核心问题
I often wondered what he and they would have made of their lives if they had been born into my generation or my daughter's. (B. Clinton, My Life, p. 15)
[原译]我常常想,如果他们出生在我或我女儿这个年代,将会在自己的一生中做出怎样一番事业。(《我的生活》, p. 14)
请问这里的 would 具有将来时的意味吗？
词典解答
would have done 用于虚拟语气的主句时, would 丝毫没有将来时的意味。would have done 仅仅表示在假设的条件下过去应产生的结果。
[试译]……他们在自己的一生里会做出来怎样的一番事业。