翻译硕士复习资料：英译中国现代散文选(31)_英译中国现代散文选

翻译硕士复习资料：英译中国现代散文选(31)由刀豆文库小编整理，希望给你工作、学习、生活带来方便，猜你可能喜欢“英译中国现代散文选”。

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2016翻译硕士复习资料：英译中国现代散文选（31）

枣 核

萧乾

动身访美之前，一位旧时同窗写来航空信，再三托付我为他带几棵生枣核(1)。东西倒不占分量，可是用途却很蹊跷。

从费城出发前，我们就通了电话。一下车，他已经在站上等了。掐指一算，分手快半个世纪了，现在都已是风烛残年。

拥抱之后，他就殷切地问我：“带来了吗?”我赶快从手提包里掏出那几棵枣核(2)。他托在掌心(3)，像比珍珠玛瑙还贵重。

他当年那股调皮劲显然还没改。我问起枣核的用途，他一面往衣兜里揣，一面故弄玄虚地说(4)：“等会儿你就明白了。”

那真是座美丽的山城，汽车开去，一路坡上坡下满是一片嫣红。倘若在中国，这里一定会有枫城之称。过了几个山坳，他朝枫树丛中一座三层小楼指了指说：“喏，到了。”汽车拐进草坪，离车库还有三四米，车库就像认识主人似的自动掀起。

朋友有点不好意思地解释说，买这座大房子时，孩子们还上着学，如今都成家立业了。学生生物生物化学的老伴儿在一家研究所里做营养试验。

他把我安顿在二楼临湖的一个房间后，就领我去踏访他的后花园(5)。地方不大，布置得却精致匀称(6)。我们在靠篱笆的一张白色长凳上坐下，他劈头就问我：“觉不觉得这花园有点家乡味道?”经他指点，我留意到台阶两旁是他手栽的两株垂杨柳，草坪中央有个睡莲池。他感慨良深地对我说：“栽垂柳的时候，我那个小子才五岁，如今在一条核潜艇上当总机械长了。姑娘在哈佛教书。家庭和事业都如意，各种新式设备也都有了。可是我心上总像是缺点什么。也许是没出息(7)，怎么年纪越大，思乡越切。我现在可充分体会出游子的心境了。我想厂甸，想隆福寺。这里一过圣诞，我就想旧历年。近来，我老是想总布胡同院里那棵枣树。所以才托你带几棵种籽，试种一下。”

接着，他又指着花园一角堆起的一座假山假山石说(8)：“你相信吗(9)?那是我开车到几十里以外，一块块亲手挑选，论公斤买下(10)，然后用汽车拉回来的。那是我们家的‘北海’。”

说到这里，我们两人都不约而同地站了起来。沿着草坪旁用卵石铺成的小径，走到“北海”跟前(11)。真是个细心人呢，他在上面还嵌了一所泥制的小凉亭，一座红庙，顶上还有尊白塔。朋友解释说，都从旧金山唐人街买来的。

他告诉我，时常在月夜，他同老伴儿并肩坐在这长凳上，追忆起当年在北海泛舟的日子。睡莲的清香迎风扑来，眼前仿佛就闪出一片荷塘佳色。

改了国籍，不等于就改了民族感情，而且没有一个民族像我们这么依恋故土的。

Date Stones

Xiao Qian

Before I set out for the US, a former schoolmate of mine wrote me by airmail, asking me in all earnest to bring him some raw date stones.They

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were not heavy in weight, yet I was curious about their use.At Philadelphia, shortly before staring out for my friend’s place, I called him up.So when I got off the train at the destination, I found him already waiting for me at the station.It was about half a century since we last met, and we were now both in our declining years.After hugging each other, he asked me eagerly, “have you brought them with you?” I immediately fished out the date stones from my handbag.He fondled them in his palm as if they were something more valuable than pearls or agates.Obviously he was just as childlike as before, when I asked about the use of the date stones, he put them into his pocket and replied by way of fooling me deliberately, “You’ll understand soon.”

It was really a beautiful mountain city.As we drove on, an expanse of rich crimson up and down the slope came into sight.In China a place like this would have been described as a maple city.After paing through several cols, my friend said pointing to a three-storied house amidst the maple trees, “here we are.” The car turned into a lawn and when it was three or four meters away form the garage, its door automatically opened as if it recognized its own master.My friend looked somewhat ill at ease when he told me this: At the time he bought this big house, his children had all been at school.Now they had their own homes and jobs.His wife, a biochemist, was a dietician at a research institute.After aigning me a room on the second floor facing a lake, he showed me around his back garden, which, though not too big, was exquisite and nicely arranged.The moment we sat down on a white bench close to a hedge, he asked me, “Don’t you find something here smacking of our native place in China?” at this, I noticed a weeping willow, planted by himself, on either side of a flight of steps as well as a water-lily pond in the middle of the garden.He said with deep feeling, “When I planted the willows, my son was only five.Now he serves as head of chief mechanics in a nuclear submarine.My daughter teaches at Harvard University.I’m happy with my family and my career.I own all modern household facilities I need.But I still feel something lacking.Maybe I’m a bit too foolish.How come the older I become, the more I think of my homeland.Now I fully understand the frame of mind of one residing in a place far away from home.I always think of Changdian and Longfusi.Every time Christmas is celebrated here in America, I think of lunar New year back in China.I can never forget the date tree in the courtyard of the house on Zongbu Hutong.That’s why I’ve asked you to bring me some date stones.I’ll try to plant them here.Then he said pointing to a jumble of rockery standing in a corner of the garden, “Believe it or not, the rocks, hand-picked by me, were bought by the kilogram.I drove dozens of kilometers away to haul them back in

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my car.Look, that’s Beihai in our home.”

Thereupon, we rose to our feet simultaneously and walked along a cobbled footpath beside the lawn towards the miniature Beihai.What a careful man my friend was!He had had the artificial hill inlaid with a clay pavilion and a red temple, with a white pagoda on top.He said he had bought the decorative objects from China Town in San Francisco.He also told me that on a moonlit night he and his wife would sit side by side on the bench recalling how they had used to go boating on the Beihai Lake.Meanwhile, as I smelled the faint scent of the water-lilies carried to us by the breeze, I felt as if the beautiful scene of a Chinese lotus pond were flashing past my eyes.The change of nationality doesn’t mean the change of national feeling.No other nation has such a strong attachment for the native land as we Chinese.注释

萧乾(1910-1999)，作家，文学翻译家，曾任《大公报》记者，以散文、特写著称。

(1)“再三托付我为他带几棵生枣核”中的“再三”作“恳切”解，不能按字面理解为“一次又一次”或“重复”。因此全句译为asking me in all earnest to bring him some raw date stones，其中in all earnest是成语，作“认真地”或“恳切地”解。

(2)“我赶快从手提包里掏出那几棵枣核”中的“掏出”译为fished out比took out 贴切，因前者有“搜寻”的含义。

(3)“他托在掌心”译为He fondled them in his palm，比He held them in his palm贴切，因to fondle表达了原文的内涵“爱抚”。

(4)“故弄玄虚地说”中的“故弄玄虚”作“故意把„„搞得神秘化”解，通常可译为deliberatedly to make a mystery of„„。现全句按“故意开玩笑地说”的意思译为replied by way of fooling me deliberately，其中by way of 是成语，其意思是“为了”或“意在”(with the intention of)。

(5)“领我去踏访他的后花园”译为he showed me around his back garden，其中to show around是短语动词，作“带领某人参观某地”解。

(6)“布置得却精致匀称”译为was exquisite and nicely arranged，其中nicely的意思是“恰当好处”或“恰恰合适”。

(7)“也许是没出息”不宜按字面直译，现按“也许是自己有些傻”译为Maybe I’m a bit too foolish。

(8)“堆起的一座假山石”译为a jumble of rockery，其中jumble的意思是“杂乱的一堆”。

(9)“你相信吗?”本可译为Don’t you believe it?现译为Believe it or not，为具有同样意思的常用口头语。

(10)“论公斤买下”即“按公斤计算买下”，译为bought by the kilogram。注意这里介词by和后面的定冠词the属习惯搭配。

(11)“走到‘北海’跟前”译为Walked„„towards the miniature Beihai，其中miniature(微型的)是译者添加的成分，用以表达原文中加引号的北海。

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黎明前的北京(1)

季羡林

前后加起来，我在北京已经住了四十多年，算是一个老北京了(2)。北京的名胜古迹，北京的妙处(3)，我应该说是了解的;其他老北京当然也了解。但是有一点，我相信绝大多数老北京并不了解(4)，这就是黎明时分以前的北京。

多少年来，我养成了一个习惯：每天早晨四点在黎明以前起床工作。我不出去跑步或散步，而是一下床就干活儿。因此我对黎明前的北京的了解是在屋子里感觉到的。我从前在什么报上读过一篇文章(5)，讲黎明时分**广场上的清洁工人。那情景必然是非常动人的，可惜我从未能见到，只是心向往之而已。

四十年前，我住在城里在明朝曾经是特务机关的东厂里面。几座深深的大院子，在最里面三个院子里只住着人一个人。朋友们都说这地方阴森可怕，晚上很少有人敢来找我，我则怡然自得(6)。每当夏夜，我起床以后，立刻就闻到院子里那些高大的马缨花树散发出来的阵阵幽香，这些香气破窗而入，我于此时神清气爽，乐不可支，连手中那一枝笨拙的笔也仿佛生了花。

几年以后，我搬到西郊来住，照例四点起床，坐在窗前工作。白天透过窗子能够看到北京展览馆那金光闪闪的高塔的尖顶，此时当然看不到了(7)。但是，我知道，即使我看不见它，它仍然在那里挺然耸入天空，仿佛想带给人以希望，以上进的劲头。我仍然是乐不可支，心也仿佛飞上了高空。

过了十年，我又搬了家。这新居既没有马缨花，也看不到金色的塔顶。但是门前却有一片清碧的荷塘。刚搬来的几年，池塘里还有荷花。夏天早晨四点已经算是黎明时分。在薄暗中透过窗子可以看到接天莲叶，而荷花的香气也幽然袭来(8)，我顾而乐之，大有超出马缨花和金色塔顶之上的意味了。

难道我欣赏黎明前的北京仅仅由于上述的原因吗?不是的。三十几年以来，我成了一个“开会迷”(9)。说老实话，积三十年之经验，我真有点怕开会了。在白天，一整天说不定什么时候就会接到开会的通知。说一句过火的话，我简直是提心吊胆，心里不得安宁。即使不开会，这种惴惴不安的心情总摆脱不掉。只有在黎明以前，根据我的经验，没有哪里会来找你开会的(10)。因此，我起床往桌子旁边一坐，仿佛有什么近似条件反射的东西立刻就起了作用，我心里安安静静，一下子进入角色，拿起笔来，“文思”(11)(如果也算是文思的话)如泉水喷涌，记忆力也像刚磨过的刀子，锐不可当。当时，我真乐不可支，如果给我机会的话，我简直想手舞足蹈了。

因此，我爱北京，特别爱黎明前的北京。

Predawn Beijing

Ji Xianlin

I’ve been in Beijing altogether for over 40 years.So I can well call myself a long-timer of Beijing.Like all other long-timers of the city, I’m supposed to be very familiar with its scenic spots and historical sites, nay, its superb attractions.But I believe there is one thing lying unknown to most of the long-time residents –the predawn hours of Beijing.For many years, I have been in the habit of getting up before daybreak to start work at four.Instead of going out for a jog or walk, I’ll set about my work as soon as I’m out of bed.As a result, it is from inside my study that I’ve got the feel of predawn Beijing.Years ago, I hit upon

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a newspaper article about street cleaner in Tian’anmen Square at daybreak.It must have been a very moving scene, but what a pity I haven’t seen it with my own eyes.I can only picture it in my mind longingly.Forty years ago, I lived downtown in Dongchang, a compound which had housed the secret service of the Ming dynasty.There were inside it several deep spacious courtyard one leading into another.I was the sole dweller of the three innermost courtyards.My friends, calling this place too ghastly, seldom dared to come to see me in the evening whereas I myself found it quite agreeable.In summer, the moment I got out of bed before daybreak, I would smell the delicate fragrance of the giant silk trees coming from outside my window.Thereupon, I would feel refreshed and joyful, and the clumsy pen in my hand would seem to have become as agile as it could.Several years later when I moved to the western suburbs, I kept my habit of rising at four to begin work at the window.The glittering spire atop the tower of the daytime through my window, would no longer be visible now in the early morning haze.Neverthele I knew that, tough invisible, it remained there intact, towering to the skies to inspire people with hope and the urge for moving ahead.At this, I would be beside myself with joy and feel as if my heart were also flying high up into the skies.Ten years after, I moved again.In the new home of mine, I had no silk trees, nor could I get sight of the glittering spire from afar.There was, however, a lotus pond of limpid blue in front of my door.In the first few years after I moved there, lotus flowers continued to bloom on the surface of the pond.In the summertime, when day broke early at four, a vast stretch of lotus leaves looking skywards outside my window came dimly into sight while the quiet fragrance of the lotus flowers aailed my nose.All that delighted me even more than the silk trees and the glittering spire.Is it exclusively due to the above-mentioned that I’ve developed a liking for predawn Beijing? No.for 30 years, I’ve been bogged down in the mire of meetings.To tell you the truth, with the experience accumulated over the 30 years, I’m now scared of meetings.In the daytime, there is no telling when I may be served a notice for attending a meeting.To exaggerate it a bit, that keeps me in constant suspense and makes me fidgety.Even when no meeting is to take place, I feel restle all the same.However, my experience tells that it is only during the predawn hours that I can be truly havened from any involvement in meetings.As soon as I sit at my desk before dawn, something similar to the conditioned reflex will begin to function within me: Instantly I’ll pick up my pen to play my proper part with perfect peace of mind.Then inspiration comes gushing to my mind and my memory becomes as quick as a newly-sharpened knife.I’ll feel overjoyed, almost to the point of waving my arms and stamping my

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feet.In short, I love Beijing, especially predawn Beijing.注释

季羡林(1911-)，教育家、梵文翻译家，散文家。本文是季羡林于1985年2月11日写的一篇小品文。

(1)“黎明前的北京”除译为predawn Beijing外，也可译为Beijing Before Dawn或Beijing Before Daybreak。

(2)“算是一个老北京了”除译为I can well call myself a long-timer of Beijing外，也可译为I‘m eligible for being called a long-timer of Beijing。又long-timer也可用old-timer代替。

(3)“北京的妙处”是上句“北京的名胜古迹“的补充，故译为nay, its superb attractions，其中nay是副词，作“不仅如此”解，是译文中添加的成分。

(4)“有一点„„老北京并不了解”译为there is one thing lying unknown to„ long-time residents，其中lying和remaining同义。

(5)“在什么报上读过一篇文章”译为I hit upon a newspaper article，其中to hit upon是成语，作“偶然发现”解，和to come acro、to find by chance等同义。

(6)“我则怡然自得”意即“我却觉得很惬意”，故译为whereas I myself find it quite agreeable。

(7)“此时当然看不到了”译为would no longer be visible now in the morning haze，(8)“香气幽然袭来”意即“香气悄悄地扑鼻而来”，故译为the quiet fragrance„aailed my nose(或nostrils)。

(9)“开会迷”在文中并不指“对开会着迷”或“特别爱好开会”。它的真正意思却是“陷入繁多的的会议之中”或者“疲于应付各种会议”，因此可译为I’ve been bogged down in the more of meetings或I’ve been bogged down in meetings。

(10)“只有在黎明以前„„没有哪里会找你开会的”译为it is only during the predawn hours that I can be havened from any involvement in meetings，灵活处理，其中havened是由名词haven(避难所)转化为动词的。因此be havened from的意思是“免受„„之忧”。

(11)“‘文思’如泉水喷涌”中的“文思”实际上指“灵感”，现将全句译为Then inspiration comes gushing to my mind。

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