Ask & Learn闻问切英语口语:Should have agreed

读者 Tracy 读报时看到一段文字：

It is strange that, despite the shortage of hospital beds in Sha Tin and the opposition of the Department of Health, the authorities should have agreed to the change in use of the hospital site for residential development.

(沙田区病床短缺，政府不理会卫生署的反对，把医院用地改作住宅发展，不合情理。)

Tracy 问，既然政府的决定不合情理，为什 么翻译为 should have agreed？ Should not agree 不是更正确吗？

政府把医院用地用作住宅发展，漠视卫生署的意见是不对的。英文的翻译为 should have agreed，表面上好像与原文的意思相反，其实不然。因为这句是以 It is strange that 开头，也就是说政府的决定，令人不明所以。

为什么不说 has agreed 而说 should have agreed 呢？我们通常把 should 理解成「应该」，但 should 在这里是虚拟式（subjunctive）的用法，具有不可能发生、但竟然发生了的含意，使政府的决定听起来更令人摸不着头脑。

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