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发表于 2005-7-15 10:23:20
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81. 未经允许，任何人不得入内。
[误] Anybody can not come in without permission.
[正] Nobody can come in without permission.
注：“任何......都不”是汉语中常用字的否定句式，而在英语中，any 构成的合成词及其所修饰的词语作主语时，谓语动词是不能用否定形式的。因此，any ... not 的用法不符合英语的表达习惯，须用“否定形式的主语+肯定形式的谓语”替换。但是，any 构成的合成词及其所修饰的词语作主语时，如果带有后置定语，那么其谓语也可以用否定形式。如：Anyone who does that isn't honest（干那种事的人都是不诚实的）。
82. 听到这个消息，没有一个人不感到兴奋。
[误] Having heard the news, nobody did not feel excited.
[正] Having heard the news, everybody felt excited.
注：汉语中把主、谓语同时否定以表示肯定，但这不符合英语习惯，所以 nobody...not 的结构在英语中是不正确的。翻译这类句子时，可像上面正确的译文那样，把主语和谓语都改成肯定形式；也可用“there be + 否定的主语 + 否定形式的定语从句”来表达，即：There was nobody who did not feel excited 或者 There was nobody but felt excited.
83. 我是一个中国人。
[误] I am a Chinese.
[正] I am Chinese.
注：第一句译文是不地道的，正确的说法应该去掉不定冠词，或者说 I am a Chinese man。同样，He is an English 也没有 He is English 或 He is an Englishman 好。
84. 母狼为了保护幼崽同猎豹展开了殊死的搏斗。
[误] The female wolf fights against the leopard so as to protect her whelps.
[正] The she wolf fights against the leopard so as to protect her whelps.
注：汉语一般用“公”、“母”或“雌”、“雄”来区分动物的性别，而英语中，有一部分动物是雌雄各有其名，例如：cock（公鸡）和 hen（母鸡），stag（雄鹿）和 doe（雌鹿）等；而另一部分则是用 male 和 female 加以区分，如：male leopard（公豹），female panda（母熊猫）等；当然，也有例外的情况，如：bull elephant（公象）和 cow elephant（母象），he wolf（公狼）和 she wolf（母狼）等。
85. 使我高兴的是，我儿子对意大利语也略知一二。
[误] To my joy, my son know a thing or two about Italian.
[正] To my joy, my son knows something about Italian.
注：有些英语词语在字面上同汉语十分相似，但实则貌合神离，如果不求甚解很容易出错。例如，know a thing or two 就不表示“略知一二”，而是“很有经验，精明强干”的意思。
86. 你希望什么时候成家呢？
[误] When do you want to start a family?
[正] When do you want to get married?
注：中文的“成家”是“结婚”的意思，而英文 start a family 的含义却是“生第一个孩子”，二者完全不是一回事。
87. 宁做鸡头，不做凤尾。
[误] Better be the head of a cock than the tail of a phoenix.
[正] Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion.
注：每种语言中都有许多约定俗成的表达，没有什么道理好讲，但使用时则需遵照各自的语言习惯。中文是“鸡头”和“凤尾”比，而英语中却要用“狗头”和“狮尾”。
88. 海伦就像一只骄傲的公鸡，从来不爱搭理别人。
[误] Helen is proud as a cock, and she never talks to others.
[正] Helen is proud as a peacock, and she never talks to others.
注：“孔雀”在中国人眼里是美丽和吉祥的象征，而公鸡因为常把头昂得高高地，尾巴翘到了天上，摆出一副盛气凌人的架子，因此成了“骄傲”的化身。但西方文化不注重孔雀美丽的一面，认为它们很骄傲，所以英美人在形容一个人骄傲、狂妄和爱慕虚荣时，就把他（她）比作 peacock。
89. 因为没有吃的，那个索马里的小男孩瘦得像猴子。
[误] That Somali boy is as thin as a monkey because of the lack of food.
[正] That Somali boy is as thin as a shadow because of the lack of food.
注：同一事物，在不同的文化里可能引起不同的联想，具有不同的内涵。所以，在一种语言中用这种事物作比喻，而在另一种语言中很可能会有不同的表达。这样的例子中英文还有很多，例如：as timid as a hare（胆小如鼠），as strong as a horse（力大如牛），as poor as a church mouse（一贫如洗）等。
90. 索菲娅望子成龙心切，给儿子报名参加了许多补习班。
[误] Sophia hopes to see her son become a dragon, therefore she enters his name for many classes of supplementary schooling.
[正] Sophia hopes that her son will have a bright future, therefore she enters his name for many classes of supplementary schooling.
注：“龙”在中国人心目中象征着神圣和万能，但在西方人的印象中却是可怕的，《圣经》里就把“龙”描述成了罪恶的象征。所以在翻译“望子成龙”时需要意译。
91. 由于街道的扩建，道路两旁矮小的房屋全部被拆除了。
[误] The short and small houses on both sides of the road have been demolished due to its widening.
[正] The low and small houses on both sides of the road have been demolished due to its widening.
注：英语中，形容人或树等的高矮要用形容词 tall 和 short；但是指山峦、房屋或其它建筑物的高矮，我们通常用 high 和 low。
92. 爸爸总爱发脾气。
[误] Dad always likes losing his temper.
[正] Dad is apt to lose his temper.
注：like doing something 表示“喜欢干某事”，一般用来说明某人的兴趣爱好；而 be apt to do sth.则表示“常常发生某种行为”或“容易发生某种变化”。根据原文的意思显然应该用后者。
93. 欧文按捺不住激动的心情，大声喊道：“我中奖了！”
[误] Owen couldn't hold back his exciting feeling, and he shouted, "I've got the winning number in the bond!"
[正] Owen couldn't hold back his excitement, and he shouted, "I've got the winning number in the bond!"
注：exciting feeling 这种搭配很不地道，虽然“振奋人心的消息”是 exciting news，“有趣的故事”是 interesting story，但“激动的心情”却要用名词形式 excitement 来表达。
94. 丹尼斯自己不努力，还老是眼红别人的成就。
[误] Denis himself doesn't work hard, however, he is always red-eyed of other people's achievements.
[正] Denis himself doesn't work hard, however, he is always green-eyed of other people's achievements.
注：中国人说一个人嫉妒用“眼红”，但英美人则用“眼绿”来形容。英语的 green 除了表示颜色之外还有“嫉妒”的意思，又如：I was absolutely green (with envy) when I saw his splendid new car（我看到他那辆漂亮的新车非常眼红）。其实，英语中许多表示色彩的词汇都有特殊的含义，不能照字面去理解。再比如：He gave me a black look（他恶狠狠地蹬了我一眼）；She visits us once in a blue moon（她难得来看我们一次）等。
95. 夏天要多喝白开水。
[误] You should drink more white boiled water in summer.
[正] You should drink more plain boiled water in summer.
注：“白开水”不是指“水的颜色是白色”，而是指“水中没有添加其他的东西”。而 plain 正是指“没掺杂其他东西的，单纯的”，所以能确切表达原文的含义。
96. 对不起，我把课本忘在家里了。
[误] Sorry, I forgot my textbook at home.
[正] Sorry, I left my textbook at home.
注：原文中的“忘”是指“落在家里”的意思，不能翻译成英文的 forget，而应用表示“把...留在某地，丢下，落下”等的意思的 leave。
97. 中国足球队击败了日本队，从而取得了参加半决赛的资格。
[误] The Chinese football team beat the Japanese team, and is qualified to play in the half-finals.
[正] The Chinese football team beat the Japanese team, and is qualified to play in the semifinals.
注：semi- 是英语里的一个前缀，表示“半”，例如：automatic 是“自动的”，那么 semiautomatic 就表示“半自动的”；diameter 指“直径”，那么 semi-diameter 就指“半径”；monthly 指“月刊”，那么 semi-monthly 就表示“半月刊”。以上这些都跟 semifinal（半决赛）一样，是约定俗成的。
98. 在自然灾害期间，绝大多数人都过着半饥半饱的生活。
[误] During the natural calamity, most people were half hungry, half full.
[正] During the natural calamity, most people were underfed.
注：under- 是一个英语前缀，表示“......不足的”，如：underdeveloped（经济发展不充分的），underage（未到法定年龄的）等。所以，underfeed 表示“未喂饱的，食物不足的”。汉语中“半......半......”的结构可以翻译成 half...half...，例如：As for this matter, I am half-believing, half-doubting（对于这件事我是半信半疑的）；This composition is half literary, half vernacular（这篇文章写得半文不白的）。
99. 汉语是我们的母语。
[误] Chinese is our mother language.
[正] Chinese is our mother tongue.
注：tongue 除了指“舌头”，还可以用来指“语言，方言”，如 the Spanish tongue 并非指“西班牙舌头”，而是指“西班牙语”。我们常说的有“语言天赋”，英语里相应的表达是 the gift of tongues。“母语”在英语中用 mother tongue 表达，还可以说 parent language 或 linguistic parent，但 mother language 的说法却是不地道的。
100. 我爷爷是奔75的人了。
[误] My grandpa is running for seventy-five.
[正] My grandpa is getting on for seventy-five.
注：run for 有“竞赛，竞选”之意，如：run for Congress（竞选国会议员），run for the presidency（竞选总统）等。而 get on for 才表示“接近”，它通常用进行时态，后面一般跟年龄或者时间，如：It's getting on for midnight（快到半夜了）等。
***(1). push thirty[forty,etc.]已经快到三[四...]十岁了：
She would like you to think so, but she's pushing thirty.
You wouldn't think so to look at him, but he's pushing 40.
(2). get on for[towards]快到（某时间），快（多少岁）：
It's getting on for nine o'clock.
He must be getting on for forty now.
Here you are getting on toward thirty.
(3). 年龄的一些说法：
1) I'm twenty.（常用）
2) I'm twenty years old.（常用）
3) I'm twenty-year-old.（不常用）
4) I'm twenty years of age.（书面）
5) I'm aged twenty (years).（书面）
6) My age is twenty (years).（不常用）
7) I come into the age of twenty.（不常用）
8) I'm in my teens.（不常用）
in one's early teens（不常用）
在十三四岁年纪
not yet out of one's teens（不常用）
还没有到20岁 |
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发表于 2005-7-15 10:21:14