第五章 第一节 分句译法

第五章英译汉常用的方法和技巧（中）

第一节分句译法

分句译法又称之为“拆句法”，就是把英文中比较长的句子译成汉语中较短的句子。

从结构上看，英语的句子好比参天大树，树叶横生。一个主谓结构（主句）带有从句，或短语（分词短语、不定式短语、动名词短语等等）；而汉语的句子则如万顷碧波，层层推进，即一个个短句子，从意义上一层一层地说明意思。换言之，英语的句子结构注重形合（hypotaxis），而汉语的句子注重意合（parataxis）。

一、将单词分译成汉语的句子

1. She was pardonably proud of her wonderful cooking.

直译：她可以谅解地为自己高超的烹调技艺感到自豪。

改译：她自夸她高超的烹调技艺，这是情有可原的。

2. That is a NATO matter and any comment on it should appropriately come from NATO.

直译：这个问题是北大西洋公约组织的问题，任何评论都应合情合理来自这个组织本身。

改译：这个问题是北大西洋公约组织的问题，因此，任何关于这一问题的评论都应来自这个组织本身（应由组织自己提出），这样做才是合乎情理的。

3. The ancients tried unsuccessfully to explain how a rainbow is formed.

古人曾试图说明虹是怎样产生的，但没有成功。

4. American prisoners are permitted to receive Red Cross food parcels and write censored letters.

译为：美国战俘被允许接受国际红十字会送来的食品包裹，还可以写一些必须经过检查的信。（不清楚）

改译：允许美国战俘接受国际红十字会送来的食品包裹，还可以写信，但是信件必须接受检查。

5. In second grade they showed us a terrifying film about flash-flooding.

我上二年级的时候，给我们演过一场暴雨成灾的电影，非常可怕。

6. In the days that followed I learned to spell in this uncomprehending way a great many words, among them…

往后我就这样学着拼写，虽然并不理解意思，却也拼出了许多词，其中有……

二、将词组或短语译成汉语的句子

1. Such fear is not as far-fetched as it may seem.

试译：这种担心并非像它看起来那样不可能没有根据。（很别扭）

改译：这种担心看起来似乎没有根据，其实不然。

2. I’m surprised to learn that he lost the game.

直译：我惊奇地获悉他在比赛中失利了。

改译：我听说（得知）他在比赛中失利了，感到十分意外。

3. Sometimes to his delight, he was allowed to take short trips outside Charleston Harbor.

有时，他获准到查尔斯顿港以外去走动走动，对此他心中暗喜。

4. There were more interests at stake than it could handle with serenity.

临到紧急关头的切身之事太多了，这简直使他不能处之泰然。

5. I am sure I wish I had been a hundred miles off rather than have heard what I have heard.

我敢说，我宁愿呆在一百里以外，也不愿听到我所听到的话。

6. Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers.

男人们很聪明，他们不会上时装设计者的当。

7. So China has built new and increasingly strong links, in both directions, with world markets. These links have contributed to creation of new jobs, new prosperity for China.

总之，中国与世界市场之间建成立起了新的、双向的联系，这些联系正在日益加强，并为中国创造了新的就业机会，带来了新的繁荣。

三、将从句分译成句子（长句的分译法）

1. They seemed to enjoy those rewards which they had purchased by a course of unremitting fatigue and by victories which almost exceeded belief.

他们对这些酬劳看来是很得意的，这些酬劳是他们历经千辛万苦，通过取得许可多次令人难以置信的胜利得来的。

2. This trend began during the Second World War, when several governments came to the conclusion that the specific demands that a government wants to make of its scientific establishment cannot generally be foreseen in detail.

这种趋势始于第二次世界大战期间，当时一些国家得出结论：政府要向科研机构提出的具体要求通常是无法详尽预见的。

3. On behalf of all of your American guests, I wish to thank you for the incomparable hospitality for which the Chinese people are justly famous throughout the world.

我谨代表所有美国客人向你们表示感谢，感谢你们的无可比拟的盛情款待，中国人民以这种盛情款待而闻名世界。

4. In the spirit of frankness which I hope will characterize our talks this week, let us recognized at the outset these points:

我希望我们这个星期的会谈将是坦率的。本着这种坦率的精神，让我们在一开始就认识到这样几点：