翻译的灵活性和原则性
翻译中,灵活性和原则性是涉及语言效果和传达原意的两个方面。缺乏灵活性会影响表达效果,如“月亮代表我的心”若“忠实地”翻译为“The moon stands for my
heart”就不如灵活地翻译为“The moon
reflects my mood”(字面意思:月亮反映我的心情)更容易理解,因为世界各地都“月有阴晴圆缺,人有悲欢离合”。“曲高和寡”在绝大多数情况下是一个比喻的说法,译为“Highbrow songs finds few
singers”就很难传达实际应用中的意义。笔者认为翻译成“High art is hard to understand”或“Elegance means loneliness”(高雅意味着孤独)更妥。又如,把“日出江花红胜火”翻译为“The flowers in river are redder than fire when the
sun rises”就不像是写景的句子,译为“Beneath the rising sun, rivers are aflame with flowers in
bloom”才有诗意。(字面意思:旭日冉冉,江花盛开江如燃)
缺乏灵活性有时还会损害原则性。英语中gallant有“英勇”和“善于讨好女性”两方面意思,和汉语中“风流”确实对应得很好,但很多专家对号入座地把“大江东去,浪淘尽千古风流人物”中的“风流人物”翻译为gallant
heroes,会让人误以为周瑜、诸葛亮等在战场上和情场上都是高手。其实只要译成heroes就可以了。结合中国历史整句话可以翻译为:“Chinese history sees Yangtze run;
thousands years and myriad heroes, with rolling waves are
gone”。英国人和美国人都认为这种译法最佳,不仅因为本词的主题是怀古,“中国历史目睹长江奔流”和“随着滚滚波涛千秋岁月和无数英雄已经远走”能给人以岁月沧桑的感觉,而且美国的小说<<飘>>(Gone with the
Wind)广为人知,享有盛誉。
笔者所遇到的最棘手的问题是翻译“士为知己者死,女为悦己者容”。直接译为“A gentleman dies for one who knows his heart; a woman makes
up her face for one who pleases
her”不仅不适于多数场合,而且一有人讨好就梳妆打扮,把女的说成“三陪”之类的人了。事实上,“士为知己者死”是一种态度和决心,不仅仅是行动;“女为悦己者容”也不是“让她高兴她就梳妆打扮”。“容”体现的是对美好生活的向往,“悦己者”也不是随便来讨好的人,而应该理解为触动她心弦的人。简言之,前句谈事业,后句谈生活,因此可以译为“A true man is ready to die a loyal death for those
who know the worth of him; a woman is eager to live a happy life
with one who touches the chord in her”。(字面意思:男人忠于知道自己价值的人并会为之慷慨赴死,女人渴望和触动自己心弦的人过着幸福的生活)
文艺翻译要讲究灵活性,对专业术语和政治用语的翻译则要讲究原则性。例如,外语教学中的eclecticism无论从内涵和词源上看都是“博采众长”,却被译为“折衷主义”,褒义词几乎成了贬义词。台湾问题在国内的很多英文报刊上被说成“Taiwan
issue”,但从政治意义上讲台湾问题是一个注定了要有answer的question,不是一个可以众说纷纭的 issue,我们没必要和西方媒体保持一致。
翻译精读训练营(1)
EU-China agree trade deal
中欧达成双边贸易协议
The European Union and China have reached a ground-breaking
trade deal, paving the way for Beijing’s membership of the World Trade
Organisation.
After five days of negotiations, European Union trade
commissioner Pascal Lamy and Chinese foreign trade minister Shi
Guangsheng signed the agreement.
It came after the intervention of Prime Minister Zhu
Rongji, whose involvement was also crucial in clinching a similar
trade deal between the US and China last November.
He has long been a supporter of opening up
China’s vast market of
nearly 1.3bn people as a means of jump-starting the
country’s stagnant
state-run industries.
He is also in favour of opening up export markets and
encouraging foreign investment.
[注释]
1.intervention: n.干涉
2.involvement: n. 缠绕; 连累;
牵连; 财政困难
3.clinch: v.钉牢;揪住;确定,达到;拥抱
4.stagnant: a.停滞的,不流动的;呆笨的
[译文]
欧盟与中国达成突破性的双边贸易协议,为中国加入世界贸易组织铺平了道路。
经过五天的谈判,欧盟贸易委员帕斯卡尔和中国对外贸易部部长石广生在协议上签字。
协议是在朱镕基总理的介入后达成的,去年11月份与美国相类似的贸易协议的签字也是他促成的。
朱镕基总理长期以来支持开放中国这一将近13亿人口的大市场,他期望通过这一途径启动毫无活力的国有企业。
他也热衷于开放出口市场和鼓励外方投资。
翻译精读训练营(2)
旅行的唯一方法是步行(1)
The past ages of man have all been carefully labelled by
anthropologists. Descriptions like "Palaeolithic Man". "Neolithic
Man", etc., neatly sum up whole periods. When the time comes for
anthropologists to turn their attention to the twentieth century,
they will surely choose the label "Legless Man". Histories of the
time will go something like this:" In the twentieth century, people
forgot how to use their legs. Men and women moved about in cars,
buses and trains from a very early age. There were lifts and
escalators in all large building to prevent people from walking.
This situation was forced upon earth-dwellers of that time because
of their extraordinary way of life. In those days,people thought
nothing of travelling hundreds of miles each day.But the surprising
thing is that they didn’t use their legs even when they went on holiday.They built
cable railways, ski-lifts(滑雪索道) and roads to the top of every huge mountain.All the
beauty spots on earth were marred by the presence of large car
parks."
[注释]
1.anthropologist:人类学家
2.palaeolithic:旧石器时代的
[译文]
人类学家小心翼翼地将人类以往的每一个时代都贴上标签。例如,“旧石器时代人”、“新石器时代人”等说法就简洁地概括了一个个完整的时代。当人类学家把他们的目光投向20世纪的时候,他们肯定会选择“无腿人”这个标签。这段时期的历史大致会这样记载:“在20世纪,人类忘记了如何使用他们的腿。男子和女子从很小的时候起就坐在小汽车、公共汽车和火车里来来去去。所有的高层建筑里都装有电梯和自动扶梯,以避免人们步行。这种状况强加在这个时期地球居民的身上,是由于他们非同寻常的生活方式。那时,人们没有想到每天旅行几百英里这类事情。但是,令人惊奇的是,他们即使去度假也不用他们的腿。他们建造缆索铁路,滑雪索道和道路通向每座大山的顶峰。地球上所有的风景区都被大型停车场糟蹋了。”
翻译精读训练营(3)
旅行的唯一方法是步行(2)
The future history books might also record that we were
deprived of the use of our eyes.In our hurry to get from one place
to another,we failed to see anything on the way.Air travel gives
you a bird’s-eye view of the world-or even less if the wing of the
aircraft happens to get in your way.When you travel by car or train
a blurred image of the countryside constantly smears the
windows.Car drivers,in particular,are forever obsessed with the
urge to go on and on:they never want to stop.Is it the lure of the
great motorways,or what?And as for sea travel,it hardly deserves
mention.It is perfectly summed up in the words of the old song:"I
joined the navy to see the world,and what did I see?I saw the
sea."The typical twentieth-century traveller is the man who always
says "I’ve been there."You mention the remotest,most evocative
place-names in the world like El Dorado,Kabul,Irkutsk and someone
is bound to say "I’ve been there"-meaning,"I drove through it at
100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else."
[注释]
1. bird’s-eye
view:鸟瞰
2.blur:使……模糊不清
[译文]
未来的历史书还会记载说,我们的眼睛也弃置不用了。在急急忙忙从一个地方赶往另一个地方的路上,我们什么都没看到。航空旅行可以使你鸟瞰世界——要是机翼恰好挡住了你的视线,你就看得更少了。当你乘汽车或火车旅行的时候,模糊不清的乡村景象不停地映在车窗玻璃上。尤其是汽车司机,他们的头脑永远都被“向前,向前”的冲动占据着:他们从来都不要停下来。到底是由于漂亮车道的诱惑,还是别的什么?至于海上旅行,简直不值一提。有一首老歌的歌词对海上旅行是一个完美的概括:‘哦加入海军去看世界,我看到了什么?我看见了大海。”最典型的四世纪旅行者总是说“我已经去过那儿了”。你提到世界上最遥远、最引人遇思的地名,比如埃尔多拉多、喀布尔、伊尔库茨克,准有人说“我去过那儿”——意思是:“我在去另外一个地方的路上,以100英里的时速路过那儿。”
翻译精读训练营(4)
旅行的唯一方法是步行(3)
When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing:
you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time
lookiong forward to arriving at some other place. But actual
arrival,when it is achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on
again. By travelling like this, you suspend all experience; the
present ceased to be a reality: you might just as well be dead. The
traveller on foot, on the other hand, lives constantly in the
present. For him travelling and arriving are one and the same
thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes. He
experiences the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the
whole of his body. At the end of his journey he feels a delicious
physical weariness. He knows that sound, satisfying sleep will be
his: the just reward of all true travellers. (全文完)
注释:
suspend:使……暂时停止
译文:
当你以很高的速度旅行时,“现在”就什么都不是:你主要生活在未来,因为你多半时间在盼望赶到别的一个地方去。但是当你真的到达了目的地,你的到达也没有什么意义。你还要继续前行。像这样子旅行,你什么也没有经历;你的现在并不是现实:跟死亡没有什么两样。另一方面,徒步旅行者却总是生活在现在。对他来说,旅行和到达是同一件事情:他是一步一步走着来到某地的。他在用自己的眼睛、耳朵和整个身体体验现在。在他旅途的终点,他感到一种愉悦的生理疲惫。他知道他会享受深沉而甜蜜的睡眠:这是对一切真正旅行者的酬报。
翻译中序言和内容介绍要特别注意
“序言”和“内容介绍”翻译过程中的适当加工
纵览中文书里的序言或前言,作者的话,编者的话等等,若不是作者(或编者--下同)本人执笔,而由他人作序,往往写的都是赞美推崇之言,称赞作者的智慧;勇气,毅力,水平等等。但著作者本人所为,往往有这样一两句话:“水平有限,书中错误或不妥之处在所难免。希望读者给予批评指正。”“水平有限,时间仓促,难免谬误,敬请指正。”“尚属草创,时间又仓促,疏漏一定很多,还待继续提高和充实,希望广大读者批评指正。”谦虚是中国人的传统美德。在中文书中,写上这样几句话,既能表示作者自己谦虚严谨的治学态度,同时地暗示本人作品并非一定是某一领域里学术研究的顶峰,很可能天外有天。应该说,在一般情况下,这些话让人更加尊重作者。
然而,由于文化背景之差别;把这种纯中国式的语言翻译成英文,效果就会适得其反。尽管西方出版的图书中谬误也极多,但作者不会自己在书的前面先承认这一点。因为,按照他们的习惯和逻辑,如果作者或出版者承认其出版物有问题,读者就会说,既然知道自己“水平有限”;又明知自己的作品“谬误难免”还要出版,岂不是有意误人子弟吗?为什么不先提高一下水平,自己剔除谬误再来发表呢?如果真是“时间仓促”,为什么不另做安排,从容不迫地端出一部成熟的作品呢?若是一般学术论文尚且说得过去,但教材不能允许作者保留“错误或不妥之地”至于医学专著,需要百分之百的准确,绝不能允许作者埋没“错误和不妥之处”,否则,要治死人的。
根据外国读者的鉴赏心理,外文出版社对序言中的这类文字都作了不同方式的处理。如《十四经穴》这是一本教授针灸学的大型教科书,其作者也是权威人士、但他在“编写说明”中写到:由于编者水平有限,错误、缺点在所难免。英文版在出书时索性取消了“编写说明”,另请别人写序。
当然,也不能为了避免引起误解,就完全不向读者作出实事求是的交代,甚至自我吹嘘。《中华人民共和国外交大事记》一书“编者的话”讲到“本书是迄今出版的篇幅最多的对外关系的历史资料”同时也指出“限于资料来源和编者水平,本书难免有遗漏之处,尚希读者指正。”后一句话译为…the Chronicle is liable to mistakes or
omissions.We welcome
suggestions and
criticisms。果然,书出版后,有两个外国驻华使馆来信来电话指出该书漏掉了这两个国家与中国交往中的两件大事。对于一个出版社来说,出这样一本涉及中外关系的书,出现了遗漏,是个较为严重的事故。但仅就“编者的话”而言,至少表明编者的态度是实事求是的。
如何既回避使用中国式的,外国人听起来过于谦恭的词语,又能表达作者真诚欢迎学者之间共同探讨。提高著作水平的愿望,从而达到两全其美的效果呢?外文出版社的《中国考古词汇》一书处理得较好。在该书“编者的话”一节里、中文说“我们水平有限,这本词汇只是一个初步尝试,缺点和错误之处,敬希广大读者不吝赐教。”英文很简单:Suggestions for improvement will be gratefully
received。这本书于1982年编写完毕。虽然编者称之为是“初步尝试”,实际上,应该说是有意义的创举,因为它填补了一个空白。至今尚没有能取代这部小词典的作品问世。若在译中文,很可能降低它在外国读者眼里的权威性。现在这种翻法既表达了编者的中国学者的风度,又符合英文阅读习惯。
高级笔译考试高分揭秘篇
在中高级口译的第一阶段考试试卷中,笔译的权重十分抢眼:中级口译中占100分,为整个卷面总分的40%;高级口译中占100分,为整个卷面总分的1/3。笔译分数的高低决不仅仅是一个简单的数字,它是考生在英汉互译领域综合能力的具体表现。如果说口译看重的是译者当场的即兴应变能力、短时强记能力、瞬间的信息捕捉能力和信息在两种语言间的快速转换能力,那么笔译在时效上就没有那么强烈的紧迫感.除去信息的传递要求之外,它更看重翻译的功力,诸如英汉两种语言知识的积累和对中西文化的把握、对词语的锤炼、翻译技巧的运用等等,可以说得高分的难度要比口译大得多。
就历年的笔译部分评卷结果来看,真正的高分考生凤毛麟角。期间固然有考试本身时间上的严格要求和考生的临场发挥不如人意等方面的问题,但考生本身的翻译基本功、对英汉两种语言知识的把握、对翻译技巧、对笔译考试的机理的成绩有着更为深刻的影9向。除了考试时间上的安排不能变通之外,其余的问题通过较为理想的课堂学习和训练,可以得到弥补.从而增加考试的胜算,赢得考试的主动权。
下面就中高级口译考试的笔译部分.具体谈谈我在新东方口译班教学的个人体会。一般而言,笔译试卷中,英译汉的篇幅中高级为180~240个英语单词,中级有180个左右英语单词;汉译英的篇幅中高级为220—260个汉字,中级有180个左右汉字。不论是中级还是高级,时限均为30分钟。
一、中高级口译笔译部分的基本原则
1.文体掌握原则
不论英语还是汉语都有不同的文体类别,不同的文体类别具有不同的文体特点。译者必须熟悉英汉各种文体类别的语言特征,才能在英汉语言转换中顺应原文的需要,做到量体裁衣,使译文的文体与原文的文体相适应。
2.功能对等和形式对等并重的原则
功能对等(functional equivalence)是Eugene A.Nida的翻译理论。简言之,原文读者读原文所取得的心理反应和译文读者读译文的心理反应相似。用功能对等原则译出的句子符合译入语行文的习惯,没有翻译腔,一看就懂,但有可能漏掉或歪曲原文的信息。形式对等则要求在语言的形式上译文和原文保持机械的对应。形式对等过于死板,缺少灵活性。二者必须辩证地结合起来。
3.时间分配原则
正确的时间分配对译文的质量起到很大的推进作用。下笔不能仓促,否则改动过大,不免出现涂鸦的现象,这会对译文的质量造成不良影响,扣掉不该扣的得分。
4.译文语言正确地道原则
从语言文字的角度来说,译文在遣词造句方面要符合汉语和英语的表达方式:语法要正确,语言要地道,少用或不用口头语,句子的长短要视具体情况而定,不能一刀切。
5.重点、难点把握原则
具体的一段文章尤其是英语文章中,总有一两个句子或词组是“硬骨头”,这往往是考试的得分点所在。一定要把握好分寸,否则找不到准星,只能得到事倍功半的结果。
6.体现中国特色原则
中国有自己的国情,有些言语在国外是没有的,同时,外国特有的话语在中国也不能一味地套用。比如说上海市政动迁“移民”(relocation Of
residents)和国外的“移民”(emigration)就不同。再如,“三个代表”、“与时俱进,开拓创新”都是中国特有的词汇。
7.准确有效交流原则
对于译文,读者应该有效地理解,没有误解现象。此外,译文要地道,避免洋泾浜口吻。比如说,“社会办学力量”就不能译成running school by social
forces,否则,就达不到准确交流的目的。
二、中高级口译笔译部分的基本技巧
1.词性转换法
翻译过程中,词性不能完全保持形式上的对等,要在必要和适当的时候灵活变通,增加译文的可读性。比如说,名词和形容词、动词和名词、形容词和副词、动词和形容词之间的相互转换等等。
2.层层解压法
翻译过程中,往往有好几个从句或者好几个形容词和介词词组结合起来的结构较为复杂的句子,这往往是考点所在.对此,应采取层层分解亦即庖丁解牛的办法,将貌似庞然的大物玩弄于指掌之中。
3.增减重复法
出于语言本身行文特点之需,有的话语结构比较罗嗦,而翻译成目的语的时候,又没有必要,反之亦然。若要体现结构的严谨和节奏的完美,翻译实践中,有必要对有些内容在正确理解的基础上予以增加、重复或删减。
4.分合移位法
对于长句,不能一味地遵循原文的顺序,而是要重新进行调整,该分的要分,该合的要合。
5.从句转换法
各种从句的翻译历来是考查翻译能力的要点,也是译者本身翻译能力的难点所在。具体的翻译实践中,名词性从句、形容词性从句和副词性从句可以相互转换,从句也可以和词组相互转换。
6.糅合省略法
在并列结构较多的场合,同义语类没必要一一译出,而应该采取整合覆盖的办法,使译文简单明了,节奏鲜明。
高级笔译训练:从睡觉的姿势看性格
Everyone has got two personalities-the one that is shown to
the world and the other that is secret and real. You don’t show
your secret personality when you’re awake because you can control
your behavior, but when you’re asleep, your sleeping position shows
the real you. In a normal night, of course, people frequently
change their position. The important position is the one that you
go to sleep in.
每个人的性格都具有双重性--向外界显示的一面,还有真实却深藏不露的一面。在你清醒的时候,你不会表露出你秘密的一面,因为你能控制自己的行为;可在你人睡的时候,你睡觉的姿势会展示真实的你。正常情况下,人们在夜里会不断改变姿势。重要的是你入睡时的姿势。
If you go to sleep on your back, you’re a very open person.
You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion
or new ideas. You don’t like to upset people, so you never express
your real feelings. You’re quite shy and you aren’t very
confident.
如果你是仰卧着入睡的,说明你是个心胸开阔的人。你一般信任他人,容易受时尚和新思想的影响。你不喜欢得罪人,所以你从不表露自己的真实感情。你很害羞,不够自信。
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive
person. You worry a lot and you’re always easily upset. You’re very
stubborn, but you aren’t very ambitious. You usually live for today
not tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good
time.
如果你俯卧睡觉,说明你比较含蓄。你常忧心忡忡,且容易烦恼。你很固执,却没有多大抱负。你一般是今朝有酒今朝醉。也就是说,你喜欢玩得快乐。
If you sleep curled up you are probably a very nervous
person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you’re often
defensive. You’re shy and you don’t normally like meeting people.
You prefer to be on your own. You’re easily hurt.
如果你睡觉时蜷缩着身体,那你可能是一个神经紧张的人。你自我感觉不好,所以常常谨小慎微。你还比较害羞,一般不喜欢与人打交道。你更喜欢一人独处。你容易受伤害。
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a
well-balanced personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses.
You’re usually careful. You have a confident personality. You
sometimes feel anxious, but you don’t often get depressed. You
always say what you think even if it annoys people.
如果你是侧卧着睡觉的,说明你的性格比较稳健。你了解自己的优点和缺点。你处事比较谨慎。你很自信。你有时会感到焦急不安,但不会轻易愁苦。你总是直言快语,不怕得罪人。
高级笔译训练:科幻小说中的五大鸡肋发明(一)
Remember all those Star Trek gadgets you wished you had
because they looked so cool? Well, it turns out looking cool is
about all they’d be good for.
还记得在《星际迷航(Star
Trek)》里那些让你想要拥有的看起来酷毙了的小玩意儿吗?呃,实际上,他们也就是看起来酷,仅此而已。
Here’s five inventions that will be available some day ...
even if nobody wants them.
这儿有五个在将来会得到应用的发明……尽管没有人想用它们。
5.Flying Cars
第五名:飞行的汽车
As seen in:
Blade Runner, The Fifth Element, Back to the Future II,
Futurama, The Jetsons ... it’s actually kind of difficult to list
sci-fi that doesn’t feature some variation of the flying
car.
曾经出现在:
《银翼杀手》,《第五元素》,
《回到未来II)》, 《飞出个未来》, 《杰森一家》 ...
实际上,从某种程度上讲,很难能列出来一个单子,说科幻小说里没有出现飞行汽车的——不管什么样的飞行汽车。
Why we thought we wanted them:
First, we don’t mean some kind of sissy half-plane,
half-car hybrid that some people will try to tell you is a flying
car. No, we mean real, float off the ground, how the crap is that
happening, Jetsons sort of flying cars. Admit it, when you were 7
years old, there were only two things you were sure of:
Transformers fucking rule, and the future would be full of flying
goddamn cars.
我们想要它的原因:
首先,有人会把那种不伦不类的又像飞机,又像汽车的混合动力车叫做飞行汽车。这儿说的不是那个,根本不是。我们说的是真正能离开地面漂在空中的那种——就是《杰森一家》里那种,那简直可以说是个垃圾玩意儿。你不能否认,当你七岁大的时候,你只知道两件事:《变形金刚》里的倒霉准则,还有就是未来到处都会是飞着的破烂汽车。
Of course, once you learned to drive you wanted one even
more. Every time you’re stuck in traffic, you can picture yourself
flipping a switch and swooping into the sky, leaving those honking
bastards behind. You’d fly straight to work, free as a
bird.
当然,一旦你学会了开车,你会迫不及待地想要一辆飞行汽车。每次你被堵在路上的时候,你脑子里就会浮现出一个画面:你按了一个按钮,然后你的车就一下子飞上了天,把那些还在死命按喇叭的倒霉蛋儿们远远地甩在了后面。而你像一只自由的小鸟,直飞向单位。
Why we were wrong:
Well, guess what: They’re not gonna let you do that. People
just flying wherever they want would be a death warrant for every
radio tower and power line in the country.
我们是笨笨:
那么,试想一下:他们不会让你那样做。人们飞着去他们想去的任何地方,这会让每个电台天线塔和国家的输电线处在一击致命的危险中。
No, you’d have to fly according to a wussified autopilot,
along pre-set pathways. Air-roads, in other words. And, once
everybody has a flying car ... well, have you ever been driving to
work in a city at around, oh, eight or nine in the morning? If so,
you’ll know exactly how bad traffic can get during rush hour. Now,
imagine if there was not just one layer of cars, but there was
layer after layer of flying metal death traps over top and below
you.
确定的是,你必须由着死板的自动驾驶按着预定的路线(或者说叫空中航线)飞。而且,要是所有人都开着飞车……你有没有在早在八九点钟开着车在城市里走过?要是走过,你就会清楚地知道在高峰期,路会堵得多厉害。现在想象一下,这个时候,空中一层一层飞着的可就不止是汽车了,而是飞在你上面和下面的一层层死亡陷阱。
That’s not even the worst part. The many people who have
tried to invent flying cars over are finding out that every single
thing that’s bad with cars (cost, safety, etc) is made worse when
you try to make the thing fly.
那还不算最糟的。那些试图发明飞车的人慢慢发现:每个在汽车上本来就很不令人满意的因素(价格、安全性等等),当在让车飞起来的时候,变得更加糟糕了。
For instance, no matter what kind of engine they invent, a
flying car will always burn more fuel than a regular car,
especially on short trips (you burn a bunch of gas trying to
overcome that gravity thing on takeoff).
比如,无论他们发明什么样的发动机,一辆飞车总会比普通汽车烧更多的燃料,短途的时候尤其明显(在起飞时,你必须烧掉很多汽油来克服重力)。
Even worse, even a minor crash with another flying car
could send both vehicles plummeting to the ground while you scream
in terror. Imagine the poor guy on the ground, sitting there at a
red light, as a flaming five car pile-up is hurdling down towards
him from the sky. If you’re not scared yet, try to imagine what
they’re going to charge you in insurance premiums as a
result.
更糟的是,即使一次与飞车的轻微碰撞,都可能让两辆车直落地面,而你只能惊恐地在车里大叫。想像一下在地上的那位可怜的哥们儿,正等着红灯呢,就眼看着五辆燃着大火的车从天上向他砸过来。要是你还是没有被吓到,那就想一下,他们会怎么让你出血来给他们付保险费。
4.Jet Packs
第四名:飞行背包
As seen in:
The Jetsons (again), The Rocketeer, James Bond used one in
Thunderball, Boba Fett... too many to count. If you’ve never heard
about and/or purchased a toy featuring a jet pack, you are from the
1800s.
曾经出现在:
《杰森一家》(又来了),
《火箭人》,
詹姆斯邦德在《雷霆万钧》里也用过一次,
星球大战里的Boba Fett...
数不胜数。要是你从来没有听说过它,或者没有买过一个带着飞行背包的玩具,那你肯定是从19世纪来的。
Why we thought we wanted them:
Because every single human wants the ability to fly, pretty
much from birth. We’re talking the ability to fly, not ride in a
thing that flies.
我们想要它的原因:
因为每个人从生下来就都渴望能够飞翔。我们说的是具有飞翔的能力,而不是说坐在一个能飞的东西里。
Why we were wrong:
We’re going to skip past the obvious point that the
Rocketeer here would be left with charred stumps below the thigh,
since that exhaust is coming out at around 2,000
degrees.
我们是笨笨:
我们先不说最明显的一点,即那个火箭人的大腿会被烤得像截烧焦的树桩,因为火箭的气流会以大约2000度的高温喷出来。
Modern jetpacks just use tanks of compressed gas that
basically fart you into the air. If that sounds lame, you’re right.
The prototypes they have now let you fly a whole 30
seconds.
现在的飞行背包用的是装着压缩天然气的罐子,基本上只能把你“喷”离地面。如果那听起来很衰的话,正是如此。现在研究出来的原型机只能让你飞整整的30秒。
But let’s assume they overcome all that and make one that
actually works. All those safety issues we have with the flying
cars? You’ve got all that, only without a car around you to protect
your fragile body. The only possible method of saving your ass when
you crash/fall asleep/run out of fuel is probably a parachute,
which means you’d need extensive training on how to land without
impaling yourself on a tree branch.
但是让我们假设一下,他们克服了所有困难,做出来一个有实际作用的飞行背包。那么,那些飞车带来的问题呢?对了,只有你身边一辆车都没有,才能真正保护你那脆弱的躯体。当你撞车、开车睡着或者是没有燃料的时候,唯一能救你的可能就是一顶降落伞。也就是说,你还得接受大量的训练,才能避免在落地的时候自己不被树枝插到。
The only alternative would have to be some kind of air bag
that instantly inflates around you in an emergency, letting you
bounce gently to safety while you involuntarily shout, "WHEEEE!!!"
The problem with that, of course, is that we’d be intentionally
crashing all the time just so they can do that happen.
这个时候除了拥有一种气囊,当危急时能在你四周迅速膨胀起来以外,别无它法。这种气囊能在你大声地喊“啊!!”的同时,让你优雅地在蹦跳中安全着陆。当然,这也有问题,因为要是想让它起作用,我们总是得故意地撞个什么东西。
高级笔译训练:科幻小说中的五大鸡肋发明(二)
3.Holodecks
第三名:全息甲板
As seen in:
Most people would know the holodeck as being an invention
out of the Star Trek series, but they probably took the idea from a
Ray Bradbury short story called The Veldt where a family has a
holodeck that simulates an African veldt, and then are
(predictably) eaten by virtual lions.
曾经出现在:
大多数人对全息甲板的了解,可能以为它是来自《星际迷航系列》的一个发明。但是,他们很可能是从Ray
Bradbury写的一个叫《大草原》的短篇小说里得到这个想法的。在这部小说里,一家人有一个全息甲板,能模拟非洲的大草原,然后他们(很可能)被虚拟的狮子给吃掉了。
Why we thought we wanted it:
The holodeck is just big room, that can simulate any number
of environments and/or experiences for the user, and can trick all
five senses into believing that it’s real. You don’t have to hook
anything up to your brain, you can walk in and out of it like any
room. A room that happens to be full of ninjas and naked women and
everything else you don’t have in your real life.
我们想要它的原因:
全息甲板只是一个能模拟任意数量环境的大屋子,也能模拟进去的人的感觉,从而欺骗人的五感,让人以为是处在真实的世界。你不用在你的大脑上连接什么东西,你也可以像进出任何屋子一样进出全息甲板,在里面你可以看到在现实生活中你所没有的东西:满屋的忍者、裸女以及其它的一切。
Why we were wrong:
Of course, we here at Cracked were too busy practicing
Jujitsu and working on our dragsters to watch something as geeky as
Star Trek, but we do know that the dangers of a holodeck were
demonstrated in Episode 234 ("A Fistful of Datas", aired November
9, 1992, Stardate 46271.5). This episode proved that if you get
shot by a cowboy in the holodeck world, you really die.
我们是笨笨:
当然,就像我们疯也似的忙着练柔道和改装汽车一样,我们疯狂地看着像《星际迷航》这样令人生厌的东西。但我们知道,全息甲板的危险性出现在第234集里(《大量的数据》,1992年11月9号——星际日期46271.5——播出的)。这集告诉我们:如果你在全息甲板的世界里被一个牛仔射杀了,那你也就真的死了。
Now, assuming the creators of the real holodeck are not
completely retarded and they install something that makes it so the
simulation cowboys do not shoot real bullets and that the veldt
lions don’t really eat you (both of these would seem to be
first-day considerations in the design phase), there is another
problem.
现在,假设创造全息甲板这玩意儿的人的脑子没有进水,而且他们也确实造出来一个类似的东西的话,那么牛仔不会发射真的子弹,大草原上的狮子也不会真的吃了你(这两种情况似乎是在设计之初就应该考虑到的)。肯定还有别的问题。
Imagine how you’ll react if you’re in your holodeck and
somebody interrupts you. Say, you’re halfway through your chess
game with Darth Vader, when suddenly he disappears, Scarlett
Johansson is no longer sitting in your lap, and pizza costs money
again. You’d find the guy who turned off the machine and snap his
damned neck. Dilbert creator Scott Adams jokingly points out in his
book The Dilbert Future that the holodeck, "will be society’s last
invention." It’s no joke; once we had it, there’d be no reason to
have anything else.
想像一下,如果你在你的全息甲板里,然后某人打断了你,你会怎么办。比如,你正跟Darth Vader下棋呢,他突然出现了,Scarlett
Johansson也不再坐在你的大腿上了,你吃的披萨也不是免费的了。你会看见是那个家伙关掉了机器,然后你会拧断他的脖子。呆伯特之父Scott
Adams在他的书《呆伯特的未来》里开玩笑似的指出,全息甲板“将会是这个社会的最后一项发明”。他绝不是在说笑,一旦我们拥有了它,别的东西就再也没有存在的理由了。
It’s not just that it would be addictive; it’s that it
would literally fill every possible human emotional need and
utterly eliminate all motivation to ever do anything ever.
Everyone’s only goal would be to do just enough work to keep food
and electricity coming into the holodeck, to keep those
interruptions by reality to a minimum.
不只是因为它有诱惑力,它还会满足每一个人的几乎所有欲望,让人永远失去做任何事情的任何动力。所有人的唯一目标,就是不停地工作,保证食物和供给全息甲板的电力,把那些现实中的干扰降到最低。
People would stop reproducing, your virtual Scarlett
Johansson could have perfect virtual kids who’ll never wind up in
jail or steal money from you to buy crack. If you get tired of
them, tell the holodeck to blink them out of existence. If you’re
saying that you’re a high-minded person who pursues spiritual goals
and would never be sucked in by anything as crude as a simulation,
hey, they’ve got a holodeck for you, too. You can sit down to
dinner with Plato and Abe Lincoln and Gandhi and Jesus. If somebody
yanked you out of that to go work at the post office all day, you’d
barricade yourself in with a shotgun.
人们会停止生小孩,你的虚幻的Scarlett
Johansson能生出来完美的虚幻小孩,他们永远不会进监狱或者偷你的钱去买零食。如果你厌烦了他们,就告诉全息甲板,让他们在一眨眼的工夫里消失。如果说你是一个有着高尚情操的人,追求的是精神满足,永远不会沉浸在虚幻制造出来的东西里。别急,全息甲板也能满足你。你可以和柏拉图、林肯、甘地、耶稣坐在一起吃饭。要是某人叫你离开,去邮局上一天班,你自己就会拿把鸟枪拦住你自己。
If aliens showed up to Earth 1,000 years later, they’d find
an abandoned planet with ten billion mummified corpses laying on
the floor of ten billion dusty holodecks, with huge smiles on their
faces.
倘若一千年以后,外星人出现在地球,他们会看到一个被抛弃的星球,上面是几百亿个木乃伊般的僵尸躺在几百亿个灰扑扑的全息甲板上,脸上都是夸张的笑容。
2.Teleporters
第二名:远程传送
As seen in:
Star Trek, The Fly, countless video games.
曾经出现在:
《星际迷航》,《变蝇人》,还有数不清的电子游戏里。
Why we thought we wanted it:
Here’s a technology that’d make the flying car and the
jetpack both look like that retarded Flintstones car you drive with
your feet. We’re talking instant transport to anywhere, any time.
You can live on the beach in Hawaii and live in New York. Sit there
in the morning and sip coffee until about five seconds before the
meeting is set to start, then step into your transport and there
you are, in the conference room.
我们想要它的原因:
有一种技术,能让飞车和飞行背包都看起来像呆呆的《摩登原始人》里,你用脚开的那种车一样傻。这儿说的是瞬间传送东西到任何时间、任何地点的技术。你可以住在夏威夷的海滩上,也可以住在纽约。在开会前五秒钟,你还可以坐在早晨的海滩上品着咖啡,然后你起身走进你的传送机——你就到会议室了。
Why we were wrong:
Many later science fiction writers have declared that a
device that can disassemble and reassemble a human
molecule-by-molecule would be patently unsafe (the most famous and
grotesque portrayal of a teleporter accident came, of course, in
the film Spaceballs). But, even if they get the bugs worked out
(what method of transportation is perfectly safe, after all?) there
is a much larger and much weirder issue.
我们是笨笨:
后来的许多科幻小说家都声明说,那种可以一个分子一个分子地拆分、组合人体的设备,很明显是不安全的(史上最著名和怪异的失败的传送,出现在电影《太空炮弹》里)。但是,尽管他们补上了漏洞(终究哪种传送方式会是完全安全的?),还是有一个更大的、更离奇的问题。
A teleporter wouldn’t actually break down your atoms and
then shoot those same atoms thousands of miles through the air;
even if it were possible, there’d be no reason to do it. It would
instead just grab Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms from out of the air and
assemble you out of those (one Hydrogen atom is the same as
another, after all).
一台传送机不会真的拆分你到原子然后把那些原子发射到几千里外;即使这是可能的,也没有理由去那样做。取而代之的是,只要在空气里抓一把氢和氧的原子,然后把它们组装起来,就是你了(毕竟氢原子们总是一模一样的)。
In other words, teleporters would work more like fax
machines than mail. It transmits a signal and the machine on the
other end spits out a copy. Only instead of a copy of a letter,
it’s a copy of a person, right down to all their thoughts and
memories and here the original is destroyed. This was demonstrated
in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Episode 250 ("Second Chances",
aired May 24, 1993, Stardate 46915.2) where they failed to destroy
the original Will Riker and were left with two of him.
换句话说,传送机工作起来与其说像发信,还不如说像是在发传真。传送信号,另一头的机器就打出来一个复印件。唯一的不同,就是一封信的复印件和一个人的替身的区别。这个替身从思想到记忆都和本人一样,但是在那边的本人已经消失了。《星际迷航:下一代》里就是这么说的:在第250集《第二次机会》(1993年 5月24号——星际时间46915.2——播出的)里,他们没有能把Will Riker搞消失,于是就有两个他。
Are you grasping the weirdness of this? The original is
destroyed. That means when you step into a teleporter, you die.
But, the rest of the world won’t know you died, because a copy of
you will step out of the other end of the machine. It won’t be you,
though, it’ll be another you that happens to share your memories.
To the outside observer the thing will always work fine, and the
thing that steps out of the receiving end will think it worked
fine. The one person who knows it didn’t worked fine, can’t tell
anyone because they died via total
atomization the moment they stepped into the machine.
你是不是因为这个诡异的事情而倒吸了口凉气?本人消失了,意思是你走进传送机的那一刻,你死了。但是,世界上别的人不知道你死了,因为你的替身会从另一头的机器里走出来。虽然那个不是你自己,但是那个替身“不巧”拥有你的记忆。在外人看来,永远不会有什么问题,从接收端走出来的那个也不会认为有什么问题。那些明知道不是没问题的人却不能把真相告诉任何人,因为他们在走进传送机的时候,已经在完全的原子化的过程中死了。
So, the first time Captain Kirk used the teleportation
device to beam down to an alien planet, he was basically resigning
himself to an immediate death and hoping that his twin would carry
out the mission for him.
所以当Kirk船长第一次用传送机发送自己到一个外星球的时候,他基本上是在宣告他的立即死亡,希望他的胞弟能替他执行任务。
1.Matter Replicators
第一名:物质复制机
As seen in:
Again, Star Trek
曾经出现在:
还是《星际迷航》
Why we thought we wanted it:
You’re hungry, and you don’t really feel like cooking or
even going out to get something. Well no need to starve! This
machine will replicate virtually any food that you can think of.
Or, at least a series of foods that have previously been programmed
into the machine.
我们想要它的原因:
你饿了,可你很不想做饭,甚至不想出去买吃的。你不会饿死的!这台机器基本上可以复制出任何你想吃的东西。或者,至少是那些被预先编到机器程序里的食物。
Not just food, either. Anything. Need new batteries for
your remote? Replicator. New pair of shoes? No problem. Forget your
girlfriend’s birthday? Punch a button on the replicator and it’ll
spit out a pair of flawless diamond earrings.
还不止是吃的东西,而是任何东西。遥控器该换新电池了?复制。想要双新鞋?没问题。把女朋友的生日忘了?按机器上的一个钮,一对完美无暇的钻石耳环就从机器里出来了。
Why we were wrong:
Since it’s just assembling molecules, presumably it would
be cheaper for this thing to make you a pair of diamond earrings
than a hot dog, since fewer molecules and less energy would be
required. It could print perfect counterfeit money. Hell, punch a
button, and it’ll crank out a molecule-for-molecule replica of The
Mona Lisa.
我们是笨笨:
既然只是分子的组装,那么可以推出,用这个机器做一对钻石耳环会比做一只热狗便宜,因为做前者用的分子和能量更少。它还能造出完美的假币。更绝的是,只要按一下钮,它就会做出一幅一个分子一个分子复制的《蒙娜丽莎》。
The bad news is, of course, it would eliminate your job.
Your job, and all your friends’ jobs, and, well, almost everyone
else’s. No need for farms or factories or stores. The only people
who’d still be working are doctors and the people who make
replicators. Oh, wait, you can just have a huge replicator that
makes replicators. Nevermind.
可惜,这显然会让你失业。你的工作、你所有朋友的工作,还有几乎每个人的工作都会丢掉。我们再也不需要什么农场或者工厂或者商店了。唯一在工作的人们,就是医生和那些做复制机的人。呃,等等,你可以只做一个巨大的复制机,专门复制复制机。这样就再也不愁了。
It’s just as well, even if there were jobs, there would be
no way to pay you. You could make bars of gold in your replicator.
Yes, we’re talking about the utter collapse of the entire basis by
which every society has ever existed on the planet.
同样的,即便有工作,也不用给工资了。你能用你的复制机做金条嘛。没错,这儿说的正是每个存在在这星球上的社会中,最基本的东西的崩塌。
The end of everything will come on the day when anyone can
make anything. Except a flying car, those will still be
useless.
当任何人都有能力做任何东西的时候,世界末日也就到了。除了飞车,剩下那四个就都没用了(译者注:飞行的棺材,人人都会最终死去)。
高级笔译训练:一位诗人曾经说过
Beauty is found not in the structured but in the
unstructured,It is not found in the perfect but the imperfect Not
in similarities but in differences.
美丽并不存在于有条不紊,而存在于无组织,美丽并不存在于完美,而存在于残缺,美丽并不存在于一致,而存在于不同。
A poet once said:
Beauty is found not in the structured but in the
unstructured
It is not found in the perfect but the imperfect
Not in similarities but in differences
一位诗人曾经说过:
美丽并不存在于有条不紊,而存在于无组织,
美丽并不存在于完美,而存在于残缺,
美丽并不存在于一致,而存在于不同。
There is no perfect thing in the world, neither will there
ever be. It is our perception and our attitude towards perfection
that gives shape to the unstructured, makes the imperfect perfect
and causes differences to dissolve into similarities.
世间无完美之物,以后也不会有。是我们对完美的感知与态度给予无组织以形状,使得残缺变得完美,使得不同融于相似之中。
It is the world of differences that create the world be the
most interest place to live in.
正是所有的不同使这个世界成为最有趣的居所。
Imagine if everyone was the same in attitude, appearance,
colour, built, culture, perceptions and beliefs. The existence of
these opposite phenomena gives meaning to us, distinguishing us
from those which we are not. The ability to live in unison and find
agreement with the opposite is the real beauty of life; it gives a
challenge to work on – a reason to live.
想象一下,要是所有的人都有相同的态度,相貌,肤色,体形,文化,感知和信仰,这个世界会怎样?这些对立现象的存在给予我们以意义,区分我们和其他人。生活的美在于能够和谐的生活,能够从对立中找出一致。这给予我们挑战,待以解决—一个活下去的理由。
Comfort would not have any significance and meaning; it has
them because discomfort exists. There wouldn’t be good people in
the world; bad people exist to prove them as good. There wouldn’t
be beauty unless ugliness exists to prove otherwise. There wouldn’t
be Christians if everyone was considered Christians. But God, He
doesn’t exist because the devil exists. His existence is the only
phenomena that is explained and given meaning to, by
Himself.
舒适本没有任何意义和重要性;之所以有是因为不适的存在。世上本没有好人;坏人的存在证明他们是好人。美丽本不存在,是丑恶的存在证明了美丽的存在。如果每个人都是基督徒,就不会有基督徒了。但是上帝是例外的,上帝的存在并不是因为恶魔的存在。上帝自身解释其存在并给予意义,这是仅有的现象。
The differences between the different phenomena are only a
perception away from each other. The greater the perception, the
greater the distance, hence the difference. Perception is
collective and individual; personal perception is much easier to
change than group perception. The world that we see today is the
result of people’s perception, and their way of defining
perception.
不同现象间的差异只是它们给人的感知的差异。感知越深,距离越远,差异也就越大。感知是群体的,也是个体的。个人的感觉比起群体的感觉更易改变。我们今天这样看世界,是人们感知的结果,也是人们定义感知的方式的结果。
They pursue the meaning of life towards the extremes of
either one; according to their perception. And neither one is more
meaningful than the other because, meaning in itself is not found
in the opposite phenomena; this time, its in the difference, the
gap, the motion, the contraction that gives meaning and
satisfaction to the pursuer. This in essence, means personal
perception.
凭借感知,人们通过追求对立面的极致来追求生命的意义。然而,对立面的任一面都不会比另一面更有意义,因为意义本身并不存在于对立的某一方面;相反,意义存在于不同,差距,运动和收缩。这些给追求者以意义和满足。其实这就是个人感知。
The real beauty of life lies in appreciating the opposite
phenomena because it sharpens ones perception towards one’s own
perception. Because the opposite phenomena exists to give reason
and meaning to the other, appreciating the opposite of one’s
perceptions sharpens one’s perception. The world would truly be a
boring place to live, if all were the same. We know about peace and
thrive towards it because we don’t love war. We work towards love
because we don’t want hatred. The opposite only compliments those
things we thrive for.
生活的美存在于欣赏对立的现象,因为它使我们的感知更敏锐。由于对立现象的存在给予其对立物理由和意义,欣赏我们感知的对立面使我们的感知更敏锐。如果一切都是相同的,这个世界真的会成为一个无聊的居所。我们理解和平,向往和平,因为我们不喜欢战争。我们向往爱,因为我们不想要憎恨。对立面只会使我们所向往的更加美好。
The ability to live in unison and find agreement with the
opposite is the real beauty of life; it gives a challenge to work
on – a reason to live.
生活的美在于能够和谐的生活,能够从对立中找出一致。这给予我们挑战,待以解决—一个活下去的理由。
隔行如隔山--谈谈专业英语的翻译
在一个英语学习论坛上,我看到有一个网友发帖子,询问一个计算机方面的术语non-mapped
memory怎样翻译。有四个网友回贴,但答案都不对,比如有一个网友翻译成“非地图化内存”,还有一个网友翻译成“未标出的内存”。其实熟悉计算机软件的朋友都知道,map一般翻译成“映像”,大意是把内存中的某些特定数据复制到另外一个地方。map是动词,名词是mapping。因此上面那个术语,应当翻译为“非映像内存”。
我为什么要聊这个话题呢?这是因为我本人长期兼任北京一家出版社的特约编辑,经常为一些计算机方面的译作进行审稿。我想在这里不客气地指出,现在国内有些译者,胆子真叫大(笑),一本外文图书,不管自己是否看得懂,只要有稿费,都敢拿过来翻译,这种译作的质量,各位可想而知。
比如去年年初有一本Linux方面的译作,译者自称是中关村某家大公司的技术主管,因此我觉得译文质量应当问题不大。没想到我随便找了某一章某一节的某一段,中文、英文一对照,才发现这位译者好象从未用过Linux,连最基本的常识都没有,比如,他竟然将mount翻译成“增加”,将unmount翻译成“减少”,下面第一行翻译成第二行。
①This section will discuss how to mount or unmount a file
system.
②这一部分将讨论如何“增加或减少”一个文件系统。
用过Linux的朋友都知道,mount和unmount是两个最基本的概念,一般翻译成“装载”和“卸载”。后来我琢磨了一下,估计是这位译者,可能并不认识mount,查《英汉词典》后,发现意思太多,于是从中找了一个差不多的意思“增加”,而unmount,一般的《英汉词典》上根本没有这个词,但它的前缀un表明它是mount的反义词,因此把它翻译成“减少”。
现在有些学公共英语的朋友,有一种看法,他们认为:我虽然不懂专业英语,但我可以买一本专业方面的《英汉词典》,看到不懂的单词,查一查,照样可以翻译嘛!其实这种看法是不正确的。以计算机专业的英语为例,有时候一句话,单词都是很熟悉的,内容也很简单,但如果你没有计算机方面的实际工作经验,你就翻译不出来。比如下面第一行,其中的down,应当翻译为“宕机”,也就是服务器关闭,进行维护,如果翻译者不是系统管理员或网络管理员,很难准确翻译出来。
①Our server will be temporarily down for 3 hours.
②我们的服务器将临时“宕机”三个小时。
总之,我写这个帖子的目的,就是想说:隔行如隔山,学一个专业的人,如果没有特殊情况,最好不要翻译另外一个专业的英语文章,以免闹笑话。闹出笑话,你自己丢人现眼还是小事,问题是很可能误导广大读者,甚至还可能给读者造成损失,那后果可就严重了。
关于中国特色的要有解释性的增译
最近几年,中文作者和编辑比过去较为注意对有关中国的介绍增加一些解释性的词汇;但完全属于中国特有,外国人难以理解的词汇依然充斥前言,内容介绍和作者小传之中,更不要说正文了。
1、对我国历史上一些重大事件或政治运动适当加以解释极为重要。有一本介绍中国法律建设的图书的内容简介一评开头就说:自从党的三中全会以来,全国人大通过了一系列法律。对中国多少有些了解的外国人可能知道我国在70年代末期开始实行改革开放的方针,但是,对三中全会决定加强社会主义民主和法制建设的决策就不一定清楚了。因此,翻译在译这句话时增加了几个字。整个句子是这样的:Under the guidance of the policy of promoting
socialist democracy and building a sound socialist legal system
formulated at the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central
Committee of the Communist Party of China, the NPC and its Standing
Committee have, since 1979, enacted many important
laws.这样,人家就会知道三中全会与全国人大制定法律之间的联系了。
2、有很多看起来很不起眼的字词或短语,外国读者很难理解其确切含义,有时甚至会产生误会。《中国人名大词典》中人物的简历基本都以新中国的建立划线,把一个人的经历分为两个阶段。因此,几乎每条释文都有“建国以来”。或“建国后”的字眼。又如《中国针灸大词典》这么一本专业性很强的辞书的中文稿里,“抗战期间”,“新中国成立以来”这样一些对于外国人来说时间概念含糊不清的词汇也常常出现。出现这类情况,外文出版社一般都要求译者首先选用比较清晰易懂的词汇,并且最好在首次出现时加上时间。如把“建国以来”译为Since the founding of the
People’s Republic of
China in 1949;“抗战期间”当然要译为during the War of Resistance Against Japan。
每本书都少不了对作者的介绍,而职称的翻译是另一个突出的例子。企、事业单位中都有一批属于经济师系列的人员,如事业单位的人事干部,一些机关团体里的外事干部,外贸系统的工作人员,工矿企业里的劳资料成员都属经济师系列。把这些单位的经济师译为economist很不合适。在通常情况下,人事干部不是专门学习经济学的毕业生,怎么可能称作是economist?一个工厂里的劳资科长也不一定就是经济专家。仅就经济师而言,外文出版社研究过多次,也征求过兄弟单位同行们的意见,始终没有找到一个令人满意的译法。在无法找到相应的英文词汇的情况下,只好先想办法把经济师所从事的工作性质解释一下。目前,采用officer of economic
administration的说法。虽然很难十分准确地反映整个经济师系列的全部工作含义(因为这个系列包括的面太广),而且译文太长,但至少可以反映劳资人员,外贸人员和人事干部的主要工作的性质。
汉译英:APEC峰会真正焦点转移-货币、贸易成主角
按照常规,APEC领导人非正式峰会的焦点本应是亚太区域经济一体化、亚太自由贸易区构想以及跨太平洋战略经济合作伙伴关系等等。此前的历届峰会,与会各国也大多围绕着这些话题讨价还价,折冲樽俎,并对不同版本的区域经济一体化构想品头论足,争论不休。
Conventionally
speaking, the informal summit of APEC leaders would be centered on
the economic integration of Asian-Pacific Region, the schemes of
Asian-Pacific free trade zone, and strategic partnership in
trans-Pacific economic cooperation. On each of earlier summits,
participating countries generally negotiated over these issues,
reached compromises, and debated on different versions of regional
economic integration.
然而刚刚结束的横滨峰会,虽然公开的主题是“变革与行动”,也围绕着传统焦点,拿出来包括《领导人增长战略》、《建立亚太自由贸易区的可能途径》成果文件等一些结果,但真正的焦点却早已不公开地转移了。
However, on the
Yokohama Summit concluded just recently, the real focus was quietly
shifted, although the disclosed theme was "Changes and
Actions” and some
documents centered on traditional focus were created as the fruits,
such as Growth Strategies of Leaders and Possible Channels to
Establish the Asian-Pacific Free Trade Zone.
横滨峰会真正的焦点是延续G20首尔峰会的热点,即货币流动性问题、贸易平衡问题。
The real focus of
Yokohama Summit was an extension of the hot spots, i.e., currency
liquidity and trade balance, on G20 Seoul Summit.
俗话说得好,事有轻重缓急,APEC本就是为促进亚太区域经济一体化和亚太自由贸易区而生,但这一老话题、老焦点从1994年提出“茂物目标”(“在亚太地区实现自由、开放的贸易与投资”),迄今16年过去,也刚刚迈入所谓“第一阶段达标年”,可谓一个放不下、也急不得的远景性目标。与之相比,在汇率和货币问题上,金融危机疮痍未复,人民币汇率之争热灶未冷,美联储“量化宽松”所造成的巨大流动性,更对APEC各成员国构成现实性的冲击。亚太国家中有许多都是出口型、外向型经济结构,“货币大战”的威胁对他们而言更加现实、也更加迫切,如果说,对于美联储释放出的6000亿美元流动性以及美元的应声贬值,欧洲国家尚处于口诛笔伐的务虚阶段,那么许多亚太国家(包括东道主日本)已迫不及待地直接动手干预了。
Generally, everything
is with its own emphasis and priority. The very intention of
creating APEC was to promote the economic integration of
Asian-Pacific Region and the establishment of Asian-Pacific free
trade zone. After “Bogor Goals” (to achieve free, open trade and
investment in Asian-Pacific Region) was set in 1994, 16 years has
passed and 2010 is the so-called “standard-reaching year of the
first stage”.
In
contrast with these goals, which shall be treated in prospective
sight with determination and patience, members of APEC are
confronted with tangible impacts from the shrouding financial
crisis, the intense disputes over the exchange rate of Renminbi,
and the excessive liquidity caused by the “quantitative easing” of
the Federal Reserve.
Many members in APEC
are export-oriented, and therefore, a currency war is more
threatening and damaging to them. If the response of European
countries to the released liquidity of $ 600 billion by Fed and the
consequent devaluation of U.S. dollars is regarded as “more bark
than bite”, many Asian-Pacific countries, with the host Japan
included, are anxiously and directly intervening in this
issue.
G20是一个年轻的、不成熟的讨论平台,缺乏常设机构,各成员国间平时沟通不足,并不适合就“货币战争”风险、以及与之如一根藤上两个瓜的贸易平衡问题,进行更充分的意见交换和更深入的讨论、交锋。相形之下,APEC峰会虽然会期和G20峰会相差无几,但各国对这一平台更适应、更熟悉,也更适合讨价还价,寻求妥协。
G20, due to its short
history, lack of standing institutions and inadequate communication
among members, is not a sound platform to go deep into the risks of
currency war and address the related issue of trade balance through
thorough idea exchanges and debates. Despite the close dates of
these two summits, APEC is more familiar to the participating
countries and thus more conducive to bargains and
compromises.
和G20不同,APEC峰会的参与者更具行动力,在有关货币流动性、汇率和贸易赤字争吵中,它们更多扮演“动手者”、而非单纯“动口者”的角色,它们之间的碰撞会显得更激烈,而妥协也会显得更实际、更有意义。
Unlike G20, APEC,
whose members are more “doer” than “talker” on the disputes of
currency liquidity, exchange rate and trade deficit, is
characteristic of more intense collisions which result in more
pragmatic and significant compromises.
从峰会的成果看,在这些“真正焦点”层面,与会各国同样拿出了虚多实少、有概念无细节、有共识基础却无落实方案和时间表的所谓“一致”,但相比G20连达成这样的象征性“一致”都勉为其难,总算聊胜一筹。
In
terms of the achievements of APEC Summit about the
“real focus”, they are more hollow than pragmatic, and
more conceptual than concrete. Despite the consensus, no
implementation programs are made with specific timetables. However,
compared with G20 which even failed to reach such token
“unanimity”, APEC is slightly superior.
不论货币问题或贸易平衡问题,在当前经济萧条未结束,各国都面临复苏、就业、通胀“三座大山”高压的背景下,都是攸关本国经济战略、社会安定,攸关各国领导人政权基础的原则性问题,而在这样的问题上,达成妥协并付诸行动,原本就是极其困难的事。尽管APEC应时而变,将焦点转到这些更迫切、更重要的话题上,但期待横滨峰会获得更多的成果,显然是不现实的。
With economic
recession not tackled yet and each country faced with 3 formidable
burdens of resurgence, employment and inflation, currency and trade
balance are both fundamental to the governance foundation of state
leaders because such issues bear much on economic strategies and
social stability. Reaching consensus on such issues and then
putting agreements into practice is in itself extremely demanding.
Although APEC shifted its focus according to the changing
conditions and placed these issues as the priority of more urgence
and more importance, it is obviously not realistic to expect more
fruits on Yokohama Summit.
汉译英:G20峰会开发危机预警指标
中国国家主席胡锦涛在峰会上指出,世界经济正在缓慢复苏,但总需求依然不足,缺少新的经济增长点。各国经济政策目标有差异,宏观经济政策协调难度增大,世界经济复苏的脆弱性和不平衡性进一步显现。
“The global economy is gradually recovering, but aggregate
demand is still insufficient and the economy lacks of new growth
point. With different targets among nations, it is more difficult
to coordinate macro-economic policies, which results in more
salience of frailty and imbalance in world economic resurgence.”
Chinese president Hu Jintao points out on the summit.
为此,中方提议要完善框架机制,推动合作发展。具体来说,一是应该继续坚持成员国主导原则,充分考虑各国不同国情和发展阶段,理解并尊重各国选择发展道路和发展政策的自主权;二是要完善框架,使框架从短期应急向长效治理转变,加强各国中长期政策协调,促进各国经济优势互补和互惠增长。
For this reason, China proposes to consummate the framework
mechanism and promote cooperation & development.
Specifically, on one hand, persist in the principles dominated by
members, take into full account of the different national
conditions and developmental stages, understand and respect the
right of each country to choose its own development road and
policies. On the other hand, facilitate the shift of the framework
from meeting contingencies to long-term management, strengthen the
coordination of member countries in medium-long-term policies, and
promote to complement economic advantages and mutual beneficial
growth.
根据这次会后的声明,各国一致认识到:不均衡的增长及日益扩大的失衡,正促使各国的行动偏离全球协议,各自为政,缺乏协调的全球政策行动,将只会令世界经济向坏的方向发展。
Grounded on this declaration after the meeting,
participating countries reach the following consensus: (1) Because
of the increasingly imbalanced growth, actions of different
countries are diverging from the global protocol. (2) Without
coordinated global policies, it is bound to orientate the world
economy from bad to worse if each country does things in its own
way.
根据声明,G20财长明年将着手制定一套所谓的“参考准则”,作为一项预警指标,用来辨识全球经济出现的重大失衡以及提示需要采取的应对措施。
According to the declaration, finance ministers of G20 will
embark on drafting a set of so-called “Norms for Reference” as a
warning indice to identify the major imbalance in global economy
and recommend corresponding solutions.
摩根士丹利亚洲非执行主席罗奇指出,G20达成的上述协议,有助于将焦点从双边汇率问题上转移开来,他认为这是解决全球失衡问题更可行的一个架构,因为这将对所有
G20成员带来约束,要求各国采取措施限制其贸易及储蓄失衡。
Rodgers, executive president of Morgans Stanley, remarks
that the above agreements reached on G20 summit will help shift the
focus away from bilateral exchange rate. He reckons it is a more
workable mechanism to address the global imbalance thanks to its
binding force on all members in G20 which demands the measures of
each country to restrict the imbalance in trade and
reserve.
汉译英:美国财长的热钱有益论是诡辩
近日,美联储购买6000亿美元国债的第二轮量化宽松政策遭到了全球的炮轰和谴责。对此,美国财长盖特纳7日表示,美国的经济增长对全球经济有利,而对于那些很大程度上依赖美国消费者的国家来说,绝对不是损失。他还认为,热钱对于新兴国家来说也有很多积极的作用。伴随着热钱肯定会有风险和挑战,但是大多数国家都会“化险为夷”(11月8日 中国经济网)。
Recently, the Federal
Reserve was severely denounced by all other countries for its
second round of quantitative easing (QE2) to buy $600 billion of
Treasuries. In response, on November 7th, Timothy Geithner, finance
minister of America, argued that the economic growth of USA was
beneficial to the world, and it would by no means cause losses to
those consumers who relied to great extent on USA. He also claimed
that hot money would exert positive influence on emerging economies
as well, and most countries would turn danger into safety despite
the inevitable risks and challenges posed by hot money.
美国不顾国际社会谴责,不顾大多数国家利益,执意实行量化宽松货币政策,是对国际社会特别是新兴市场国家的侵害。当前,美国经济复苏乏力,失业率高企,原因还是美国消费难以启动,市场处于低迷状态,实体经济生产积极性不高,而并不是缺乏流动性的问题。美国把利率维持在接近于零的水平,大肆印美元,不但转化不成国内生产力,国内实体经济也根本无法吸纳。这些美元已经迅速转变成热钱流出美国、冲击全球市场。而美国、欧洲以及日本等西方国家目前利率水平维持在低位,货币处于贬值状态,热钱在这些地区无利可图,使得大量热钱必定流入到能够谋取利益、货币持续升值、利率走高的新兴市场国家,从而对新兴市场国家经济造成巨大冲击。
The monetary policy of
quantitative easing, which was carried out by the United States
obstinately regardless of global denunciation and ignoring the
interests of most countries, would result in serious damage to the
international community and particularly to emerging economies. Due
to the weak consumption, sluggish market and low enthusiasm in real
production, USA is currently characteristic of ailing economy and
high unemployment, but such a situation is not caused by
insufficient liquidity.
Domestic production
cannot be facilitated despite the interest rate at nearly zero and
greenback being printed without restraint. On the contrary, the
liquidity is beyond the absorbability of American real economy.
Such excessive dollars have already turned into hot money and
flowed outside USA. With the low interest rate in Europe and Japan,
profit margins of hot money are low there because of the
devaluation of the currencies in these regions. Therefore, thanks
to the appreciating currencies and rising interest rates in
emerging economies, hot money is bound to flow there for high
returns but exerts formidable impacts on these
countries.
美国的弱势美元政策必然使得全球以美元计价的所有商品价格大幅走高,将把全球推向全面通胀之境地。美国的量化宽松货币政策,将急剧推高全球资产价格、吹大虚拟经济泡沫,使得全球经济金融重新走入新的危机,使得全球离再次爆发金融危机的路程越来越近。
As
a result of the weak U.S. dollar policy of America, all commodities
around the world valued in U.S. dollars will surge in price, and
consequently, general inflation will be rampant globally. The
quantitative easing of America will sharply push up global asset
prices and amplify the bubbles of virtual economy, which may lead
to another crisis in global economy and finance.
新兴市场国家特别是中国是美国量化宽松政策的最大受害国。美国大肆印钞使得美元贬值,刺激了美国出口,而对于依赖出口较大的新兴市场国家包括中国在内的经济将遭受严重打击。美元是国际结算货币,许多国家的外汇储备都是美元,美国国债也是许多国家的储备资产,美元贬值等于掠夺了这些国家的财富。作为世界第一储备大国、储备美元资产最多的中国被美国掠夺的财富最多。
Emerging economies,
especially China, are victims which suffer most from the
quantitative easing of America. By the unrestrained printing, U.S.
dollars are devalued, which stimulates the export of USA and
severely hits the emerging economies which heavily depend on
export. U.S. dollars, most widely used for international
settlement, are also reserved as assets in many countries, so are
U.S. national debts. The wealth of such countries is looted because
of the devaluation of U.S. dollars. China, which reserves U.S.
dollars highest in the world, is the country most seriously robbed
by America.
因此,可以说,美国的量化宽松政策,美国大肆印钞6000亿美元绝对是全球经济的祸水,美国财长的热钱有益是不符合事实的诡辩。
Therefore, the
quantitative easing of the United States to print $600 billion is
an absolute disaster for global economy, so the remark that hot
money is beneficial by U.S. finance minister is sheer sophism
against facts.
美国号称世界第一强国,经常把开放市场、全球化、贸易自由化放在嘴边,其实完全是说给别国听的,轮到美国自己时,美国狭隘的利己思想就暴露无疑。可以说,在全球和他国利益与美国利益出现矛盾时,美国会毫不留情地抛弃全球和他国利益,这样的国家难成世界领袖。
The United States, the
No.1 economy in the world, frequently mentions “open market” “globalization” and “trade
liberalization” in
speeches, but this is only a mask to deceive others. When it comes
to America itself, its narrow egoism will be thoroughly exposed. In
fact, the United States will ruthlessly ignore the interests of the
world and other countries once they are in conflict with its own.
Such a country is not eligible as leader of the world.
面对美国第二轮量化宽松政策对中国带来的冲击,中国不能等闲视之。起码要采取三条措施:一是仿照许多国家特别是完全市场化国家的日本,迅速干预外汇市场,使得人民币缓慢升值或者短期内不升值。二是在加强资本项目管理的同时,我们可以学习巴西和欧盟的经验,临时开征金融交易税,即:向用于贷款和融资活动的外资征收金融交易税。三是一定要警惕美国用遏制上个世纪80年代的日本那样来遏制中国。
Faced with the shock
from QE2 of America, China cannot afford to pay no attention. Three
measures shall be taken at least: (1) Learn from many countries,
especially Japan, which is completely market-oriented, to intervene
exchanges soon and maintain Renminbi stable or appreciate
gradually. (2) Strengthen to manage capital programs and meanwhile,
learn from Brazil and Europe to temporarily impose financial
transaction tax on foreign capital used for loan and financing. (3)
Do guard alertly against America which may contain China by playing
the same tricks on Japan in 1980s.
汉译英:西方国家不应对中国稀土政策“选择性失明”
最近,一些西方国家的政治人物对中国整顿国内稀土行业非议不断,指责中国的稀土政策是政治上“讨价还价的工具”,“违反世贸组织规定”,企图混淆视听,逼迫中国继续牺牲自己的环境,为其提供大量廉价的稀土原材料。
China’s
reorganization of its domestic rare earth industry is recently
being constantly reproached by some political figures of Western
countries, who criticize China’s rare earth policy is “a political
bargaining chip” and “a violation of the WTO rules”. Such actions
are their attempts to confuse public opinion, and coerce China, at
the expense of continually damaging its environment, to provide
them with substantial and inexpensive rare earth.
仔细分析一下这些论调,人们可以发现一个令人惊讶的共同之处:一方面,它们都强调中国“垄断”了全球97%的稀土产量,另一方面,它们却不约而同略去了中国的稀土储量仅占全球30%、环境遭受严重破坏的现实。
After a careful analysis of these arguments, a surprising
commonalty will turn up: On one hand, they all stress China
“monopolizes”
97% of global rare earth
production; on the other hand, they all ignore the fact that China,
whose environment is severely damaged, only occupies 30% of global
rare earth reserve.
西方政治人物这种“选择性失明”的做法,不仅曲解了中国在稀土开采、生产和贸易等领域实行有序管理的初衷,也漠视了目前全球稀土生产和消费方面存在的极端不平衡状况。
The “alternative
blindness” of Western
political figures is not only a misinterpretation of China’s
original intention to implement an orderly management in
exploitation, production and trade of rare earth, but also a
disregard of the current extreme imbalance in global production and
consumption of rare earth.
多方数据都表明,中国稀土资源储量与产量之间的严重失衡,已成为中国越来越难以承受之重。
Figures from several different sources indicates
China’s grave imbalance
in the reserve and production of rare earth is becoming an
increasingly unbearable burden.
据中国商务部和中国稀土学会等官方和民间机构的统计,中国目前拥有全球30%的稀土资源,如果按人均资源量计算,已属稀土资源相对稀缺的国家,但稀土产量但却占全球的90%以上。
According to the statistics of Ministry of Commerce, China
Rare Earth Society and some nongovernmental institutions, China,
though possessing 30% of global reserve, is relatively scarce per
capita in rare earth, but it makes up over 90% of global
production.
美国一份名为《稀土元素——全球供应链条》的报告则显示,2009年,中国稀土储量占全球的36%,产量占世界的97%;美国稀土储量占世界13%,而产量为零;俄罗斯储量占世界19%,产量为零;澳大利亚储量为540万吨,产量为零。
As is shown in a U.S. report named Rare Earth
Elements—Global Supply
Chains, in 2009, China accounts 36% of global rare earth reserve
but with 97% of global production. The figures of U.S. are
respectively 13% vs 0, Russia 19% vs 0 and Australia 5.4 million
tons vs 0.
胡锦涛主席发表2005年新年贺词(中英对照)(1)
胡锦涛主席发表2005年新年贺词(中英对照)
Hu Jintao delivers New Year address
新年前夕,中华人民共和国主席胡锦涛通过中国国际广播电台、中央人民广播电台和中央电视台,发表了题为《共同创造人类的美好未来》的2005年新年贺词。
A New Year’s address delivered in Beijing by Chinese
President Hu Jintao on January 1, 2005. The president’s speech on
New Year’s Eve was a call for more concerted efforts from the
Chinese people and the world to build a better future for mankind.
Here are full contents of the speech:
女士们,先生们,同志们,朋友们:
Ladies and Gentlemen, Comrades and Friends:
2005年的新年钟声即将鸣响。在这辞旧迎新的时刻,我很高兴通过中国国际广播电台、中央人民广播电台和中央电视台,向全国各族人民,向香港特别行政区同胞和澳门特别行政区同胞,向台湾同胞和海外侨胞,向世界各国的朋友们,致以新年的祝福!
The New Year’s bell will soon toll to usher in the year
2005. At this special moment, in saying goodbye to the past and
looking forward to the future, I’d like to extend New Year’s
greetings to Chinese people of all ethnic groups, compatriots in
the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, Taiwan
compatriots, overseas Chinese, as well as our friends from all
around the world, through China Radio International, China National
Radio and China Central Television.
2004年,是中国人民在全面建设小康社会、加快推进社会主义现代化进程中开拓前进的一年。在这一年里,我们坚持以邓小平理论和“三个代表”重要思想为指导,树立和落实以人为本、全面协调可持续的科学发展观,继续深化改革、扩大开放、促进发展、保持稳定,国民经济保持良好发展势头,社会主义政治文明、精神文明建设取得新的成就,各项社会事业有新的发展,人民生活进一步改善。中国共产党召开十六届四中全会,总结执政的主要经验,对加强党的执政能力建设作出全面部署。当前,中国各族人民正在为实现国家富强、民族振兴、社会和谐、人民幸福而团结奋斗。
The year 2004 witnessed the Chinese people’s incessant
efforts to build an all-around well-off society, and push forward
the socialist modernization drive. In this year, guided by Deng
Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of the "Three
Represents", we have established and implemented the conception of
people-based, comprehensively coordinated and sustainable
scientific development. We continued to further reform and
opening-up policies, and promote development, maintain social
stability, and the National economy keeps a momentum of good
development. New successes have been made in the construction of
socialist political and spiritual civilizations. There is a new
development in various social undertakings, and people’s living
standards have been further improved. The Communist Party of China
held the fourth Plenum of its 16th National Congress, examining the
experience of its governing over the past year, and mapping out an
overall guidelines for strengthening its efforts to improve its
governing capability. At present, Chinese people of all ethnic
groups are joining their hands and striving to realize the
country’s prosperity, the nation’s rejuvenation, and society’s
harmony as well as people’s happiness.
胡锦涛主席发表2005年新年贺词(中英对照)(2)
在这一年里,我们高举和平、发展、合作的旗帜,坚持奉行独立自主的和平外交政策,坚持走和平发展道路,努力维护世界和平、促进共同发展,在一系列涉及世界和地区安全和发展的重大问题上发挥了建设性作用,推进了中国同世界各国的友好交往和务实合作。
In this past year, we held high the banner of peace,
development and cooperation, adhered to our independent foreign
policy of peace, and the road of peace and development, worked hard
to maintain world peace and promoting common development, and
played a constructive role in a wide range of major issues
concerning the security and development of the world and regions,
and promoted the friendly exchanges and practical cooperation
between China and the various countries of the world.
女士们、先生们、同志们、朋友们!
Ladies and Gentlemen, Comrades and Friends!
2005年,是中国全面实现第十个五年计划目标的最后一年,也是中国推进全面建设小康社会进程的重要一年。我们将认真落实科学发展观,坚持以经济建设为中心,继续加强和改善宏观调控,加快调整经济结构,着力推进改革开放,促进经济平稳较快发展,推进政治文明和精神文明建设,努力构建和谐社会,把中国特色社会主义事业继续推向前进。
The year 2005 is the last year when China fully realizes
its Tenth Five-Year Plan, and a crucial year for the country to
promote the all-around construction of a well-off society. We will
earnestly implement the scientific conception of development, and
keep economic development as our central task. We will continue to
strengthen and improve macro-economic control, and speed up the
economic restructuring. We will work hard to promote reform and
opening up and stable and fast development of the economy, enhance
the construction of political and spiritual civilizations, work
hard to build a harmonious society, and push forward the
construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
我们将继续坚持“一国两制”、“港人治港”、“澳人治澳”、高度自治的方针,严格按照香港特别行政区基本法和澳门特别行政区基本法办事,支持特别行政区行政长官和政府依法施政,密切内地同香港、澳门的经贸联系,保持香港、澳门长期繁荣稳定。
We will continue to adhere to the policies of "One Country,
Two Systems" and the high autonomy of Hong Kong people in Hong Kong
and Macao people in Macao. We will also continue to stick to the
basic laws of the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative
regions, support their chief executives and governments in
exercising their legal powers, enhance economic and trade ties
between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao, and maintain the long
term prosperity and stability of the two SARs.
我们将坚持“和平统一、一国两制”的基本方针和现阶段发展两岸关系、推进祖国和平统一进程的八项主张,促进两岸人员往来和经济文化等领域的交流,继续以最大的诚意、尽最大的努力争取和平统一的前景。我们愿在一个中国原则的基础上,尽早恢复两岸对话和谈判。但是,我们绝不允许任何人以任何方式把台湾从中国分割出去。我再次呼吁,包括台湾同胞在内的全体中华儿女团结起来,反对和遏制“台独”分裂势力及其活动,为早日完成祖国统一大业而共同努力。
We will stick to the basic principals of peaceful
reunification and "One Country, Two Systems", and the current
eight-point proposal for developing cross-Straits relations and
pushing forward the country’s peaceful reunification process, to
promote human, economic, and cultural exchanges across the Taiwan
Straits, and to continue to seek the realization of peaceful
reunification with the utmost sincerity and the greatest efforts.
We are willing to resume cross-Straits dialogue and negotiations
based on the "One China" principle. However, we will never allow
anyone to separate Taiwan from China in any way. Once again, I call
on all Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots, to unite to
oppose and contain the so-called "Taiwan independence forces" and
their activities, and strive for an early reunification of the
country.
胡锦涛主席发表2005年新年贺词(中英对照)(3)
女士们、先生们、同志们、朋友们!
Ladies and gentlemen, comrades, friends!
国际形势正处在深刻变化之中,和平与发展仍然是当今时代的主题。世界多极化和经济全球化的趋势继续在曲折中发展,科技进步日新月异,为各国发展带来了新的机遇。但是,影响和平与发展的不稳定、不确定因素也在增加,地区冲突、恐怖主义、南北差距、环境恶化、贸易壁垒等问题,使人类和平与发展的事业也面临着严峻挑战。
The current international situation continues to undergo
profound and complex changes. Peace and development remain the
dominant trends of the times. The development of a multi-polarized
world and economic globalization is gathering momentum at a rapid
rate. Science and technology are developing at a great speed every
day, bringing new opportunities to every country. However, the
influence of factors of instability and uncertainty is on the
increase. Problems such as territorial conflicts, terrorism, the
gap between North and the South, the deteriorating environment, and
trade barriers are posing serious threats to the peace and
development of mankind.
维护世界和平、促进共同发展,是各国人民的共同心愿。中国人民愿同各国人民一道,推动建立公正合理的国际政治经济新秩序,提倡国际关系民主化,尊重世界多样性,促进树立新安全观,努力实现全球经济均衡可持续发展。中国人民对世界上仍陷于战火、冲突、饥饿、贫困等苦难的人民怀着深切同情,衷心祝愿他们早日走上和平发展之路,并愿为他们提供力所能及的帮助。我相信,只要各国人民和有远见的政治家,从人类的前途命运和共同利益出发,以合作谋和平,以合作促发展,携手克服前进道路上的困难,我们就一定能够共同创造人类的美好未来。
Maintaining world peace and promoting common development
are the common wishes of peoples of all countries. The Chinese
people are willing to work with peoples of other countries to
establish a fair and reasonable international political and new
economic order, promote democratization in international relations,
respect world diversities, create new concepts of security, and
realize the balanced and sustainable development of the world
economy. The Chinese people feel deep sympathy for other peoples in
the world who are plagued by war, conflict, hunger and poverty. We
hope that they will soon be able to embark on the road of peace and
development, and we are willing to provide all the assistance we
can. We believe that as long as people of all countries and their
leaders work hard and with foresight for mankind’s future and
common interests, cooperate to achieve peace and development, and
join hands to conquer difficulties, then we will be able to create
a bright future for mankind.
最后,我从北京祝大家在新的一年里幸福安康!
Finally, from here in Beijing I wish you all the best for
the New Year!
精彩翻译:关于deep的各种翻译
原文:People stood five deep in front of the store.
译文:人们站在那家商店前沉思。
辨误:翻译的难点往往不是生僻的单词,越是生僻的词或所谓的“大词”,意思越单纯。结构复杂的句子翻译起来也不难,只要仔细分析,先找出句子的主要框架,即主谓宾结构和其他次要成分,总可以弄明白其意思。倒是那些常用的“熟词”,常常有多种意思,而这些意思和其所“对应”的汉语词有时很不一样,也许基本意思或核心意思一样,但延伸意思和用法很不一样,deep就是这样一个词。
Deep的基本意思和汉语的“深”一样,本来指空间的一个概念(going far
down),两者有些延伸的说法也类似,比喻抽象的深(going far in),如deep breath的意思是“深呼吸”,in deep thought的意思是“深思”(但英语不说think deeply),deep learning意为“深奥的学问”,deep feeling是“深厚的感情”,the deeper causes意为“更深一层的原因”,deep red相当于汉语的“深红”。He is a deep
man.的意思是“他是一个高深莫测的人”,deep secret也可以译成“深藏的秘密”等;但是deep还可以引申为“极度的、大的、大幅度的”意思,汉语一般就不用“深”字翻译,如a deep drinker指“酒量极大的人”,deep ecology译为“广义生态学”;deep还有“狡猾的、不正当”的意思,如a deep plot是“狡猾的阴谋”,deep dealings意为“不正当的交易”。
其实,本句中的deep的意思并没有太大的引申,只不过“深”原来指上下的方向,在这里却横了过来,指水平的“厚度”。最新版的Longman Dictionary of Contemporary
English中专门列了一条:two /
three etc deep,其释义为there
are two / three rows or layers of people or
things,即deep相当于“层”的意思,所以原句可以译成:人们把那家铺子围了个里三层外三层。下面一句的意思类似:Cars parked five deep in the
drive.车道里停了5排汽车。
:(笔译)希拉里的退选演说
希拉里演讲稿原文 Transcript of Hillary Clinton Endorsement
Speech
Thank you very, very much. Well, this
isn’t exactly the party
I’d planned, but I sure
like the company.
(APPLAUSE)
And I want to start today by saying how grateful I am to
all of you, to everyone who poured your hearts and your hopes into
this campaign, who drove for miles and lined the streets waving
homemade signs, who scrimped and saved to raise money, who knocked
on doors and made calls, who talked, sometimes argued with your
friends and neighbors...
(APPLAUSE)
... who e-mailed and contributed online, who invested so
much in our common enterprise, to the moms and dads who came to our
events, who lifted their little girls and little boys on their
shoulders and whispered in their ears, "See, you can be anything
you want to be."
(APPLAUSE)
To the young people...
(APPLAUSE)
... like 13-year-old Anne Riddell (ph) from Mayfield, Ohio,
who had been saving for two years to go to Disney World and decided
to use her savings instead to travel to Pennsylvania with her mom
and volunteer there, as well.
To the veterans, to the childhood friends, to New Yorkers
and Arkansans...
(APPLAUSE)
... who traveled across the country, telling anyone who
would listen why you supported me. And to all of those women in
their 80s and their 90s...
(APPLAUSE)
... born before women could vote, who cast their votes for
our campaign. I’ve told
you before about Florence Stein (ph) of South Dakota who was 88
years old and insisted that her daughter bring an absentee ballot
to her hospice bedside. Her daughter and a friend put an American
flag behind her bed and helped her fill out the ballot.
She passed away soon after and, under state law, her ballot
didn’t count, but her daughter later told a reporter, "My dad’s an
ornery, old cowboy, and he didn’t like it when he heard Mom’s vote
wouldn’t be counted. I don’t think he had voted in 20 years, but he
voted in place of my mom."
(APPLAUSE)
So to all those who voted for me and to whom I pledged my
utmost, my commitment to you and to the progress we seek is
unyielding.
You have inspired and touched me with the stories of the
joys and sorrows that make up the fabric of our lives. And you have
humbled me with your commitment to our country. Eighteen million of
you, from all walks of life...
(APPLAUSE)
... women and men, young and old, Latino and Asian,
African- American and Caucasian...
(APPLAUSE)
... rich, poor, and middle-class, gay and straight, you
have stood with me.
(APPLAUSE)
And I will continue to stand strong with you every time,
every place, in every way that I can. The dreams we share are worth
fighting for.
Remember, we fought for the single mom with the young
daughter, juggling work and school, who told me, "I’m doing it all
to better myself for her."
We fought for the woman who grabbed my hand and asked me,
"What are you going to do to make sure I have health care?" and
began to cry, because even though she works three jobs, she can’t
afford insurance.
We fought for the young man in the Marine Corps t-shirt who
waited months for medical care and said, "Take care of my buddies
over there, and then will you please take care of me?"
(APPLAUSE)
We fought for all those who’ve lost jobs and health care, who
can’t afford gas or
groceries or college, who have felt invisible to their president
these last seven years.
I entered this race because I have an old-fashioned
conviction that public service is about helping people solve their
problems and live their dreams. I’ve had every opportunity and
blessing in my own life, and I want the same for all
Americans.
And until that day comes, you’ll always find me on the front lines of democracy,
fighting for the future.
中国专有词汇的英语翻译(转)
1、中国意念词(Chinesenesses)
八卦 trigram
阴、阳 yin, yang
道 Dao(cf. logo)
江湖(世界) the jianghu World (the traits’ world)
e.g. You can’t control everything in a traits’ world.
(人在江湖,身不由己)
道 Daoism(Taoism)
上火 excessive internal heat
儒学 Confucianism
红学(《红楼梦》研究) redology
世外桃源 Shangri-la or Arcadia
开放 kaifang (Chinese openness to the outside world)
大锅饭 getting an equal share regardless of the work done
伤痕文学 scar literature or the literature of the wounded
不搞一刀切 no imposing uniformity on …
合乎国情,顺乎民意 to conform with the national conditions and the will
of the people
乱摊派,乱收费 imposition of arbitrary quotas and service charge
铁交椅 iron (lifetime) post’s; guaranteed leading post
脱贫 to shake off poverty; anti-poverty
治则兴,乱则衰 Order leads to prosperity and chaos to decline
2 、中华民族的喜庆节日(Chinese Festivial)
国庆节 National Day
中秋节 Mid-Autumn Day/Festival
春节 Spring Festival
元宵节 Lantern Festival
儿童节 Children’s Day
端午节 Dragon Boat Festival
妇女节 Women’s Day
泼水节 Water-Splashing Day
教师节 Teachers’ Day
五四青年节 Youth Day
3、中国独特的传统饮食(Unique Traditional Chinese Foods)
馄饨 wonton
锅贴 guotie (fried jiaozi)
花卷 steamed twisted rolls
套餐 set meal
盒饭 box lunch; Chinese take-away
米豆腐 rice tofu
魔芋豆腐 konjak tofu
米粉 rice noodles
冰糖葫芦 a stick of sugar-coated haws (or apples,etc.)
火锅 chafing dish
八宝饭 eight-treasure rice pudding
粉丝 glass noodles
豆腐脑 jellied bean curd
4 、中国新兴事物(Newly Sprouted Things)
中国电信 China Telecom
中国移动 China Mobile
十五计划 the 10th Five-Year Plan
中国电脑联网 Chinanet
三峡工程 the Three Gorges Project
希望工程 Project Hope
京九铁路 Beijing CKowloon Railway
扶贫工程 Anti-Poverty Project
菜篮子工程 Vegetable Basket Project
温饱工程 Decent-Life Project
安居工程 Economy Housing Project
扫黄 Porn-Purging Campaign
西部大开发 Go-West Campaign
5 、特有的一些汉语词汇
禅宗 Zen Buddhism
禅 dhyana; dhgaya
混沌 chaos
道 Daosim, the way and its power
四谛 Four Noble Truth
八正道 Eightfold Path
无常 anity
五行说 Theory of Five Elements
无我 anatman
坐禅 metta or transcendental meditation
空 sunyata
虚无 nothingness
双喜 double happiness(中),a doubled stroke of luck(英)
小品 witty skits
相声 cross-talk
噱头;掉包袱 gimmick, stunt
夜猫子 night people; night-owls
本命年 this animal year of sb.
处世之道 philosophy of life
姻缘 yinyuan(prefixed fate of marriage)
还愿 redeem a wish (vows)
6 、具有文化特色的现代表述
大陆中国 Mainland China
红宝书 little red book
红色中国 socialist China
四化 Four Modernizations
终生职业 job-for-life
铁饭碗 iron rice bowl
大锅饭 communal pot
关系户 closely-related units
外出打工人员 migrant workers
关系网 personal nets, closely-knitted guild
五讲(讲文明、讲礼貌、讲卫生、讲秩序、讲道德):the Five Merits focus on decorum,
manners, hygiene, disciplines and morals
四美(心灵美、语言美、行为美、环境美): the Four Virtues are golden heart,
refined language, civilized behavior, and green environment
7 、中国古代独特事物(Unique Ancient Chinese Items)
宣纸 rice paper
衙门 yamen
叩头 kowtow
孔子Confucius
牌楼 pailou;pai-loo
武术 wushu(Chinese Martial Arts)
功夫 kungfu ;kung fu
中庸 the way of medium (cf. Golden Means)
中和 harmony (zhonghe)
孝顺 to show filial obedience
孝子 dutiful son
家长 family head
三纲:君为臣纲,父为子纲,夫为妻纲 three cardinal guides: ruler guides subject,
father guides son husband guides wife
五常:仁、义、理、智、信 five constant virtues: benevolence (humanity),
righteousness, propriety, wisdom and fidelity
八股文 eight-legged essays
多子多福:The more sons/children, the more blessing/ great
happiness
养儿防老:raising sons to support one in one’s old age
8、 近一季度见诸报端的中国现代特色词汇翻译
基层监督 grass-roots supervision
基础税率 base tariff level
婚介所 matrimonial agency
婚外恋 extramarital love
婚纱摄影 bride photo
黑心棉 shoddy cotton
机器阅卷 machine scoring
即开型奖券 scratch-open ticket/lottery
集中精力把经济建设搞上去 go all out for economic development
价格听证会 public price hearings
甲A球队 Division A Soccer Team
家政服务 household management service
加强舆论监督 ensure the correct orientation is maintained in public
opinion
假帐 accounting fraud
叫板 challenge; pick a quarrel
矫情 use lame arguments
渐进式台独 gradual Taiwan independence
借调 temporarily transfer
扩大中等收入者比重 Raise the proportion of the middle-income group.
扩大内需,刺激消费expand domestic demand and consumption
浅谈中级口译听力
听力,素来被中国学生认为是英语学习中的“拦路虎”、“中山狼”,多少能人志士为此而倒在通往成功的道路上。在练习听力的过程中,经常可以听到学生们抱怨
“听不懂”、“抓不住”,一篇新闻听下来,往往云里雾里,不知所云;有时,即使听出了一部分内容,也没有办法连点成线,脑海中仅有几个单词、词组,以致常常买椟还珠,只抓到了零星的细节,而丢失了整个篇章/语段的中心思想。
听力难吗?难。因为听力能力代表的是一个人语言学习的综合实力,从接受信息再到处理信息,人脑必须在短暂的时间内,迅速而准确地做出反应,这对听者在语音辨识、词汇积累、句法结构乃至文化背景等超越语言层面的要求都非常高。
听力可以练吗?当然可以,而且秘诀只有五个字,那就是“厚积而薄发”。“厚积”就是平日的积累,在听之前就做到胸有成竹;“薄发”就是听的过程中必须全神贯注,积极地去听,同时做到Empathize
&
Anticipate(同感与预测)。所谓“同感”,即与听力内容达到同步思索的地步,音频中放什么,脑海中就要及时反映出相关的词汇、背景材料;进一步就是要做到“预测”,即“走在听力内容的前面”,例如听到APEC于08年底在秘鲁利马开会,考生就应该想到他们开会的主体是谈到如何应对全球性金融危机(Global
Financial Crisis);听到讲当选总统奥巴马,应该马上想到奥巴马上台的救市计划(stimulus
package),事实上,这一技巧在口译中也是极为重要的,因此也是口译考试听力考察的重点。
那么,作为较为高阶的口译考试,其听力又和一般听力测试题目有什么异同呢?
从考查内容来看,考生一路从高考、大学四级/六级、公共英语等其他考试的听力,内容的主体多为校园、日常生活、社会等General
Information,因此考生对这一部分的考题可以说相当熟悉,但是,考虑到口译工作的性质,口译听力考试考的范畴远远大于考生的comfort
zone,涉及到时政、金融、科技、人文等,因此词汇量也属于媒体英语的范畴。而且,考生如果在听到这些题目时候要做到同感与预测,就必须本身对这些信息十分熟悉,因此考生在复习中口的听力的时候,不能“两耳不闻窗外事,一心只读圣贤书”,关起门来做功课,应该借助信息化时代的优势,广泛阅读国际国内新闻,积累相关语汇。
口译考试的听力还结合考察了考生的“笔记”和“译”两种能力,中高口的听译和高口的笔记填空,都是考察学生做笔记能力的题型,也是口译考试独具的题型。由于长度的关系,听力的文章部分要求考生必须做笔记才能将文章记下。Talks
&
Conversations中的语段也相对较长,要求考生能够抓住重点,参照考卷上的题目选项,做一定的笔记,帮助答题。
中级口译题型经典分析
成功考生应具备的条件
英译汉是一种跨语言、跨文化、跨社会的交际活动过程。作为一个成功的考生,首先要通晓英汉两种语言.在翻译时能比较快速自如地在英汉两种语言间进行转换;其次要了解英译汉测试的评分标准,测试要求、目的、题型及选材原则;最后,通过考前复习,了解英译汉测试的难点,掌握突破该难点的应试技巧。
英译汉评分要求
翻译原则本无定论。然而,本项考试英译汉的评分标准主要倾向于“忠实”与“通顺”并举。也就是说,英语文本能否以直译的类型。具体要求为:内容完整、准确.基本无遗漏或错译,表达流利,语言基本无错误。
英译汉测试题型及选材原则
英译汉测试题型为主观试题,一般由5~8个句子组成两个段落的一篇文章(长度约为250词)。由此可见,英译汉的难处在于翻译结构相对复杂的长句。 选材原则取自近年国外英语书报杂志,内容涉及国际知识。外交关系。英美国家的政治、经济、社会、文化、法律或历史,而且是正统的英文。由于考试选材的与时俱进,因此考生必须关心国内外的时势.对国内外所发生的一些重大事件有所了解。背景知识的丰富是理解英文文章的关键。建议考生经常阅读英语国家的报刊和杂志,如《New
York Times》《Washington Post》《The Times》等。
结构复杂长句的翻译
翻译结构复杂的长句,应首先弄清英文句子各个成分之间的相互关系.在准确理解句子完整意思的基础上,按汉语所习惯的时间顺序和逻辑思维顺序,译成符合汉语表达习惯的文字。由于英语的状语位置灵活.可放在句首、句尾或句子中间,定语又有前置定语、后置定语和同位语。翻译长句时,不可能把英语原句的结构转换成与其一模一样的汉语句子。考生须对英文原句的内容按语段进行拆分,而后按汉语表达方式,将拆分后的各部分内容重新整合成意思与英语原句完全相同的句子。通过对考生试卷的分析,有一定英文基础,又掌握了这种“拆分—整合”的翻译技巧的考生都能将英文长句的意思忠实而又通顺地翻译出来,取得成功。
句子“拆分”
(1) The expansion and increase have produced technicians, etc. who
are employed by men. (2) These people that they deal with symbols
and ideas have become the engineer. (3) Intellectuals are free from
daily work, they carry load and enjoy grants and subsidies.//(4)
The budget is the base that supports his independence. (5) The
budget sustains both the existence and fiscal solvency, which takes
a percentage. (6) The feature is that it is given on a basis so
that the independence rests upon capacity. (7) The ability is a
talent.//
考生如果遇到这样的英译汉试题,一定会觉得主考教师发错了试卷,将高中生英文试卷误作中级口译试卷,其实这一试题就是2003年9月上海市英语中级口译资格证书第一阶段考试英译汉部分的试题,只不过在此做了“拆分”工作。全真试题如下:
(1) The expansion of the universities since the beginning of the
World War II and the great increase in the number of college
graduates and Ph. D' s have produced a corps of technicians, aids,
speechwriters, symbol manufacturers, investigators and policy
proposers who are now employed by practical men in all
institutions.
(2) These people, called intellectuals in the sense that they deal
with symbols and ideas, have become professionalized in exactly the
same sense as the engineer.
(3) Unlike the engineer, however, these professional intellectuals
are free from much of the routine grind of daily work: they carry
light teaching load and enjoy government and foundation grants and
subsidies for their research.
(4) The professor's project budget is the initial economic base
that supports his independence within the university.
(5) The project budget sustains both the existence of graduate
students and the fiscal solvency of the university, which takes
percentage "overhead" out of every project budget.
(6) The major feature of project money, whether its source is
government or business, is that it is given on a contractual basis,
a different contract for each project, so that the investigator's
independence rests upon his capacity to secure a succession of
contracts.
(7) The ability to secure contracts is a genuine talent among
professional intellectuals.
句子“整合”及评析
句子“拆分”使考生有了翻译的总体思路,但考生还须掌握句子“整合”技能,才能既忠实又通顺地进行翻译,现逐句点评如下:
(1)自二战开始以来(时间状语前置),大学的扩招以及大学毕业生和博土生的大量增加(并列主语),产生了一大批技术人员、助理、演说词撰稿人、符号编制人、调查研究人员和政策建议人(并列宾语),他们目前在各个机构中受雇于具有实际工作经验的人(定语从句被动语态)。
(2)这些从事符号和思想工作而被称为知识分子的人(过去分词作定语),如工程师一样变成了职业人士(the
same…as)。
浅谈中级口译翻译的学习
翻译环节向来是中级口译笔试中的大头,它包括英译汉和汉译英两个 section( 部分 ) ,共计 100 分,占整个笔试总分
250 分的 40
%,可谓举足轻重。但许多中口考生对这部分都有很大的惧怕心理,这主要是由于我们在多年的英语学习中,虽进行过大量“听、说、读、写”四方面的练习,但却从未系统地涉及过“译”。
其实谈到翻译,我建议大家先放松心情。因为翻译是比较主观的事,正确答案千变万化且并不存在最佳的一种,对于新人来说只要能满足“信”和
“达”,既便不是太“雅”也是成功的。所以即使是考试,只要考生调整好心态,也会不乏趣味。当然,译文水平总还是有高下之分的,译得好的甚至能给阅卷人赏心悦目的感觉。
就拿中级口译考试来说,口译、听力、翻译、阅读四门课程虽各有各的特点。但翻译部分却总是最能体现考生的综合水平。我们知道,每一种语言都具有多种表达形式,同一个意思你可以有无数种不同的说法。而对词句的选择就体现了你是怎样一个人,也就是所谓的文如其人。真诚的译文就如优良的人品一样,不需要多么精致,也能给别人留下难以磨灭的印象。
比如 2001 年 9 月的中级口译的英译汉部分谈的是世界经济发展的话题。其中有这么一句话: Russia is a huge
geographical country, with well educated people, and will
eventually recover (本句解释见后文) .
这句话大家都能看懂意思,也没有什么难词,但想要表述成顺畅的中文就得费点功夫了。有的同学完全直译成“俄罗斯土地辽阔,人民受到很好的教育,终将恢复元气。”这样意思是出来了,但看的人没有享受的感觉,也就是说阅卷老师看到的大多数答卷都处于这个水平,没有丝毫美感了。其实稍微的遣词造句就能有所改观。
“ a huge geographical country ”是地方大的意思,而“ with well educated people
”是素质高的意思,不是有个中文成语叫“地广人稀”吗,咱们只需改一个字 : 变“稀”为“杰”就可以用上这个成语了 . 再看“ will
eventually recover”,
这里的历史背景是俄罗斯以前是超级大国,虽然现在只是边缘势力国家,但前景一片光明。所以我们再找找中文里表示相关意思的成语,就翻译成了
“俄罗斯地广人杰,东山再起指日可待。”这样的答卷就会让阅卷老师眼前一亮,忍不住给你点 brownie point ( 印象分 )
。
当然,既然是考试,我们就需要理性地分析它。许多同学和英语打了十几年交道,按道理说也应该是半个专家了。可一听到还是直摇头——心里没底啊。其实,现在考中级口译的人越来越多了,平均年龄也不断下降。以前的考生多数是本科生和研究生,现在高中生,初中生,甚至小学生都加入到了这支考试大军中来。这也从另一个侧面说明了中级口译考试既没有难到让人望而生畏的地步,也不是什么遥不可及的神物,所以大家一定要充满信心,记住:
You are what you believe (信自己,一定行) .Though you never know, always
give your best shoot. ( 未来虽不可知,总要尽力去试 )
,你会惊喜于自己的潜力和表现。下面我们就针对学习中口翻译的要点,注意事项和考试技巧这三个大家比较关注的方面来简单聊聊。
大家从小到大都考过上百次试了,应该知道应对翻译考试最重要的学习方法就是研究真题。中级口译从 1997
年考到现在在翻译部分已经有四十二篇真题了。作为一个考生,这些题绝对是你必须攻克的一关。特别是 2000
年以后的真题,最好能够反复琢磨。当然这需要你有很强的自律性,许多人没看几篇题就被吓跑了——半途而废唯剩可惜。而还有的人可能花了巨量的时间在里面却仍旧感觉一团乱麻理不清楚,这就是因为你没有详尽的理论知识作为依托,不懂如何进行分析和归纳,无奈最后事倍功半。所以如果有条件的话,我还是建议大家到正规的培训机构进行系统的学习。还有大量的与时俱进的热门主题作为补充。很多学生上过课后都感慨原来短短的一节课两个半小时可以收获如此之丰,而且在知识量巨大的同时又丝毫不枯燥乏味,阵阵的欢声笑语无疑是送良药入口的最好汤剂。当然找到好的学习资料是自学成功的基础。
注意事项
虽说中级口译翻译部分的主题可以细分为十类甚至二十类,但其实从宏观的角度来看,无论是英译中还是中译英都可以直接分成政治,经济和人文三大类。可能很多同学都会认为政治和经济题目是重点,事实上,人文类的考题比那两类的加起来还要多。特别是近几年更是如此。就拿刚刚过去的
07
年春的中级口译考试来说吧,此次的篇两翻译文章全是人文类的主题,分别谈的是文物和世博会。所以我们在日常生活中就要注意积累。口译考试是个无底洞,涉及的话题没有边界,可能出现的单词量也不封顶,但不能因为这个就垂头丧气或轻言放弃,反而应该善于利用零散时间去读书去积累方方面面的知识,要知道人与人之间的差异就产生于这些零散的时间中,所以形成良好的学习习惯必会让我们受益终生。
考试技巧
从历次考试看来,要想把全文译好,很重要的一点就是文章的开头要先译好。其实这也是很容易理解的。因为文章的中心思想和感情基调一般都出现在文章的起始部分。所以大家在平时做题时就要养成下笔之前统观全文的习惯,要有全局观念,千万不要一看到题目就动笔,而应该先弄清各个句子之间的逻辑关系之后再开工,还可以和我们课堂上训练的一样标出句号和难点,这样既能方便检查,也可以避免欲速则不达的情况。
另外,同学们的译文一定要与原文的分段一致。因为阅卷时是以自然段为单位来评分的,这一点虽然简单,但如果不加注意就会造成不必要的失分。最后,卷面一定要工整。许多考生对自己的字没信心。在此我很愿意和大家分享一个小
tip
(贴士)——把字写大一点,蝇头小字会让阅卷老师失去耐心,而在字体不变的情况下只要放大一号就能避免潦草杂乱的印象,给人清晰易辨的感觉。
总之,中级口译的翻译部分是一场没有硝烟的战争,很多人压根就没有勇气和决心参加这千难万险的考试,而一路艰辛唯有坚持才能显示出你的特别,现在就加入吧,请相信挫折和磨难都是暂时的,我们会让你披荆斩棘达到成功的彼岸。