广外翻译专业英译汉练习3(附参考译文)Golden Fruit

Golden Fruit ne

Of the fruits of the year I give my vote to the orange.

In the first place it is a perennial -- if not in actual fact, at least in the greengrocer's shop. On the days when dessert is a name given to a handful of chocolates and a little preserved ginger, when macedoine de fruits is the title bestowed on two prune s西梅干and a piece of rhubarbs大黄, then the orange, however sour, comes nobly to the rescue; and on those other days of plenty when cherries and strawberries and raspberries 木莓and gooseberries 醋栗riot together upon the table, the orange, sweeter than ever, is still there to hold its own. Bread and butter, beef and mutton, eggs and bacon, are not more necessary to an ordered existence than the orange.

It is well that the commonest fruit should be also the best. Of the virtues of the orange I have not room fully to speak. It has properties of health giving, as that it cures influenza and establishes the complexion. It is clean, for whoever handles it on its way to your table, but handles its outer covering, its top coat, which is left in the hall. It is round, and forms an excellent substitute with the young for a cricket ball. The pip can be flicked at your enemies, and quite a small piece of peel makes a slide for an old gentleman.

But all this would count nothing had not the orange such delightful qualities of taste. I dare not let myself go upon this subject. I am a slave to its sweetness. I grudge every marriage in that it means a fresh supply of orange blossom, the promise of so much golden fruit cut short. However, the world must go on.

…..

With the orange we do live year in and year out. That speaks well for the orange. The fact is that there is an honesty about the orange which appeals to all of us. If it is going to be bad -- for the best of us are bad sometimes -- it begins to be bad from the outside, not from the inside. How many a pear which presents a blooming face to the world is rotten at the core. How many an innocent-looking apple is harbouring a worm in the bud. But the orange has no secret faults. Its outside is a mirror of its inside, and if you are quick you can tell the shopman so before he slips it into the bag.

黄金水果

一年四季，水果之多，我独爱橙子。

首先，橙子一年四季可寻，虽然现实并不是这样，但至少在蔬果店可以。有时候，甜点也就是几一条巧克力和一点腌制的姜片，杂样水果冻也只有两块西梅干加一块大黄。这时候，要是加上橙子，就算橙子再酸，也能挽救整个状况。也有些时候，桌上放着各样水果——樱桃、草莓、木莓和醋栗，就算这些放着都腐烂了，橙子却是越放越甜，依然完好无缺。橙子甚至比黄油面包、牛羊肉以及鸡蛋咸肉更加必不可少。

最妙的是，这种普通的水果恰好也是最好的。橙子的好处，我数也数不全。它含有促进健康的物质，不但治愈流感，而且美容养颜。橙子很干净，不论是谁把橙子端到到桌子上，都只是触碰到它最外层的表皮，剥开吃完后，皮就留在了客厅。橙子是圆的，可以给喜欢板球的孩子玩，完美替代板球。它的籽儿还可以攻击你的对头，小小的一块橙子皮也能让一个老绅士摔出洋相。

然而，橙子若没有甘甜可口的味道，上述那些特点也就毫无价值了。我不敢谈及橙子的美味，因为我对橙子的美味毫无抵抗力。我不满那些要办婚礼的，因为婚礼需要提供大量的鲜橙花束，也就是未来少了一批黄金水果。但是，生命还会继续呀。

橙子一年四季常伴我们，这就说明橙子真的很好。橙子的诚实品质经常吸引我们。如果橙子快坏了，就跟我们中的佼佼者也会“变坏”一样。橙子是从外面开始坏的，而不是里面。多少外面看着光鲜亮丽的梨，果心已经腐烂了，多少看上去外表完好的苹果，果肉里面却滋生了蛀虫。但是橙子没有见不得人的“坏事”。它的外表就是内心的写照。如果你反应快，你就可以在水果店老板把坏橙子扔进袋子之前阻止他。