二、特指与泛指
初学英语的人一开始学名词，就涉及这个问题。定冠词the表示特指，不定冠词a表示泛指，这个概念所有的英语教程都会提到。但是，在用英文写作文和进行汉英翻译时，即便是多年学习英语的人，恰当地用好冠词也是很不容易的事。其根源是汉语表示这两个概念的方式与英语不同，汉语中不存在明确表示特指或泛指概念的特定标记。在很多场合，汉语是靠词的顺序来表示这两个概念的，例如:
例1:老李，来客人啦!
Mr.Li，you have a visitor!(讲话人事先不知道老李有客人要来。)
老李，客人来啦!
Mr.Li，the visitor has come!(讲话人事先知道老李有客人要来。)
例2:今天我吃苹果了。
I've had an apple today.(可能有人建议讲话人每天吃个苹果。)
苹果我吃了。
I've had the apple.(可能有人问某个苹果谁吃了。)
但在多数情况下，表示这两个概念的标记不明显，我们只能靠上下文和语感来判断了。请看下面这两段对话:
对话一:
A:我的车丢了。 My Car has been stolen.
B:哪辆车呀?你们家不是有两辆吗? Which one?You have two，right?
A:就是我每天开着上班的那辆。 It's the one I drove to work every day.
B:真可惜，那可是辆好车。 What a shame!It's a nice car.
对话二:
A:在这儿看什么呢? What are you looking at?
B:看汽车。 Cars.
A:瞧见红旗了吗? Have you seen any Red Flag?
B:瞧见了，刚才过去的那辆就是。 Yes，the one that has passed by.
比较下列例句中的名词:
例3:手电筒在哪儿?没有手电筒我什么也看不见。
Where is the flashlight?I can't see anything without a flashlight.
例4:别把香蕉放在冰箱里，香蕉是不能放在冰箱里的。
Don't put these bananas in the fridge.Bananas can't be stored there.
例5:这间教室用做多媒体语音室，别看小，里边装配有先进设备。
This classroom is used as a multi-media laboratory.Though small，the laboratory is equipped with advanced facilities.
例6:过生日别送他小提琴，他根本不拉小提琴。
Don't give him a violin on his birthday.He doesn't play the violin.
例7:是您上周从我们书店订购了本书吗?书已经到了。
You ordered a book from our bookstore，didn't you?The book has arrived.
例8:孩子们正看的飞机是架喷气式的。
The plane the children are watching is a jet.
例9:好多麦子都让那场雨给毁了。现在我们最不缺的就是雨了。
A lot of wheat was damaged by the rain.We don't need rain anymore.
1.表示泛指事物的名词
一般来讲，泛指的事物是对话中第一次提到的事物，或没有具体所指的事物。
例1:北京冬天树是光秃秃的。
In winter，trees in Beijing are bare.
例2:她是三个孩子的母亲。
She is a mother of three children.
例3:现在多数中国人还买不起汽车，不过也有一家买两辆的。
Most Chinese cannot afford a car yet.But some families have two cars.
例4:要买车，你想买什么样的?
If you plan to buy a car，what type do you like?
例5:北京过春节已经不再禁放鞭炮了。
Firecrackers are no longer banned in Beijing on Spring Festival.
例6:孩子嘛，总归是孩子。
Children will always be children.
例7:那年云南地震了，因为是在白天，所以没有伤亡。
An earthquake that hit Yunnan Province caused no casualties because it happened in daytime.
例8:洗衣机、电视机、甚至小轿车对中国城市居民来说已不算奢侈品了。
Washing machines，TV sets and even cars are not luxuries for residents in Chinese cities.
例9:解决北京交通拥堵最好的办法是修地铁。
The best way to solve the problems of traffic jams in Beijing is to build underground railways.
例10:我们是代表学校参赛的选手。
We are players representing our school.
例11:战争有正义和非正义的区别，我赞成前者，反对后者。
There are just wars and unjust wars;I'm for the former and opposed to the latter.
例12:你知道哪个地方河流没有被污染?
Do you know of any place where rivers are not polluted?
例13:请出示身份证，我是警察。
Show me your ID card，I'm a policeman.
例14:书我是不借给人的，不过对你是例外。
I never lend my books to others，but you are an exception.
例15:这些学生由于课堂表现突出受到奖励。
These students were awarded for outstanding performances in class.
例16:带着孩子不要到人多的地方去。
Avoid crowds when you have your kids with you.
2.表示特指事物的名词
特指的事物一般是对话双方都知道或应该知道的事，在英语中要用定冠词the表示。
例1:这家工厂的产品是一流的，就是价格太高。
The products of the factory are first-rate in quality，but too expensive.
例2:半决赛明天开始。
The semi-finals will begin tomorrow.
例3:这是去太原的长途汽车吗?
Is this the coach to Taiyuan?
例4:把你刚买的手机给我看看。
Show me the cell phone you have just bought.
例5:英语系办公室就在四楼。
The general office of the English Department is on the fourth floor.
例6:把晾着的衣服收进来吧，要下雨了。
Take in the washing.It's going to rain.
例7:调查得怎么样了?会不会起诉嫌疑人?
How is the investigation going?Will the suspects be prosecuted?
例8:实验进行得还顺利，只是头几天出了点问题。
The experiment has been going on quite smoothly，except for some problems in the first few days.
例9:掌声差点儿把房顶给掀翻了。
The applause almost brought down the house.
例10:这本书里的内容是他在战争中的经历。
The book is about his war experiences.
例11:在采访的时候，他对这问题未置可否。
During the interview，he made no comment on this issue.
例12:把这些钱放在一块儿就是一大笔。
It will be a large sum when all the money is put together.
例13:河只有30米宽，但水流湍急，两岸又都是悬崖峭壁，只有飞鸟才能过去。
The river is only 30 meters wide，but the current is so swift and the cliffs on its banks are so steep(that)only birds can fly across it.
还有一种特指事物是在某种特定环境中是唯一的人或物。例如:
例14:现在谁是美国国务卿?她当过外交官吗?
Who is the US Secretary of State now?Was she in the foreign service?
例15:一句话里边，主谓语要一致，也就是说，在单复数和人称方面要一致。
The predicate should agree with the subject of a sentence in number and person.
例16:许多证据都说明他有罪，可是陪审团却说他无罪。
There was a lot of evidence showing he was guilty，but the jury brought in a“not guilty”verdict.
当然，汉语中也不是绝对没有表示特指和泛指事物的词，如表示特指的有“这个”、“那个”、“这些”、“那些”等，表示泛指的有“某个”、“某些”、“一个”、“一些”等。但是，在日常交往中，中国人是不习惯老把它们放在嘴边的。经常使用这些表达方式让人觉得啰唆、多余、带有洋腔。所以在汉译英中遇到这些问题，我们必须有意识地强化名词单复数、特指与泛指的概念，否则，英译文读者就会觉得你的译文意思模糊，甚至不知所云了。
思考题
1.中国人不经常使用表示名词单复数、特指和泛指事物的词，为什么不影响人际沟通?
2.汉语中没有表示名词单复数、特指和泛指事物的词是否意味着中国人思维不精确?
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