寫作基礎(chǔ)——用英語書寫數(shù)字時(shí)的規(guī)則

1、寫作基礎(chǔ)用英語書寫數(shù)字時(shí)的規(guī)則在漢英筆譯和英語寫作中，經(jīng)常會(huì)遇到數(shù)字;哪些場(chǎng)合用單詞表示，哪些場(chǎng)合用阿拉伯?dāng)?shù)字表示，往往使人難以確定，現(xiàn)行語法書中也極少涉及此類問題。實(shí)際上，以英語為母語的國(guó)家，在書寫數(shù)字時(shí)已形成幾條約定俗成的規(guī)則，現(xiàn)總結(jié)如下供讀者參考。一. 英美等國(guó)的出版社在排版時(shí)遵循一條原則，即1至10用單詞表示，10以上的數(shù)目用阿拉伯?dāng)?shù)字(也有的以100為界限)，這條原則值得我們行文時(shí)借鑒。eg. that table measures ten feet by five.那個(gè)工作臺(tái)長(zhǎng)10英尺，寬5英尺。eg. the traditional pattern of classroom ex

2、perience at the college level brings the professor and a group of 20 to 30 students together for a 45-to-50-minute class session two or three times a week.由一個(gè)教授和十名學(xué)生每周會(huì)晤兩三次，每次授課時(shí)間45到50分鐘，是大學(xué)程度課堂教學(xué)的傳統(tǒng)方式。二. 人數(shù)用阿技伯?dāng)?shù)字表示顯得更簡(jiǎn)潔明了，但不定數(shù)量、近似值用單詞表示較恰當(dāng)。eg. there are 203817 voters on the electoral rolls.選舉名單上有20

3、3817個(gè)投票人。eg. nearly thirty thousand voters took part in this election.近3萬個(gè)投票人參加了這次選舉。三. 遇到日期、百分比、帶單位的特殊數(shù)字，通常用阿拉伯?dāng)?shù)字。eg. maximum swivel of table is l20.工作臺(tái)的最大回轉(zhuǎn)角度是120度。eg. 3rd march l991或3 march l991;a discount of 5 percent(5%的折扣);eg. purchased 7 yards of carpet(買7碼地毯);eg. ordered 2 pounds of minced s

4、teak(訂購(gòu)2磅剁碎的肉)。如果涉及的數(shù)目和單位是不定數(shù)，可用單詞表示。eg. about five miles per hour(每小時(shí)大約5英里)eg. at least ten yards away(至少有10碼遠(yuǎn))eg. hesitated for a moment or two(猶豫了片刻)eg. i have warned you a hundred times(我已經(jīng)警告你多少遍了)。四. 在科技文章中，數(shù)字頻繁出現(xiàn)，用阿拉伯?dāng)?shù)字比用單詞陳述更有利。eg. the new engine has a capacity of 4.3 litres and a power out-p

5、ut of 153 kilowatts at 4400 revolutions per minute.這臺(tái)新發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)的容積為4.3升，轉(zhuǎn)速為每分鐘4400轉(zhuǎn)時(shí)輸出功率是153千瓦。eg. we know that the weight of a cubic foot of air at 0oc and 76cm，pressure is 0.08l pound, or 12 cubic feet of air weigh a pound.我們知道，1立方英尺的空氣在0攝氏度和760毫米汞柱壓力下，重量是0.81磅，也就是說12立方英尺空氣的重量是1磅。五. 句首不用阿拉伯?dāng)?shù)字，句末要盡量避免用阿拉

6、伯?dāng)?shù)字。eg. 4th july is an important date in american history.應(yīng)該寫成the fourth of july.eg. 19 couples took part in the ballroom dancing competition.待添加的隱藏文字內(nèi)容219對(duì)選手參加了交際舞比賽。應(yīng)改寫成：nineteen couples took.eg. 60%profit was a reported.據(jù)報(bào)道有60%的利潤(rùn)。應(yīng)改寫成：sixty per cent profiteg. 1345 kilograms force was applied at the center point of the bar.試驗(yàn)時(shí)在桿的中點(diǎn)加1345公斤力?？筛某蓋hen tested, a force of l345 kg was applied.六. 遇到分?jǐn)?shù)，可用帶連字符號(hào)的單詞表示。eg. at 1east two-thirds of the cla