“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”｡在学习这类结构时,同学们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 amazement (惊奇), admiration (羡慕), annoyance (烦恼), astonishment (惊奇), delight (欣喜), amusement (娱乐),despair(绝望), disappointment(失望), embarrassment(难堪), happiness(幸福), horror (恐怖), joy (高兴), puzzlement (疑惑), relief (放心), satisfaction (满意), regret (遗憾), shame (羞愧), sorrow (悲伤), surprise (惊讶)等｡如:

To my amazement she should get first in the contest. 令我吃惊的是，她居然获得竞赛第一名

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 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 can't make himself understood. 让他恼火的是，他无法让别人理解他。

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 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 French examination again. 使她极为失望和苦恼的是,她的法语考试又没有及格｡

二､如何强调该结构的语气

若要加强该结构的语气,通常有两种方式:

1. 在名词前加 great, deep, utter 等形容词修饰｡如:

To our great delight we saw a great valley. 令我们高兴的是，我们看到了一个大峡谷。

To my great disappointment I failed to get the job. 我没得到那份工作,大为失望｡

To his great disappointment,his brother failed again in his math 他弟弟的数学考试不及格,可真令他失望.

To my utter delight he lent me the money I needed. 使我十分高兴的是,他借给了我需要的钱｡

To my deep indignation, he pretended not to know about it. 使我十分愤慨的是,他假装不了解此事｡

2. 在整个短语前加副词 greatly, much 等修饰｡如:

Greatly to my regret, I can not attend the party. 很可惜的是,我无法参加聚会｡

He has succeeded, much to the delight of his parents. 他成功了,这使他父母都非常高兴｡

Much to my regret I am unable to accept your invitation. 很抱歉,我不能接受你的邀请｡

三､该结构在句中的位置

该结构通常位于句首,但有时也可位于句末,甚至句中｡如:

I learned to my sorrow that he was killed in the accident. 我获悉他在事故中丧生而深感悲痛｡

He broke it, greatly to my annoyance. 他打破了那东西,这使我非常气恼｡

I discovered to my horror that my passport was missing. 使我惊恐的是,我发现我的护照不见了｡

The work was done to his own satisfaction, but in my opinion it was badly done. 这工作他做得很满意,但在我看来,却是做得很糟｡

四､该结构的变体

该结构通常的变体是“to the + 情感名词 + of sb”｡如:

To the delight of his proud parents,he has made a full recovery. 令他自豪的父母高兴的是,他完全恢复了｡

To the surprise of everybody the man was the girl’s father. 使大家吃惊的是,这个人就是这个女孩的父亲｡

He fell in the water, much to the entertainment of the children. 他掉进水里,逗得孩子们乐不可支｡