浅谈英语长句的翻译

1、on august 1, the gunboat began her mission, which was, in the eyes of the defenders, a provocative act and seemed to be part of the overall assault which had begun on july 31.分析：这个句子是由一个主句和两个定语从句组成的。“on august 1, the gunboat began her mission”是主句，也是全句的中心内容。主句后面是一个非限制性定语从句，其中又包含一个限制性定语从句。这个限制性定语从句比较短

2、，所以在译文中可以放在被修饰语“the overall assault”之前。全句共有三层意思：（1）炮舰8月1日开始执行任务；（2）在防御者看来这是一次挑衅；（3）炮舰8月1日开始执行任务这件事情似乎是7月31日开始的全面攻击的一个组成部分。原文所表达的逻辑关系、叙述顺序与汉语趋于一致，因此可按顺译法来翻译。译文：炮舰于8月1日开始执行任务。在防御者的眼里，这是一次挑衅，而且似乎是7月31日发动的全面攻击的一个组成部分。其它例子：in africa i met a boy, who was crying as if his heart would break, said, when i sp

3、oke to him, that he was hungry because he had had no food for two days.译文：在非洲，我遇到了一个男孩，他哭得心都快碎了。我问他的时候，他说他很饿，因为他已经两天没吃东西了。as i got better, i began to add tricks, tossing the balls so that one went over the top of the others, or under the others, or i bounced one off my head or elbow and still kept t

4、he pattern going.译文：随着我技术的进步，我开始加上花样：抛球时让一个球经过其他球的上方，或者其他球的下方；或者我让一个球弹在我的头上或者臂肘上，并继续按原来的方式抛球。then five years later, when i was 21, my mother called me aside one day during the christmas season and said, “dan, how would you like to juggle for the salvation army dinner this year?”译文：五年之后，当我21岁时，母亲在圣诞节

5、期间的一天，把我叫到一边说：“丹，你愿不愿给救世军的聚餐会表演杂耍？”二、倒译法有些英语长句的表达次序与汉语不同，甚至完全相反。这时，我们就该逆着原文的顺序翻译。is it our sound and considered judgement that the tougher subjects of the classics and mathematics should be thrown aside, as suggested by some educators, for doll-playing?分析：这个句子的真正主语是“the tougher subjects of the class

6、ics and mathematics should be thrown aside, as suggested by some educators, for doll-playing”，it只是一个形式主语。原文采用主语从句的目的是为了避免头重脚轻。很明显，汉语中不存在这类句子结构。因此，这句话我们应该逆着原句的顺序，先翻主语从句，再译主句内容。译文：正如某些教育学家所建议的那样，将难懂的古典文学和数学弃之一边，把时间和精力花在一些相对来说比较容易学的科目上，这难道是我们经过反复地思考而得出来的正确判断吗？其它例子：and he knew how ashamed he would have

7、been if his girl friend had known his mother and the kind of place in which he was born, and the kind of people among whom he was born.译文：他出身在这类人当中，他出身在这种地方，他有这样的母亲，这些要是让他的女朋友知道了，他明白那将会多么得令人难堪。or there are murder dinner parties, at which groups of friends get together to solve a crime over the dinne

8、r table, using specially prepared information about their character and their whereabouts.译文：或者举办“谋杀案侦破晚宴”：一群朋友在一起，在餐桌上利用预先准备好的关于人物性格和行踪的线索破解一桩案件。forty-five minutes later i ended the performance with my final word of advice to the children: “if you want to succeed, at juggling or anything else, you

9、have to keep trying. you can do it. just never give up.”译文：45分钟以后，我给了孩子们一句忠告，作为节目的结束语：“不论是杂耍还是别的，如果你们想成功，就必须不断地努力。你们能做到，只是永远不能放弃。”三、分译法当英语长句中的各个成分在意义上联系并不十分密切时，我们可按汉语多用短句的习惯，将原文中的短语或从句翻译成汉语独立的句子。有时为了使语义连贯，还得在译文中加上适当的词语。feedback, which one-way communication like the printed page fails to provide, mak

10、es learning easy and, in the case of motor skills, is essential.分析：这句话的主句是“feedback makes learning easy and, in the case of motor skills, is essential”，其中“makes learning easy”和“in the case of motor skills, is essential”是两个并列的谓语。另外，主句当中还含有一个非限制性定语从句which one-way communication like the printed page fa

11、ils to provide。全句共有三层意思：（1）反馈能方便学习；（2）像印刷品之类的单向信息传递没有反馈；（3）在学习驾驶摩托车技术的过程中，反馈必不可少。这三层意思都具有相对的独立性，因此在翻译的时候，我们可将原文拆开来分别叙述。译文：反馈能方便学习，而像印刷品之类的单向信息传递就没有反馈。在学习驾驶摩托车技术的过程中，反馈必不可少。 其它例子：a physically mature female deer in good condition who has conceived in november and given birth to two fawns during the en

12、d of may or first part of june, must search for food for the necessary energy not only to meet bodys needs but also to produce milk for her fawns.译文：一只成熟的、状态良好的母鹿会在11月份怀胎，并于5月底或6月初生下两只幼鹿。之后，她必须去寻找食物以获得必要的能量。这不仅是为了满足她自身的需要，而且也是为了满足喂奶给幼鹿喝的需要。i like the somewhat mild story of a school teacher and a pri

13、ncipal of a high school who are concerned because some boys and girls have been seen kissing on the school playground.译文：我喜欢那个关于一位中学教师和校长因看见学生在学校操场上接吻而感到担心的故事。故事并不过火。as one who has enjoyed humor since i first recognized it, ive made an attempt to explain and discuss humor with students in such diver

14、se cultures as latin america and china.译文：我是第一次辨识出幽默便喜欢上了它的人，因此我曾试图跟学生议论和探讨幽默。这些学生文化差异很大，有来自拉丁美洲的，也有来自中国的。四、综合法有时，英语长句的翻译单用一种方法解决不了问题。这时，我们就应该仔细推敲，综合利用各种行之有效的翻译技巧。new forms of thought as well as new subjects for thought must arise in the future as they have in the past giving rise to new standards o

15、f elegance. 分析：此句先拆译方式状语从句as they have in the past，并将其译文放于句首。在处理“new forms of thought as well as new subjects for thought”和“must arise in the future”时，我们应该逆着原文的顺序翻译。至于全句后半部分的现在分词短语giving rise to new standards of elegance，只要按照原句的次序将其最后译出就可以了。译文：同过去一样，今后必然会出现新的思维方式和新的思维对象，并给予典雅以新的标准。其它例子：energy is the

16、 currency of the ecological system and life becomes possible only when food is converted into energy which in turn is used to seek more food to grow, to reproduce and to survive.译文：能量在生态系统中充当货币的职能。只有当食物转变为能量，并利用能量来获取更多的食物以供生长、繁殖和生存时，生命才有可能诞生。letters still get sent to “221b baker street, london ”, ho

17、me of sherlock holmes, perhaps the most famous fictional detective of all, asking for his help in solving a variety of mysteries.译文：所有小说里最有名的侦探也许是舍洛克福尔摩斯，他的住所是“伦敦贝克街221b号”。现在仍有信件寄到那里，要求他帮忙解决各种各样的谜案。on my first job as sports editor for the montpelier (ohio) leader enterprise, i didnt get a lot of fan

18、 mail, so i was intrigued by a letter that was dropped on my desk one morning.译文：我体育编辑， 是为蒙比利埃（俄亥俄州）的企业导报工作，当时我很少收到体育迷的来信。因此，一天早晨放在我桌上的一封来信把我吸引住了。1 when grandma left her chair, blitzen would quickly jump into the chair, flashing her lab smile from sparkling brown eyes which clearly said, “i fooled y

19、ou again.” 2 because of this english background of civil conflict, english-speaking america, where there was no religious war, as such, is often described as a land of refuge to which men and women came in order t enjoy the religious and political freedom denied them in their homeland. 3 such is hum

20、an nature in the west that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becoming white-collar workers. when grandma left her chair, blitzen would quickly jump into the chair, flashing her lab smile from sparkling brown eyes which clearly said, “i fooled you agai

21、n.” 顺译法译文：外祖母从椅子上一起身，布利茨恩就迅速跳上那椅子，从它那闪亮的棕色眼睛里掠过一丝拉布拉多式的微笑，无疑是在说：“你又上了我的当。”because of this english background of civil conflict, english-speaking america, where there was no religious war, as such, is often described as a land of refuge to which men and women came in order t enjoy the religious and p

22、olitical freedom denied them in their homeland. 顺译法译文：因为英国存在着内战，在这种背景下，美洲这个讲英语、又没有发生过宗教战争的大陆，常常被描述成流亡的乐土。人们为了追求在本国被剥夺的宗教自由和政治自由而纷纷来到这片土地上。such is human nature in the west that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becoming white-collar workers. 倒译法译文：许多人常

23、常宁愿牺牲比较高的工资来换取白领工人的社会地位，这在西方倒是人之常情。4 it is reasonable to say that the truly humorous individual is not only well liked, but is often the focus of attention in any gathering. 5 first is the setup (or setting), next is the body (or story line), and these are followed by the punch line (an unexpected o

24、r surprise ending) which will make the joke funny if it contains some humor. it is reasonable to say that the truly humorous individual is not only well liked, but is often the focus of attention in any gathering. 倒译法译文：一个真正有幽默感的人不仅受人喜爱，而且在任何聚会上也往往是人们注意的焦点，这么说有一定的道理。first is the setup (or setting),

25、next is the body (or story line), and these are followed by the punch line (an unexpected or surprise ending) which will make the joke funny if it contains some humor. 综合法译文：第一部分是铺垫（即背景），接下来是主干部分（即故事情节），随后便是妙语（即一个出人意料或令人惊讶地结尾）。如果这个妙语含有一定的幽默成分，这个笑话便会很有趣。作业1 on the other hand, making telephone calls i

26、s much faster, so they are more appropriate when you need a quick reply.2 some of the best letters are written in a burst of inspiration, so keep your writing stuff in one place where you can sit down for a few minutes and write a quick note to a friend.3 sometimes you cannot remember all the commen

27、ts that are made because calls are transient, and cannot be kept for reading later like treasured letters.4 what would make so many adults hold on to pieces of paper they had received years before as kids, some of them carrying those pages with them everywhere they went? the answer is appreciation.5

28、 give others recognition at every opportunity because it will build them up and motivate them. and it will make you a person of significant influence in their lives.on the other hand, making telephone calls is much faster, so they are more appropriate when you need a quick reply.译文：另一方面，打电话更快捷，所以当你需要很快