专八汉译英

　　一个人生活在世上，就好像水泥搅拌器里的石子一样，运转起来之后，身不由己。使我们感觉到，不是某一个人的问题，而是社会问题，而是文化问题。耶稣临死的时候说：“宽容他们!他们做的他们不知道。”年轻时候读这句话，觉得稀松平常，长大之后，也觉得这句话没有力量。但是到了我现在这个年龄，才发现这句话多么深奥，多么痛心。使我想到我们中国人，成了今天这个样子，我们的丑陋，来自于我们不知道我们丑陋。我到爱荷华，我们夫妇的经费是由爱荷华大学出一半，再由私人捐助一半，捐助一半的是爱荷华燕京饭店老板，一位从没有回过中国的中国人裴竹章先生，我们从前没见过面，捐了一个这么大的数目，使我感动。他和我谈话，他说：“我在没有看你的书之前，我觉得中国人了不起，看了你的书之后，才觉得不是那么一回事，所以说，我想请你当面指教。”

　　背景介绍

　　《丑陋的中国人》是台湾作家柏杨先生的著名作品，其实是一部他在各地以《丑陋的中国人》为题演讲的合集。作者指出中国传统文化有一种滤过性疾病，这种疾病使我们的子子孙孙受感染，到今天也不能痊愈。这篇杂文虽不如鲁迅先生的杂文来得犀利，但是更为深刻，翻译时要注意用词。

　　难点解析

　　1. “一个人生活在世上 ……”：这里 “一个人生活在世上” ，无需译成 “when people live in this world”, 只需要翻译成“life is like...”，这样更显简练。

　　2. 运转起来之后：这里用“toss”更好，因为是在水泥搅拌器里，“toss”更能体现出搅拌的意味。

　　3. 身不由己：这里的意思是身处社会中，人失去对自己的控制 ，所以用 “loses control of its own existence”更为贴切。

　　4. “使我们感觉到，不是某一个人的问题，而是社会问题，而是文化问题。”：在这句话的翻译中，作者增译 “I could cite similar analogies”以此作为强调。“不是 ……而是 ……”可以使用 “not ...but ...”句型 ，中文喜用散句 ，而英文喜用整句 ，故此句可合译为一句话 ： “The conclusion I always come to is that the problems of the Chinese people are not individual but rather social and cultural problems.”。

　　5. 耶稣临死的时候说：“宽容他们!他们做的他们不知道。”：圣经中多用简单词汇;所以即使没有读过圣经，也可以译出。全句译为：Before he died, Jesus said, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do”。

　　6. “年轻时候读这句话 ，觉得稀松平常……”： “稀松平常”如果翻译成 “common things”则太显平淡，如用两个形容词“bland”和“frivolous”表明“稀松”和 “平常”则更夺人眼球。

　　7.“……这句话没有力量” ：说 明作者觉得上述所言缺乏实质 ，不能给人力量 ，故可译为 “lacked substance”，如若译成: “statement lacks power.”则显得不地道 。

　　8.“但是到了我现在这个年龄”：此句中“到了我现在这...

　　人的一生好比马拉松赛跑。人人都有最后一圈，这一圈通常属于人生道路漫长的老人。七老八十的人，穿过艰难的世途，穿过芸芸众生，穿过重重障碍，于是到了人生的最后一圈。

　　这一圈路程有长有短，跑得有快有慢。有的人稳健有力，从容不迫;有的人歪歪扭扭，步子不正;有的人拖拖沓沓，蹒跚不前。也有跑入歪道的人，或跑不快还要挡道的人，或不按竞赛规则乱跑的人，都是注定要失败的。

　　谁能跑好这最后一圈，谁就是胜利者。

　　背景介绍

　　本篇选自著名散文家何为的随笔《最后一圈》。作者把人生的晚年比作马拉松长跑的最后一圈，鼓励老年人保持晚节，跑好最后一圈，力求老有所为，发挥余热。文章条理清晰，但翻译上的一些细节做来并非易事，如原文四字格的翻译，便是本篇的难点。

　　难点解析

　　1. 好比：be likened to。

　　2. 人生道路漫长的老人 ：意译为 “the aged who have already seen much of life”。

　　3. 七老八十的人 ：译为 “septuagenarian and octogenarians”比 “someone whose age is in the seventies or eighties”更为简洁。

　　4. “穿过艰难 的世途 ，穿过芸芸众生 ，穿过重重障碍”这三个排 比是此篇 的难点之一 ， 不可直译 ，须意译 ，且注意动词 “穿过”的三种不 同表达 。

　　5. 穿过艰难 的世途 ：即 “经历迂 回曲折或艰难 的人生之旅” ，故译为 “experiencing the twists and turns of life’s j ourney” (twists and turns 是成语 ，意为 “迂 回曲折”、 “艰难” )。

　　6. 穿过芸芸众生：即“遇见各式各样的人”，故译为 “meeting human beings of all descriptions ”。

　　7.穿过重障碍：即“经受一次又一次的险阻碍”，故译为“going through one obstacle after another”。

　　8. 第二段 四字格翻译较多，是本篇翻译的另一个难点。“稳健有力，从容不迫”译为 “run with firm and steady steps and self-possession (self-possession：the trait of resolutely controlling your own behaviour沉着，泰然自若 )。

　　9. 歪歪扭扭，步子不正：译为“run very unsteadily and out of step”(out of step作“步调不一致”、“不合拍”解)。

　　10. 拖拖沓沓 ，蹒跚不前 ：译为“be sluggish and run with faltering steps”(sluggish ：行动迟缓的、迟钝的;faltering ：unsteady in speech or action 蹒跚的、支吾的 )。

　　11. 跑入歪道：意译为 “resort to dishonest practices”(resort to：依靠，求助于;诉诸 )。

　　古人多有“名”，“字”，“号”。比如唐代伟大的浪漫主义诗人李白，字太白，号青莲居士。在古代，名是人名;字，是根据人名中的字义另取的名字;号，原指名和字以外另起的别号，后来也泛指名以外另起的字。 按我国古代习惯，“字”是男子的正式称呼，用于社会交往，而“名”多用于自称，或用于特别亲近的人之间。如，《红楼梦》中宝玉送黛玉的“字”是“颦”，眉头蹙起的意思，而称呼好友秦钟就是用他的字“鲸卿”。

　　翻译的时候该如何翻译呢?

　　举例：徐霞客(1586—1641)，名弘祖，字振之，号霞客，又号霞逸。他的好友陈继儒因他酷爱旅行，经常餐霞露宿于山林野泽之间，为他取号“霞客”。

　　Xu Xiake(1586-1641)，whose given name is"Hongzu"and who styled himself as "Zhenzhi","Xiake"and "Xiayi"。As he was very interested in traveling and liked to spend the night outdoors to savor the dew and enjoy the morning rays, his friend Chen Jiru named him "Xiake",the guest of the morning ray。

　　徐霞客的名字恐怕很少有人知道，多数人知道的是他的“号”。补充解释的“the guest of the morning ray”朝霞的客人，好生动的意境哪。

　　style oneself as 意为to give sb/sth/yourself a particular name or title，即称呼，命名。用它译“字”“号”，“别号”相当准确。

　　在古罗马，人们也有三个名字，cognomen-家族的名字，nomen-族系的姓，praenomen—基督教的教名，有时也另外加一个名字agnomen，用上面的几个单词对应中国的姓，氏，名，字，便有一丝古奥气息，让人联想到古老的文化传统。

　　What I Have Lived For ---by Bertrand Russell

　　“我的人生追求” ---伯特兰.罗素

　　有三种朴实却异常强烈的激情左右着我的人生：渴望爱情、寻求知识和对受苦人的怜悯。这三种激情尤如飓风肆意地吹着我,从无边的苦海吹向绝境。

　　我寻找爱，因为爱使人陶醉。我常常宁愿用我全部的余生来换取几个小时这样的欣喜。我寻找爱，因为爱使我解除了孤寂，解除了一个颤抖的灵魂从人世间到冷漠无底的深渊所经历的孤寂。我寻找爱，因为我在爱的缩影中看到了圣人和诗人眼里天堂的景象。这就是以往我寻找的，虽然对于人生来说似乎过于美好，但我终于找到了。

　　以同样的激情，我寻求知识。我渴望理解人类的心灵。我想知道群星为何闪烁。我试图领悟毕达哥拉斯的数的魔力，它支配着数的和谐。我已多少达到了此目的。

　　爱和知识总是通往天堂。但是怜悯总把我带回尘世。痛苦喊叫的回声在我心中回荡。挨饿的孩子，遭摧残的受害者，被子女视为累赘的无助老人，以及这个充满孤独、贫穷和痛苦的世界，是对应有人生的一种嘲弄。我渴望减轻这种灾难，但是我无能为力，我也在受苦。

　　Three passions,simple but overwhelmingly strong,have governed my life ---the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and the unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.These passions,like great winds, have blown me hither and thither,in a wayward course,over a deep ocean of anguish,reacing to the very verge of despair.

　　I have sought love, first,because it brings ecstasy —ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of living for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next,because it relieves loneliness —that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it,finally,because in the union of love I have seen,in a mystic miniature,the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life，this is what,at last,I have found.

　...

　　三峡大坝的建造是举世瞩目的最伟大的成就之一。我对这项宏伟工程仍然充满敬畏：谁能想像高山会被移动，世界最大的河流之一会被人驯服，就为了造福13亿人民!中国人民似乎没有克服不了的困难。他们正在构筑自己的未来，其规模与人民的需要相匹配。如果谁真正了解中国人民的需求需要付出多大的努力，他们就不会对这种努力说三道四。每个工业化国家在其发展的历史进程中，都有一个重大的阶段进行基础设施建设，造福于民。中国目前正处在这样一个阶段，并且面临比所有其他国家更多更大的任务。可以肯定地说，中国人民有能力完成三峡工程。

　　No task seems too large for the people of China. They are building their future on a scale that matches the needs for their people, who could fault this effort if they truly understood what it takes to provide for the people of China. In the history of every in-dustrialized nation, there has been a great period of building infrastructure for the bene-fit of its people. China is in this period now and the task is much greater than the ones that any other country has ever faced. There should be no question that the Chinese people have the ability to successfully complete the Three Gorges Project.

　　Michel Gringas is getting ready for bed, a ritual not complete until he straps on his NovaDreamer.

　　一台真正的梦机器技术能够帮助控制和创造梦Michel Gringas正准备睡觉，在他与新梦想家捆在一起后，程序才算完成。

　　"It's the best form of virtual reality," said Gringas. "It's a reality in which you can do absolutely everything."

　　"这是虚拟现实的最好方式，"Gringas说。"在这种现实中，你可以几乎不受限制地做任何事情。"

　　Gringas is one of thousands who swear by the new technology that reportedly lets users control and create dreams.

　　据报道，Gringas是坚信控制和创造梦想这项新技术的千百名用户之一。

　　"Flying is the most classic example," said Gringas, a Web designer and videographer from Canada. "When you realize you're having a lucid dream, you just take off and fly!"

　　"飞翔是最典型的例子，"来自加拿大的网页设计者兼电视录像制作人Gringas说，"当你意识到正做一个清晰的梦时，便开始起飞翱翔。"

　　Realizing you're in a lucid dream is the key, and that's where technology developed in a Stanford University lab by world-renowned lucid dreaming expert Stephen LaBerge comes in.

　　意识到是在清醒梦中是关键，这说明由斯坦福大学实验室著名清醒梦专家Stephen LaBerge开发的技术便发挥作用了。

　　"When you do something in a dream, to the brain it's as if you're actually doing it," LaBerge said.

　　"当你在梦中做事情时，大脑感知好像是在现实中做的，"LaBerge说。

　　Lucid dreaming simply means knowing that you're dreaming while you're sleeping. Think Nightmare on Elm Street, but in a good way.

　　简单说，清醒梦就是当你正酣睡时，你知道你在做梦。想想Elm大街上的噩梦，不过用一种安全的方式。

　　Control Your Dreams 控制你的梦

　　The NovaDreamer is a mask that senses when you drift i...

　　中国家庭一向尊老爱幼。在大家庭里，老一辈人的意见受到尊重，小一辈的人得到全家的爱护。中国宪法规定赡养父母是成年子女义不容辞的责任。在城市里，不和家里老人一起住的年轻夫妇给老人生活费并帮助他们干家务活儿。在农村，尽管大家庭解体了，许多结了婚的儿子和他的家人还和父母住在同一个院子里。对他们来说，分家不过是分灶而已。结了婚的儿子往往把房子盖在父母家附近，这样父母和子女互相帮助、探望都和过去一样方便。

　　In extended families, older member's opinion was respected, and the youngest members are loved and taken good cane of by all. China's constitution stipulates that grown-up children are duty-bound to support their parents. In the cities, couples who do not live with their aged parents give the latter living allowances and help them with the house chores. In the countryside, though quite a number of extended families have dissolved, many marred sons and their families continue to live in the same courtyard with their parents. To them, breaking up the extended family means cooking their meals separately. Married sons most often have their houses built near their parents’ Home, making it convenient for parents and children to help and visit each other as be-fore.

　　Children who are abused and neglected at home are more likely than their peers to do badly at school, to have behaviour problems and to become victims of bullying, according to a report.

　　The first British overview of research on the relationship between how children are treated at home and how they fare at school proves that abuse has a "profound effect" on children’s performance in all aspects of school life, its authors say.

　　The study, published by the NSPCC, includes the finding that maltreatment in the first five years of life almost triples a child’s likelihood of having multiple physiological, behavioural and academic problems at school.

　　Children with special educational needs are more than seven times more likely than their classmates to suffer physical abuse and have almost the same chance of being neglected, according to the research.

　　The study also says that children who have spent a year or more in care, and are more likely than their peers to have suffered maltreatment, are more likely to fail their GCSEs; 8% of youngsters in care achieve five good GCSEs, compared with a national average of more than 50%.

　　Although it is impossible to gauge precisely the numbers of children suffering abuse, often without either their school authorities or other services knowing the truth of their circumstances, one study found one in six young British adults reported at least one serious abusive incident in their ch...