英漢翻譯基本原理第五講:有哪些常用的翻譯技巧?(續(xù))
(二)長句翻譯的操作方法:
1、理順原句內(nèi)部關(guān)系,理出句中包含的各語義點(diǎn)
【例157】 The fact that the average Englishman's home has become his workshop is partly because he is keen on working with his hands and partly because he feels, for one reason or another that he must do for himself many household jobs for which, some years ago, he would have hired professional help.
【譯文】 普通英國人的家已經(jīng)成了自家的工場(chǎng),一方面是因?yàn)樗麩嶂杂谧约簞?dòng)手干,另一方面是因?yàn)槌鲇谀撤N原因,他覺得許多家務(wù)活必須自己干,而這些活在幾年前他會(huì)雇專人來干的。
【例158】 I wondered (1)how she would feel(2)if she learned that the Negro(3)before whom she had behaved in such an unladylike manner(4)was habitually a white man(3).
【譯文】 我心中思襯(1),在一個(gè)黑人面前表現(xiàn)得如此有失女士風(fēng)度(4),倘若得知這個(gè)黑人其實(shí)是白人時(shí)(3),不知她作何感想(2)。
2、將整理出的各語義點(diǎn)按漢語表達(dá)習(xí)慣重新排列。
【例159】 American schools, both public and private, consist of 12 years of grades(1)-- basically 8 years of elementary school and 4 years of secondary or high school(2), although grades 7 and 8, or 7, 8 and 9 may be housed together in a middle school or junior high school(3).
【譯文】 美國的公立學(xué)校和私立學(xué)校都是由12個(gè)年級(jí)組成的(1),基本上是8年小學(xué)加4年中學(xué)(2),雖然7、8兩個(gè)年級(jí)或7、8、9三個(gè)年級(jí)有可能都在初級(jí)中學(xué)里就讀(3)。
【例160】 It would take me an entire book to list(1)all of the people I have known in my life who spent the majority of their lives as single people(2), but who were the undisputed focus of a large group of friends(3)-- usually serving as problem-solvers, and widely respected and loved(4).
【譯文】 我畢生認(rèn)識(shí)了許多人,他們一生中大部分時(shí)間都是單身(2),但在朋友群中卻無可非議地是個(gè)核心人物(3)。他們經(jīng)常幫人解決問題,廣受尊敬,廣受愛戴(4)。要把這些人的姓名一一列出的話,恐怕要寫一本書(1)。
【例161】 Its beginning obscured by unemployment caused by the world economic slowdown(1), the new technological unemployment(2)may emerge as the great socio-economic challenge of the end of the 20th century(3).
【譯文】 新技術(shù)出現(xiàn)帶來的失業(yè)問題(2),盡管起初被全球性經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退所引起的失業(yè)現(xiàn)象所掩蓋(1),但有可能成為20世紀(jì)末社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)的重大難題(3)。
【例162】 He had flown in just the day before from Georgia,(1)where he had spent his vacation(2)basking in the sun(3)after the completion of the construction job(4)he had been engaged in in the South(5).
【譯文】 他本來在南方從事一項(xiàng)建筑工程(5),任務(wù)完成之后(4),他就上佐治亞去度假(2),享受著陽光(3),前天才坐飛機(jī)回來(1)。
【例163】 When the "energy crisis" first came in 1973 - 1974(1), I was living with my family in a cabin on the edge of an area(2)where deer spend the winter(3) in northern Minnesota(2), observing the deer as their behavior changed from more activity in summer and fall to less as winter progressed(4), followed by an increase again in the spring as the snow melted(5).
【譯文】 1973-1974年間第一次出現(xiàn)“能源危機(jī)”的時(shí)候(1),我正和家人住在明尼蘇達(dá)北部一處鹿群過冬的邊緣地帶。我們住在一個(gè)小屋里(2)(3),觀察鹿的生活習(xí)性,觀察它們?nèi)绾坞S著冬季來臨從夏秋的活動(dòng)頻繁變得少動(dòng)的(4),而到春暖雪融時(shí),它們的活動(dòng)又是如何增加起來的(5)。
3、依照重新排列的語義點(diǎn)順序用漢語逐點(diǎn)表達(dá)
【例164】 Now there is in America a curious combination(1)of pride in having risen to a position where it is no longer necessary to depend on manual labor for a living(2)and genuine delight in what one is able to accomplish with one's own hands(3).
【譯文】 現(xiàn)在美國有一個(gè)奇怪的現(xiàn)象:人們一方面為地位上升不再需要靠體力勞動(dòng)謀生而感到自豪,另一方面又對(duì)能夠親自動(dòng)手做事而由衷地感到高興。
【例165】 One of the most heartwarming aspects(1)of people who are born with a facial disfigurement(2), whether minor or major(3), is the number of them(1) who do not allow it to upset their lives(4), even reaching out to help others with the same problem(5).
【譯文】 有些人生來面部就有殘缺(2),殘缺有大有小(3),但令人欣慰的是這些人中很多人(1)并沒有因此而生活得不愉快(4),相反,他們倒去主動(dòng)幫助其他有同樣問題的人(5)。
【例166】 Students in these state schools, however, as well as those in private colleges, must pay tuition(1), but the state schools are much less expensive than private ones(2), particularly for students who are residents of the state(3).
【譯文】 但是,這些州立學(xué)校的學(xué)生以及私立學(xué)院的學(xué)生都須繳納學(xué)費(fèi)(1),不過州立學(xué)校的學(xué)費(fèi)比私立學(xué)校的學(xué)費(fèi)便宜得多(2),對(duì)常住本州的學(xué)生來說尤為便宜(3)。
【例167】 From the corner of my eye, I saw Phil, pale, slack-jawed, eyes wide with amazement and adoration combined. We listened to Jenny finish the sonnet, which was in its way a kind of prayer.
【譯文】 我從眼角里瞅見菲爾,他臉色蒼白,半張著嘴,眼睛瞪得大大的,又是驚訝又是崇敬。我們聽著詹尼念完詩,那簡(jiǎn)直就是一篇極有特色的祈禱詞。
【例168】 They went in to dinner. It was excellent, and the wine was good. Its influence presently had its effect on them. They talked not only without acrimony, but even with friendliness.
【譯文】 他們走進(jìn)餐廳去吃飯。美酒加佳肴。喝著酒,吃著菜,氣氛頓時(shí)起了變化。不僅沒有惡言相向,言語間還十分投機(jī)。