As badly as Carl wanted that new sailor, he was a creature of opportunity more than desire.

Carolyn

来学习这段英语。

As badly as Carl wanted that new sailor, he was a creature of opportunity more than desire. When the band stopped playing and the barflies started to pair off, he'd make his play for the sailor, and if luck went his way, he'd get the boy back onto the Akista under the usual lies about needing it refitted, or needing a hand with sailing and partying at the same time. If the boy seemed resistant to the idea—or if it seemed like he was going to be more trouble than he was worth—then Carl would just move right along to the next one. He could barely move in these bars for all of the off-duty sailors. It wasn't like he was going to struggle to find at least one to his liking who was dumb enough to fall for the spiel.

当然可以，我来一句一句地帮你拆解这段话，让你完全理解它的意思。

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原文：“As badly as Carl wanted that new sailor, he was a creature of opportunity more than desire.”
句子解析：
虽然 Carl 非常想要那个新来的水手，
但他是一个“机会主义者”（一个更看重机会而不是欲望的人）。
👉 换句话说：他虽然有强烈的欲望，但更看重有没有合适的机会去行动，他不是会被欲望驱使得不理智的人。

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“When the band stopped playing and the barflies started to pair off, he'd make his play for the sailor, and if luck went his way, he'd get the boy back onto the Akista under the usual lies about needing it refitted, or needing a hand with sailing and partying at the same time.”
句子解析：
等乐队停止演奏，酒吧里的“酒鬼们”（barflies，指常年混迹酒吧的人）开始各自搭伴离开时，
Carl 就会开始向那个水手“下手”（make his play for = 开始追求，采取行动）。
如果运气好，他就能用老一套的谎话把那个男孩骗回他那艘名叫 Akista 的船上。
这些谎话包括比如：

• 船需要整修，需要人帮忙，
• 一边航海一边派对太忙了，想找人帮忙之类的借口。
  👉 他并不打算说实话，是在用套路和借口接近目标。
  

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“If the boy seemed resistant to the idea—or if it seemed like he was going to be more trouble than he was worth—then Carl would just move right along to the next one.”
句子解析：
如果那个男孩对这个提议表现出抗拒，
或者看起来比他“值”的还要麻烦（意思是麻烦比回报多，不值得），
Carl 就会立刻放弃他，转而去找下一个人。
👉 Carl 很现实，谁不好骗或者太麻烦，他就不浪费时间。

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“He could barely move in these bars for all of the off-duty sailors.”
句子解析：
这些酒吧里满是休假中的水手，挤得他几乎都动弹不了。
👉 说明水手太多了，他根本不愁没有目标。

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“It wasn't like he was going to struggle to find at least one to his liking who was dumb enough to fall for the spiel.”
句子解析：
他根本不用发愁找不到一个他喜欢、而且傻乎乎会上钩的人，
会轻易相信他那套说辞（spiel = 花言巧语、骗人的话）。
👉 Carl 对他的“猎物”很有信心，因为酒吧里目标太多，而且总有人会上钩。

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总结一下这段话的意思：Carl 虽然很想要那个新水手，但他是个讲求机会的人，不会冲动行事。他计划等到酒吧里人群散去、时机成熟时再去接近水手。如果运气好，他会用一些老套的谎话把他带回船上。如果水手不太好骗，或者太麻烦，他就会换目标，因为酒吧里到处都是水手，总能找到一个容易上钩的。

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如果你还想知道这个角色的动机、心理，或者想知道故事背景是什么，我也可以继续帮你分析。你喜欢这样详细拆解的方式吗？


这个like的用法，是正确的吗？It wasn't like he was going to...

这个 “like” 的用法是完全正确的！虽然它不是传统语法里的“正式用法”，但在 口语和现代小说 中非常常见，用来引出一种 比较、设想、假定的情景，通常带有一种轻松、讽刺、或不屑的语气。

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🧠 它的结构是：It’s not like + 从句（完整句子）
这个结构常表示：

• “又不是……”
  
• “难道是……吗？”
  
• “他也不会真的……吧？”
  
  

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✅ 原句：“It wasn't like he was going to struggle to find at least one to his liking...”
字面意思是：
“又不是他找不到一个他喜欢的人……”
实际意思是：
👉 他根本不愁找不到目标。
这是一种带点轻松嘲讽的语气，表达 这件事其实根本不难，甚至有点“这都不是事”的感觉。

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🧾 举几个类似的例子：

• It’s not like I don’t care.
  又不是我不在乎。
  → 表示其实我还是在意的。
  
• It’s not like we have all the time in the world.
  我们又不是有大把时间。
  → 要快点行动。
  
• It’s not like he’s a genius or anything.
  他又不是天才什么的。
  → 他其实挺普通的。
  
  

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小结：口语表达正式语法替代（更书面）
It’s not like he…It’s unlikely that he…
It’s not like we…We don’t really have time…所以这句 “It wasn't like he was going to struggle...” 是 地道、自然的口语写法，尤其适合小说或人物独白，完全正确、也很常见！

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如果你想，我也可以帮你总结一些常见的这种 “It’s not like…” 结构句式，方便你在写作或阅读时更熟练！你想试试看吗？