Sea change?
文章来源: 文章作者: 发布时间:2009-04-02 00:37 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Reader question:

What does this headline – A sea change on immigration? – mean?

My comments:

It means a major change in immigration policy.

Sea change is an idiom, referring to drastic change, fundamental change, a total about turn, a radical1, dramatic, even mythical2 change, or in Chinese parley3, 沧海桑田般的改变.

I don't usually explain English idioms with Chinese, as I see that as a poor habit (preventing one from thinking in terms of English when communicating in that language). But sea change is an exception. You see, it matches perfectly4 with the Chinese idiom, in both meaning and in terms of the mythical.

The English idiom is said to have been first used by none other than William Shakespeare.

In The Tempest, published in 1610, Shakespeare wrote:

Full fathom5 five thy father lies

Of his bones are coral made

Those are pearls that were his eyes:

Nothing of him that doth fade

But doth suffer a sea-change

Into something rich and strange

Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell6

Ding-dong

Hark! Now I hear them – Ding-dong, bell.

The Chinese idiom 沧海桑田(literally7, the sea changes into mulberry fields)is more ancient in origin, dating Shakespeare by another millennium8. According to legend, 沧海桑田 first appeared in stories of Taoist immortals10 by Ge Hong (283-363) – To me, at any rate, all things immortal9 are Taoist in nature. It came up in a casual conversation between two of such immortals.

"It must have been five- or six-hundred years since I saw you last," says one, a woman known as Ma Gu. "As a matter of fact, since I became a fairy, I've seen the sea morph into mulberry fields and vice11 versa no less than three times. In fact, the last time I visited Penglai (a celestial12 mountain off the coast of Qingdao, where Olympic yachting events are to be held next month) I did not fail to notice that the waters were shallower than before. I won't be surprised if the East Sea turns into dry land once again."

"Indeed, impossible is nothing", echoes the other by the name of Wang Yuan, adding with a chuckle13, "No wonder ancients often talk of whipping up a dust while riding horses in the sea. Now I see what it means."

Anyways, that's sea change. I told the stories, by the way, just for the sake of telling them, to show that I can tell tales (vain, I know). I am not suggesting that you put "sea change" into 沧海桑田 any time you see it. You'll risking sounding silly if you do. And if you do, don't blame me for not having warned you first.

Now that I've satisfied my own vanity and warned you over translations, let's see a few more examples of "sea change" in the news:

1. A sea change for swimming

In the wake of Michael Phelps' success, his sport has entered the era of the 'professional' swimmer.

- Baltimore Sun, June 29, 2008.

2. In the not-so-distant past, every summer blockbuster had to have its own chartbusting theme song...

But, musicals like Mamma Mia! aside, recent blockbusters have been bereft14 of big-name ballads15. From X-Men to Pirates of the Caribbean, there isn't a power chord in sight.

Most striking of all is the complete absence of rock music in the rebooted Batman franchise16.

Hans Zimmer, who co-wrote the soundtrack for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight17, says his vision of Gotham City has no room for the likes of U2, Prince and R Kelly.

"There was never any doubt that we were going to be songless," says the Oscar-winning composer.

"And, trust me, we were flooded with requests from every band in the world. I actually had to say no to some really interesting people."

Zimmer's decision, taken in collaboration18 with director Chris Nolan and co-composer James Newton-Howard, reflects asea-change in the way film-makers approach soundtracks.

- Where are the new movie themes? news.bbc.co.uk, 28 July 2008.

3. Nowadays, people write to Ehrenreich with their workplace horror stories. The most shocking in the new book came from an ex-employee of one large retailer19, who told Ehrenreich that in 2003 the company held him captive for six hours and interrogated20 him for giving a colleague a discount on a videogame, before getting him to write a false confession21 and firing him. A former colleague alleged22 that such incidents were not unusual.

With Obama ascending23 there is hope of a sea change, although Ehrenreich remains24 characteristically cautious. She sees him "tacking25 to the right" and was disheartened by his choice of economic adviser26, Jason Furman, "who was to the far right of the Democratic Party and made his reputation as a defender27 of Wal-Mart [one of her principal targets in Nickel and Dimed]. And so in a way, I thought, OK, I'm not going to pay [Obama] any attention for a while."

- America's last taboo28, The Guardian29, July 21, 2008.



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 radical hA8zu     
n.激进份子,原子团,根号;adj.根本的,激进的,彻底的
参考例句:
  • The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
  • She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。
2 mythical 4FrxJ     
adj.神话的;虚构的;想像的
参考例句:
  • Undeniably,he is a man of mythical status.不可否认,他是一个神话般的人物。
  • Their wealth is merely mythical.他们的财富完全是虚构的。
3 parley H4wzT     
n.谈判
参考例句:
  • The governor was forced to parley with the rebels.州长被迫与反叛者谈判。
  • The general held a parley with the enemy about exchanging prisoners.将军与敌人谈判交换战俘事宜。
4 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
5 fathom w7wy3     
v.领悟,彻底了解
参考例句:
  • I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。
  • What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。
6 knell Bxry1     
n.丧钟声;v.敲丧钟
参考例句:
  • That is the death knell of the British Empire.这是不列颠帝国的丧钟。
  • At first he thought it was a death knell.起初,他以为是死亡的丧钟敲响了。
7 literally 28Wzv     
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
参考例句:
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
8 millennium x7DzO     
n.一千年,千禧年;太平盛世
参考例句:
  • The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
  • We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。
9 immortal 7kOyr     
adj.不朽的;永生的,不死的;神的
参考例句:
  • The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
  • The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽!
10 immortals 75abd022a606c3ab4cced2e31d1b2b25     
不朽的人物( immortal的名词复数 ); 永生不朽者
参考例句:
  • Nobody believes in the myth about human beings becoming immortals. 谁也不相信人能成仙的神话。
  • Shakespeare is one of the immortals. 莎士比亚是不朽的人物之一。
11 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
12 celestial 4rUz8     
adj.天体的;天上的
参考例句:
  • The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
  • Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。
13 chuckle Tr1zZ     
vi./n.轻声笑,咯咯笑
参考例句:
  • He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
  • I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个,我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。
14 bereft ndjy9     
adj.被剥夺的
参考例句:
  • The place seemed to be utterly bereft of human life.这个地方似乎根本没有人烟。
  • She was bereft of happiness.她失去了幸福。
15 ballads 95577d817acb2df7c85c48b13aa69676     
民歌,民谣,特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 ); 讴
参考例句:
  • She belted out ballads and hillbilly songs one after another all evening. 她整晚一个接一个地大唱民谣和乡村小调。
  • She taught him to read and even to sing two or three little ballads,accompanying him on her old piano. 她教他读书,还教他唱两三首民谣,弹着她的旧钢琴为他伴奏。
16 franchise BQnzu     
n.特许,特权,专营权,特许权
参考例句:
  • Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
  • The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。
17 knight W2Hxk     
n.骑士,武士;爵士
参考例句:
  • He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
  • A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。
18 collaboration bW7yD     
n.合作,协作;勾结
参考例句:
  • The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
  • He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。
19 retailer QjjzzO     
n.零售商(人)
参考例句:
  • What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢?
  • The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。
20 interrogated dfdeced7e24bd32e0007124bbc34eb71     
v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 );审问;(在计算机或其他机器上)查询
参考例句:
  • He was interrogated by the police for over 12 hours. 他被警察审问了12个多小时。
  • Two suspects are now being interrogated in connection with the killing. 与杀人案有关的两名嫌疑犯正在接受审讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
21 confession 8Ygye     
n.自白,供认,承认
参考例句:
  • Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
  • The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。
22 alleged gzaz3i     
a.被指控的,嫌疑的
参考例句:
  • It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
  • alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为
23 ascending CyCzrc     
adj.上升的,向上的
参考例句:
  • Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。
24 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
25 tacking 12c7a2e773ac7a9d4a10e74ad4fdbf4b     
(帆船)抢风行驶,定位焊[铆]紧钉
参考例句:
  • He was tacking about on this daily though perilous voyage. 他在进行这种日常的、惊险的航行。
  • He spent the afternoon tacking the pictures. 他花了一个下午的时间用图钉固定那些图片。
26 adviser HznziU     
n.劝告者,顾问
参考例句:
  • They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
  • Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。
27 defender ju2zxa     
n.保卫者,拥护者,辩护人
参考例句:
  • He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员,然后射门。
  • The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
28 taboo aqBwg     
n.禁忌,禁止接近,禁止使用;adj.禁忌的;v.禁忌,禁制,禁止
参考例句:
  • The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
  • Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里,婚前的性行为犯禁吗?
29 guardian 8ekxv     
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者
参考例句:
  • The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
  • The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。
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