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汉译英历年真题详解

时间:2023-04-05 理论教育 版权反馈
【摘要】:第三章 真题体验3.1 汉译英历年真题详解2010年真题朋友关系的存续是以相互尊重为前提的,容不得半点强求、干涉和控制。手机反映出我们的“社交饥渴症”。翻译时应注意上下文的衔接。“社交饥渴症”表示很渴望社交的意思,但要译成“disease”或“illness”就不符合原文真正表达的意思,所以可以省去“症”,只表达“对社交的渴望”,译为“thirst for socialization”。

第三章 真题体验

3.1 汉译英历年真题详解

2010年真题

朋友关系的存续是以相互尊重为前提的,容不得半点强求、干涉和控制。朋友之间,情趣相投、脾气对味则合、则交,反之,则离、则绝。朋 友之间再熟悉、再亲密,也不能随便过头、不恭不敬,不然,默契和平衡将被打破,友好关系将不复存在。每个人都希望拥有自己的私密空间,朋友之间过于随便,就容易侵入这片禁区,从而引起冲突,造成隔阂。待友不敬,有时或许只是一件小事,却可能已埋下了破坏性的种子。维 持朋友亲密关系的最好办法是往来有节,互不干涉。

难点注释:

本段体裁属于论说文,探讨人生哲理。文章的语言简练,但多四字结构,翻译有一定难度。另外,翻译时应注意上下文的衔接。

(1)第一句中,“情趣相投”和“脾气对味”均为四字结构,可翻译为“common interests and similar temperament”。“则合”和“则交”在此意义相同,翻译为“get along well”即可。

(2)“则离”中的“离”是“分离”,“则绝”中的“绝”是指断绝朋友关系,可分别翻译成“separate”和“break off relations”。

(3)“不恭不敬”是对“随便过头”的引申和解释,可翻译为“show no respect”。

(4)“私密空间”可翻译为“privacy”。

(5)“禁区”是比喻,是指“私密空间”,在此可直译为“forbidden area”。

(6)“朋友之间过于随便,就容易侵入这片禁区”体现了汉语意合句的特点,句子之间没有表示逻辑关系的连接词,翻译时注意增补连接词“if”,并可用“it is easy for sb.to do sth.”这样的结构来翻译“就容易侵入这片禁区”。

(7)翻译“待友不敬,有时或许只是一件小事”时,需调整语序。

参考译文:

Friends will get along well if they share common interests and have similar temperament.Otherwise they will separate and break off their relations.Even the most intimate friends cannot be too casual and show no respect to each other.Otherwise the harmony and balance will be broken,and the friendship will cease to exist.Everyone hopes to guard his or her own privacy,but if friends are not considerate enough of others,it is easy for them to invade this forbidden area,which will lead to conflict,resulting in estrangement.It may sometimes be a small matter to be rude to friends,but a destructive seed may have been planted.The best way to keep a close relationship with friends is to keep contacts with restraint and not to meddle in the private affairs of each other.

2009年真题

我想不起来哪一个熟人没有手机。今天没有手机的人是奇怪的,这种人才是需要解释的。我们的所有社会关系都储存在手机的电话本里,可以随时调出使用。古代只有巫师才能拥有这种法宝。

手机刷新了人与人之间的关系。会议室的门口通常贴着一张通告,请与会者关闭手机。可是会议室里的手机依然响成一片。我们都是普通人,没有多少重要的事。尽管如此,我们也不会轻易关掉手机。打开手机象征着我们与这个世界的联系。手机反映出我们的“社交饥渴症”。最为常见的是,一个人在路上走着走着,忽然停下来盯着手机屏幕发短信,不管是在马路中间还是厕所旁边。

为什么对于手机来电和短信这么在乎?因为我们迫切渴望与社会保持联系。

难点注释:

本段体裁属于论说文,描写一种社会现象,即手机的使用。结构并不复杂,语言难度适中。翻译时应注意上下文的衔接。

(1)第一句中的“刷新”,可用词义引申法译为“has altered”。

(2)“手机响成一片”中的“手机”并不能做“响”的主语,可以响的是“ring”;“一片”不好表达,将“ring”变为复数即可。

(3)“社交饥渴症”表示很渴望社交的意思,但要译成“disease”或“illness”就不符合原文真正表达的意思,所以可以省去“症”,只表达“对社交的渴望”,译为“thirst for socialization”。

参考译文:

Mobile phones have altered human relations.There is usually a note on the door of a conference room,which reads“Please switch off your mobile phones”.However,the rings are still resounding in the room.We are all common people and have few urgencies to deal with.Still,we are reluctant to turn off the phone.Mobile phones symbolize our connection with the world and reflect our“thirst for socialization.”We are familiar with the scene in which a person stops his or her steps to edit short messages with eyes fixed on his or her phone,whether in the middle of the road or beside a toilet.

2008年真题

都市寸土千金,地价炒得越来越高。今后将更高。拥有一个小小花园的希望,对寻常之辈不啻是一种奢望,一种梦想。

我想,其实谁都有一个小小花园,这便是我们的内心世界。人的智力需要开发,人的内心世界也是需要开发的。人和动物的区别,除了众所周知的诸多方面,恐怕还在于人有内心世界。心不过是人的一个重要脏器,而内心世界是一种景观,它是由外部世界不断地作用于内心渐渐形成的。每个人都无比关注自己及至亲至爱之人心脏的健损,以至于稍有微疾便惶惶不可终日。但并非每个人都关注自己及至亲至爱之人的内心世界的阴晴。

难点注释:

本文属于散文体裁,探讨人生哲理,语言难度适中,没有较难翻译的词汇。翻译时应注意词义的选择和句子结构的选择。

(1)第一句中,“这便是我们的内心世界”可用非限定性定语从句来翻译。

(2)第二句中,“需要开发”重复,但英语的习惯是尽量避免重复,所以可用“so+谓语+主语”的结构来代替重复的部分。

(3)“心不过是人的一个重要脏器,而内心世界是一种景观,它是由外部世界不断地作用于内心渐渐形成的”中,“它是由外部世界不断地作用于内心渐渐形成的”可用非限定性定语从句来翻译。

(4)“惶惶不可终日”是成语,翻译出意思即可,可翻译为“be in a constant state of anxiety”或“suffer from nervous fears”。

(5)“内心世界的阴晴”是指内心世界的状态,翻译为“the inner world”,其中的“阴晴”不可按字面翻译。

参考译文:

I think everyone,in fact,has a small garden of his or her own,namely,our inner worlds.Human intelligence needs to be developed,so does the inner world.What distinguishes between human beings and animals,apart from the various aspects which are universally known,may probably be the fact that human beings have an inner world.Heart is no more than an important organ whereas the inner world constitutes a landscape,which gradually takes its shape under the continuous influence from the outside world.Everyone attaches such great importance to the physical condition of his or her own heart or those of his or her closest and dearest ones that merely a minor disease would cause nervous fears.But not everyone is concerned about his or her own inner world and those of their beloved ones.

2007年真题

暮色中,河湾里落满云霞,与天际的颜色混合一起,分不清哪是流云哪是水湾。

也就在这一幅绚烂的图画旁边,在河湾之畔,一群羊正在低头觅食。它们几乎没有一个顾得上抬起头来,看一眼这美丽的黄昏。也许它们要抓紧时间,在即将回家的最后一刻再次咀嚼。这是黄河滩上的一幕。牧羊人不见了,他不知在何处歇息。只有这些生灵自由自在地享受着这个黄昏。这儿水草肥美,让它们长得肥滚滚的。如果走近了,你会发现它们洁白的牙齿,以及那丰富而单纯的表情。

难点注释:

本篇是散文,描述黄昏时分黄河岸边宁静安详的美丽景色,多短句。翻译时宜用一般现在时态,并适当注意调整语序,合并松散小句为长句。

(1)第一句话的两个介词短语需调整语序,可将第一个介词短语放在句首,第二个放在句末。

(2)“这是黄河滩上的一幕。牧羊人不见了,他不知在何处歇息”较为松散,可用定语从句将其合成一句。

(3)“这儿水草肥美,让它们长得肥滚滚的”中,“肥美”指的是草的味道美,不可用“beautiful”,用“exuberant”(茂盛的)更为恰当;“肥滚滚”不可直译,可翻译为“keeping them plump”或译为更为生动活泼的“as fat as balls”。

参考译文:

Beside this picture with profuse colors,agroup of sheep are lowering their heads,eating by the river bank.Hardly any of them would spare some time to raise their eyes to have a glance at the beautiful dusk.They are,perhaps,making use of every minute to enjoy their last chew before being driven home.This is a picture of the Yellow River bank,in which the shepherd disappears,and no one knows where he is resting himself.Only the sheep,as free creatures,are joyfully enjoying the dusk.The exuberant water plants have nurtured the sheep,keeping them plump.When approaching,you would see their snow-white teeth and rich innocent facial impressions.

2006年真题

中国民族自古以来从不把人看作高于一切,在哲学文艺方面的表 现都反映出人在自然界中与万物占着一个比例较为恰当的地位,而非绝对统治万物的主宰。因此我们的苦闷,基本上比西方人为少为小;因为苦闷的强弱原是随欲望与野心的大小而转移的。农业社会的人比工业社会的人享受差得多,因此欲望也小得多。况中国古代素来以不滞于物,不为物役为最主要的人生哲学 。并非我们没有守财奴,但比起莫利哀与巴尔扎克笔下的守财奴与野心家来,就小巫见大巫了。中国民族多数是性情中正和平、淡泊、朴实,比西方人容易满足。

难点注释:

本篇是论说文,语言正式严谨,难句长句多,翻译时注意文体风格和词语选择,并要根据语义用断句的方法翻译长句。

(1)第一句很长,结构也较复杂,翻译时要理顺句内的主次关系,首先采用断句的方法,将其断为两句。“中国民族自古以来从不把人看作高于一切”与后面的部分关系不是十分紧密,可断为一句。然后确立后面部分的句子主干为“人……占着一个较为恰当的比例”,即可较为顺利地翻译这一难句长句。

(2)第二句中的“为少为小”不可完全直译,要注意和上文“苦闷”的搭配。“苦闷”可译为“feel depressed”,可用“less”,却不可用“smaller”来修饰。

(3)在句子“因为苦闷的强弱原是随欲望与野心的大小而转移的”中,“强弱”和“大小”,都存在搭配问题,要注意选词。

(4)“不滞于物,不为物役”两词均出自古文,“滞”意为“停滞”,“不滞于物”是指不受制于外物,不停留在对物质的追求上;“为物役”意即为物之役使,“不为物役”是说不受物质的局限。只有对原文意思充分地理解,才能产生正确的译文。

参考译文:

Since ancient times the Chinese nationalities have never considered human beings to be superior to every other species.As is reflected in Chinese philosophy,literature and art,in the natural world human beings occupy aproportionally proper rather than an absolutely dominant position to all other creatures.Therefore,generally speaking,we Chinese suffer less depression than people in the west,for the intensity of one’s depression literally changes along with the expansion of one’s desire and ambition.As people in an agricultural society enjoy much fewer comforts than those in an industrial society,they have much smaller desires or wishes.Besides,ancient Chinese always took it as their most fundamental philosophy of life that one should not merely be confined to material pursuits,or be kept in bondage by material things.

2005年真题

一个人的生命究竟有多大意义,这有什么标准可以衡量吗?提出一个绝对的标准当然很困难;但是,大体上看一个人对待生命的态度是否严肃认真,看他对待劳动、工作等等的态度如何,也就不难对这个人的存在意义做出适当的估计了。

古来一切有成就的人,都很严肃地对待自己的生命,当他活着一天,总要尽量多劳动、多工作、多学习,不肯虚度年华,不让时间白白地浪费掉。我国历代的劳动人民及大政治家、大思想家等等都莫不如此。

难点注释:

本篇是讲述人生哲理的散文,语言简练。翻译时,要注意句子结构的安排。

(1)第一句不长,但不好翻译。可采用分译法,分成两句来翻译。第一句可用“what is”或“how meaningful”来提问。分别为“What is the significance of life on earth?”或“How meaningful after all is a person’s life?”

(2)句子“但是,大体上看一个人对待生命的态度是否严肃认真,看他对待劳动、工作等等的态度如何,也就不难对这个人的存在意义做出适当的估计了”较长,可先分析结构,句子的主干是“不难对这个人的存在意义做出估计”,可用句型“it would not be so difficult to…”,句子主干前的部分可看作是作出“估计”的方式,用“if”从句来翻译。

(3)“不肯虚度年华,不让时间白白地浪费掉”意思上有重复,只翻译出“not idling away his time”即可。

参考译文:

How meaningful after all is a person’s life?Is there any standard to measure one’s life?Of course,it is very difficult to put forward an absolute criterion.But it is not very hard to make a proper judgment of the meaning of a person’s existence if we broadly check whether he adopts a serious attitude towards his life and how he treats his work.

Since ancient times,all successful people have adopted an earnest attitude towards their lives.So long as he lives,a successful person always does his best to work more,learn more and achieve more.He will not live a useless life by idling away his time.This is quite true of the laboring people as well as great statesmen,great thinkers,and the like throughout the past ages.

2004年真题

在人际关系问题上我们不要太浪漫主义。人是很有趣的,往往在接触一个人时首先看到的都是他或她的优点。这一点颇像是在餐馆里用餐的经验。开始吃头盘或冷碟的时候,印象很好。吃头两个主菜时,也是赞不绝口。愈吃愈趋于冷静,吃完了这顿宴席,缺点就都找出来了。于是转喜为怒,转赞美为责备挑剔,转首肯为摇头。这是因为,第 一,开始吃的时候你正处于饥饿状态,而饿了吃糠甜如蜜,饱了吃蜜也不甜 。第二,你初到一个餐馆,开始举筷时有新鲜感,新盖的茅房三天 香,这也可以叫做“陌生化效应”吧。

难点注释:

本篇是有关人际关系的论说文,运用了类比来描写人与人之间的关系,翻译时有一定难度。要正确理解句子之间的逻辑关系,注意句子的衔接与连贯。

(1)第一句可按英语的习惯调整顺序如下:We should not be too romantic on the issue of interpersonal relations.

(2)第二句可根据句子之间的逻辑关系合并,从句用“in that”引导。

(3)“开始吃头盘或冷碟的时候,印象很好”是无主句,翻译时需增添主语“we”,并要注意“印象”和“好”的英语搭配,不用“good”或“well”这样的词来和“impression”搭配,而要用“positively”。

(4)“赞不绝口”是成语,意为“不住口地称赞”,用意译法翻译为“be profuse in praise”或“be full of praise”。

(5)“吃糠甜如蜜,饱了吃蜜也不甜”虽具文化特色,但所进行的比喻在英语文化中也可以理解和接受,所以可以采用直译法。

参考译文:

We should not be too romantic on the issue of interpersonal relations.Human beings are very interesting in that when they get into contact with someone,they tend to see first of all his or her strong points.This much resembles our experience of dining in a restaurant.When we start to eat the first dish or the appetizer,we are very positively impressed.When we eat the first two main courses,we are full of praise on them.Yet as we continue to eat more and more dishes,we become less and less enthusiastic.And when we are through with the dinner,we have found out all the defects.As a result,we become angry instead of being happy;we start to blame and find faults instead of proceeding with praises;we shake our heads instead of nodding.Why?This is because:first,when you begin eating,you are very hungry;for a hungry man,chaff tastes as sweet as honey,while for a man who is full,even honey does not taste sweet at all.

2003年真题

在得病以前,我受父母宠爱,在家中横行霸道,一旦隔离,拘禁在花园山坡上一幢小房子里,顿感被打入冷宫,十分郁郁不得志起来。一个春天的傍晚,园中百花怒放,父母在园中设宴,一时宾客云集,笑语四溢。我在山坡的小屋里,悄悄掀起窗帘,窥见园中大千世界,一片繁华,自己的哥姐,堂表弟兄,也穿插其间,个个喜气洋洋。一霎时,一阵被人摈弃、为世所遗忘的悲愤兜上心头,禁不住痛哭起来。

难点注释:

本篇属于记叙文,叙述作者童年时代的一段经历,语言精炼,感情色彩浓厚。句子理解不难,但四字词组多,给翻译造成了一定的难度。翻译时,注意句与句之间的关系。

(1)第一句较长,可先用分译法,从“横行霸道”处,分成两句翻译。“横行霸道”原意是依仗权势为非作歹,但在本文中是形容小孩子的夸张说法,可以译为“could have my way”。“冷宫”是中国文化特色词汇,原指失宠后妃的居处,现指被人忽略或遗忘了的地方或状态,需意译,可译为“I suddenly felt I was neglected”。“郁郁不得志”是成语,意为“忧伤、愁闷的样子”,可选用“depressed”或“frustrated”等词。

(2)第二句中的分句很多,可用分句法,从“设宴”后分成两句。但也可通过理解分句之间的关系,适当增补连接词来翻译成一句话。先确立句子的主干是“父母……设宴”,“一个春天的傍晚”和“园中百花怒放”是状语,“一时宾客云集”和主干部分并列连接。

分句法参考译文:One spring evening,my parents held a Banquet in the garden,where all sorts of flowers were in full bloom.In no time,a crowd of their guests collected and laughter was heard all over there.

合句法参考译文:One spring evening,when all sorts of flowers were in full bloom in the garden,my parents held a banquet,and in no time,a crowd of their guests collected,whose laughter was heard all over there.

(3)“大千世界,一片繁华”,两个四字词组连用,但表达的意思相近,都是描写热闹的场景,可选用“bustling”和“exciting”来翻译。

(4)“被人摈弃、为世所遗忘”意思重复,翻译成英语时,要注意避免,可译成“being deserted”。

参考译文:

Before I fell ill,I had been spoiled by my parents,and I could have my way at home.Once I was isolated and confined in a chamber on the hillside of the garden,I suddenly felt I was neglected and became very depressed.One spring evening,my parents held a banquet in the garden,where all sorts of flowers were in full bloom.In no time,a crowd of their guests collected and laughter was heard all over there.I,without being noticed,lifted the curtain in my small room,only to catch sight of a bustling and exciting world down in the garden,where my elder sisters,brothers and my cousins,each full of the joys of spring,were shuttling among the guests.Quickly enough,seized by the anger of being deserted by all the people and the world,I could not help crying my heart out.

2002年真题

大自然对人的恩赐,无论贫富,一律平等。所以人们对于大自然,全都一致并深深地依赖着。尤其在乡间,上千年来人们一直以不变的方式生活着。种植庄稼和葡萄,酿酒和饮酒,喂牛和挤奶,锄草和栽花;在周末去教堂祈祷和做礼拜;在节日到广场拉琴、跳舞、唱歌;往日的田园依旧是今日的温馨家园。这样,每个地方都有自己的传说,风俗也就衍传了下来。

难点注释:

本篇为论说文,阐述大自然与人。句子短小精悍,结构较简单。翻译时注意根据短句之间的关系,适当合译,用复合句表达原文意思。

(1)第一句需语序调整,把“无论贫富”翻译成条件状语从句,放在句末。

(2)“种植庄稼和葡萄,酿酒和饮酒,喂牛和挤奶,锄草和栽花”是无主句,可根据上文增补主语“they”,然后用并列谓语来处理之后列举的人们的行为。

(3)“做礼拜”意为“go to church”,所以应和“祈祷”调换位置,翻译为“go to church and pray”显得更为自然.

(4)“田园”可译为“rural farms”。

参考译文:

Nature endows all people with the same favor,whether they are rich or poor.Therefore,all people alike are dependent on nature equally profoundly.This is particularly true of rural people,who have lived an unchanged life for nearly a thousand years in the country.They grow crops and grapes,make wine to drink,raise cattle and milk cows,weed gardens and plant flowers.At weekend,they go to church to pray.During holidays,they go to open squares, where they play musical instruments,dance and sing songs.Rural farms of the past continue to be their sweet homeland.Thus,each place has had its own legends,by which customs have passed down from generation to generation.

2001年真题

乔羽的歌大家都熟悉。但他另外两大爱好却鲜为人知,那就是钓鱼和喝酒。

晚年的乔羽喜爱垂钓,他说:“有水有鱼的地方大都是有好环境的,好环境便会给人好心情。我认为最好的钓鱼场所不是舒适的、给你准备好饿鱼的垂钓园,而是那极其有吸引力的大自然野外天成的场所 。”钓鱼是一项能够陶冶性情的运动,有益于身心健康。乔羽说:“钓鱼可分三个阶段:第一阶段是吃鱼;第二阶段是吃鱼和情趣兼而有之;第三阶段主要是钓趣,面对一池碧水,将忧心烦恼全都抛在一边,使自己的身心得到充分休息 。”

难点注释:

本篇是散文,描写人物,语言较为口语化。翻译时,注意用符合英语习惯的句子结构表达,不受汉语结构的影响。

(1)翻译“有水有鱼的地方大都是有好环境的,好环境便会给人好心情”时,可先将两个分句并列连接,第一部分的主干部分是“有好环境”,用“there be”句型,“有水有鱼的地方”翻译为地点状语从句,用“where”引导。“好环境便会给人好心情”中,“给”不可直接译为“give”,要注意搭配,可译为“fills one’s heart with joy”或“keep people in a good mood”。

(2)根据上下文,“垂钓园”应该是指人工建造的钓鱼场所,所以译为“man-made fish-pond”,那么,下文的“大自然野外天成的场所”就可译为“naturally-formed places in the wild”.

(3)“陶冶性情”可翻译为“improve one’s temperament”。

(4)“钓鱼可分三个阶段”可翻译为“Fishing falls into three stages”。

(5)“面对一池碧水,将忧心烦恼全都抛在一边,使自己的身心得到充分休息”是无主句,翻译时增补主语“one”,可以灵活地将“抛”翻译作“forget”。

参考译文:

Qiao Yu took to fishing in his old age.He said:“Where there is fish and water,there is a good environment,and a good environment fills one’s heart with joy.I think the best place for fishing is not a comfortable man-made fish-pond where hungry fish are provided for you,but an enchanting naturally-formed place in the wild.”Fishing is a game that can help improve one’s temperament.It is good for mental and bodily health.Qiao Yu said:“Fishing falls into three stages.The first stage is just for eating fish.The second stage is for enjoying the pleasure of fishing as well as eating fish.The third stage is mainly for the pleasure of fishing.Facing apool of green water,one can forget all anxieties and worries and relax himself fully,both mentally and physically.”

2000年真题

中国科技馆的诞生来之不易。与国际著名科技馆和其他博物馆相比,它先天有些不足,后天也常缺乏营养,但是它成长的步伐却是坚实而有力的。它在国际上已被公认为后起之秀。

世界上第一代博物馆属于自然博物馆,它是通过化石,标本等向人们介绍地球和各种生物的演化历史。第二代属于工业技术博物馆,它 所展示的是工业文明带来的各种阶段性结果。这两代博物馆虽然起到了传播科学知识的作用,但是,它们把参观者当成了被动的旁观者。

世界上第三代博物馆是充满全新理念的博物馆。在这里,观众可以自己去动手操作,自己细心体察。这样,他们可以更贴近先进的科学技术,去探索科学技术的奥妙。

中国科技馆正是这样的博物馆!它汲取了国际上一些著名博物馆的长处,设计制作了力学、光学、电学、热学、声学、生物学等展品,展示了科学的原理和先进的科技成果。

难点注释:

本篇属于介绍性的说明文,描述了各代博物馆的不同之处,语言条理清楚,但长句多,生词较多,翻译有一定难度。

(1)第一句的翻译可采用断句法,从“自然博物馆”后断成两句话。也可将逗号后的部分翻译成非限定性的定语从句。要注意“属于”不可翻译作“belong to”,原文所表达的是第一代博物馆“是”自然博物馆。“它是通过化石、标本等向人们介绍地球和各种生物的演化历史”的主干部分是“它……介绍……历史”。

分句法参考译文:The first-generation museums in the world are museums of natural history.With fossils and specimens they introduce to people the evolution of the earth and various living organisms on it.

合句法参考译文:The first-generation museums in the world are museums of natural history,which introduce to people the evolution of the earth and various living organisms on it through fossils and specimens.

(2)“阶段性结果”可译为“achievements at various stages”。

(3)“被动的旁观者”可直译为“passive spectators”。

(4)“充满全新理念的博物馆”可理解为“以全新的理念而设计的博物馆”,翻译为“museums designed with new concepts”。

(5)“动手操作”可增补宾语“exhibits”。

参考译文:

The first-generation museums in the world are museums of natural history.With fossils and specimens they introduce to people the evolution of the earth and various living organisms on it.The second-generation museums are those of industrial technologies.Achievements at various stages of industrial civilization are on display here.Although these two generations of museums have played the role of spreading scientific knowledge,they regard visitors as passive spectators.

The world’s third-generation museums are those designed with new concepts.Here visitors can operate the exhibits with their own hands and observe with their own eyes.In this way they come closer to advanced achievements in science and technology to probe their mystery.

3.2 英译汉历年真题

2010年真题

I thought that it was a Sunday morning in May,that it was Easter Sunday,and as yet very early in the morning.I was standing at the door of my own cottage.Right before me lay the very scene which could really be commanded from that situation,but exalted,as was usual,and solemnized by the power of dreams.There were the same mountains,and the same lovely valley at their feet;but the mountains were raised to more than Alpine height,and there was interspace far larger between them of meadows and forest lawns;the hedges were rich with white roses;and no living creature was to be seen except that in the green churchyard there were cattle tranquilly reposing upon the graves,and particularly round about the grave of a child whom I had tenderly loved,just as I had really seen them,a little before sunrise in the same summer,when that child died.

难点注释:

这段材料选自Confessions of an English Opium Eater(文字略有改动),作者托马斯·德·昆西(Thomas De Quincey,1785-1859),英国著名散文家和批评家,被誉为“少有的英语文体大师”,作品受到D·H·劳伦斯及弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫等诸多后世文坛大家的赞誉。这段文字实际上描写的是一梦境片段,以追忆梦境入笔,以缅怀思念逝去的孩子结束,文字沉郁,感情深切。因为描写的是梦境片段,加上句子较长,结构比较复杂,翻译起来有一定的难度。

(1)第一句:I thought that it was a Sunday morning in May,that it was Easter Sunday,and as yet very early in the morning.其中的Easter是指复活节(主复活日),它是西方的一个重要节日,在每年春分月圆之后第一个星期日,纪念耶稣基督于公元30到33年之间被钉死在十字架之后第三天复活的日子。基督徒认为,复活节象征着重生与希望。

(2)第三句:Right before me lay the very scene which could really be commanded from that situation,but exalted,as was usual,and solemnized by the power of dreams.这是个倒装句,主语the very scene带有一个which引导的定语从句,其中又有个表示转折的并列句,but后面省略了“was”。这句话的理解难点首先在于command和situation。根据语境situation是“位置”的意思,“那个位置”就是“我”站的位置;command是“俯视”之意。其次,如何表达exalted和solemnized。从上下文可以得知,现实中的景物出现在“我”的梦境中,但是又和现实中有所不同,在这里可以译为“更庄严肃穆”。

(3)第四句很长,从“There were the same mountains,...”一直到结束。不过中间几个分号,可以作为断句的依据。其中第二个分句but the mountains were raised to more than Alpine height,and there was interspace far larger between them of meadows and forest lawns中,“of meadows and forest lawns”用以限定“interspace”,“between them”是嵌入状语。最后一个分句“and no living creature was to be seen except that in the green churchyard there were cattle tranquilly reposing upon the graves,and particularly round about the grave of a child whom I had tenderly loved,just as I had really seen them,a little before sunrise in the same summer,when that child died.”中,no living creature was to be seen是主句,except that引导一个状语从句。“and particularly round about the grave of a child”如果直译为“(牛群)尤其围绕在一个小孩的墓地的周围”,语义不太通顺,可以换个主语,译成“好几头围绕着一个小孩的坟墓”。

参考译文:

我想那是五月间的一个星期天清晨;那天是复活节,天色还很早。我站在自家小屋的门口。展现在面前的,正是那一片可以一览无余的景色,可是像往常一样,这番景象因梦幻的力量而显得庄严肃穆。山还是那些山,山脚下也同样是那条秀美的山谷;不过梦中的山显得比阿尔卑斯山更高,山与山之间的距离显得更遥远,其间草地绵延,林地开阔;树篱上开满了白色的玫瑰;远近看不见任何生物,只有满眼绿色的教堂庭院里,有一群牛静静地卧在坟墓周围歇息,好几头围绕着一个小孩的坟墓。我曾温柔地爱过这个孩子,他是那个夏天在太阳升起前一刻死去的,我望着牛群,就如同当年那样。

2009年真题

We,the human species,are confronting aplanetary emergency—a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential even as we gather here.But there is hopeful news as well:we have the ability to solve this crisis and avoid the worst—though not all—of its consequences,if we act boldly,decisively and quickly.

However,too many of the world’s leaders are still best described in the words of Winston Churchill applied to those who ignored Adolf Hitler’s threat:“They go on in strange paradox,decided only to be undecided,resolved to be irresolute,all powerful to be impotent.”

So today,we dumped another 70million tons of global-warming pollution into the thin shell of atmosphere surrounding our planet,as if it were an open sewer.And tomorrow,we will dump a slightly larger amount,with the cumulative concentrations now trapping more and more heat from the sun.

难点注释:

这段材料选自美国前副总统戈尔在接受诺贝尔和平奖时的发言。艾伯特·阿诺德·戈尔(Albert Arnold Al Gore,Jr.)于1993年至2001年间在比尔·克林顿执政时担任美国第45任副总统,其后成为一名国际上著名的环境学家。由于在环球气候变化与环境问题上的贡献,与政府间气候变化专门委员会共同获得2007年度诺贝尔和平奖。文章语言平实,用词难度适中,但句子结构较复杂,翻译时注意理解。

(1)第一段第一句:We,the human species,are confronting a planetary emergency—a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential even as we gather here.该句中,破折号之后的中心词“a threat”是“aplanetary emergency”的同位语;“a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential even as we gather here”中,“that”引导的定语从句修饰“a threat”。

(2)第一段第二句:But there is hopeful news as well:we have the ability to solve this crisis and avoid the worst—though not all—of its consequences,if we act boldly,decisively and quickly.该句中冒号之后的部分相当于“news”的同位语,条件状语从句按照汉语习惯放在主句之前翻译:“如果行动大胆果断,反应迅速,我们有能力解决这场危机,尽管不能解决所有问题,但能避免最坏的结果”。

(3)第二段:However,too many of the world’s leaders are still best described in the words of Winston Churchill applied to those who ignored Adolf Hitler’s threat:“They go on in strange paradox,decided only to be undecided,resolved to be irresolute,all powerful to be impotent.”该句可分成两部分来理解。第一部分到冒号为止,这一部分比较难处理的是“the words”后面的长定语,因为其意思环环相扣,可译成一句:“当年温斯顿·丘吉尔批评欧洲政要忽视阿道夫·希特勒将带来威胁的名言”,也可拆成两句:“当今世界上的许多国家领导人可以用当年温斯顿·丘吉尔批评欧洲政要的一番话来形容,当时他们无视阿道夫·希特勒将带来的威胁”,读上去更自然一些,不过意思不如前句紧凑;后一部分为引号中的内容,这部分要注意三个并列词组的翻译,要译出其矛盾之处。

(4)最后一段中,“global-warming pollution”意思是“引起全球气温变暖的污染”,众所周知,导致气候变暖的罪魁祸首是排入大气的废气,所以在这里可译为“废气”或“温室气体”以求简洁。

参考译文:

我们人类正面临全球性的危机,一场关于人类文明能否延续的危机;此刻我们聚在一起共商对策,而威胁却在扩大,形势不容乐观。但也有令人欣慰的消息:如果行动大胆果断,反应迅速,我们有能力解决这场危机,虽然不能解决所有问题,但能避免最坏的结果。

然而,当今世界上的许多国家领导人可以用当年温斯顿·丘吉尔批评欧洲政要的一番话来形容,当时他们无视阿道夫·希特勒将带来的威胁:“他们在奇怪的悖论中前行,作出决定却犹疑不定,下定决心却犹豫不决,十分强大却无能为力。”

而如今我们又向这个星球脆弱的大气层倾倒了七千万吨的温室气体,把其当作天然排污口。明天我们还会变本加厉,堆积的温室气体留住了越来越多的太阳热量。

2008年真题

But,as has been true in many other cases,when they were at last married,the most ideal of situations was found to have been changed to the most practical.Instead of having shared their original duties,and as school-boys would say,going halves,they discovered that the cares of life had been doubled.This led to some distressing moments for both our friends;they understood suddenly that instead of dwelling in heaven they were still upon earth,and had made themselves slaves to new laws and limitations.Instead of being freer and happier than ever before,they had assumed new responsibilities;they had established a new household,and must fulfill in some way or another the obligations of it.They looked back with affection to their engagement;they had been longing to have each other to themselves,apart from the world,but it seemed they never felt so keenly that they were still units in modern society.

难点注释:

这段材料选自美国小说家萨拉·奥恩·朱厄特的短文“The New Life”。萨拉·奥恩·朱厄特笔下的女主人公具有很强的独立意识,个性鲜明,深受女权主义者的喜爱。这段文字描述了女性在婚后的感受和对婚姻的思考。文章用词难度适中,句子结构并不复杂,翻译时要注意被动语态的处理。

(1)第一句:But,as has been true in many other cases,when they were at last married,the most ideal of situations was found to have been changed to the most practical.本句的主句是被动语态,根据汉语习惯,需译成主动语态。“the most ideal of situations”可译为“最为憧憬的生活”,“the most practical”可译为“最为实际的现实”。

(2)第二句:Instead of having shared their original duties,and as school-boys would say,going halves,they discovered that the cares of life had been doubled.这句话的前半部分是介词词组“instead of”引导的状语,其中的“as school-boys would say”是个插入语;“going halves”表示“一半一半,对半开”。句子主干“they discovered that the cares of life had been doubled”中包含一个宾语从句,“the cares of life”是指“生活中需要操心的事”。

(3)第三句:This led to some distressing moments for both our friends;they understood suddenly that instead of dwelling in heaven they were still upon earth,and had made themselves slaves to new laws and limitations.本句中,“both our friends”是指上文中提到的刚结婚的那一对新人,名词词组“some distressing moments”最好转化为动词:“……时常觉得沮丧”。“made themselves slave to”是常见词组,意为“使自己成为……的奴隶”。

(4)最后一句:They looked back with affection to their engagement;they had been longing to have each other to themselves,apart from the world,but it seemed they never felt so keenly that they were still units in modern society.句中的“apart from the world”是插入成分,可译为“远离尘世”;“longing to have each other to themselves”表示渴望彼此只拥有对方,“units”可译为“一份子”。

参考译文:

但是,正如许多其他情形一样,当他们最终结婚后,发现最憧憬的生活变得再实际不过了。他们非但没有分担各自原先的责任——正如那些学生们所说“一半一半”——相反却发现生活的负担加倍了。这使得我们那两个结婚的朋友觉得郁闷;他们突然发现自己并没有过着天堂般的生活,而是仍实实在在地生活在地球上,而且成为了新规则和新约束的奴隶。生活并没有比以前更自由、更幸福,因为他们要承担新的责任。既然成立了一个新的家庭,那就无论如何也要尽一点家庭的义务。他们深情地回想起订婚的那段时光,曾经如此地渴望拥有彼此而忘掉这个世界,然而现在最深切的感受却是自己仍是这个世界的一份子。

2007年真题

Scientific and technological advances are enabling us to comprehend the furthest reaches of the cosmos,the most basic constituents of matter,and the miracle of life.

At the same time,today,the actions,and inaction,of human beings imperil not only life on the planet,but the very life of the planet.

Globalization is making the world smaller,faster and richer.Still,9·11and avian flu remind us that a smaller,faster world is not necessarily a safer world.

Our world is bursting with knowledge—but desperately in need of wisdom.Now,when sound bites are getting shorter,when instant messages crowd out essays,and when individual lives grow more crazy,college graduates capable of deep reflection are what our world needs.

For all these reasons I believed—and I believe even more strongly today—in the unique and irreplaceable mission of universities.

难点注释:

这篇翻译材料选自2006年6月30日哈佛大学校长劳伦斯·萨默斯的演讲稿“Good Bye and Good Luck。”演讲稿语言平实,用词难度适中,句子结构也比较简单,翻译时注意译文准确通顺。

(1)第一段:Scientific and technological advances are enabling us to comprehend the furthest reaches of the cosmos,the most basic constituents of matter,and the miracle of life.这个长句结构简单,不定式包括三个并列宾语,前两个宾语都带有形容词的最高级形式。“the furthest reaches of the cosmos”中的“reach”是名词,表示“距离,范围”,“the furthest reaches”可译作“边陲”。

(2)第二段:At the same time,today,the actions,and inaction,of human beings imperil not only life on the planet,but the very life of the planet.这句话的主语是“the actions and inactions”,可译为“人类的作为和不作为”,或者“人类所做的事和没能做的事”。

(3)第四段第二句:Now,when sound bites are getting shorter,when instant messages crowd out essays,and when individual lives grow more frenzied,college graduates capable of deep reflection are what our world needs.这是个长句,其中有三个“when”引导的时间状语从句,“college graduates capable of deep reflection are what our world needs”是主句。“sound bites”是个较生僻的术语,也是这篇翻译的一个难点,它的意思是“新闻采访中的原声摘要”。“crowd out”原意是“把……挤走”,这里可引申为“把……淘汰掉”。

(4)最后一段:For all these reasons I believed—and I believe even more strongly today—in the unique and irreplaceable mission of universities.“for”在这里是“鉴于,因为”的意思,破折号之间是插入语,“believe in the unique and irreplaceable mission of universities.”译为“相信大学独特的、无可取代的使命”不太符合汉语逻辑,最好加上一个动词,译为“相信大学具有独特的、无法取代的使命。”

参考译文:

科技进步正在使我们能够探索宇宙的边陲、物质最基本的成分及生命的奇迹。

与此同时,今天,人类所做的及没能做到的事情,不仅危害到这个星球上的生命,也危害到这个星球本身的寿命。

全球化正在使地球变得愈来愈小、愈来愈快和愈来愈富有。尽管如此,9·11事件及禽流感提醒我们,更小更快的世界决不意味着更安全的世界。

我们正处于一个知识爆炸的世界,不过,这个世界迫切需要智慧。现在,在新闻采访的原声摘要播出变得愈来愈短,即时信息淘汰了杂记文章,个人生活变得癫狂之际,这个世界还是需要能够深思的大学生。

考虑到这些理由,我过去相信、如今甚至更加强烈地相信大学具有独特的、无可取代的使命。

2006年真题

On May 13,1940,Winston Churchill,the newly appointed British Prime Minister,gave his first speech to Parliament;he was preparing the people for a long battle against Nazi aggression,at a time when England’s survival was still in doubt.

I have nothing to offer but blood,toil,tears and sweat.We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind.We have before us many,many months of struggle and suffering.

You ask,what is our policy?I say it is to wage war by land,sea and air.War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us,and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime.

You ask,what is our aim?I can answer in one word.It is victory.Victory at all costs—victory in spite of all terrors—for without victorythere is no survival.

Let that be realized.No survival for the British Empire,no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for,no survival for the urge,the impulse of the ages,that mankind shall move forward toward his goal.

I take my task in buoyancy and hope.I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men.I feel entitled at this juncture,at this time,to claim the aid of all and to say,“Come then,let us go forward together with our united strength.”

难点注释:

这是英国前首相温斯顿·丘吉尔于1940年5月13日的就职演说辞,题目是:“Blood,Toil,Tears,and Sweat”。在演说中,丘吉尔号召全体民众从海陆空三方全面开战,夺取对敌斗争的胜利。该演讲语言精炼,含义深刻,催人奋进,充分展现了丘吉尔作为著名演说家的才能。翻译时要力求体现原文的语言风格,传达其鼓动人心的气势。

(1)第一段不要求翻译。第二段由三个句子构成:I have nothing to offer but blood,toil,tears and sweat.We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind.We have before us many,many months of struggle and suffering.每个句子都短小精悍,用词简洁。其中后两个句子具有相同的主语、谓语和状语,能够更好地渲染气氛,引起听众的情感共鸣。翻译的时候可考虑保留原文的重复:“在我们面前,是一场极其严酷的考验;在我们面前,是一场旷日持久的斗争和苦难。”

(2)第三段:You ask,what is our policy?I say it is to wage war by land,sea and air.War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us,and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime.这一段由两个短句和一个长句组成,在长句中有一个名词短语“War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us,”和一个不定式结构“to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime,”进一步说明和强调以什么方式去作战,去和什么样的敌人作战。

两个短句中第一句是问句,第二句是回答,也是这段要表达的核心意思,可译为“你若问……?我的回答是……”

(3)第四段“You ask,what is our aim?I can answer in one word.It is victory.Victory at all costs—victory in spite of all terrors—for without victory there is no survival.”重复了第三段的结构,在翻译的时候,措词尽量和上一段保持一致。

(4)第五段“Let that be realized.No survival for the British Empire,no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for,no survival for the urge,the impulse of the ages,that mankind shall move forward toward his goal.”这一段由一个简单句和一个包含由三个省略句组成的排比结构的复杂长句构成。简单句中的“that”是指前一段提到的“aim”,而且其中的被动语态最好转化成主动语态,译成:我们一定要实现这个目标。后面的三个“no survival for...”构成的排比结构呼应了上一段的最后一句,而且句子由短变长,含义越来越深刻,气势越来越强烈。翻译时最好把省略的部分补充出来,译为:“没有什么……就……”。

参考译文:

我所能奉献的唯有热血、辛劳、眼泪和汗水。在我们面前,是一场极其严酷的考验;在我们面前,是一场旷日持久的斗争和苦难。

你若问,我们的政策是什么?我的回答是:在陆上、海上、空中作战。尽我们的全力,尽上帝赋予我们的全部力量去作战,对人类黑暗可悲的罪恶史上空前凶残的暴政作战。

你若问,我们的目标是什么?我可以用一个词来回答,那就是胜利。不惜一切代价,去夺取胜利——不惧一切恐怖,去夺取胜利——因为没有胜利就不能生存。

我们一定要实现这一目标,因为没有胜利就不复有大英帝国,没有胜利就不复有大英帝国所代表的一切,没有胜利就不复有多少世纪以来人类向自己的目标迈进的强烈要求和冲动。

2005年真题

It is simple enough to say that since books have classes—fiction,biography,poetry—we should separate them and take from each what it is right that each should give us.Yet few people ask from books what books can give us.Most commonly we come to books with blurred and divided minds,asking of fiction that it shall be true,of poetry that it shall be false,of biography that it shall be flattering,of history that it shall enforce our own prejud ices.If we could banish all such preconceptions when we read,that would be an admirable beginning.Do not dictate to your author;tryto become him.Be his fellow-worker and accomplice.If you hang back,and reserve and criticize at first,you are preventing yourself from gettingthe fullest possible value from what you read.But if you open your mind as widely as possible,then signs and hints of almost imperceptible fineness,from the twist and turn of the first sentences,will bring you into the presence of a human being unlike any other.Steep yourself in this,acquaint yourself with this,and soon you will find that your author is giving you,or attempting to give you,something far more definite.

难点注释:

这段材料选自 英国著名作家和文学评论家弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫的散文“How Should One Read a Book?”文章主要谈了应当如何读书这个问题,告诫人们在读书时应摒弃成见,成为作者的同道,这样才能最大限度地从书中获益。文章语言流畅,用词难度适中,句子结构也并不复杂。翻译时要注意个别短语和词组的理解。

(1)这段材料总共一段。第二句“Yet few people ask from books what books can give us.”中,“ask”和它的宾语从句“what books can give us”被介词词组“from books”隔开,这句话的意思是“然而,很少有人要去从书中得到书所能提供的东西。”

(2)第三句“Most commonly we come to books with blurred and divided minds,asking of fiction that it shall be true,of poetry that it shall be false,of biography that it shall be flattering,of history that it shall enforce our own prejudices.”是个长句,其主干是“we come to books with blurred and divided minds”,“asking of fiction that...”是伴随状语,其中“that”引导的从句是“ask”的宾语从句,“of books”是状语。一共有四个结构相同的伴随形式,后面三个省略了“ask”。翻译的时候要注意体现原文句式的特点。

(3)第七句“If you hang back,and reserve and criticize at first,you are preventing yourself from getting the fullest possible value from what you read.”其中,“hang back”表示“犹豫,畏缩不前”,这里可以译为“刻意与作者拉开距离”,“reserve”表示“持保留意见”,“getting the fullest possible value from what you read”可译为“最大限度地从书中获益”。

(4)最后一句“But if you open your mind as widely as possible,then signs and hints of almost imperceptible fineness,from the twist and turn of the first sentences,will bring you into the presence of a human being unlike any other.”是一个带有条件状语从句“If you open your mind as widely as possible”的长句,整个句子的主语是“signs and hints of almost imperceptible fineness”,意思是“极其细微、几乎难以觉察的迹象和暗示”;“will bring you into the presence of a human being unlike any other”是整个句子的谓语部分,可译为“会把你带入一个与众不同的人的精神世界。”

参考译文:

然而,很少有人想要从书中得到它们所能提供的东西。我们常常带着模糊不清、互相矛盾的想法打开书本,期望小说要真实,诗歌要虚构,传记要美化,史书要增强一已之见。如果我们读书时能摒弃所有这些成见,那将是一个可喜的开端。不要对作者指手划脚,而应试着设身处地,做作者的同道和“同谋”。若是一开始便拉开距离,持保留意见,甚至批评挑剔,你就不可能最大限度地从所读的书中获益,但是,如果你能尽可能敞开心扉,那么,从开篇那几行曲折婉转的文字中显现出来的微妙表达和深意,会把你带到一个与众不同的人的精神世界。

2004年真题

For me the most interesting thing about a solitary life,and mine has been that for the last twenty years,is that it becomes increasingly rewarding.When I can wake up and watch the sun rise over the ocean,as I do most days,and know that I have an entire day ahead,uninterrupted,in which to write a few pages,take a walk with my dog,read and listen to music,I am flooded with happiness.

I am lonely only when I am overtired,when I have worked too long without a break,when for the time being I feel emptyand need filling up.And I am lonelysometimes when I come back home after a lecture trip,when I have seen a lot of people and talked a lot,and am full to the brim with experience that needs to be sorted out.

Then for a little while the house feels huge and empty,and I wonder where my self is hiding.It has to be recaptured slowly by watering the plants and,perhaps,by looking again at each one as though it were a person.

It takes a while,as I watch the surf blowing up in fountain,but the moment comes when the world falls away,and the self emerges again from the deep unconscious,bringing back all I have recently experienced to be explored and slowlyunderstood.

难点注释:

这段材料文学性强,描述了作者在纷繁忙碌的世界中感受自我的情景。文章语言质朴,用词难度适中,句子结构变化丰富,翻译时要注意遣词造句,以译出其文学味。

(1)第二段第一句“I am lonely only when I am overtired,when I have worked too long without a break,when for the time being I feel empty and need filling up.”中,有三个“when”引导的时间状语从句,按照汉语表达习惯,通常需要放在主句的前面,并且为避免语言的拖沓,三个“when I”可以合并翻译,并添加“或者”等连词来衔接。

(2)第二段第二句“And I am lonely sometimes when I come back home after a lecture trip,when I have seen a lot of people and talked a lot,and am full to the brim with experience that needs to be sorted out.”结构同上句,由主句和时间状语从句构成。“and am full to the brim with experience that needs to be sorted out”意思是“满脑子都是需要梳理的感受”。

(3)第三段第二句“It has to be recaptured slowly by watering the plants and,perhaps,by looking again at each one as though it were a person.”中,“it”指代“my self”,“each one”指代“each plant”。该句使用了被动语态,注意不要译得太生硬,可以译为“自我才能渐渐找回”,或者转化成主动语态:我才能渐渐找回自我。

(4)最后一段是个长句:It takes a while,as I watch the surf blowing up in fountain,but the moment comes when the world falls away,and the self emerges again from the deep unconscious,bringing back all I have recently experienced to be explored and slowly understood.这个句子由一个从句“as I watch the surf blowing up in fountain”和两个主句“It takes a while”、“but the moment comes”构成,第二个主句中又有一个“when”引导的时间状语从句。

参考译文:

只有在过度疲劳,长时间工作没有休息,或者内心空虚需要充实的时候,我才会感到孤独。有时,外出讲学回家,或者见了很多人、说了很多话,满脑子感受需要梳理的时候,我也会孤独。

一时之间,房子显得大而空旷,我不知自我潜藏何处。只有去浇浇花草,或许再注目每一株花草,视其为人,自我才能慢慢重新找回。

找回自我需要一些时间。不过,在我看着水浪如喷泉般喷涌而出时,这样的时刻还是到来了。这时,世界隐退,自我从深藏的潜意识中浮现,带回我最近的经历,那些有待探索、需要慢慢细究的经历。

2003年真题

In his classic novel,“The Pioneers”,James Fenimore Cooper has his hero,a land developer,take his cousin on a tour of the city he is building.He describes the broad streets,rows of houses,a teeming metropolis.But his cousin looks around bewildered.All she sees is a forest.“Where are the beauties and improvements which you were to show me?”she asks.He’s astonished she can’t see them.“Where!Why everywhere,”he replies.For though they are not yet built on earth,he has built them in his mind,and they are as concrete to him as if they were already constructed and finished.

Cooper was illustrating a distinctly American trait,futuremindedness:the ability to see the present from the vantage point of the future;the freedom to feel unencumbered by the past and more emotionally attached to things to come.As Albert Einstein once said,“Life for the American is always becoming,never being.”

难点注释:

这篇文字主要说明了美国人着眼未来这一鲜明的特点。文章语言平实,几乎没有大词、难词,句型也不复杂,理解应该没有什么困难,但在表达时要注意一些细节,比如代词的处理,其中的对话也要注意译出其语气。

(1)第一段第一句:In his classic novel,“The Pioneers”,James Fenimore Cooper has his hero,a land developer,take his cousin on a tour of the city he is building.这句的主要结构是“has sb.do sth.”。“land developer”,土地开发商,是hero的同位语。“hero”在这里不能理解为“英雄”,而是“主人公”的意思。

James Fenimore Cooper,詹姆斯·费尼莫尔·库柏,美国作家,代表作有反映边疆生活的《皮袜子故事集》五部曲,对美国的西部小说产生很大影响。

(2)第一段第二句中,“the broad streets,rows of houses,a teeming metropolis”在结构上是并列的,但在逻辑上,“a teeming metropolis”是个整体概念,所以在翻译时最好加译为“俨然一座熙熙攘攘的大都市”。

(3)第一段第五句:“Where are the beauties and improvements which you were to show me?”she asks.这一句的翻译要注意添加适当的语气词,其中的“beauties”和“improvements”要化抽象为具体,译作“美景和改造过的地方”。

(4)第一段第六句“He’s astonished she can’t see them.”的翻译要注意代词的处理。“他很惊讶她看不到它们”听上去有些别扭,因为一连重复了三个“ta”,所以在翻译的时候,有的要省略,有的要还原。这句话可以译为:表妹居然看不见,开发商感到很诧异。

(5)第二段第一句“Cooper was illustrating a distinctly American trait,future-mindedness:the ability to see the present from the vantage point of the future;the freedom to feel unencumbered by the past and more emotionally attached to things to come.”是作者要表达的中心意思。其中,“was illustrating”是个进行时态,但显然不宜译成“正在描述”,可译成“在这里描述的是”以体现其时态意义。“future mindedness”是“American trait”的同位语,而冒号之后的部分作“future mindedness”的同位语,进一步解释了美国人的未来意识的具体含义。两个名词“ability”、“freedom”之后都有较长的定语,为避免句子头重脚轻,翻译的时候可以转化成动词,“能够从未来的高度看待现在,可以免受过去的束缚并在情感上更加亲近未来”。

(6)第二段第二句:As Albert Einstein once said,“Life for the American is always becoming,never being.”这句话比较难译的是两个动词:becoming和being,一个表示动态,一个表示静态,翻译的时候可以发挥创造性,比如可译作:“对美国人来说,生活总是进取,而非守成。”或者,“生活总是将来时,而非现在时。”等等。

参考译文:

詹姆斯·费尼莫尔·库珀在其经典小说《拓荒者》中,描述了主人公——一位土地开发商——带着他表妹游览一座由他承建的城市的情景。开发商向表妹描绘了宽阔的街道、成排的房屋,俨然一座熙来攘往的大都市。但他表妹却环顾四周,一脸迷茫,她所看到的只是一片森林。于是她问:“你要给我看的美景和改观在哪里啊?”开发商很惊讶,表妹居然什么都看不到,便回答说:“哪里?这不到处都是嘛。”因为尽管这些东西还没有在大地上建成,他却早已在心中构想好了。对他来说,它们真实而具体,仿佛早已建成完工。

库珀在这里揭示了一种美国人独有的特征,即未来意识:他们能够站在未来的高度来看现在的一切;能够摆脱过去的束缚而更加心系未来。正如埃尔伯特·爱因斯坦曾言:“对美国人来说,生活总是在发展变化,从来不会静止不动。”

2002年真题

The word“winner”and“loser”have many meanings.When we refer to a person as a winner,we do not mean one who makes someone else to lose.To us,a winner is one who responds authentically by being credible,trustworthy,responsive,and genuine,both as an individual and as a member of a society.

Winners do not dedicate their lives to a concept of what they imagine they should be;rather,theyare themselves and as such do not use their energy putting on a performance,maintaining pretence,and manipulating others.They are aware that there is difference between being loving and acting loving,between being stupid and acting stupid,between being knowdedgeable and acting knowledgeable.Winners do not need to hide behind a mask.

Winners are not afraid to do their own thinkingand to use their own knowledge.They can separate facts from opinions and don’t pretend to have all the answers.They listen to others,evaluate what they say,but come to their own conclusions.Although winners can admire and respect other people,they are not totally defined,demolished,bound,or awed bythem.

Winners do not play“helpless”,nor do they play the blaming game.Instead,they assume responsibilityfor their lives.

难点注释:

这是一篇文字优美、富有哲理的论说文,用词难度适中。除个别句子外,大部分句子结构都比较简单。文章多用排比(parallelism)和对比(contrast)的修辞手段,翻译时要注意结构的平衡。

(1)第二段第一句“Winners do not dedicate their lives to a concept of what they imagine they should be;rather,they are themselves and as such do not use their energy putting on a performance,maintaining pretence,and manipulating others.”比较长,以“rather”为界,包含两层意思。翻译时要注意断句以使表达更自然。

上半句中“what they imagine they should be”是介词“of”的宾语从句,用来说明“concept”一词。如果把上半句直译成“成功者不会毕生致力于他们所想像他们应该成为某种人的概念”,有些长,所以可分为两句,译作:成功者不会毕生致力于这样一种概念:即想象自己应该成为何种人。

下半句中的“as such”是“就以这种身份(此处指胜者);像胜者那样”之意,这句话可以这样理解:成功者如何保持本色?那就是不在下面三件事上浪费精力:“在人前演戏、装腔作势以及摆布他人”。

(2)第二段第二句“They are aware that there is difference between being loving and acting loving,between being stupid and acting stupid,between being knowdedgeable and acting knowledgeable.”的关键是要译好“being”和“acting”,为表示强调并求得对称,可译为“真正……,假装……”。

(3)第三段第四句“Although winners can admire and respect other people,they are not totally defined,demolished,bound,or awed by them.”使用了被动语态,其中的几个动词分词“defined、demolished、bound和awed”意义比较抽象,尤其是“define”,这里可以译为“限制”。

(4)第四段第一句“Winners do not play‘helpless’,nor do they play the blaming game.”中,“play”可以译为“装作”,“play the blaming game”意思是“玩怨天尤人的把戏”。

参考译文:

成功者不会毕生致力于将这样一种概念付诸实施:即想象中自己应该成为何种人。相反,他们保持本色。如此一来,他们不会浪费精力在人前演戏、装腔作势、摆布他人。他们明白:真正有爱心与假装有爱心、真正愚笨与假装愚笨、真正博学与假装博学之间是有区别的。成功者无需躲在面具后面。

成功者敢于独立思考,敢于运用自己的知识。他们能够把事实从纷繁的意见中剥离出来,而又不会假装无所不知。他们倾听他人的意见,品评他人的言论,却能得出自己的结论。虽然成功者也钦佩他人、尊敬他人,但是,他们不会完全被他人所限制、所摧垮、所束缚、所吓倒。

成功者不会假装无助,也不会怨天尤人,相反,他们承担起自己生命的责任。

2001年真题

Possession for its own sake or in competition with the rest of the neighborhood would have been Thoreau’s idea of the low levels.The active discipline of heightening one’s perception of what is enduring in nature would have been his idea of the high.What he saved from the low was time and effort he could spend on the high.Thoreau certainly disapproved of starvation,but he would put into feeding himself only as much effort as would keep him functioning for more important efforts.

Effort is the gist of it.There is no happiness except as we take on life-engaging difficulties.Short of the impossible,as Yeats put it,the satisfaction we get from a lifetime depends on how high we choose our difficulties.Robert Frost was thinking in somethinglike the same terms when he spoke of“The pleasure of taking pains”.The mortal flaw in the advertised version of happiness is in the fact that it purports to be effortless.

We demand difficulty even in our games.We demand it because without difficulty there can be no game.A game is a way of making something hard for the fun of it.The rules of the game are an arbitrary imposition of difficulty.When someone ruins the fun,he always does so by refusing to play bythe rules.It is easier to win at chess if you are free,at your pleasure,to change the wholly arbitrary rules,but the fun is in winning within the rules.No difficulty,no fun.

难点注释:

这段材料表达了作者这样的观点:快乐来自于努力,所需克服的困难越大,所获得的快乐越多。要求翻译的部分用词难度适中,句子结构较简单,翻译时要注意提到的几个人名。

(1)第一段不要求翻译,但是对于考生理解后面的内容很有帮助。比如第二段第一句“Effort is the gist of it”中,“it”就是指第一段中提到的梭罗思想,但也没有必要作出解释,可以翻译为“努力为其实质”。

(2)第二段第三句“Short of the impossible,as Yeats put it,the satisfaction we get from a lifetime depends on how high we choose our difficulties.”中,“short of”是个常用词组,表示“缺乏,不够”或“除……之外”,在这里应理解为“除……之外”。“Short of the impossible”可以译为“除了那些不可能做的事”。

Yeats,叶芝,爱尔兰诗人、剧作家。“how high we choose our difficulties”不能机械地译为“我们选择的困难有多高”,而应译为“我们选择的困难有多大”。(3)第二段第四句“Robert Frost was thinking in something like the same terms when he spoke of‘The pleasure of taking pains’.”中,“in…terms”或“in terms of”的意思是“根据,按照”或“以……的方式”。“the pleasure of taking pains”可以译为“以苦为乐”。

Robert Frost,罗伯特·弗罗斯特,美国著名诗人,代表作有《山间》、《新罕布什尔》等。

(4)第三段第三句“A game is a way of making something hard for the fun of it.”意思不难理解。“of making something hard for the fun of it”用来修饰“way”,“for the fun of it”表示目的。如果直译为“游戏就是为了从某件事中得到乐趣而使之变得困难的一种方式”稍嫌拖沓,可以这样译:游戏就是故意制造困难以求乐趣。

(5)第三段第四句“The rules of the game are an arbitrary imposition of difficulty.,”如果直译为“游戏的规则就是任意强加的困难”,意思不易理解,不如添加动词译作“制定游戏规则就是任意增加难度”。

参考译文:

付出努力才是其本质所在。除非我们终生选择困难,否则就无幸福可言。正如叶芝所言,除去不可能做的事,我们一生能获得多大的满足,取决于我们选择多大的困难。罗伯特·弗罗斯特谈到“苦中求乐”时,他心中所思也大抵如此。就通常宣传的幸福而言,其致命弱点在于声称不用付出努力即可获得幸福。

我们甚至在游戏中也要寻求困难。我们需要困难,因为没有困难也就没有游戏,游戏就是制造困难以求得乐趣之道。制定游戏规则就是任意增加难度。破坏乐趣,往往是因为违犯游戏规则。下棋时,随心所欲、肆意更改强制之规更易获胜。然而下棋的乐趣就在于不仅获胜而且遵守规则。没有困难就没有乐趣。

2000年真题

If people mean anything at all by the expression“untimely death”,they must believe that some deaths run on a better schedule than others.Death in old age is rarely called untimely—a long life is thought to be a full one.But with the passing of a young person,one assumes that the best years lay ahead and the measure of that life was still to be taken.

History denies this,of course.Among prominent summer deaths,one recalls those of MariLyn Monroe and James Deans,whose lives seemed equally brief and complete.Writers cannot bear the fact that poet John Keats died at 26,and only half playfully judge their own lives as failures when they pass that year.The idea that the life cut short is unfulfilled is illogical because lives are measured by the impressions they leave on the world and by their intensity and virtue.

难点注释:

这段文字寓意深刻,说理性强,论述了“生命的意义不在于其长度,而在于其留给世界的印记,在于生命的力度及其展现的美德”。文章逻辑清晰,语言优美,难度适中,翻译时要特别注意措词;其中提到的几个人物,考查了考生的知识面。

(1)第一段第一句中“some deaths run on a better schedule than others”理解起来并不难,但不好表达。如果直译为“有些死亡的时间安排更好”,意义不够明晰。从下文可以看出,“这些死亡”是和“英年早逝”相对而言的,所以可翻译为“寿终正寝”。

(2)第一段第三句“But with the passing of a young person,one assumes that the best years lay ahead and the measure of that life was still to be taken.”中的“passing”、“lay ahead”,以及“the measure of that life was still to be taken”需要注意。“passing”是“death”的委婉说法,可以相应地翻译成汉语的“去世”或“辞世”等。“the measure of that life was still to be taken”中,“that life”是指“the life of that young man”,另外可以从Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary的释义“If you get or take the measure of someone or something,you discover what they are like,so that you are able to control them or deal with them”中知道,“take the measure”是“衡量,评价”的意思。不定式“still to be”常常译为“还没有”。

这一句中的介词词组“with the passing of a young person”从逻辑上来讲表示“假设”,可以翻译成一个条件状语从句,“如果一个人英年早逝”。

(3)第二段第二句“Among prominent summer deaths,one recalls those of MariLyn Monroe and James Deans,whose lives seemed equally brief and complete.”

句中的“summer deaths”,即使考生不知其义,也可以从“summer”的引申义以及从上下文中猜测到是指“正值壮年时期的死亡”,即“英年早逝”。

Marilyn Monroe和James Deans分别指美国的性感女影星玛丽莲·梦露和著名电影演员詹姆斯·迪恩斯。前者在36岁时神秘死亡,后者26岁时死于车祸。他们都是在人生和事业的鼎盛时期猝然离世,但他们的生命虽然短暂,却同样圆满。

(4)第二段第三句“Writers cannot bear the fact that poet John Keats died at 26,and only half playfully judge their own lives as failures when they pass that year.”中,John Keats是指英国著名浪漫主义诗人约翰·济慈,他的《夜莺颂》、《希腊古瓮颂》等都是脍炙人口的佳作。“and only half playfully judge their own lives as failures when they pass that year”中的“only half”容易理解成“只有一半人”,但显然这个说法是没有依据的。“half”在这里作程度状语,修饰“playfully”,意思是作家们半开玩笑半认真地说:如果以到26岁时所获得的成就来衡量,那他们可以说是无所作为。

参考译文:

如果人们借“英年早逝”这个词意欲表达什么含义的话,他们必然相信某些人的辞世是寿终正寝,另一些人并非如此。死于年老之时很少被称作“早逝”,因为长寿即意味着生命之圆满。但是一个年轻人的去世,会让人觉得他的美好时光尚未到来,一生之评说尚未做出。

当然,历史否认这一点。在著名的“英年早逝”者中,人们会想到玛丽莲·梦露与詹姆斯·迪恩斯,他们的生命同样短暂而又圆满。作家们难以接受约翰·济慈年方26岁便溘然长逝的事实,但他们只是半开玩笑半认真地评价自己26岁时的人生是个失败。视英年早逝为不圆满,这一观念有悖于逻辑,因为衡量生命的尺度在于其留给世界的印记,在于生命的力度及其展现的美德。

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