看時事學英文》趁虛而入

【經濟日報／朱文章】 南迴鐵路搞軌案地檢署宣布偵查終結，依殺人、公共危險罪嫌，將李泰安求處死刑。本案被稱為「百年奇案」、「超完美謀殺案」，但在推理小說迷詹宏志眼中，不過綜合了七、八本推理小說的元素，案情並不出奇。 詹氏的說法，印證俗諺「熟讀唐詩三百首，不會作詩也會吟」（直譯"If you read the three hundred Tong poems enough,you will find that you can recite them as a poet, even if you are not a poet yourself."）因此一眼可以看穿玄機。同理，兇嫌所佈下的各種疑陣，在檢警看來，絕非亂槍打鳥（spray and pray），更不是不經大腦（leap of faith）的任意一搏。 例："There's a spray-and-pray marketing going on--where you spray everybody and pray they get it." 「這個行銷案近乎亂槍打鳥：把訊息丟到人群，然後期盼他們自行接收、瞭解。」 "They launched the marketing campaign without any planning or thought, it is like a flying leap of faith."「行銷企畫案的整個執行過程毫無章法，根本就是瞎搞。」 成事不足 敗事有餘 根據起訴書，本案源起於李氏昆仲覬覦高額保險金。先哲勸我們立志要如星高，卻更要腳踏實地（keep your feet on the ground, but reach for the stars.），亦即不可好高鶩遠，以免作事一曝十寒（take two steps for-ward and one back或直譯"He dries the net one day, but then left it unused in the dark for ten days."），或有頭無尾（there is a head,but no tail），甚至釀成像本案「成事不足、敗事有餘」（knows just enough to be dangerous）的半調子悲劇。 例："The manager starts the project, but the marketer fails to follow through. There is a head, but no tail in this case."「經理起草整個案子，但行銷人員未能配合貫徹，導致有頭無尾，無疾而終。」 "When John tried to fix his own plumbing he ended up breaking a pipe and flooding his bathroom. He knew just enough to be danger-ous." 「約翰想修馬桶，卻弄裂水管，搞得整個浴室鬧水災。真是成事不足，敗事有餘。」 根據檢方起訴書，兇嫌前後七次精心擘劃，以殺害妻子詐領保險金。其中還在第二次、第五次故佈疑陣，其餘五次則企圖翻車殺妻。起訴書特別指出，兇嫌絞盡腦汁，算盡各種環節，利用任何漏洞趁虛而入（find the chink in their armor），以逞狡計。此種「獅子搏兔」手段（Concentrate all your strength and attack at your enemy's weakest point.）和孫子「順詳敵之意，並敵一向，千里殺將，此謂巧能成事者也。」的兵法精髓，十分接近。 例：" Where our competitors thought their organization the strongest, we will find the chink in their armor."「我們要在敵方自認最堅強的地方，趁虛而入，克敵致勝。」 庖丁解牛 熟能生巧 孫子所謂巧能成事，一定是擘劃演練甚久的軍事行動。「庖丁解牛」這個典故，是稱讚別人熟能生巧，英文中近似的說法是「有個點物成金的手」（have a golden touch）。有了縝密的規劃，就能順利展開，行動勢如破竹（like a well oiled machine），自然目標就能十拿九穩（Out of ten attempts, nine will be successful.），手到擒來。 例："When it comes to computer repair, Frank has the golden touch."「法蘭克是修理電腦的高手。」 "That operation went really well, it was like a well oiled machine." 「整個行動順利展開，全部上緊發條。」 "The odds are that the Brazilians will beat the Americans" 「巴西出戰美國，勝券已然在握。」（作者是陸軍官校語言中心主任） 【2006/12/03 經濟日報】