英语语法:说说主动被动语态那点事儿

 　　英语语法:说说主动被动语态那点事儿

　　Some English teachers actively¹ encourage their students to depend on active voice, while others allow their students to depend on passive² voice. What’s the difference, and why is the difference important?

　　一些英语教师积极鼓励学生使用主动语态，而另一些教师则允许学生使用被动语态。主动语态和被动语态的区别是什么？这些区别为什么如此重要？

　　Active voice appears in sentences such as, “The detective discovered that the manager was a thief.” Passive voice appears in sentences such as, “It was discovered that the manager was a thief.”

　　使用主动语态的句 子例如“The detective discovered that the manager was a thief.”（侦探发现经理是小偷），而使用被动语态的句子则是“It was discovered that the manager was a thief.”（经理被发现是小偷）。

　　Why would someone use passive voice in a sentence like that? Because they want to call the manager a thief, but are afraid to say why!

　　为什么有人会在这种句子里使用被动语态？因为他们想说经理是小偷，但是害怕说出原因！

　　Passive voice is common in scientific papers, because it lets the writers avoid using the words I or we, to avoid saying where their ideas came from. That’s why some teachers think that passive voice sounds more educated. Usually, though, it’s simply less definite. It might (or might not) fool your teacher, but in the real world, when they have something to say, even scientists don’t have the luxury³ of not being definite.

　　被动语态在科学论文中很常见，因为它可以让作者避免使用 I、me等词来表明的想法的出处。这就是为什么有些教师认为被动语态听起来更文雅。尽管如此，使用被动语态的句子往往含义更不明确。它也许可以（也许不 能）从你的老师那里蒙混过关，但是走向社会后，当人们想说点什么时，就算科学家们也没有含糊不清的权 利。

　　In business writing, sentences make the most sense when the subject comes first, followed by what the subject is doing. So make sure passive writing is not reducing the efficiency⁴ of your words.

　　在商业写作中，主语开头，后面接主语的动作，这样的句子最合乎常理。因此，千万别让被动语态削弱文章的效果。

1 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

2 passive   

adj.被动的；消极的

参考例句：

• He has a passive expression on his face.他脸上有一种漠然的表情。
• It lands the manager in a passive position.它使经理处于被动地位。

3 luxury   

n.难得享受到的愉悦；奢侈，奢华的生活

参考例句：

• He invited me to his suite. The luxury takes your breath away.他请我到他的套房里去，那豪华的气派真会令你吃惊。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods.政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。

4 efficiency   

n.效率，效能，功效

参考例句：

• We were most impressed with your efficiency.你的效率给我们留下很深刻的印象。
• Our goal is to achieve the maximum of efficiency.我们的目标是取得最高的效率。