在一个资料上看到将“用脚投票”直译成 vote with one’s feet,这符合英语习惯吗?
陈老师:
这个问题很有意思,将“用脚投票”直译成 vote with one’s feet 看似很生硬,其实很妙,因为英语中确实有个成语叫 vote with one’s feet,英语词典对此的解释是:show that you dislike or disagree with sth by leaving a place or an organization,意思是“以退席(或退出组织)来表示不满(或反对)”,就相当于时下汉语中比较流行的“用脚投票”(“用脚投票”的原始意思是:对某事不满而离开,通过去或留方式表明自己的意见;可引申指“退离某机构;不支持某决定;不再使用某产品;不去某地方;等等)。例句如:
(1) Shoppers voted with their feet and avoided the store. 购物者对那家商店避而远之。
(2) Thousands of citizens are already voting with their feet, and leaving the country. 成千上万的公民正准备离开这个国家,以这一举动表示反对。
(3) Authors still have power to vote with their feet by leaving to join smaller companies. 作者依然可以通过退出并加盟规模小些的公司来表明他们的反对立场。
(4) If shoppers don’t like the new market, they’ll vote with their feet and go elsewhere. 如果购物者不喜欢这家新市场,他们会不再光顾,去别的地方。
(5) When the price of skiing doubled, tourists voted with their feet and just stopped going. 当滑雪的价格上升一倍的时候,游客们都不愿接受,所以干脆就不去了。