英译汉考试的重点是测试学生对英语的理解能力及汉语表达能力。在教育部制定的硕士学位研究生英语教学大纲中, 规定了硕士生入学时应达到的英语水平标准, 有关翻译部分的规定是“能将一般难度的英语短文译成汉语,理解基本正确,译文达意”。这就需要考生既要有比较好的英语基础,还要有扎实的汉语功底。翻译是一项对综合能力要求比较高的题型,它不仅要求学生对词汇、语法、语篇以及文化等有较好的掌握,还要求学生有着很强的组词成句、组句成段的能力。仔细观察历年的考题,我们会发现这类题型主观性比较强,它要求考生可以有适当的发挥。但在评分时有合适标准和可接受的标准,也就是说只要考生所翻译的句子适合于上下文的基本思想而且其译文也能被人所接受,一般可以判定这个句子的翻译符合要求。
最近几年的考研翻译部分是给出一篇400多个词的英语文章,要求考生在仔细阅读整篇文章并理解文章的基本意义的基础上,准确地按照上下文的提示和意义(即一定的语境)将划线部分(一般是五个句子)翻译成汉语。体裁大多是议论文,其中相当一部分的内容是有关科学常识的。所以要取得一个好成绩考生不但要有比较扎实的翻译基本功而且还需要比较广的知识面。比较扎实的翻译基本功包括良好的语言素质、对两种语言异同点的把握和熟悉翻译的基本技能和技巧。
二.翻译的标准
翻译是运用一种语言把另一种语言所表达的思想内容准确而完整地表达出来的一种活动。翻译在某中程度上讲也是一个思维再创造的过程。在翻译的过程中,译者必须遵守一定的标准与原则。对于考研翻译而言,“忠实”和“通顺”是两项最基本的要求。
忠实:由于翻译是在理解了别人用一种语言所表达的意思后,把同样的意思用另一种语言表达出来,因此译者首先要忠实于原作的内容,也就是说翻译的过程主要是传达别人的意思,而不是自己进行创作,不得篡改、歪曲、遗漏原文所表达的思想。可见准确地理解原文是翻译好一篇文章的关键。
通顺:这条原则指的是将一种语言翻译成另一种语言后,译文要流畅、明了、易懂。具体到英译汉来说,就是将英语翻译成汉语后,语言必须符合汉语的习惯和规范,用词要准确,文字不晦涩、不生硬、不洋化。
三.翻译五步骤
1.正确理解原文、弄清文章的主题及上下文的逻辑关系: 英译汉的第一步是准确、完整、透彻地理解英语原文。译者对原文稍有差错,译文就不可能准确无误,甚至会差之毫厘, 却失之千里。任何一篇文章都是一个有机的整体,所有的内容都围绕着文章的中心思想展开,每一个单词每一个句子都是整体的一部分。如果只注意单个词句,不注意整体,还是要出各种各样的错误,即在某种意义上说不能完整地翻译原文所要表达的意思。所以,在进行具体翻译前,首先通读全文,了解文章的整体内容,准确把握作者所要表达的主题思想和重要事实。在此基础上,认真分析划线部分与上下文之间的各种关系(逻辑关系、语法关系、意义关系及指代关系等)。
2.认真分析划线部分的语法结构: 英译汉的句子一般比较长,而且其结构也比较复杂。考生需要首先观察这个长句子中是否有从句,是哪种类型的从句。然后再找出主句和从句中的骨干结构(主语、谓语、宾语)及其修饰成分(状语、定语、宾语补足语、同位语等),同时要注意句子是否有省略的地方,以及介词短语、不定式短语、分词短语、动名词短语等的各种语法功能。这样句子结构层次就十分清晰了,翻译时就会心中有数, 就能够做到有的放矢。
3.斟酌划线部分英语句子的含义: 考生在对原文有一个整体的了解并且弄懂了划线部分的语法结构后,就要仔细琢磨划线部分英语句子的含义,特别留心一些固定表达法、某些短语的特殊含义、代词的指代意义等。如:The importance of the English language in communication can’t be overestimated. 这句话的意思是“英语在国际交流中的重要性怎么估计也不会过高。”如果按照字面意思直译,则很可能译成“英语在国际交流中的重要性不能被估计过高”。
4.忠实流畅地进行汉语表达: 在准确理解划线部分英语句子的含义后,如何用通顺的汉语将其表达出来是关键。表达是理解的结果,是把已经理解了的原作内容选择适当的译文重新表达出来。由于两种语言存在着语言、语法及表达方式上的差异,所以在翻译的时候必须作相应的调整和改变,使中文读者阅读译文时感到自然、流畅。
5.仔细审校润色: 正确地理解原文、忠实流畅地用汉语表达原意是翻译中的重要步骤,审校润色则是使译文更完美的最后一个环节。通过审校,我们可以发现译文的一些漏洞和不足之处,如人名、地名、日期、数字、时间等细节是否有遗漏和错译的地方,指代关系是否明确一致,是否存在错别字,标点符号是否准确等。
四.考研英译汉必备技巧
1.增译法: 英汉两种语言由于词法和句法有差异,表达方式也不尽相同,翻译时为了使译文合乎汉语的习惯和表达规律,为了使意思更加明确,从意义、修辞和句法上考虑需要在译文中适当增添一些虽无其词而有其意的词。
1) 抽象名词后加词使其具体化。如: serious unemployment严重的失业问题
He was still reluctant to talk substance.他仍然不愿意谈实质性的东西。
2) 增加一个适当的名词。如:
The temperature needed for this progressing is lower than that needed to melt the metal.这种加工方法所需要的温度要低于熔化该金属的温度。
Fundamentally, electronics is based upon an understanding of the physical world, that is, upon physics.电子学基本上是以人们对物质世界的认识,也就是以物理学为基础的。(补充被动语态省去的部分)
3) 增加数量词。如: first oil well 第一口油井
It leads the discussion to extremes at the outset: it invites you to think that animals should be treated either with the consideration humans extend to other humans, or with no consideration at all. 这种说法从一开始就将讨论引向两个极端,它使人们认为应该这样对待动物:要么像对人类自身一样关切体谅,要么完全冷漠无情。(真题示范)
4) 增加形容词。如:
Speed and reliability are the chief advantages of the electronic computers. 速度快,可靠性高是电子计算机的主要优点。
5) 不及物动词后增加宾语。如:
John’s mother washed for a living after his father died.约翰的父亲去世后,他母亲以洗衣为生。
I haven’t enough time to read. 我没有足够的时间读书。
6) 增加连词。如:
If you are an energetic man with which you are concerned, you find yourself invariably under the orders of some big man at the top who is elderly, weary and cynical.如果你是个精力充沛的人,对于如何恰当地完成你的工作有着独到的见解,那么你会发现自己总是听命于上面的某个大人物。而他又是一个上了年纪,精力不支,还爱吹毛求疵的人。
7) 增加表示时态的词。如:
You were, you are, and you remain to be my beloved mentor. 你过去是,现在是,将来仍然是我敬爱的导师。
We were hoping to have a holiday next week, but we may not be able to get away now. 我们原来盼着下星期放假,但现在我们可能走不了了。
8) 增加一个适当的动词。如:
The world needn’t be afraid of a possible shortage of coal, oil, natural gas or other resources of fuel for the future.世界无需担心将来可能出现的煤、石油、天然气或者其他燃料来源短缺的问题。
9) 增加英语中省略的词。如:
We won’t retreat, we never have and never will. 我们不会后退,我们从来没有后退过,将来也决不后退。
When the owner noticed me, I said I was working until he hired me. He did. 当店主注意到我时,我说我会一直干到他雇我,他雇了我。
10) 增加一些适当修饰词语。如:
The students rant all the way up to the station only to find that the train had left 10 minutes before.学生们一路跑到火车站,可惜火车10分钟前就开走了。
2.减译法: 由于英汉两种语言在语法结构、表达方式以及修辞手段上的不同,有些词语或句子成分在英语中是必不可少的,但若搬到译文中去,就会影响译文的简洁和通顺。因此在英译汉的过程中,为了使译文更加简练,更符合汉语的表达习惯,需要省略一些可有可无或翻译后反嫌累赘的词语。但必须注意,减译不是删掉原文中的某些内容,在不易减译的情况下,不要随便减。
1) 省略代词。如:
We are pleased to have received your invitation to the symposium on internet.非常高兴收到你寄来的参加互联网会议的邀请。(省略代词“我们”)
If the chain reaction went on without being checked, it could cause a terrible explosion. 如果连锁反应不加控制,就可能引起可怕的爆炸。(省略代词it, it在这里代表the chain reaction)
This will be particularly true since energy pinch will make it difficult to continue agriculture in the high-energy American fashion that makes it possible to combine few farmers with high yields.这种困境将是确定无疑的,因为能源的匮乏使农业无法以高能量消耗、投入少数农民就可能获得高产的美国耕种方式继续下去了。(原文中两处代词it均为形式宾语,)(真题示范)
It was stipulated that the goods should be delivered in three days.规定三天后发货。(it是形式主语,that是先行词)
2) 省略冠词。如:
The volume of a gas increase more quickly than that of a liquid. 气体体积增加的速度比液体快。
3) 省略连词。如:
When the pressure gets low, the boiling-point becomes low.气压低,沸点就低。(连词when可以不译)
Henry had worked in a bank for years, and then he went to study in MIT. 亨利在一家银行工作了几年,然后去麻省理工大学学习去了。
4) 省略介词。如:
The distinction between light and pigment is important to color theory. 区别光和色对于色彩理论来说很重要。(between可以不译)
Over the years, tools and technology themselves as a source of fundamental innovation have largely been ignored by historian and philosophers of science. 多年来,工具和技术本身作为根本性创新的源泉,在很大程度上被科学史学家和科学思想家忽视了。(真题示范)
Smoking is prohibited in public places. 公共场所不准吸烟。
The supply of oil can be shut off unexpectedly at any time, and in any case, the oil wells will all run dry in thirty years or so at the present rate of use. 石油供应可能随时被切断;不管怎样,以目前的这种消费速度,只需30年左右所有的油井都会枯竭。(真题示范)
5) 省略名词。如:
Perhaps you have overlooked the fact that your account for May purchases has not yet been settled.也许你忘记了五月份的购货款还没有结算。(fact后面引导的是一个同位语从句,可以不译)
6) 省略动词。如:
There is no doubt that we’ll carry out the experiment successfully. 毫无疑问我们一定能把实验搞成功。(there is不翻译)
He behaved politely while answering the interviewer’s questions.他在回答采访者的问题时,很有礼貌。(behave不翻译)
Galileo’s greatest glory was that in 1609 he was the first person to turn the newly invented telescope on the heavens to prove that the planets revolve around the sun rather than around the Earth. 伽里略最光辉的业绩在于他在1609年第一个把新发明的望远镜对准天空,以证实行星是围绕太阳旋转,而不是围绕地球旋转。(真题示范)
3.转译法: 英语和汉语的结构是有很大区别的,在翻译过程中有些句子可以逐词翻译,但也有相当一部分句子不能按照英语的句子结构机械地翻译。在忠实于原文的前提下,原文中有些词在译文中需要转换词类,某些语法成分也需要作适当的调整,这样才能使汉语译文更通顺、更自然。如:
Rockets have found application for the exploration of the universe.火箭已用来探索宇宙。(application在原文中是名词,翻译成汉语时变成了动词。)
Television is different from radio in that it sends and receives a picture.电视和无线电的区别在于电视发送和接受的是图象。(different在原文中是形容词,翻译成汉语时变成了名词。)
Actually, it isn’t, because it assumes that there is an agreed account of human right, which is something the world does not have. 事实并非如此,因为这种问题是以人们对人的权利有共同认识为基础的,而这种共同认识并不存在。(副词译成名词)(真题示范)
The computers are chiefly characterized by accuracy and quick computation.计算机的主要特点是准确性高,运算速度快。(chiefly在原文中是副词,翻译成汉语时变成了形容词。)
The modern world is experiencing rapid development of science and technology. 当今世界科学技术正在迅速发展。(宾语science and technology翻译为主语,主语The modern world翻译为状语。)
Arguing from the view that humans are different from animals in every relevant respect, extremists of this kind think that animals lie outside the are of moral choice.这类人持有极端的看法,认为人与动物在各相关方面都不相同,对待动物考虑道德问题。(状语译成宾语)(真题示范)
4.分译法: 英语长句子比较多,汉语句子相对而言比较短。在翻译时可以改变原文结构,把原文的某个成分从原来的结构中分离出来,译成一个独立成分、从句或并列分句。
He unnecessarily spent a lot of time introducing this book, which the students are familiar with. 他花了很长时间介绍这本书,其实没有必要,因为学生们对它已经很熟悉了。
We tried in vain to persuade him to give up his wrong belief. 我们尽力劝说他放弃错误的信念,但没有成功。
It has been rightly stated that this situation is a threat to international security. 这个局势对国际安全是个威胁,这样的说法是完全正确的。
Other students of the brain, noting that disease and physical damage can change personally and distort the mind, believe the brain to be nothing more than a fantastically complex computer. 另外有一些科学家注意到疾病和身体损伤能够改变人的秉性,歪曲人的心灵。他们认为人脑仅仅是一个神奇复杂的计算机而已。(真题示范)
5. 合译法: 和分译法不同,合译法是将不同的句子成分组合在一起,使其更符合汉语的表达方法。如:
Science moves forward, they say, not so much through the insights of great men of genius as because of more ordinary things like improved techniques and tools. 他们说科学的发展与其说源于天才伟人的真知灼识,不如说源于改进了的技术和工具等等更为普遍的东西。(将英语的一个句子结构翻译成一个词组)
When that happens, it is not a mistake: it is mankind’s instinct for moral reasoning in action, an instinct that should be encouraged rather than laughed at. 这种反应并不错,这是人类用道德观念进行推理的******在起作用。这种******应得到鼓励,而不是遭到嘲笑。(When that happens, it is not a mistake原来是两个句子,现在组合成一个简洁的汉语句子。)(真题示范)
6.反译法: 一个问题有时可以从不同的角度来解释说明。有些句子英语是从正面说的,汉语可以从反面来解释。
1) 否定译成肯定。如:
I never passed the theatre but I thought of his last performance. 每一次经过那家剧院,我都会想起他的最后一次演出。
There is no rule that has no exception. 任何规则都有例外。(双重否定)
Hardly a month goes by without word of another survey revealing new depths of scientific illiteracy among U.S. citizens. 美国公民科盲日益严重,这种调查报告几乎月月都有。(双重否定)(真题示范)
The United Nations Organization has not, so far, justified the hopes which the people of the world set on it. 到目前为止,联合国辜负了世界人民寄予的希望。
Under such times as mankind has the sense to lower its population to the point where the planet can provide a comfortable support for all, people will have to accept more “unnatural food”. 除非人类 终于意识到要把人口减少到这样的程度,使地球能为所有的人提供足够的饮食,否则人们将不得不接受更多的“人造食品”。(真题示范)
2) 肯定译成否定。如:
Everyone has the right to be free from hunger. 人人有不挨饿的权利。
This will be particularly true since energy pinch will make it difficult to continue agriculture in the high-energy American fashion that makes it possible to combine few farmers with high yields.这种困境将是确定无疑的,因为能源的匮乏使农业无法以高能量消耗、投入少数农民就可能获得高产的美国耕种方式继续下去了。(真题示范)
Mean are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers. 男人们很聪明,他们不会上时装设计者们的当。(将肯定句翻译成否定句)
He showed unfeigned satisfaction at his friend’s success. 他对朋友的成功表现出真正的满足。
The target is wrong, for in attacking the tests, critics divert attention from the fault that lies with ill-informed or incompetent users. 把标准化测试作为抨击目标是错误的,因为在抨击这类测试时,批评者不考虑其弊病来自人们对测试不甚了解或使用不当。(真题示范)
The conclusion we reached in Britain is that change simply cannot sensibly be put off. 我们英国人得出的结论是,改革是大势所趋。(be put off是被动语态,如果译成“不能合乎情理地被推迟”,汉语显得别扭,所以采用反译的方法。)
7. 顺序调整法: 一般来说,翻译时应该按照句子原来的顺序进行,但由于英汉两种语言中定语、状语和一些其他成分的位置不完全相同,翻译时需要做一定的调整(例如采用倒译法),使其更符合汉语的习惯。如:
He looked at the sea moodily. 他心情不快地望着大海。(英语的状语moodily翻译成汉语时位置有所变化)
The true measure of the danger is represented by the hazards we will encounter if we enter the new age of technology without first evaluating our responsibility to environment. 如果我们进入了技术新时代而不首先估价我们对环境所负的责任,我们将遇到公害,这些公害将表明危险真正达到了什么程度。
That our environment has little, if anything, to do with our abilities, characteristics and behavior is central to this theory. 这种理论的核心是,我们的环境同我们的才能、性格特征和行为即使有什么关系的话,也是微不足道的 。(原来的谓语,在译文中变成了在前的主语。)(真题示范)
Aid is only partial recompense for what the superior economic power of the advanced countries denies us through trade. 先进国家用优势力量,通过贸易剥削我们,其援助只不过是部分偿还而已。
Behaviorists, in contrast, say that differences in scores are due to the fact that blacks are often deprived of may of the educational and other environmental advantages that whites enjoy. 相反,行为主义者认为,成绩的差异是由于黑人往往被剥夺了白人在教育及其他环境方面所享有的许多有利条件。(in contrast在原文句中,翻译成汉语后放在句首。)(真题示范)
8.重复翻译法: 为了避免文章单调乏味,用英语写作时用尽量避免重复,常见的方法有使用代词、同义词、近义词以及省略某些成分等。但汉语不怕重复,连续使用某个词语是常见的情况,所以英译汉时为了译文的通顺我们可以适当地重复某些必要的词语。如:
Marketing economy is itself the product of long course of development, of a series of revolutions in the modes of production and of exchange. 市场经济本身是一个长期发展过程的产物,是生产方式和交换方式一系列变革的产物。(名词重复)
Federally funded training and free back-to-school programs for laid-off workers are under way, but few experts believe they will be able to keep up with the pace of the new technology. 为失业工人提供的联邦政府资助的培训计划和免费重返学校学习的计划目前都在实施中,但专家中几乎没有人认为这些计划能跟得上新技术的发展步伐。(they指的是上文的programs)
Among the four pictures, two appear to be real, others false. 在这四幅画中,有两幅看起来是真的,另外两幅看起来则是赝品。(动词重复)
Do animals have rights? … Actually, it isn’t, because it assumes that there is an agreed account of human rights, which is something the world does not have. 事实并非如此,因为这种问法是以人们对人的权利有共同认识为基础的,而这种共同认识并不存在。(it指Do animals have rights?)(真题示范)
9. 几种特殊否定句式的翻译法
The heart is no more intelligent than the stomach, for they are both controlled by the brain. 脏和胃一样不能思维,都受大脑支配。(“no more … than 翻译成汉语“和……一样不”)(真题示范)
There is no reason they should limit how much vitamin you take, any more than they can limit how much water you drink. 他们没有理由限定你吃多少维生素,就如同他们不能限定你喝多少水一样。
It was not so much the many blows he received as the lack of fighting spirit that led to his losing the game. 与其说他输了比赛是多次被击中,不如说是自己缺乏斗志。(“not so much … as”翻译成“与其说……,不如说……”)
Without accepting new techniques, there will be no great increase in labor productivity. 不采用新技术,就不能大幅度提高劳动生产率。
There is no agreement whether methodology refers to the concepts peculiar to historical work in general or to the research techniques appropriate to the various branches of historical inquiry. 所谓方法论是指一般的历史研究中的特有概念,还是指历史研究中各个具体领域使用的研究手段,人们对此意见不一。(真题示范)
Interests in historical methods has arisen less through external challenge to the validity of history as an intellectual discipline and more from internal quarrels among historians themselves. 人们之所以关注历史研究的方法论,主要是因为史学界内部意见不一,其次是因为外界并不认为历史是一门学问。(真题示范)
He is One cannot be too careful while driving in the area. 在该地区开车越细心越好。
He is the last person I want to see in the world. 他是这个世界上我最不愿意见到的人。
10.被动语态翻译法
1) 变为汉语的主动形式。如:
In his attitude can be found seeds for art in the 20th century: the art of the primitive, of symbol, and of imagination. 在他的态度中可以找到20世纪艺术的种子:充满原始、象征和想象的艺术。
It leads the discussion to extremes at the outset: it invites you to think that animals should be treated either with the consideration humans extend to other humans, or with no consideration at all. 这种说法从一开始就将讨论引向两个极端,它使人们认为应该这样对待动物:要么像对待人类自身一样关切体谅,要么完全冷漠无情。(真题示范)
On the whole such a conclusion can be drawn with a certain degree of confidence, but only if the child can be assumed to have had the same attitude towards the test as the other with whom he is being compared, and only if he was not punished by lack of relevant information which they possessed. 总的来说,得出这样的结论是有一定的把握的,但是必须具备两个条件:能够假定这个孩子对测试的态度和与他相比较的其他孩子的态度相同;他也没有因为缺乏其他孩子已掌握的有关知识而被扣分。(真题示范)
In general, the tests work most effectively when the qualities to be measured can be most precisely defined and least effectively when what is to be measured or predicted can not be well defined. 总而言之,如果需要测定的人的素质能够精确地界定出来,那些测试就能有效地发挥作用,而如果那些需要测定或预测的素质不能清楚地界定出来,那些测试就没有什么效果。(真题示范)
2) 被动结构的表语化,将其翻译成“是……的”、“由……的”等。如:
The movement to oppose racial discrimination was personally initiated and led by a famous Negro leader. 这场反对种族歧视的运动是由一位著名的黑人领袖亲自发动和领导的。
3) 译成具有被动意义的汉语结构。如:
For all the help this computer may provide, it should not be seen as a substitute for fundamental thinking and reasoning skills. 尽管计算机可以提供那么多的帮助,它却不应该被看作是基本的思维和推理技巧的替代物。
It should be made clear to entire citizens that whoever enjoys rights must undertake corresponding obligations. 应该使全体公民明白,享受权利者必须承担响应的义务。
Those who support the “nature” side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological factors. 在这场争论中,赞成“天性”一方的人认为,我们的性格特征和行为模式大多数是由生物因素确定的。(真题示范)
How well the predictions will be validated by later performance depends upon the amount, reliability, and appropriateness of the information used and on the skill and wisdom with which it is interpreted. 这些预测将在多大程度上为后来的表现所证实取决于所用信息的数量、可靠程度、适宜程度以及用来解释这些信息的技巧与才智。(真题示范)
4) 增添“人们”、“大家”等适当的词做汉语译文的主语。如:
With the new technique, measurement was claimed to be much more precise. 有了这种技术,人们断言测量的结果精确得多。
And it is imagined by many that the operations of the common mind can be by no means compared with these processes, and that they have to be acquired by a sort of special training. 许多人认为普通人的思维活动根本无法和科学家的思维过程想比较,他们并认为这些思维过程必须经过某中专门训练才能掌握。(真题示范)
During this transfer, traditional historical methods were augmented by additional methodologies designed to interpret the new forms of evidence in the historical study. 在这种转变中,历史学家研究历史时,那些解释新史料的新方法充实了传统的历史研究方法。(真题示范)
11.从句翻译法
1) 定语从句翻译法
A) 合译法: 把定语从句放在被修饰的词语之前,从而将英语复合句翻译成汉语单句。如:
Congress made public a survey of human rights in 105 countries that receive U.S. aid. 国会公布了关于接受美国援助的105个国家的人权情况调查报告。
B) 分译法: 根据定语从句的不同情况,我们可以将其翻译成并列分句、其它从句或独立句等。如:
Anyone who stops absorbing new knowledge is certain to lag behind. 任何人如果停止吸取新知识,就肯定会落后。(翻译为条件状语从句)
The strike would prevent the docking of ocean steamships which require assistance of tugboats. 罢工会使远洋航船不能靠岸,因为他们需要拖船的帮助。(翻译成原因状语从句)
A geological prospecting engineer who had made a spectral analysis of ores discovered a new open-cut coalmine. 一位地质勘探工程师对光谱进行了分析之后,发现了新的露天煤矿。(翻译为时间状语结构)
The delivery of public services has tended to be an area where we decorate an obsolete process with technology. 公共服务的提供方式已趋陈旧,这正是我们必须采用技术加以装备的领域。(翻译为并列分句)
We now live in a very new economy, a service economy, where relationships are becoming more important than physical products. 现在我们正生活于一种全新的经济,即服务性经济中,各种关系越来越比物质产品更为重要。(翻译为并列分句)
2) 主语从句翻译法
A) 以that, what, who, where, whatever等代词引导的主语从句,可以将从句翻译成“的”字结构。如:
It is important that science and technology be pushed forward as quickly as possible. 重要的是要把科学技术搞上去。
Whoever breaks the law will be punished. 凡是犯法的人都要受到法律的制裁。(主语从句与主句合译成简单句,按顺序译出)
B) 也可以译成“主-谓-宾”结构, 从句本身做句子的主语,其余部分按原文顺序译出。如:
Whether the Government should increase the financing of pure science at the expense of technology or vice versa (反之)often depends on the issue of which is seen as the driving force.政府究竟是以牺牲对技术的经费投入来增加对纯理论科学的经费投入,还是相反,这往往取决于把哪一方看作是驱动的力量。(真题示范)
C) 分译法: 把原来的状语从句从整体结构中分离出来, 译成另一个相对独立得单句。如:
It has been rightly stated that this situation is a threat to international security. 这个局势对国际安全是个威胁,这样的说法是完全正确的。(It是形式主语,that this situation is a threat to international security是真正的宾语)
3) 宾语从句翻译法: 由that, what, how, where等词引导的宾语从句一般按照原文顺序翻译, 即顺译法。如:
Scientists have reason to think that a man can put up with far more radiation than 0.1 rem without being damaged. 科学家们有理由认为人可以忍受远超过0.1雷姆的辐射而不受伤害。
We wish to inform you that we specialize in the export of Chinese textiles and shall be glad to enter into business relations with you on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. 我公司专门办理中国纺织品出口业务,并愿在平等互利的基础上同贵公司建立业务关系。
4) 状语从句翻译法
A) 顺译法: 按照原文顺序翻译。如:
While both groups did better than chance would predict, nearly half the participants in each group made the wrong choice two or more times. 尽管两组的表现都比随机猜测的结果正确度高,但是每组几乎有一半的参加者做出了两个或更多的错误选择。
If the negotiations between the rich nations and the poor nations make headway, it is intended that a ministerial session in December should be arranged. 如果富国和穷国之间的谈判获得进展的话,就打算在12月份安排召开部长级会议。
B) 逆译法: 把位于句末的从句放在句首。如:
The policemen set him free when his ransom had not yet been paid. 他还未交赎金,警察就把他放了。
Obviously, there would be no point in investing in a computer if you had to check all its answers, but people should also rely on their own internal computers and check the machine when they have the feeling that something has gone wrong. 显然,如果计算机给出的全部答案均需要核查,花钱买计算机就毫无意义。不过,人们也应该信赖自身内部的计算能力,在认为计算机有问题时进行复查。
C) 分译法: 有时也可以译为并列句。如:
Electricity is such an important energy that modern industry couldn’t develop without it. 电是一种非常重要的能量,没有它,现代化工业就不能发展。(原文由such … that …引导的结果状语从句译为汉语的并列句)
5) 表语从句翻译法: 大部分情况下可以采用顺译法,间或也可以用逆译法。如:
My point is that the frequent complaint of one generation about the one immediately following it is inevitable. 我的观点是一代人经常抱怨下一代人是不可避免的。(顺译法)
His view of the press was that the reporters were either for him or against him. 他对新闻界的看法是,记者们不是支持他,就是反对他。(顺译法)
Water and food is what the people in the area are badly needed. 该地区的人们最需要的是水和食品。(逆译法)
6) 同位语从句翻译法
A) 先译法: 先翻译从句, 即从句前置。如:
This is a universally accepted principle of international law that the territory sovereignty doesn’t admit of infringement. 一个国家的领土不容侵犯,这是国际法中尽人皆知的准则。
Despite the fact that comets are probably the most numerous astronomical bodies in the solar system aside from small meteor fragments and the asteroids, they are largely a mystery.在太阳系中除小片流星和小行星外,彗星大概是数量最多的天体了,尽管如此,它们仍旧基本上是神秘莫测的。
B) 顺译法: 按照原文顺序翻译。如:
As an obedient son, I had to accept my parents’ decision that I was to be a doctor, though the prospect interested me not at all. 作为一个孝顺的儿子,我接受父母的决定,去当大夫,虽然我对这样的前途毫无兴趣。
C) 补译法: 加上一些词,如 “即”, “以为”,或以冒号、破折号分开处理。如:
That racism continues to prevail is indicated by the fact that we, intentionally or not, chose three white men to be the first men associated with the moon. 种族主义继续占上风可有事实说明:我们有意无意挑选了三位白种人作为首批登陆者。