1. 接形容词

1　Sensible Sam: I saw you pushing your bicycle to work this afternoon.

Foolish Fred: Yes, I was so late that I didn't have time to get on it.

妙语点睛　这里是so...that引导结果状语从句，so后面接了形容词（late）。

精品译文　聪明的山姆：我今天下午看到你推着自行车去上班。

愚笨的弗雷德：是的，因为当时太晚了，所以我来不及骑上车子。

2　A geography teacher once told her class, "The moon is so large that several million people could live there." One boy started laughing, "It sure must get crowded when it's a crescent moon."

妙语点睛　这里是so...that引导结果状语从句，so后面接了形容词（large）。

精品译文　在地理课上，老师告诉全班学生说：“月球的大小足以容纳几百万人口。”这时一个男生笑道：“那么在新月时，月球上岂不是会变得很拥挤”。

3　A "John Hancock" is a person's signature. John Hancock was the first person to sign the American Declaration of Independence. He signed it so large and bold that now we use his name to refer to anyone's signature!

妙语点睛　这里是so...that引导结果状语从句，so后面接了形容词短语（large and bold）。

精品译文　英文中用“John Hancock”来指一个人的签名。John Hancock本来是一个人名，他是第一位在美国《独立宣言》上签名的人。当时他签名的时候，把自己的名字写得非常粗大，以至于现如今我们就用他的名字来指任何人的签名！

4　And home appliances will also become so smart that controlling and operating them will result in the breakout of a new psychological disorder-kitchen rage.

妙语点睛　这是2001年的考研翻译真题。这里是so...that引导结果状语从句，so后面接形容词（smart）。

精品译文　家用电器也将会变得如此智能化，以至于控制和操作它们会引发一种新的心理疾病——厨房狂躁症。

2. 接副词

5　He has put forward unquestioned claims so consistently that he not only believes them himself, but has convinced industrial and business management that they are true.

妙语点睛　这里是so...that引导结果状语从句，so后面接了副词（consistently）。

精品译文　他一直不断地提出确定不疑的主张，以至于不仅他自己对它们深信不疑，而且还使得工商管理界都相信它们是真的。

6　The newly described languages were often so strikingly different from the well studied languages of Europe and Southeast Asia that some scholars even accused Boas and Sapir of fabricating their data.

妙语点睛　这是2004年的考研翻译真题。这里是so...that引导结果状语从句，so后面接了副词（strikingly）。

精品译文　这些新近被描述的语言与已经得到充分研究的欧洲和东南亚地区的语言往往差别显著，以至于有些学者甚至指责博阿斯和萨皮尔编造了材料。

3. 接分词

7　However, the world is so made that elegant systems are in principle unable to deal with some of the world's more fascinating and delightful aspects.

妙语点睛　这是1996年的考研翻译真题。这里是so...that引导结果状语从句，so后面接了过去分词（made）。

精品译文　然而世界就是如此，完美的理论体系一般而言是无法解决世上某些更加引人入胜的课题的。

8　We are so accustomed to adopting a mask before others that we end by being unable to recognize ourselves.

妙语点睛　这里是so...that引导结果状语从句，so后面接了过去分词（accustomed）。

精品译文　我们大家都如此习惯于在别人面前戴着面具，结果最终迷失了自己。

二、连词so that的用法

偶尔我们也用so that来引导结果状语从句，这与前面3.6节讨论的so that引导目的状语从句不同，翻译时要注意区分。请看例句：

9　As the dome grows, it develops seed fissures (cracks); in at least a few cases the continent may break entirely along some of these fissures, so that the hot spot initiates the formation of a new ocean.

妙语点睛　这里是so that引导结果状语从句。

精品译文　随着这个穹隆地形的升高，它形成深深的裂缝；至少在一些情况下，大陆可能沿着这些裂缝中的一些完全断裂，以至于“热点”造成新的大洋的形成。

10　Native American languages are indeed different, so much so in fact that Navajo could be used by the US military as a code during World War II to send secret messages.

妙语点睛　这里是so that引导结果状语从句，只不过中间插入了in fact。

精品译文　土著美洲语言的确有很大的不同，不同程度大到纳瓦霍语能够被美军在“二战”期间用来传递秘密情报。

从以上例句我们可以看到，so that引导目的状语从句与结果状语从句的区别主要有两点：一是若so that引导结果状语从句，往往会有逗号将主句与从句隔开；二是在结果状语从句中往往没有情态动词，而目的状语从句通常都含有情态动词。

三、连词such...that的用法

我们可以用such...that来引导结果状语从句，此时such后面要接名词。请看例句：

11　Diplomats and crabs are creatures who move in such a way that it is impossible to tell whether they are coming or going.

妙语点睛　这里是such...that引导结果状语从句，such后面接了名词（a way）。

精品译文　外交官和螃蟹是行为方式相同的动物，因为我们无法判断他们是要向前走还是想往后退。

四、连词such that的用法

其实，在such that引导的结果状语从句中，such就相当于“so+形容词”，具体用什么形容词则要根据上下文来判断。请比较下面的例句：

12　1) His anger was such that he lost control of himself.

2) His anger was so explosive that he lost control of himself.

妙语点睛　我们看到，例句1）中的such在语义上相当于so explosive，这里的explosive用来修饰名词anger。所以，我们可以把例句1）改写成例句2）。

精品译文　他的怒气一下子爆发出来，以至于无法控制自己。

13　1) The weather is such that we can only stay in air-conditioned places.

2) The weather is so hot that we can only stay in air-conditioned places.

妙语点睛　根据上下文，例句1）中的such在语义上相当于so hot，所以，我们可以把例句1）改写成例句2）。

精品译文　天气真热，我们只能待在有空调的地方。

14　The sloth pays so little attention to its personal hygiene that green algae grow on its coarse hair and communities of a parasitic moth live in the depths of its coat producing caterpillars which graze on its moldy hair. Its muscles are such that it is quite incapable of moving at a speed of over a kilometer an hour even over the shortest distances and the swiftest movement it can make is a sweep of its hooked arm. It is virtually dumb and its hearing is so poor that you can let off a gun within inches of it and its only response will be to turn slowly and blink.

妙语点睛　这段短文里既有so...that也有such that引导结果状语从句。根据上下文，该句中的such在语义上相当于so weak。

精品译文　树獭极不讲究卫生，以至于它粗糙的毛发上生出了绿苔，成群的寄生蛾生长在它的皮毛深处，产下毛毛虫，并以它的脏毛为食。它的肌肉力量很弱，以至于不能让它哪怕在很短的距离内以每小时一公里的速度移动。它能做的最敏捷的动作就是挥一挥它那弯曲的胳膊。树獭简直就是聋子，听力糟糕透顶，以至于你能在离它几英寸的距离开一枪，而它唯一的反应也不过是缓缓地扭一下头，眨眨眼。

不过，有时也很难判断such可能含有的形容词意义，比如：

15　The logic of scientific development is such that separate group of men working on the same problem in far-scattered laboratories are likely to arrive at the same answer at the same time.

精品译文　科学发展的逻辑就是如此，不同的研究人员，分散在不同的地方研究同样的问题，很可能同时得出完全一样的结论。

3.7.2　比较so与such的区别

以上讨论的连词so...that及such...that在用法上的差异，其实涉及一个更为基本的问题，那就是so和such在用法上的区别。二者的区别如下：

一、so的用法

so本身是副词，其后面主要是接形容词或副词，间或接分词。具体用法如下：

1. so+adj. /adv.

请看例句：

1　The food is so bad in the school cafeteria that flies go there to lose weight.

精品译文　我们学校食堂饭菜的质量太差，连苍蝇都去那减肥。

2　The house is so expensive that I can't afford to buy it.

精品译文　房子太贵了，我买不起。

2. so+adj.+a (n)+单数可数名词

3　This is so expensive a house that I can't afford to buy it.

精品译文　房子太贵了，我买不起。

4　He is so patient a teacher that every one of us likes him.

精品译文　他是个很有耐心的老师，我们都喜欢他。

3. so many/much/few/little+名词

此外要注意的是，so可以与表示数量的形容词连用，如：many, much, few, little，然后再接名词，如：so many flowers, so many beautiful flowers, so much patience, so much fun, so few cars, so little care等等。此时不能用such。请看例句：

5　The sloth pays so little attention to its personal hygiene that green algae grow on its coarse hair.

精品译文　树懒极不讲究卫生，以至于它粗糙的毛发上生出了绿苔。

6　The neighbors were making so much noise last night that I didn't sleep a wink.

精品译文　昨晚我的邻居弄得噪音那么大，搞得我一晚上都没有合眼。

7　He's lost so much weight on his new diet that now he's nothing but skin and bones.

精品译文　自从节食以后，他体重减轻了很多，你看他现在都瘦成皮包骨了。

8　My husband steals so many snacks that the only way I could get him to lose weight was to hire a night watchman at our refrigerator.

精品译文　我丈夫太喜欢偷吃零食了，以至于唯一能让他减肥的办法，就是雇一个人晚上在冰箱边监视他。

二、such的用法

such是一个限定词，因此其后面要接名词。具体用法如下：

1. such的后面可直接加各种名词

上面讲过，so的后面不可以直接加名词，而such的后面可以直接加名词。具体来说，such可以接单数可数名词，如：such a house, such a day；可以接复数可数名词，如：such boys, such shirts, such cars；可以接不可数名词，如：such patience, such weather, such information等。请看例句：

9　But these factors do not account for the interesting question of how there came to be such a concentration of pregnant ichthyosaurs in a particular place very close to their time of giving birth.

精品译文　但是这些因素并没有解答这个有趣的问题：怀孕的鱼龙临产时，它们如何聚集在一个特定的地方。

10　Indeed, most great cities of the United States achieved such status only by incorporating the communities along their borders.

精品译文　事实上，美国大多数最伟大的城市仅仅是通过吞并其边境地带的社区而达到现在的规模的。

11　Such a force would give France a three-to-two advantage over Britain.

精品译文　这个力量将使法国与英国的实力之比达到3:2。

12　Such studies have suggested that the rudiments of mathematics are mastered gradually, and with effort.

精品译文　这类研究发现，数学的基础部分要通过努力才能逐渐掌握。

13　A very small fraction of the sun's light and heat is emitted in such directions that after passing unhindered through interplanetary space, it hits the earth.

精品译文　太阳发出的光和热只有极少的一部分畅通无阻地穿越星际空间，然后到达地球。

2. such+形容词+名词

这里的名词可以是单数可数名词，比如：such an expensive house, such a nice day，与so比较：so expensive a house；可以是复数可数名词，比如：such nice boys, such good shirts, such expensive cars；可以是不可数名词，比如：such great patience, such nice weather, such important information等。请看例句：

14　It makes sense that today, when sleep is highly evolved, the stupid animals are less frequently immobilized by deep sleep than the smart ones. But why should they sleep deeply at all? Why should a state of such deep immobilization ever have evolved?

精品译文　如今，当睡眠高度发展之时，智商低的动物比智商高的动物的深度睡眠障碍更少。但是它们为什么要进行深度睡眠呢？为什么这种障碍要进化呢？

15　When new snow fell on top of the old, it too turned to icy grains. So blankets of snow and ice grains mounted layer upon layer and were of such great thickness that the weight of the upper layers compressed the lower ones. With time and pressure from above, the many small ice grains joined and changed to larger crystals, and eventually the deeper crystals merged into a solid mass of ice.

精品译文　当新雪落在旧雪上面的时候，新雪也会变成冰凌，于是雪和冰混杂在一起，一层一层地堆积起来，变得很厚，以至于上面的几层挤压着下面的。随着时间的流逝以及压力的增加，小冰凌结合在一起变成了大块的冰，最后底层的冰块聚合起来形成大冰块。

3. 限定词+such+名词

虽然我们一般不说such many, such much或such few，但我们可以说many such dogs, much such attention, few such cars。能够这样用的原因是：首先由such修饰名词，比如：such cars；然后再由这些表示数量的形容词修饰such，于是便有了many such cars。其他可用在such前面的限定词有：no, other, some, any, one (two, three...)等。请看例句：

16　These Ministers used "splendid", "magnificent" and other such expressions to describe the King's new clothes.

精品译文　大臣们用“太棒了”、“好极了”和其他类似的词来形容皇帝的新衣。

17　no such man（不说no such a man）

18　one such man（不说one such a man，但说such a man）

19　every such fool（不说every such a fool）

20　three such men

21　all such men

22　five hundred such planes（500架这样的飞机）

下面这个例句是笔者的一个澳大利亚朋友在网上回答读者关于如何提高口语的问题，其中有一个no such thing，而没有说no such a thing*。请看例句：

23　Forget about your accent--there is no such thing as a correct English accent or, for that matter, any "best" English accent. You will have a Chinese accent because you were born with it. Accent is not a problem--fluent use of English should be your main goal.

精品译文　先别管你的口音问题，因为根本就没有正确的英语口音或者说“最好的”英语口音这样的问题。你说英语时带有汉语的口音，这是不可避免的，因为这是你与生俱来的。口音不是问题——流利地使用英语才应该是你的主要目标。

3.7.3　结果状语从句的简化

对于结果状语从句，我们可以用不定式来将其结构简化。上面我们提到，有三个连词可以引导结果从句，即so...that, such...that和such that，那么对应的不定式结构同样分别有三种，即so...as to, such...as to，such as to。注意不要漏掉as。请看例句：

1　He was such a fool as to believe him.

精品译文　他是如此愚蠢，竟然相信他。

2　He was so foolish as to believe him.

精品译文　他是如此愚蠢，竟然相信他。

3　Her voice was such as to make everyone stare.

妙语点睛　这里的such相当于“so+形容词”，比如该句可以改写成Her voice was so bad as to make everyone stare. 或Her voice was so loud as to make everyone stare. 等等。我们可以根据上下文的意思来选用相应的形容词来改写。

精品译文　她的嗓音是如此难听/大，结果大家都盯着她看。

4　His story is 　　　 to arouse our sympathy.

A. such as

B. so sad

C. too sad

D. such sad as

E. so sad as

妙语点睛　根据上面的分析，我们在这里可以填入A或E，即such as或so sad as。这里的such就等于so sad。

精品译文　他的经历是如此悲惨，以至于引起了我们的同情。

3.7.4　结果状语从句的倒装

在英文中，such/so...that引导结果状语从句，为了强调，还可以将主句中的so或such引导的部分置于句首，从而构成倒装结构。请看例句：

1　So fast does light travel that it is difficult for us to imagine its speed.

妙语点睛　这句话的正常语序为：Light travels so fast that it is difficult for us to imagine its speed.

精品译文　光的传播速度是如此之快，以至于我们无法想象它的速度。

2　So terrible was the storm that the roofs were all ripped off.

妙语点睛　这句话的正常语序为：The storm was so terrible that the roofs were all ripped off.

精品译文　暴风雨如此猛烈，以至于把整个屋顶都掀翻了。

3　　　　 that the pilot couldn't fly through it.

A. So the storm was severe

B. So severe was the storm

C. The storm so severe was

D. Such was the storm severe

正确答案　B。

妙语点睛　这是一道四级考题。正确的倒装结构应该是B，这句话的正常语序为：The storm was so severe that the pilot couldn't fly through it.

精品译文　暴风雨是如此猛烈，以至于飞行员无法驾驶飞机穿越。

我们下面来看一个such...that引导的结果状语从句变为倒装结构的例句：

4　Such a fool was he that he believed her.

妙语点睛　这句话的正常语序为：He was such a fool that he believed her.

精品译文　他真是愚蠢，连她都相信。

我们下面来看一个such that引导的结果状语从句变为倒装结构的例句：

5　Such is human nature that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becoming white-collars workers.

妙语点睛　这句话真正的主语是human nature，所以该句的正常语序为：Human nature is such that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becoming white-collars workers.

精品译文　人性就是如此，所以很多人宁愿放弃高薪（的蓝领工作），而要让自己成为白领。

3.7.5　其他短语连接的结果状语从句

这些结构有：to the degree (that), to the extent (that), to such a degree (that), to such an extent (that)。当它们位于句首表示强调时，主句同样需要到装。请看例句：

1　The bereaved mother was grieved to the degree that she couldn't eat anything for 3 days.

妙语点睛　这里的to the degree that引导的从句表示的是一个结果。

精品译文　这位痛失亲人的母亲是如此的悲痛，以至于连着三天没吃东西。

2　Annas says lawyers can play a key role in insisting that these well-meaning medical initiatives translate into better care. "Large numbers of physicians seem unconcerned with the pain their patients are needlessly and predictably suffering," to the extent that it constitutes "systematic patient abuse".

妙语点睛　这里的to the extent that引导的从句表示的是一个结果。

精品译文　安纳斯说，律师在坚持将好意的医疗行为转变为优质的关怀方面将起到关键作用。“大批医生似乎对病人承受的不必要和可预见的痛苦漠不关心”，以至于到了“故意虐待病人”的地步。

我们来看它们的倒装结构。请看例句：

3　To such an extent did he go on with his empty speech that some of us began to doze.

妙语点睛　这句话的正常语序为：He went on with his empty speech to such an extent that some of us began to doze.

精品译文　他一直不断地进行着自己空洞乏味的演讲，以至于我们当中都有人开始打瞌睡了。

4　To such an extent did his health deteriorate that he was forced to retire.

妙语点睛　这句话的正常语序为：His health deteriorated to such an extent that he was forced to retire.

精品译文　他的健康状况恶化到如此地步，最终被迫退休。

思维总结

本节主要讨论了各种引导结果状语从句的连词，并且介绍了结果状语从句的简化。重点讨论了so与such的区别，对此要求读者完全掌握。另外，结果状语从句的倒装结构也是各类考试经常出题的考点，需要掌握。

思维训练

Exercise 3.7

1. 选择最佳答案填空。

1. The performance was such 　　　 the audience was deeply moved. (CET-4)

A. as

B. that

C. so

D. so that

2. Conversation becomes weaker in a society that spends so much time listening and being talked to 　　　 it has all but lost the will and the skill to speak for itself. (2001考研)