由于“坑”有“掩埋”的功能,漢語(yǔ)中很早就由名詞變?yōu)橐粋(gè)動(dòng)詞,其意思是“坑殺”或“活埋”。秦始皇焚書(shū)坑儒,就是最好的例證。英語(yǔ)可以譯為 to bury sb alive, to have sb buried alive,例如:
17. 秦始皇統(tǒng)一中國(guó)后下令焚書(shū)坑儒,以鞏固中央集權(quán)統(tǒng)治。After the unification of China, Qinshihuang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, had classic books burned and Confucian scholars buried alive so as to consolidate his centralized domination.
18. 史書(shū)記載這個(gè)將軍如何下令他的部下坑殺降兵。The history book recorded how the general ordered his subordinates to bury those surrendered soldiers alive.
19. 這位老農(nóng)回憶了日本鬼子如何坑殺他村子里的無(wú)辜百姓。This old farmer recalled how the Japanese soldiers buried alive the innocent people of his village.
“坑”的另一個(gè)功能是“充當(dāng)陷阱”。挖個(gè)坑,可以使人落入其中。古戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上的“絆馬坑”就是一種使奔跑的戰(zhàn)馬掉入的陷阱。英語(yǔ)可以譯為 horse trap,例如:
20.由于毫無(wú)戒備,這個(gè)士兵和他的戰(zhàn)馬陷入絆馬坑。Unsuspecting, the soldier and his battle steed fell into a horse trap.
注意trap 還有a light carriage with two wheels pulled by a horse的意思,即“兩輪輕便馬車(chē)”。因此,horse trap另有“兩輪輕便馬車(chē)”的意思。我們要根據(jù)上下文判斷其準(zhǔn)確意義,例如:
21. A man travelling in a horse trap was reported to have died after the animal bolted, throwing him into the road. 據(jù)報(bào)道,一個(gè)乘坐兩輪輕便馬車(chē)的男子因馬匹脫韁把他拋在道路上而使他摔死。
pony 是“小馬”。但是,pony trap沒(méi)有“絆馬坑”的意思,只指“小馬拉的兩輪輕便馬車(chē)”,例如:
22. We took a 45-minute tour around the small town in a pony trap.我們乘坐馬拉兩輪輕便馬車(chē)圍繞這個(gè)小鎮(zhèn)游覽了45分鐘。
23. The tourists all enjoyed a pony-and-trap ride in the countryside.這些旅游者都很喜歡在鄉(xiāng)下乘坐兩輪輕便馬車(chē)兜風(fēng)。
作為動(dòng)詞,“坑”現(xiàn)在更常見(jiàn)的意思是“設(shè)個(gè)騙局或利用狡詐手段使人上當(dāng)受騙”。英語(yǔ)可以譯為 to cheat, to swindle, to deceive, to hoodwink, to defraud, to trick, to entrap。“被坑”或“挨坑”的意思是“上當(dāng)”或“受騙”,英語(yǔ)可以譯為 to be cheated, to be deceived, to be tricked, to fall into a trap,例如:
24. 這個(gè)不法商人銷(xiāo)售偽劣商品坑騙消費(fèi)者。The unlawful trader cheated the consumers by selling them fake and inferior commodities.
25. 這個(gè)老太太發(fā)現(xiàn)這個(gè)騙子坑了她幾百美元。The old woman found that the cheat had swindled her out of hundreds of dollars./The old woman found that the cheat had swindled hundreds of dollars out of her.
26. 這個(gè)游商以次充好,坑蒙顧客。The hawker deceived the customers by selling them substandard products as good-quality ones.
27. 有的小販漫天要價(jià),坑騙外地游客。Some vendors hoodwink outside tourists by charging them exorbitant prices.
28. 他坑騙了這家公司一百萬(wàn)美元。He defrauded the company of one million dollars.
29. 這伙騙子提供假信息坑害顧客。The group of swindlers provided false information to entrap customers.
30. 當(dāng)這個(gè)買(mǎi)主發(fā)現(xiàn)他以低價(jià)從小販那里買(mǎi)的戒指實(shí)際上是個(gè)假貨時(shí),意識(shí)到自己被坑了。The buyer realized that he had been tricked when he found the ring he had bought at a low price from the pedlar was actually a fake.

