宜的平板电脑 很多孩子都会求父母买平板电脑。亚马逊的廉价Fire平板电脑就是一款颇受欢迎的礼物。想让孩子们的手远离自己高级的平板电脑，这是很划算的解决办法，只需花上50美元。 但说实话，要是想要集工作和玩乐功能与一身的平板电脑，Fire还不合格。它反应迟钝，颜色也不好看，而且跟亚马逊的生态系统相连，功能集中在书籍和娱乐上。 要买：iPad 如果想展示出你真的把送礼当一回事，可能该多花一点钱，买一款高质量的平板电脑，比如苹果的iPad。最新款的iPad售价为329美元起，但商家很可能依然在销售上一代的iPad。那仍然是出色的平板电脑，而且在黑色星期五会有很大的折扣。找一款储存空间更大的型号（128G），因为长远看来，里面可以存储更多应用、游戏和照片。

英文原文

Tablets Don’t buy: Cheap tablets. Plenty of children ask their parents for tablets, and a popular holiday gift has been Amazon’s cheap Fire Tablet. For $50, it’s a cost-effective solution to keeping kids’ hands off your fancy tablet. But let’s be frank. For anyone who wants a tablet for work and play, the Fire is inadequate. It’s sluggish, the colors don’t look good, and it’s tied to Amazon’s ecosystem, which is focused on books and entertainment. Do buy: An iPad. If you want to show someone you truly care, it may be time to shell out a bit more on a high-quality tablet like Apple’s iPad. The newest iPad starts at $329, but retailers will most likely still be selling the previous-generation iPad – which remains a great tablet – for a deep discount on Black Friday. Look for the model with more storage (128 gigabytes), because it will hold more apps, games and photos in the long run.

解析

• 划算：cost-effective；

• 让孩子们远离：keep kids’ hands off your fancy tablet；

• 反应迟钝：sluggish；

• 多花点钱：Shell out a bit more:；

• 集工作和娱乐于一体的：a tablet for work and play；

• 解决办法：Solution to (doing) something：

段落四

1222 礼品卡 不要买：没人光顾的商店礼品卡 礼品卡基本上就是完全不放心思的礼物，最糟糕的就是要让亲朋好友从他们不想要的小范围产品中作选择。我之前提到了百思买的礼品卡；我从来都不想要，因为作为经常测试新设备的人，已经没有空间再放更多设备了。 我会将苹果的iTunes礼品卡纳入这一类。苹果已经逐渐淘汰了iTunes这项服务。你当然可以用礼品卡购买iPhone的应用，但拜托：iTunes作为一个品牌已经不酷了。 要买：亚马逊的通用礼品卡 如果要送礼品卡，就选择用处更广的卡。亚马逊礼品卡可以用来买很多类别的产品。更佳的选择是通用的Visa礼品卡，只要在接受Visa信用卡付款的地方就能使用，因为它实际上就是预付借记卡。

英文原文

Gift Cards Don’t buy: Cards for stores where nobody shops. Gift cards are a borderline thoughtless gift, and the worst ones confine your loved ones to buying from a narrow set of products that they may not want. I mentioned Best Buy gift cards earlier as an example; I never want them because as a person who is constantly testing new gadgets, I have no space for more. I would throw in Apple’s iTunes gift card in this category. Apple has phased out iTunes as a service. Sure, you can still buy iPhone apps with the card, but come on: iTunes isn’t a cool brand anymore.

Do buy: A general-purpose card from Amazon. If you give a gift card, go for something more versatile. Amazon gift cards can be applied toward a vast array of products. Even better is a generic Visa gift card, which can be used anywhere that accepts Visa card payments because it is essentially a prepaid debit card.

解析

• confine somebody to (doing) sth.: to keep somebody/ something inside the limits of a particular activity, subject, area, etc. 限制；限定；

• phase out: 逐渐淘汰；

• 有关万能/万用/通用的表达：

  • general-purpose: a general-purpose card；

  • versatile: having many different uses多用途的；多功能的；Eg. Eggs are easy to cook and are an extremely versatile food. 鸡蛋容易烹煮，怎么做着吃都行。

  • generic: a generic gift card；

• 很多类别的产品：a vast array of products; VS 小范围的产品：a narrow set of products；

• 句式：Even better is a generic Visa gift card, which can be used anywhere that accepts Visa card payments because it is essentially a prepaid debit card. 更佳的选择是……。