请专家看此句:
The news reporter hurried to the airport, only to be told the film star had left.
【参考译文】这位新闻记者匆忙赶到机场,结果被告知电明星已经走了。
【我的疑问】后半句不定式的用法我看不懂,烦请专家解释一下,谢谢!
动词不定式可以作结果状语。说明谓语动词表示的动作,达到某种程度而产生的结果;或者可能与谓语动词表示的动作关系不大,而是出乎意料的结果,网友的句子only to be told...这个不定式,便是这个类型。
现在分别举例如下:
不定式表示结果,常用在too...to, enough...to, so/such...as to 结构中。如表示出人意料的结果,不定式前常加上only,网友的句子only to be told...这个不定式便是。
It seems that the employee didn't sleep at all to be so sleepy in the early morning.
好像这位雇员晚上根本没睡觉,才一大早这么困倦的。
We have got so plenty of food as to treat our guests.
我们有如此充裕的食物,完全可以足够招待我们的客人。
Is that room big enough to seat all of us?
那个房间足够大能容得下我们所有的人吗?
She was too excited to put her thoughts into words.
她太激动了,结果无法把自己的思绪用言语表达出来。
She hurried to the station only to be told the train had gone.
她匆忙赶到车站,却被告知火车已走了。
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only to do既可表“意想不到的或不愿意得到的结果”,也可表“某种特殊的目的”。究竟是表示“结果”还是“目的”,应该根据具体的语境来判断。如:
He lifted a rock only to drop it on his own feet. 他搬起石头砸了自己的脚。(表结果)
They are there only to satisfy their ghoulish curiosity. 他们去那里纯粹是为了满足其病态的好奇心。(表目的)
I didn't mean to hurt her, only to keep her still. 我不是故意要弄痛她,只是想让她别乱动。(表目的)
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“only + 不定式”结构作结果状语时,表示一个相反的或出乎意料的结果,意思是“不料”、“反而”、“结果却”。例如:She got to the station only to be told the train had left.他到了火车站,不料人家告诉她火车已经开走了。/ He went to the seaside, only to be drowned.他去海边玩,结果却不幸淹死了。/The lifted a rock only to have it drop on their own feet.他们搬起石头(结果却)砸了自己的脚。(摘自《薄冰英语惯用法词典》)
问题中的不定式就是这种用法。