Zdravím všechny,

nedávno mi jeden můj student poslal text na opravu o dvou cyklistech (Lanci Armstrongovi a Janu Ulrichovi), kde píše toto:

Armstrong kept almost the same weight. In contrast, Jan was able to put on 10 kg. Then he struggled for half the spring season to lose it. Weight is the most important factor in cycling. It's what determines how good you are in the mountains. The main reason why I was a fan of Jan was that I used to have problems with my weight.

Jedná se mi o zvýrazněný výraz. Z dalšího kontextu je jasné, že zde měl na mysli (ironicky), že se Ulrichovi „podařilo“ nabrat váhu. Moje otázka zní – bylo by „was able to“ pochopeno v tomto významu? Já se spíš přikláním k tomu, že by věta byla pochopena doslova… Jsou případně další způsoby, jak toto v angličtině vyjádřit?

Možná něco s „great/good job?“ He really did a great job and put on 10 kg?

„Then he struggled to lose it“ suggests to me something like „Jan si dovolil …“. He allowed himself to put on the extra weight, though he shouldn't have, because he then struggled to lose it. So if my understanding is correct, „was able to“ is not good here because we infer that he wanted to put on the extra weight, tried and tried, and then succeeded.

If putting on the extra weight is seen as undesirable, something he didn't want, I would expect „Jan allowed himself to put on …“, „Jan let himself put on …“.

„Did a great job“ wouldn't be seen as ironic, it would be praising him for putting on the extra weight.