如果通过大量的阅读，我们可以发现，主动语态和被动语态在英语和汉语两种语言中所占的比重是相差悬殊的。一言以概之：被动语态在英语被广泛应用，而汉语中却较少使用。

　　比如《新概念第三册》第1课《A puma at large》这篇文章中，通篇一共出现了12处被动语态，而汉语版本翻译仅出现2处被动语态，具体如下：

　　1

　　Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.

　　美洲狮是一种体形似猫的大动物，产于美洲。

　　2

　　When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.

　　当伦敦动物园接到报告说，在伦敦以南45英里处发现一只美洲狮时，这些报告并没有受到重视。

　　3

　　However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate, for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.

　　可是，随着证据越来越多，动物园的专家们感到有必要进行一番调查，因为凡是声称见到过美洲狮的人们所描述的情况竟是出奇地相似。

　　4

　　It immediately ran away when she saw it, and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered.

　　专家证实，美洲狮除非被逼得走投无路，是决不会伤人的。

　　5

　　The search proved difficult, for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening.

　　事实上搜寻工作很困难，因为常常是早晨在甲地发现那只美洲狮，晚上却在20英里外的乙地发现它的踪迹。

　　6

　　Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.

　　在许多地方看见爪印，灌木丛中发现了粘在上面的美洲狮毛。

　　7

　　The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?

　　专家们如今已经完全肯定那只动物就是美洲狮，但它是从哪儿来的呢?

　　8

　　As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country, this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape.

　　由于全国动物园没有一家报告丢了美洲狮，因此那只美洲狮一定是某位私人收藏豢养的，不知怎么设法逃出来了。

　　9

　　The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught.

　　搜寻工作进行了好几个星期，但始终未能逮住那只美洲狮。

　　总结：

　　通过对上述句子进行分析概括后，我们可以发现：除了例句2)中的第二处以及例句4)它们的英语和汉语同时以被动语态出现，其它剩余的10处出现了英语用被动而汉语用主动的情况，而这10处的英语中使用被动语态的原因是不尽相同的：