来源:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/AN_1RnGa7RKeBcGWUArMRQ
专栏介绍
本专栏是为备考CATTI翻译资格证、翻硕MTI和翻译爱好者们提供翻译学习素材与翻译思路参考。
我是Belle,翻硕毕业生,持有CATTI二笔证书,与你一起坚持打卡学习。
因为喜欢,
可迎万难。
翻译原文:
City-dwellers are used to dirty air, but few have seen a haze like the one enveloping Delhi weeks ago1. The concentration of PM2.5 (fine particles that settle in lungs) has exceeded 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter of air – 100 times the limit the World Health Organization suggests for long-run exposure2. Inhaling this is as unhealthy as smoking 5o cigarettes a day3. On November 1st the city closed schools and declared an emergency4. It is letting cars only with odd-or even-numbered plates drive each day5. Such smog drifts over Delhi each November, after farmers burn the remnants of their rice crops to clear the land for wheat, and Hindus celebrate Diwali, a festival of lights, with a barrage of firecrackers6. Even when the autumn haze subsides, air is filthy all over India – especially in the north, where the Himalayas act as a wind trap7. AirVisual, a monitoring company, reckons that northern India contains 22 of the world’s 3o most toxic cities8. One academic study found that of the 9.7m Indians who died in 2017, 670, 000 would not have perished if the atmosphere had been clean9.
参考译文:
尽管城市居民已经习惯了污浊的空气,但还是没多少人见识过几周前笼罩德里的那种严重雾霾。PM2.5(会沉积在肺部的细小颗粒)的浓度已超过每立方米空气1000微克,是世卫组织长期暴露建议限值的100倍。吸入这样的雾霾对健康的损伤相当于每天吸50支香烟。11月1日,德里学校停课,宣布进入紧急状态,汽车按单双号隔日限行。每年11月,农民焚烧水稻秸秆以清理出土地种植小麦,印度教徒燃放大量烟花庆祝排灯节,由此形成的雾霾飘浮在德里上空。即使秋天的雾霾散去,印度的空气整体而言仍然十分污浊,尤其是在北部,喜马拉雅山脉会阻碍空气流动。检测公司AirVisual估计,世界上30个污染最严重的城市中,有 22个位于印度北部。一项学术研究发现,如果没有大气污染的话,2017年印度970万的死亡人数会减少67万。
【重难点解析与常见错误纠正】
第一句:City-dwellers are used to dirty air, but few have seen a haze like the one enveloping Delhi weeks ago1.
参考译文:尽管城市居民已经习惯了污浊的空气,但还是没多少人见识过几周前笼罩德里的那种严重雾霾。
1. Dweller,居住者,city-dwellers居住在城市的人,简单说是“城市居民”,语言要简洁达意;
2. be used to sth. 固定搭配,意思是“习惯于……”,注意t0在这里是介词。记住与used to do的区别,used to do意思是“过去常常……”,to在两个搭配里的词性不同;
3. few单独出现,表示否定,意思是“几乎没有/很少”,a few表肯定,“有一些”,few在这里做代词,指的是few city-dwellers“很少有人/居民”;
4. a haze like the one enveloping Delhi weeks ago,haze做单数名词讲时,表示(烟尘等的)雾霭,烟雾;the one指代a haze,enveloping Delhi weeks ago最后置定语修饰the one,envelope做动词时,意思是“包裹住、盖住、笼罩”,the one enveloping Delhi weeks ago是说“数周前笼罩着德里的那种(严重)雾霾”;
5. 专有名词要查证:Delhi德里,New Delhi新德里(印度首都);
第二句:The concentration of PM2.5 (fine particles that settle in lungs) has exceeded 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter of air – 100 times the limit the World Health Organization suggests for long-run exposure2. 句子略长,但是结构并不复杂。
参考译文:PM2.5(会沉积在肺部的细小颗粒)的浓度已超过每立方米空气1000微克,是世卫组织长期暴露建议限值的100倍。
1. The concentration of PM2.5在政府工作报告或者其他外宣材料里也常见到,是CATTI备考必知的表达,“PM2.5的浓度”;
2. 括号里fine particles that settle in lungs是对PM2.5的补充说明,翻译时可以按照英文的格式走,加括号解析,也可以单独拎出来先说:PM2.5是可以沉积在肺部的细小颗粒,其浓度……;
3. 破折号后面是对“每立方米空气1000微克”的补充说明,翻译为单句连接前面即可;100 times the limit the World Health Organization suggests for long-run exposure,the limit名词“限值、限度”,the WHO suggests for long-run exposure是做定语修饰the limit的,即:世卫组织长期暴露建议限值;
【补充】倍数的表示方法:
1) A + be + 倍数 + as + 计量形容词原级 + as + B.
This tree is three times as tall as that one. 这棵树是那棵树的三倍高。
2) A + be + 倍数 + 计量形容词比较级 + than + B “
The Yangtze River is almost twice longer than the Pearl River. 长江的长度差不多是珠江的两倍。
3) A + be + 倍数 + the + 计量名词 + of + B “
The newly broadened square is four times the size of the previous one. 新扩建的广场是未扩建时的四倍大。
4) The + 计量名词 + of + A + be + 倍数 + that + of + B “
The size of the newly broadened square is four times that of the previous one. 新扩建的广场为以前的四倍大。
第三、第四、第五句:Inhaling this is as unhealthy as smoking 5o cigarettes a day3. On November 1st the city closed schools and declared an emergency4. It is letting cars only with odd-or even-numbered plates drive each day5. 三个小短句,难点是this/the city/it的指代。
参考译文:吸入这样的雾霾对健康的损伤相当于每天吸50支香烟。11月1日,德里学校停课,宣布进入紧急状态,汽车按单双号隔日限行。
1. inhaling this中this指前句中的重度雾霾或者高浓度PM2.5;
2. as unhealthy as…像……一样不健康,第三句直译是:吸入这样的雾霾就像每天吸50支香烟一样不健康,意思没问题,但是表述略显啰嗦,可以将形容词unhealthy转为名词“损害”,“对健康的损害相当于每天吸50支香烟”;
3. the city指Delhi(德里),翻译时遵循九九归一的原则,要指代还原,中文不怕重复;
4. declared an emergency外刊常见搭配,牢记掌握即可,意思是“宣布进入紧急状态”;
5. closed schools直译是“关闭学校”,也可以说“学校停课”;
6. 第5句讲的是汽车单双号限行,与前面是并列关系,都是在说德里采取的措施,翻译时与前面合并即可。
第六句:Such smog drifts over Delhi each November, after farmers burn the remnants of their rice crops to clear the land for wheat, and Hindus celebrate Diwali, a festival of lights, with a barrage of firecrackers6. 本句讲的是德里形成严重雾霾的原因。
参考译文:每年11月,农民焚烧水稻秸秆以清理出土地种植小麦,印度教徒燃放大量烟花庆祝排灯节,由此形成的雾霾飘浮在德里上空。
1. such smog是上文this/haze的替换词,即“雾霾”;
2. drift动词:to move along smoothly and slowly in water or air,意思是“漂浮”,drift over Delhi漂浮在德里上空;
3. each November每年11月,不是每个11月,措辞要符合中文行文习惯;
4. after……“在……之后”,表示事情发生的先后关系,英译汉时我们多采取由远及近的原则,按照事情的来龙去脉翻译,所以这里先翻译after引导的部分,农民焚烧秸秆、印度教徒庆祝排灯节燃放烟花,因此产生的雾霾漂浮在德里上空。
【补充】Diwali:Diwali is a Hindu festival held in honour of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. It is celebrated in October or November with the lighting of lamps in homes and temples, and with prayers to Lakshmi. (印度)排灯节
Lakshmi:the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and the consort of the god Vishnu 拉克希米女神; 象征财富和幸运的女神,毗湿奴神的妻子
第七句、第八句:Even when the autumn haze subsides, air is filthy all over India – especially in the north, where the Himalayas act as a wind trap7. AirVisual, a monitoring company, reckons that northern India contains 22 of the world’s 3o most toxic cities8.
参考译文:即使秋天的雾霾散去,印度的空气整体而言仍然十分污浊,尤其是在北部,喜马拉雅山脉会阻碍空气流动。检测公司AirVisual估计,世界上30个污染最严重的城市中,有 22个位于印度北部。
1. subside动词,“减弱、消退”,the autumn haze subsides秋天的雾霾散去;
2. filthy替换开头的dirty,“肮脏的,污秽的”,air is filthy空气污浊;
3. where the Himalayas act as a wind trap定语从句修饰the north,trap: an unpleasant situation from which it is hard to escape (难以逃脱的)困境,比如:the unemployment trap 失业的困境;see marriage as a trap把婚姻视作围城;这里a wind trap直译是风的困境/围城,就是说风被困在这里很难出去;the Himalayas acts as a wind trap,喜马拉雅山充当一个风的围城,也就是说喜马拉雅山挡住了空气流动;
4. AirVisual专有名词,查网页没有中文对应的名称,翻译时直接用英文即可;a monitoring company是同位语,对AirVisual补充说明:一家检测公司,译文较短,翻译时将“检测公司”放在AirVisual前面即可;
5. reckon有几个含义:想/认为;预计/预料;估计/估算。翻译时要结合语境选择合适的含义,reckon在这意思是:to calculate an amount, a number, etc. 估算;估计;计算;
6. northern India contains 22 of the world’s 3o most toxic cities,注意contain的处理,contain“包括、包含”,译文如果说“印度北部包括22个……”,显然不符合中文行文习惯,可以说“世界上30个污染最严重的城市中,印度北部有22个/有22个位于印度北部”。
第九句:One academic study found that of the 9.7m Indians who died in 2017, 670, 000 would not have perished if the atmosphere had been clean9.
参考译文:一项学术研究发现,如果没有大气污染的话,2017年印度970万的死亡人数会减少67万。
1. that引导的宾从中有who引导的定语从句,最后还跟着一个if引导的条件句,翻译时依然是按照逻辑顺序来,先翻译if如果……,再译主句;
2. 670, 000 would not have perished// if the atmosphere had been clean,如果空气清洁,67万人就不会死亡,就是说970万死亡人数会少67万;
3. of the 9.7m Indians who died in 2017,直译:2017年死亡的970万印度人,这样说比较奇怪,可以将Indians改为“印度有970万人死亡”,这里其实是跟670,000一起的,670, 000 of the 9.7m Indians who died in 2017 would not have perished,这样写主语太长,英文of单独拎出来,我们在做汉译英的时候可以学习这种处理方式。