新版5英镑钞票有一个重大语法错误 你发现了吗

 　　Britain is living in a “post-punctuation¹ world”, academics have warned, with the Bank of England named as the latest major institution to ignore the correct use of the English language.

　　学术界近日告诫英国正处在“后标点时代”，指英格兰银行又是一个不顾英文正确使用规则的重要机构。

　　The Bank has been accused of “dumbing down” after choosing to remove punctuation from a quote by Sir Winston Churchill printed on its new ￡5 notes.

　　新5英镑钞票上印有一句丘吉尔的名言，英格兰银行去掉了其中的标点符号，这一做法被指责“肤浅”。

　　In its concept image for the new polymer ￡5 notes the Bank correctly included double quotation² marks around the former prime minister’s famous saying: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil³, tears and sweat.”

　　新版5英镑钞票采用塑料材质。初期的设计稿上还严谨地以双引号引用了丘吉尔的名言：“我没有别的东西奉献，唯有辛劳、泪水和血汗。”

　　However, it has emerged that it quietly dropped them from the final design, something it is understood has attracted complaints from keen-eyed members of the public.

　　然而，最终英格兰银行悄然去掉了双引号，引起了眼尖群众的不满。

　　The National Literacy Trust has backed their cause advising that the quote is grammatically incorrect in its current state appearing without a full stop or quotation marks.

　　英国国家读写能力信托指责现在这句名言既没有句号也没有双引号，是严重的语法错误。

　　It is likely to further fuel a national debate over whether proper use of grammar and punctuation is being devalued by society and follows a number of local councils sparking public outrage⁴ by banning apostrophes from road signs, after national guidelines warned punctuation could “confuse” emergency services.

　　这一事件或许会引起一轮全国范围的新争论，即如今的社会是否在轻视语法和标点符号的正确使用。之前，因国家规定，路标上有标点符号会误导应急服务机构，一些地方政府换掉了使用了所有格符号（撇号）的路标，这种做法引起了公愤。

　　Some reversed the decision after members of the public resorted to using marker pens to fill in apostrophes missing from signs.

　　这种情况下，民众用马克笔把不见了的撇号补了回来，有些地方政府于是作罢。

　　Prof Alan Smithers, head of the centre for education and employment research at the University of Buckingham, said: "We are living in a post-punctuation world created by big institutions. Some people may dismiss omissions⁵ as pedantry⁶, but they have lost sight of the fact that precision of expression reflects precision of thought."

　　伯明翰大学教育和就业研究中心的艾伦?史密瑟斯教授表示：“在大型机构的影响下，我们生活在一个‘后标点’时代。有些人或许会不以为然，认为这有卖弄学问之嫌，可是他们忽略了一个事实：表达反映了我们的思维，精确的表达代表了缜密的思维。”

　　The Bank had originally included double quotation marks in its concept image for the new polymer ￡5 notes but quietly dropped them from the final design.

　　英格兰银行在最初设计新的5英镑钞票之时使用了引号，最终又将其悄然去掉。

　　Critics suggested the note's designers had sacrificed "correct" punctuation for the sake of creating an aesthetically⁷ pleasing design. A spokesman at the Bank declined to comment.

　　批评者称货币设计师为成就设计的美感而牺牲了“正确的”标点。英格兰银行发言人拒绝置评。

　　New polymer ￡5 notes were introduced in October last year and there are now around 400 million in circulation.

　　新版5英镑去年十月发行，如今流通量已达四亿。

　　Dr Tara Stubbs, an English lecturer at the University of Oxford⁸, said such omissions were "condescending⁹" and accused the Bank of trying to dumb down grammar.

　　牛津大学英文讲师塔拉?斯塔布斯博士称这种标点缺失“自降品格”，指责英格兰银行在试图简化英文语法。

　　She said: "It is a bit peculiar¹⁰ because it looks like it’s the Five Pounds that's speaking and not Winston Churchill. There should be quotation marks and full stop, definitely. It also doesn't have the Oxford comma after 'tears'. To take that stuff out is condescending and I find efforts to dumb down like this just irritating."

　　塔拉?斯塔布斯博士称：“现在这样看起来有些怪异，好像这句话是5英镑说的，而不是丘吉尔的名言。双引号和句号必不可缺，tears后也没有牛津逗号。标点缺失自降了品格，我对这种试图简化语法的行为很火大。”

　　Prof Smithers also suggested the Bank's designers "had a poor grasp of grammar", adding that they were "more concerned about shapes and patterns".

　　史密瑟斯教授也指责银行的设计人员“不懂语法”，说这些人“更关心形状和图案”。

　　But the Bank's scant¹¹ use of punctuation divided academics and literary experts, with some choosing to defend its decision.

　　然而学术界和文学界在这一事件上产生了分歧，一些文学界人士选择为银行的决定辩护。

　　Lisa Appignanesi, chair of the Royal Society of Literature, suggested that the absence of quote marks and a full stop would not have bothered Winston Churchill, were he still alive.

　　英国皇家文学院主席丽莎?阿璧娜妮西称丘吉尔若尚在，不会介意对其名言是否使用双引号和句号。

　　She said: "The eminent¹² Winston Churchill might have wondered why he was on a mere¹³ five pound note and not something a little weightier. I don’t know, orator¹⁴ that he was, whether he would have noticed the missing punctuation."

　　丽莎?阿璧娜妮称：“伟大的丘吉尔或许只想知道为什么自己的头像只是出现在区区5英镑上，而不是出现在一些意义更重大的地方。我不知道，像他这样激情澎湃的演说家，会不会注意到标点不见了。”

1 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。

2 quotation   

n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情

参考例句：

• He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
• The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

3 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

4 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

5 omissions   

n.省略( omission的名词复数 )；删节；遗漏；略去或漏掉的事（或人）

参考例句：

• In spite of careful checking, there are still omissions. 饶这么细心核对，还是有遗漏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• It has many omissions; even so, it is quite a useful reference book. 那本书有许多遗漏之处，即使如此，尚不失为一本有用的参考书。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 pedantry   

n.迂腐，卖弄学问

参考例句：

• The book is a demonstration of scholarship without pedantry.这本书表现出学术水平又不故意卖弄学问。
• He fell into a kind of pedantry.他变得有点喜欢卖弄学问。

7 aesthetically   

adv.美地，艺术地

参考例句：

• Segmental construction contributes toward aesthetically pleasing structures in many different sites. 对于许多不同的现场条件，分段施工都能提供美观，颇有魄力的桥型结构。
• All isolation techniques may be aesthetically unacceptable or even dirty. 所有的隔离方法都有可能在美观方面使人难以接受，或甚至是肮脏的。

8 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

9 condescending   

adj.谦逊的,故意屈尊的

参考例句：

• He has a condescending attitude towards women. 他对女性总是居高临下。
• He tends to adopt a condescending manner when talking to young women. 和年轻女子说话时，他喜欢摆出一副高高在上的姿态。

10 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

11 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

12 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

13 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

14 orator   

n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• The orator gestured vigorously while speaking.这位演讲者讲话时用力地做手势。