江苏大学研究生英语课程讲义整理

Unit 1 General Description of Literature Reading and Translation 1. Definition of Literature

Literature is a general term for professional writings in the form of books, papers, and other documentations.

2. Classification of Literature

1) Textbooks(教科书)：In general, a textbook is a kind of professional writing specially designed for the students in a given branch of learning.

2) Monographs(专著)：A monograph is an artide or short book on one particular subject or branch of a subject that the writer has studied deeply.

3) Papers(论文)：A complete paper is usually composed of the following elements: title, author, affiliation, abstract, keywords, introduction, theoretical analysis and/or experimental description, results and discussion or conclusion, acknowledgments, references, etc.

4) Encyclopedias(百科全书)：An encyclopedia is a book or set of books dealing with every branch of knowledge, or with one particular branch, in alphabetical order.

5) Periodicals(期刊)：A periodical is a series of publications that appear at regular intervals.

6) Special Documentation(特别文件)：Special documentation refers to all the printed materials that are non-books or non-periodicals.

3. Linguistic Features of Scientific Literature

1) Stylistically(在文体上), literature is a kind of formal writing.

2) Syntactically(在语句构成上), scientific literature has rigorous grammatical structures, and

in most cases is rather unitary.

3) Morphologically(在词法上), scientific literature is featured by high specialization, the use

of technical terms and jargons, unambiguous implication and the fixed sense of the word.

4) Besides, non-verbal language is also very popular in various literatures such as signs, formulas, charts, tables, photos, etc.

4. Discussion

1. What is your opinion on the importance of translation? Can you cite some examples to support your idea?

As a means of communication, translation plays an important role in human civilization. for example , in the West, literary translation can be traced back to 300 BC; while in China, recorded translation activities are even earlier, dating from Zhou Dynasty (1100 BC).

A modern society sees an extensive use of translation on various occasions. Proper and dexterous translation helps promote mutual understanding between peoples of different cultural

and social backgrounds. For example ,the ordinary word “menu”. Its original meaning is “a list of dishes in a meal or to be ordered as separated meals. However, when it is used in computer science, its meaning shifts to “a list shown on the display of a computer from which a user can select the operation the computer is to perform.”

2. What is translation? Do you agree with the author’s point of view? Why or why not?

If the word “translation” refers to a subject, it is a science. If it refers to some specific pieces