cobble together

我们先看外交部官网上这句：And none of the so-called evidence Washington and Ottawa cobbled together has ever held any water. 在美国和加拿大拼凑的所谓证据中，没有一个是站得住脚的。

1. 这句的主干是none of the so-called evidence has ever held any water，其中Washington and Ottawa cobbled together是evidence的定语从句。在完成时中ever表强调。

2. 借代修辞：以首都名称代指政府或国家, 这属于以部分代替整体的借代修辞。比如最新纽约时报中这句：The resolution of the criminal charges against Ms. Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, came in the midst of a downward spiral in military, technological and trade competition between Washington and Beijing. 华为创始人之女孟晚舟的刑事指控得以解决，是在美国与中国之间的军事、技术和贸易竞争日益陷入恶性循环之际做出的。

3. 固定表达：not hold water表示站不住脚，如柯林斯和汉英大词典中这两句：This argument simply cannot hold water in Europe. 这个论点在欧洲根本就站不住脚。His account of the robbery won't hold water. 他对抢劫案经过的陈述漏洞百出。

还比如CATTI和MTI翻硕备考报告中这句：脱离实际，抽象地、绝对地来谈论公民权利和义务，不仅在中国站不住脚，在任何国家都是站不住脚的。To talk about citizens' rights and duties out of reality in an abstract and absolute way does not hold water either in China or in any other country.

4. 一词多义：今天这里重点讲下cobble吧，这个单词有很多意思，总结如下：

A. 作名词表示鹅卵石。同 cobblestone，如They found Trish sitting on the cobbles of the stable yard. 他们发现翠茜坐在场院的鹅卵石地上。

B. 作动词，表示铺鹅卵石，那cobbled自然就表示铺鹅卵石的，如MTI翻硕备考资料张培基散文中这两句：

说到这里，我们两人都不约而同地站了起来。沿着草坪旁用卵石铺成的小径，走到“北海”跟前。Thereupon, we rose to our feet simultaneously and walked along a cobbled footpath beside the lawn towards the miniature Beihai.

经过这一带森林，前面有一条鹅卵石堆成的斜坡路，两旁种着整齐的冬青树，只有肩膀高，一阵阵的青草香，从微风里荡过来，我们慢步的走着，陡觉神气清爽，一尘不染。Leaving the woods behind, we came to a cobbled slope, on either side of which stood a neat row of shoulder-high evergreens. The aroma of green grass carried over fitfully by the breeze made us instantly feel refreshed.

2014年11月CATTI三级笔译实务真题中这句：Redesigning congested traffic systems to add bike lanes to overcrowded roads is fiendishly difficult, especially in historic cities with narrow cobbled streets like Copenhagen. 为了在拥挤的道路上新增自行车道，需要重新规划原本就拥堵不堪的交通网络，这相当有难度，尤其是在诸如哥本哈根这样的历史名城（到处都是狭窄的鹅卵石街道）。

C. 作动词，是 (old-fashioned) 制（鞋）；修补（鞋）to make or repair shoes，对应的名词是 cobbler，表示鞋匠。当然cobbler还可以表示胡说，废话，同义词是nonsense，如柯林斯词典中这句：He said it was all a load of cobblers. 他说那完全是一派胡言。

D. 作动词，表示匆匆拼凑、粗制滥造，经常表示贬义，如牛津词典中这句：The essay was cobbled together from some old notes. 这篇文章是用以前的一些笔记胡乱拼凑而成的。

当然，这个单词本身是中性词，如纽约时报中这两句：

Emma, whose mom died when she was 8, says that she “cobbles together” an image of her mother from other people’s memories. 爱玛的母亲在她八岁时就去世了，她说自己是根据别人的回忆 “拼凑”了母亲的形象。

By Feb. 14, they had cobbled together a new supply chain. It was enough to offer a reduced menu of ready-to-cook noodles and dumplings for delivery, complete with instructions for people to finish the dish at home. (Noodles, she said, are best eaten immediately after being cooked and would suffer unconscionably from the time it would take to deliver them.)

到2月14日，他们凑出了一条新的供应链，可以提供一个简化的菜单——送货上门的面条和饺子，还配有指导，让人们在家里完成这道菜。（她说，面条最好在煮出来马上就吃，送面时间它就慢慢变坨了。）