状语从句的译法

八、状语从句的译法

英汉两种语言在状语的用法上同样存在着较大差别。在实际运用中，英语状语从句应用非常广泛，比如时间、原因、条件、让步、目的状语从句等。由于英汉两种语言在状语用法上存在差异，因此，在译成汉语时，应避免按照原文的语序、结构机械地对应翻译，需要选择恰当的词语、结构和语序，把原文忠实地翻译出来，并使译文符合汉语的表达习惯。

试比较下列句子的A、B两种译法。

例1　He shouted as he ran.

A.当他跑的时候，他大声喊。

B.他一边跑，一边喊。/他边跑边喊。

例2　After all，it did not matter much，because in 24 hours，they were arriving here.

A.反正关系不大，因为24小时以后他们就要到达这儿了。

B.反正关系不大，24小时以后他们就要到达这儿了。

例1汉译时，译文A人为地把“跑”和“喊”两个同时发生而且具有相同重要性的动词设定了主次，把“喊”突出为一个更重要的主句的动词，而“跑”只是一个辅助动词，作为背景来映衬喊这一动作。这样就不能很好地表达原文的含义。而译文B中用了“一边……一边……”的并列结构，把两个动词放到了同样重要的位置，为读者勾画出一幅生动的画面，也更好地表达了原文的含义。

例2的A、B两种译法中译文B较好。译文B没有用关联词，而把原句译成表示内含因果关系的并列分句，这更符合汉语的表达习惯。而译文A硬把“因为”两字翻译出来，显得画蛇添足。

可见，我们在翻译状语从句时，要按照汉语习惯，选用正确的句子结构和词语，这将有助于读者更好地理解原文。下面是一些常见的状语从句的译法。

（一）时间状语从句

1.译成汉语中相应的表示时间的状语

如果英语中表示时间的状语从句置于句首，汉语译文可与原文保持一致。如果英语中表示时间的状语从句后置，按汉语习惯，汉语译文通常前置。

例1　When I was a young girl，I lived near a concentration camp.

当我还是个小姑娘的时候，我住在一个集中营附近。

例2　As I reached those goals，they built on one another.

当我达到这些目标时，它们都会相互促进。

例3　When a Korean woman who lives in the United States arrived at work one morning，her boss asked her，“Did you get a plate？”

一天早晨，一位生活在美国的韩国妇女到上班地点时，她的老板问她：“你拿到盘子了吗？”

例4　Please turn off the light when you leave the room.

离开房间时，请把灯关掉。

例5　I remember how I used to high－five my best friends，Bruce and Gary，when our teachers gave us low grades.

我还记得当老师们给我们低分时，我是怎样向我的好友布鲁斯和加里击掌致意的。

2.译成“刚（一）……就……”的句式

例1　Hardly had we arrived when it began to rain.

我们刚到就下雨了。

例2　When I reached the beach，I collapsed.

我一游到海滩就瘫倒了。

例3　He had hardly rushed into the room when he shouted，“Fire！Fire！”

他刚跑进屋里就大声喊：“着火了！着火了！”

例4　He had scarcely handed me the letter when he asked me to read it.

他把信一交给我就叫我念给他听。

3.译成并列的分句

例1　She sang as she prepared John’s supper.

她一边唱着歌，一边为约翰准备晚饭。

例2　They set him free when his debt had not yet been paid off.

他还没有还清欠债，他们就把他放了。

例3　They were just about to give up the question，when suddenly they found the answer.

他们正打算放弃这个问题，突然就找到了答案。

（二）表示原因的状语从句

1.译成表示“原因”的分句

例1　The crops failed because the season was dry.

因为气候干旱，作物歉收。

例2　He can’t continue his studies because his father can no longer afford his tuition fee.

他不能继续他的学业，因为他父亲再也付不起他的学费了。

例3　The decision aroused some criticism，because none of her teammates could set up to take her place.

这一决定引起了一些非议，因为队友中还没有人能取代她的位置。

例4　We had to put the meeting off since so many people were absent.

由于很多人没有来，会议只好延期。

例5　I like animals because they don’t pretend to be someone they’re not.

我喜欢动物，因为它们从不假装成别人。

2.译成因果偏正复句中的主句

例1　Because he was convinced of the accuracy of this fact，he stuck to his point.

他深信这件事情正确可靠，因此坚持己见。

例2　Pure iron is not used in industry because it is too soft.

纯铁太软，所以不用在工业上。

例3　Because the young man frequently came to Betty’s house，he was regarded as Betty’s boy friend.

这个小伙子经常到贝蒂家来，因此，别人都以为他是贝蒂的男朋友。

3.译成不用关联词、表示内含因果关系的并列分句

例1　I am going to bed，as I’m very tired.

我非常疲倦，要去睡了。

例2　He was not only surprised but，to start with，extremely suspicious，as he had every reason to be.

他不但惊讶而且首先是十分怀疑，他有这样的感觉是完全有理由的。

（三）表示条件的状语从句

1.译成表示“条件”的分句

例1　It was better in case they were captured.

要是把他们捉到了，那就更好了。

例2　We’ll let you use the room on condition that you will keep it clean and tidy.

如果你们能保持整洁的话，我们可以让你们用这个房间。

例3　We will let you go if you promise to keep the secret.

如果你答应保守秘密，我们就让你离开。

例4　When it happened，I set another goal，a reasonable，manageable goal that I could realistically achieve if I worked hard enough.

当这一目标实现时，我又确定了另一个目标，一个合理的、可以设法达到的目标，一个只要付出足够努力就能切实实现的目标。

2.译成表示“假设”的分句

例1　If you are not too tired，let’s go out for a walk.

如果你不是很累的话，我们就出去散散步吧。

例2　If he can win the game，he will donate the prize to build a“Hope”primary school for the children who can’t afford to go to school.

假如他能赢得这场比赛的话，他将捐出他的奖金为那些上不起学的孩子建一所“希望”小学。

例3　If an employee was having a bad day，Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

如果某一天哪个雇员碰到不顺心的事，杰里就会告诉他如何去看事情积极的一面。

例4　If I didn’t receive a kidney transplant within six months，I would surely die.

如果我6个月内不做肾移植手术的话，那我肯定会死。

（四）表示让步的状语从句

1.译成表示“让步”的分句

例1　Although it’s raining，they are still working in the field.

虽然在下雨，但他们仍在地里干活。

例2　Though the sore be healed，yet a scar may remain.

伤口虽然愈合，但伤疤却留下了。（谚语）

例3　Although my parents were angry at my behavior，they knew I could do better.

尽管父母对我的行为感到恼火，可他们知道我能做得更好。

例4　Even if he did throw the police off his trail，she’ll go and give him away.

即使他真的甩掉了警察，她也会去告发他的。

在翻译英语让步状语从句时，常用汉语中表示让步的关联词“虽然”、“尽管”、“即使”、“就算”等。汉语中表示“让步”的分句一般前置。

2.译成表示“无条件”的条件分句

常用汉语的关联词“不管”、“不论”、“无论”。

例1　Whatever happened，he would not change his mind.

无论发生什么事，他都不会改变主意。

例2　No matter where he goes，he will always bear his father’s words in mind，“Never stop helping those who are in need.”

不管他走到哪里，他总是牢记父亲的话：“不要停止去帮助那些需要帮助的人。”

例3　I’ll never give in，no matter what happens.

不管发生什么事，我永远也不会屈服。

（五）表示目的的状语从句

1.译成表示“目的”的前置分句

常用汉语的关联词“为了”。

例1　He pushed open the door gently and stole out of the room for fear that he should awake her.

为了不惊醒她，他轻轻地推开房门，悄悄地溜了出去。

例2　We should start early so that we might get there before noon.

为了在中午以前赶到那里，我们应该早动身。

例3　We read history of different countries in order that we may discover the laws of political growth and change in our own country.

为了找到我们国家的政治发展和演变的规律，我们读各国的历史。

例4　They stepped into a helicopter and flew high in the sky in order that they might have a bird’s eye view of the city.

为了对这个城市作一鸟瞰，他们登上直升机，凌空飞行。

2.译成表示“目的”的后置分句

通常用汉语的关联词“省得”、“以免”、“以便”、“生怕”等。

例1　The murderer ran away as fast as he could，so that he might not be caught red－handed.

凶手尽快地跑开，以免被人当场抓住。

例2　The teacher raised his voice so that the students in the back could hear more clearly.

老师提高了嗓音，以便让后排的学生听得更清楚。

例3　He slammed the door so that his mother would know he was home.

他把门砰地一声关上，以便让母亲知道他回来了。

例4　In picking wild flowers，he always refrained from taking many from one locality，lest he should injure the future growth.

采摘野花时，他总是避免在一处采很多，以免危害它们以后的生长。

翻译实践

I.完成下列译文，注意状语从句的翻译技巧。

1.This will be the first Christmas since mother died.

这将是________________________________第一个圣诞节。

2.Until the lawyer read her will，I never fully appreciated the depth of the old lady’s love.

_______________________________，我才充分感受到这位老妇人深深的爱。

3.Louise’s parents decided to send him to the school when he was nine years old.

________________________________，他父母决定把他送到那所学校去。

4.In case I forget，please remind me about it.

________________________________，请提醒我一下。

5.We had barely dropped off to sleep when the doorbell began to ring.

我们____要合眼入睡时，________________________________。

6.She is sure to come unless she has some urgent business.

_______________________________，她一定会来的。

7.I replied I hadn’t，although I had seen motion pictures of such happening.

我回答说没有，________________________________。

8.Probably he had stood there for some time，because the ash o f his cigar was discovered on the ground near the gate.

他可能曾在那里站过一会儿，________________________________。

9.Though she could hear everything，Jessica knew that she would never be able to use her voice as she used to.

_______________________________，但杰西卡知道自己再也不能像从前那样开口说话了。

10.During her stay，she cried，silently，not because she didn’t want other people to hear her cry，but because nobody would ever hear her voice thereafter.

住院期间，她经常默默地哭泣，这倒不是________________________________，而是_______________________________。

II.将下列句子译成汉语，注意状语从句的译法。

1.He gladly accepted his offer，because he needed a lot of time for his studies.

2.The code kept the message secret even if the enemy would see it.

3.Though it was hard，they both bathed in each other’s affection.

4.I had the feeling that no matter how tired we were，we should unpack the car that night.

5.If I lost my job，it probably would not be long before I would first lose my car，then my home.

III.将下列段落译成汉语，注意状语从句的译法。

Some doctors teach the technique of self－hypnosis（自我催眠术）to their patients so that they can relax themselves if they enter a stressful period.In order that you may hypnotize yourself，you need an open mind to the idea and you must have time and a quiet place.

Light Reading

下面是一则英汉对照小幽默。轻松之余，别忘了体会其中翻译技巧的运用。

A Kiss

At a dinner party，Mr.Smith，who was the guest of honor，was about to deliver a speech when his wife sitting at the other end of the table，sent him a piece of paper with the word“KISS”scribbled on it.

The guest seated next to Mr.Smith’said，“Your wife must love you very much；I see her send you a‘KISS’before you begin your speech.”

Mr.Smith’smiled and explained，“You don’t know my wife.The‘KISS’she gave me stands for‘Keep It Short，Stupid.’”

一　个　吻

在一次晚宴上，作为嘉宾的史密斯先生正要发言。这时，坐在餐桌另一头的史密斯夫人给他递来一张纸条，上面潦草地写有“KISS”字样。

坐在他旁边的客人说：“你夫人肯定非常爱你，我看到她在你演讲前给你传来一张写有‘KISS’的纸条。”

史密斯先生笑着解释说：“你不了解我夫人。她给我的‘KISS’代表‘讲得简短一点，笨蛋。’”