(4) 二十日,晓钟初动,即闻江口唤渡声。余惊起,呼曹同济。曹曰:“勿急。宜饱食登舟。”
On the twentieth, as soon as the morning temple bell had struck, I already heard the ferry-man crying at the bank for passengers to come aboard. I got up in a hurry and asked Ts'ao to go together. "No hurry. We must eat something before going down to the boat," said Ts'ao.
(沈复《浮生六记》,林语堂译)
该例中的祈使句“勿急”可作多种处理,如There's no hurry about it、Don't be in such a hurry、No need to hurry,但都不及本译文No hurry来得干脆简洁。这其中,There's no hurry about it和No hurry都不是祈使句,但具备相同的“呼唤”(vocative)这一交际功能。