【英語島教學實驗室】英語新聞標題一看就懂

為了要讀起來有臨場感，英文新聞標題都是用簡化的寫法，又能快速看到重點，所以句子精簡，甚至時態也改變了，主要不離下面幾個原則：

1. 過去發生的事，也用現在式

標題中的動詞通常會用現在式（present tense），強調事情發生的時間點就在當下，讓讀者不會覺得是在接收已經過去的舊資訊。

標題式英文
US adviser hints at evicting China from WTO
美方建議將中國逐出WTO

Taiwan train derailment kills many, injures more than 100
台鐵脫軌致上百人死傷

還原語句
The US adviser hinted/has hinted at evicting China from the WTO.
A Taiwan train derailment killed/has killed many,injures more than 100.

2. 「被完成」的事，不用助動詞

標題如果要呈現被動語態或完成式，會省略be動詞和have等助動詞（auxiliary verbs），句子只會留下分詞，例如2 people stabbed at midnight的意思是2 people were stabbed at midnight，兩個人在午夜被行刺，而不是去行刺別人。

標題式英文
Arrest made over cold case
懸案已破

All 12 boys and coach successfully rescued from Thai cave
泰國受困師生13人全數獲救

還原語句
An arrest was/has been made over a cold case.
All 12 boys and their coach were/have been successfully rescued from a Thai cave.

3. 未來的事，交給不定詞

描述將要發生的事，母語者會用不定詞（to + Verb）來取代我們習慣的will和be going to，讓閱讀更簡潔。

標題式英文
Trump, Putin to meet in Paris
雙「普」將在巴黎會晤

Sweden to End Twitter Experiment Letting Ordinary People Be Nation’s Voice
瑞典實驗告終，民眾不再管理官方推特帳號

還原語句
Trump and Putin will meet in Paris.
Sweden will end its Twitter experiment that lets ordinary people be the nation’s voice.

4. 省略冠詞

新聞標題以精簡為原則，冠詞（articles）像是a、an、the幾乎都會被省略。

標題式英文
Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway to present best picture Oscar again
華倫·比提與費·唐娜薇再任奧斯卡最佳影片頒獎人

還原語句
Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway will present the best picture Oscar again.

5. 符號代替連接詞

新聞標題很少會出現連接詞 ，一般會以符號取代。使用連接詞的情況通常是為了呈現明顯的對比，像是the rise and fall，而不是單純用來把兩件事串起來。

標題式英文
Mail bomb suspect referred to Russian friends, held pro-Kremlin views
美郵包炸彈客遭起底，臉書帳號持親俄立場

Facebook removes more pages, as FBI warns: Russia still targeting US voters
FBI指俄羅斯仍鎖定美國選民，Facebook下架更多粉絲專頁

還原語句
A mail bomb suspect was referred to Russian friends and held pro-Kremlin views.
Facebook has removed more pages, as the FBI warned that Russia is still targeting US voters.

請練習把新聞標題，還原成完整的句子：

Sydney hotel evacuated after chemical leak
Chunghwa Post to release four new painting stamps
Woman has real identity formalized after 50 years
Man defends himself over airline attack
Rapper dies after falling from plane during wing-walking stunt
Train mows down crowd at India festival, dozens dead
20 hurt as Rome metro escalator speeds up, then collapses
(答案請參考雜誌內文)

*本文收錄於英語島English Island 2018年12月號