【问】 A run-down watch is still a watch and can be rewound. An old watch，by contrast，be-

comes so worn and unreliable that it eventually is not worth mending. (New Concept Eng-lish，Book 4，P.150)

[原译]手表停了还是手表，还能重新上紧发条。打个比方，一只旧表磨损得非常历害，变得非常不可靠，以致最后连修也不值得了。(中译本)

by contrast是指“打个比方”吗?

【答】 by contrast with，可以译为“与……比较起来”、“与……相对照”。例如：

By contrast with our previous failures，our minor success this time may even be consideredsignificant.

跟以往几次失败比较起来，我们这次小小的胜利甚至可以说是意义重大的。

by contrast单独使用时，是一个起连接作用的词项，哈勒迪(Halliday)和哈桑(Hasan)认为它是表“反意”的连接词项，一般可译为“与此不同”、“与此相反”、“相反”、“相比之下”、“对比起来”、“而”。例如：

1. Secondly，the native speaker’s comment probably owes a good deal to the fact that hedoes not feel the rules of his own language——rules that he has acquired unconsciously——to be at all constraining;and if ever he happens to be called on to explain one suchrule to a foreigner he has very great difficulty. By contrast，the grammatical rules helearns for a foreign language seem much more rigid and they also seem clearer because

they have been actually spelled out to him in the learning process. (GCE)

其次，这个讲本族语的人讲这句话，可能在很大程度上是由于他根本不觉得本族语有什么规则在约束他(其实他已不自觉地掌握了这些规则)。但如果有一天有人请他给外国人讲解这样一条语法规则的话，他会觉得非常困难。与此相反，他所学习的某种外国语的语法规则，倒显得严谨得多，也显得更为清楚，这是因为在学习的过程中，这

些规则实际上已有人一点一滴地给他讲解过了。

2. By contrast，even the most modern aircraft look clumsy and slow.

相比之下，甚至最现代化的飞机也显得又笨又慢。

3. Today，by contrast，the area is a lively and colorful fruit，vegetable，and flower market.与从前不同，这个地区今天已成为一个繁华的、丰富多采的水果、蔬菜和鲜花市场。