Marlin is a young man of independent thinking who is not about ____ compliments to his political leaders.
A. paying B. having paid C. to pay D. to have paid(全国研考,99-9)
谢振元教授主编的《历年英语考研试题精解及模拟试题》(中国人民大学出版社,1999, p. 14)将上面的句子译为：
“Marlin 是一位有独立思考能力的青年人,他打算在近期内向他的政治领导人表示问候。”这个译法是否正确?
be not about to 是美国俗语, 意为“不愿意”“不打算”(be very unwilling to), 不能简单地把它看成是 be about to 的否定式(“马上不”)。
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I'm not about to stop when I'm so close to success. (LDCE) 眼看就要成功了,我是不肯就此停顿下来的。
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I'm not about to pay 50 dollars for a dress like that. (PEU) 我不愿意花五十美元买这样一件衣服。
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“Will she come with us?” asked Bill. “She’s not about to,” answered Mary. “她跟我们去吗?”彼尔问道。“她不愿意去。”玛丽回答说。
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Langdon was not about to argue with a woman wielding a gun. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 兰登可不想和一个挥舞着手枪的女人争辩些什么。(《达·芬奇密码》)
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Warden Grouard was not about to take that on faith. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 克劳德·格鲁阿尔可不愿意把她的话当真。(《达·芬奇密码》)
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The Republican opposition wasn't about to allow a time out for injury. (Hillary, Living History) 反对党共和党却还不愿给他以复原的时间。(希拉里，《亲历历史》)
pay compliments 是“赞扬”“恭维”的意思。根据句意这里应取后一含义。
[试译]马林是个善于独立思考的年轻人，他不愿意去恭维他的政治领导人。