“to +one’s+情感名词”是英语中一个十分有用的结构,主要表示某人由于某事的发生而唤起其内心的某种情感,通常译为“令某人……的是”“使某人感到……的是”。这类结构在学习时应弄清以下几个方面。
一、该结构主要适用哪些名词
能用于该结构的名词非常有限,常见的有 admiration(羡慕), amazement(惊奇), amusement(娱乐), annoyance(烦恼), astonishment (惊奇), delight(欣喜), despair(绝望), disappointment(失望), embarrassment(难堪), happiness, horror(恐怖), joy(高兴), puzzlement(疑惑), regret(遗憾), relief(放心), satisfaction(满意), shame(羞愧), sorrow(悲伤), surprise(惊讶)等。如:
To my amazement, he arrived on time. 令我惊异的是,他居然准时赶到了。
To my great amusement his false beard fell off. 使我感到极其好笑的是,他的假胡子掉了下来。
To his annoyance, he discovered they hadn’t waited. 他发现他们没有等他而感到十分烦恼。
To his no small astonishment the woman began to laugh. 使他吃惊不小的是这个女人竟开始笑了起来。
To her embarrassment, she couldn’t remember his name. 令她感到困窘的是,她记不起他的名字了。
To my shame I never thanked him for his kindness. 我感到惭愧的是对他的好意我从未表示过感谢。
注:有时可将两个名词并列使用。如:
To her surprise and joy, she was awarded first prize. 使她又惊又喜的是,她获得了一等奖。
To her great disappointment and annoyance, she failed in the English examination again. 使她极为失望和苦恼的是,她的英语考试又没有及格。