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作者 魏剑峰
In The Air
Roger Subirana - X I I
这是“读外刊，学英文句型”栏目的第五期，关于该栏目第一期的说明可以见如何通过阅读外刊积累英文写作句型？
1.造成……的原因
议论文写作中经常要表达这样的意思：A问题是由某几个因素引起的，写成英文是：XX factors lead to / result in A，例如：
Three factors lead to / result in the increase in unemployment rate in this country. First…Second…
这里介绍一个新的说法：
The exponential growth in the power of silicon chips, digital sensors and high-bandwidth communications improves robots just as it improves all sorts of other products. And, as our special report this week explains, three other factors are at play.
上面选段中play是熟词生义，它的意思是“影响，作用”(the effect or influence of something)，at play是一个在外刊中很常见的词组，three other factors are at play 即“有另外三个因素在起作用”。
写作中可以用 Two/Three/Several factors are at play in… / Two/Three/Several factors are at play when it comes to… 来说明某问题由某几个因素引起，例如：
Several factors are at play when it comes to teenage smoking. First, many young people are susceptible to peer pressure. They may pick up smoking to be better liked by more popular peers, or out of fear of losing friends who have already taken up the habit. Second, teenagers are at an impressionable age where they can be easily influenced by adults. Some of them start smoking by imitating adult figures or role models, such as their parents, older siblings, and even celebrities.
此外，关于play还有另外一个表达：bring/put something into play，它的意思是“使某事发挥作用”。例如：
All the resources and staff available were brought into play to cope with the crisis.
2.基于……的原因
下面给出的这个句式同样也与“原因”有关：
Another firm, MoneyGram of America, accepted an offer of $1.2bn from Ant Financial, but in January the sale was blocked on national-security grounds by America’s watchdog, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US.
上面这段文字的背景是美国监管部门出于国家安全的考虑，禁止了蚂蚁金服对速汇金的收购。其中on…grounds / on grounds of是一个常见的表示原因的用法，它的意思是“以……为由，基于……的原因”。
该短语通常用在议论文分论点的开头，用于阐述人们反对某事物的原因。举个例子，转基因目前仍然是一项很有争议的技术，一些人反对转基因，理由是它可能对我们的健康造成危害。对于这种情况可以说：
While some people support genetically modified food, others oppose this technology on health grounds. They argue that GM crops may produce harmful substances and thus have a negative impact on human health.
3.说明一种转折情况
下面出现在The Economist文章中的表达可以用在转折句中：
The biggest winners all round are likely to be consumers, though with a number of caveats. Four stand out: market concentration, security, privacy and inequality.
这里caveat是一个比较正式的词，它的意思是“警告，提醒，告诫”(a warning that something may not be completely true, effective etc)：
caveat通常出现在转折句中，用来引出不同的看法。在写关于事物优缺点的文章时可以使用该句型。
举个例子，有一篇作文要求我们分析网上购物对年轻人的好处和坏处。在分析完网购的好处之后，可以用caveat来进行转折：
Although online shopping can offer some benefits to young people, there are also a number of caveats that they should bear in mind. First, the convenience of e-commerce may encourage frivolous spending by inducing youngsters to buy more than they need. Second, there is a chance that young people who are already introverted may become ever more alienated from the outside world, as they can buy almost everything they want in the comfort of their home.
4.与……相反
要表达“A与B截然相反”，一般可以说：A is the opposite of B，除了这个说法之外，还可以说：
Some airports are known for being the antithesis of elegance.
其中be the antithesis of是一个固定搭配，含义是“与……截然相反”，它要比the opposite of something更为正式，语气也更重。
如果要强调某事物站在某事物的对立面，可以用上该短语。例如：
(1) Staying up late is the antithesis of healthy living.
(2) Deforestation is the antithesis of environmental protection.
此外，与“对立，相反”有关的还有一个词组at the opposite end of the scale/spectrum
5.强调
下面这一句式可以用来对事物进行强调说明：
India is a land of large numbers: a place of over a billion people, a million mutinies and a thousand different tongues. But it is not too much of a stretch to say that since independence in 1947 there have only been two kinds of Indian economy.
其中stretch是熟词生义，它来自stretch the truth这一用法，在这里是指“夸大事实，言过其实”，It is not too much of a stretch to say that… 即“说……并不过分，说……并不言过其实”。
可以使用该句型来对某个观点进行强调，例如：
Taobao, a Chinese e-commerce giant, was founded by Jack Ma and his team in the early 2000s, and it is not too much of a stretch to say that Taobao has changed China profoundly since its foundation.
总结：
这期一共介绍了五个表达：
(1) at play
(2) on...grounds / on grounds of...
(3) a number of caveats
(4) be the antithesis of
(5) It is not too much of a stretch to say that...
感兴趣的同学可以对这些短语句型做造句练习，以进一步加深印象。
