“bethink”是一个较为正式、文学性的动词,基本意思是“想起,记起;重新考虑,再三思考” 。其用法主要有“bethink oneself of sth.”(想起某事)以及“bethink oneself (that) ...”(重新考虑……)。
想起,记起:当“bethink”表示“想起,记起”时,强调突然或经过一番回忆后想到过去的事情、信息等。例如:After a long silence, she bethought herself of the old song.(沉默了许久之后,她想起了那首老歌。)
重新考虑,再三思考:用于表达对之前所做的决定、想法等进行重新审视和思考。例如:He had better bethink himself before making such a hasty decision.(他最好在做如此匆忙的决定之前重新考虑一下。)
“bethink oneself of sth.”
这种结构中,“oneself”是反身代词,根据主语的不同进行相应变化,如“I”“you”“he/she/it”“we”“they”等对应的反身代词分别是“myself”“yourself”“himself/herself/itself”“ourselves”“themselves”。
例如:I suddenly bethought myself of the key I left at home.(我突然想起我把钥匙落在家里了。)
再如:They bethought themselves of the mistakes they made in the past.(他们想起了过去犯的错误。)
“bethink oneself (that) ...”
“that”引导的从句用来具体说明重新考虑的内容。
例如:You should bethink yourself (that) you promised to help him.(你应该重新考虑一下,你答应过要帮助他的。)
又如:We bethought ourselves (that) we could find a better solution.(我们重新考虑了一下,觉得能找到一个更好的解决办法。)
“bethink”是一个较为古老、正式的词汇,在现代日常英语交流中并不常用,更多出现在文学作品、正式的书面语或者较为正式的演讲中。在一般的口语交流里,人们更倾向于使用“remember”(想起)、“reconsider”(重新考虑)等更常见、更口语化的词汇来表达类似的意思。例如,把“I suddenly bethought myself of the key I left at home.”换成日常口语表达,可以是“I suddenly remembered the key I left at home.” ;把“He had better bethink himself before making such a hasty decision.”换成日常口语,可以是“He had better reconsider before making such a hasty decision.”