这是用“是”、“成为”、“变为”、“变成”一类词把本体和喻体连接起来的比喻方法,通常的句式为:“甲是乙”。英语中多用to be, to become, to turn into, to change to / into 等动词表示。和明喻一样,翻译时大都需要引申原意才能符合汉语习惯,例如:
a. In the global economy,knowledge is king.
在世界经济中,知识至上。(不能译成“……知识为王。”)
b. Yet political attention is riveted on U.S.-Japanese trade. It is said that our bilateral deficit with Japan stubbornly refuses to shrink because their markets are closed. Is it true? The Japanese are surely no angels.
—Business Week, Apr. 6, 1992 p. 12
然而政界的注意力却紧町住美日贸易。据说我们与日本的双边贸易逆差很难缩小,是由于日本紧闭其 国内市场的结果,果真如此吗?日本人绝非天使(决不是心怀善意的)。
——《国际商业与管理》,
1992年,第5期,第4页
c. But during the 21st century, I expect that we will be able to increase human productivity by 300 percent as we automate routine office activities and offload brain and eyeball work onto our electronic bulldozers.
—BEIJING REVIEW, Nov. 29, 1999 p. 43
但是在21世纪,随着日常办公活动的自动化,大脑和眼睛的工作交给了电子“推土机”,我估计人们将有能力把自己的生产率提高300%。
d. Wherever he strikes next, Desmarest wants to be top dog in Europe. Big Oil, make room for one more.
-- Business Week, Jan. 10, 2000 p. 43
不管德马雷下一次在哪里出击,他都是想当欧洲的老大。石油巨头们,腾出个位子给这个新秀吧!
—《商业周刊》,中文版,
2000年,第3期,第32页