09南师大研究生翻译写作试卷

Passage 1 ( 15%)

Culture is a word that has so many meanings already that one more can do it no harm. For anthropologists culture has long stood for the way of life of a people, for the sum of their learned behavior patterns, attitudes, and material things. Though they subscribe to this general view, most anthropologists tend to disagree however, on what the precise substance of culture is. In practice their work often leads some of them to a fascination with a single category of events among the many which make up human life, and they tend to think of this as the essence of all culture. In sum, though the concept of culture was first defined in print in 1871 by E. B. Tylor, after all these years it still lacks the rigorous specificity which characterizes many less revolutionary and useful ideas.

Culture hides much more than it reveals, and strangely enough what it hides, it hides most effectively from its own participants. Years of study have convinced me that the real job is not to understand foreign culture but to understand our own. I am also convinced that all that one ever gets from studying foreign culture is a token understanding. The ultimate reason for such study is to learn more about how one’s own system works. The best reason for exposing oneself to foreign ways is to generate a sense of vitality and awareness---an interest in life which can come only when one lives through the shock of contrast and difference.

The best reason for the layman to spend time studying culture is that he can learn something useful and enlightening about himself. This can be an interesting process, at times harrowing but ultimately rewarding. One of the most effective ways to learn about oneself is by taking seriously the culture of others. It forces you to pay attention to those details of life which differentiate them from you.

注释：1. E. B. Tylor：泰勒（1832—1917），英国人类学家。

Passage 2 (10%)

Culture operates both visibly and invisibly to influence the substance of negotiations and the performance of the eventual contract. It is therefore necessary for an exporter to have knowledge of both the foreign culture and the negotiating process in that culture. This includes familiarity with the spoken language and with body

language (that is, typical gestures); knowledge of the coun try’s social customs and formalities; awareness of the degree to which subtleness or, inversely, directness is current in negotiations; understanding of the use of time in formal talks; knowledge of the degree to which compromise is acceptable for reaching a final accord; understanding of the decision-making process in the counterpart company; and awareness of the sanctity of oral versus written contacts.

Ⅱ.Put the following passages into English. (25%)

Passage 1 (15%)

直到不久以前，在网上进行犯罪活动的机会还很少。但随着人们开始在网上购买书籍和其他商品，并开始在网上从事货币交易，网上的商务活动迅速增长。这一切对黑客构成了巨大的诱惑。黑客一般是那些对计算机痴迷的年轻人。他们想方设法地闯入银行、电话公司甚至政府部门的计算机系统。他们寻找信用卡样本，试图窃取信用卡号码。

估计目前世界范围内的网上销售额在400亿美元到2000年底的900亿美元之间。这些销售额主要集中于出版物和软件的购买，而这些活动需要用户提供信用卡号码。专家建议说，“设定密码时，不要只用字母，要掺杂使用一些标点符号和数字。还应该经常更换信用卡密码。”

注释：1. 黑客: hacker 2. 400亿美元：$ 40 billion

Passage 2 (10%)

读书的状态大致分为三种：一是为别人而读，二是为有用而读，三是为兴趣而读。

处在第一种状态是最痛苦的，自己根本不想读，但迫于外界压力却不得不读。在这样的状态下，读书真是苦不堪言，实在是件苦差事。第二种是为有用而读书。处在此列的人已知书中自有黄金屋和颜如玉，已经能从烟波浩渺的书海中有所取舍，读书很有目的性。或为提高专业技术水平，或为丰富知识，学电脑的看电脑书籍，学文学的看小说，当老师的读教育心理，做生意的看经济等等。第三种是为兴趣而读书。这是读书的自觉状态，更是一种境界。这些读者把书当做生存的基本需要，读书已和吃饭睡觉一样必不可少。三日不读书，则自觉面目可憎，心里就空虚、失落、不踏实。