正文
(2)原句:Harvard is engaging in a
systemic
pattern of violating federal law…
Systemic这个词用错了,单词指的是“根本性的,根深蒂固的”。它应该改为systematic,这个词意思是
using a fixed and organized plan
,即“有系统的,有计划的”。原句指的是哈佛一直在刻意的有计划地违反联邦法律。
(3)原句:Where do many of these “students” come from, who are they, how do they get into Harvard, or even into our country…
这个句子被标记为run on,即“流水句”,这是指将几个完整的句子结构用逗号连在一起。上面句子这样写会显得很混乱,可以改成:
Where do many of these students come from? Who are they? How do they get into Harvard, or even into our country?
(4)原句:Why is it,
we ask
, that Harvard has to teach simple and basic mathematics…
这封信是很正式的信件,但是在这里用了we ask这一口语化的插入语,显得不伦不类。
(5)原句:Harvard has even been embroiled in humiliating plagiarism scandals, exposed clearly and plainly in the media, with respect to
your
then University President, who...
your then University President被标注为2nd person,这是指句子人称使用有问题。
在正式信件中描述事情要用第三人称,这样才能显得公正客观。用第二人称会显得咄咄逼人,带有情绪。同时也与前面第三人称的陈述不协调。
句子可以改为:with respect to its then University President…
(6)原句:This is like hiring the captain of the Titanic to teach navigation to future captains of the sea.
教育部长的意思是,哈佛大学请了声名狼藉的前市长来学校教授领导力课程,这就像请“泰坦尼克号”的船长来教航海技能一样。
这句话被标注为inconsistent,因为它虽然很形象,但是跟总体的文风不协调。
(7)原句:…left-leaning Obama political appointee Penny Pritzker, a
Democrat
operative…
Democrat是名词,这里要改为形容词Democratic
(8)原句:Ackman has called for the resignation of Pritzker, concluding that
the "[t]he
mismanagement here is Penny Pritzker"...
教育部长在这里连用了两个the,应该是笔误。另外,第二个the加中括号也是没有道理的。
可以改为:concluding that "the mismanagement here is Penny Pritzker"
(9)原句:According to Ackman, one of the world’s foremost
finance
experts.
“金融专家”正确说法应该是financial experts,不是finance experts
总体来看,批改者给出的意见是非常中肯的。我们在写英文的时候也要有文体意识,在正式写作中用词要做到严谨客观。