英文翻译方法十二讲

·

谢瓦利埃的演员。他靠一口夸

张的法语口音成 就了一番事业。其实若他愿意，他或许可以不带那么重的口音。

3) Of course, it was different in feudal times,

when girls were expected to stay quietly in

their homes

.

当然，在封建时代就 不同了。那时，人们希望女孩能安静地呆在家里。

4) But we do have a few clues

—

some fingerprints and the ladder,

which they must have left

behind in their hurry

.

但我们的确有一些线索

——

一些指纹，一架梯子。他们一定是在匆忙之中留下了这些

东西。

4.

转换成其他从句

< br>某些非限制性定语从句和限制性定语从句相似，也兼有其他从句的性质和功能，翻译

时要分析原文主句和从句之间的逻辑关系，然后译成相应的汉语。例如：

1) She insisted on buying the necklace,

which she had no use for

.

她坚持要买下那条项链，尽管她并不需要。

2) First, we must keep our body and mind healthy and strong,

which is the source of energy

to endure any kind of strain and hardships in our lives

.

首先，我们必须确保 身心健康，因为这是一生中承担任何苦难的力量来源。

五、名词性从句的翻译

英语名词性从 句主要包括主语从句、

宾语从句、

表语从句和同位语从句。

汉语不存在类似结

构，在翻译此类从句时，可以基本按照英语语序处 理。

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1.

主语从句

1.1

以

what, whatever, whoever

等代词引导的主语从句翻译时按原文顺序翻译，

例如：

1)

Whatever he saw and heard on his trip

gave him a very deep impression.

他此行所见所闻都给他留下了深刻的印象。

2)

How and when human language developed

and

whether animals such as chimpanzees

and gorillas can develop a more elaborate system of communication

are issues at present being

researched.

人类的语言是什么时候以及以何种方式发展起来的，诸如黑猩 猩和大猩猩一类的动物

是否会形成一种更加复杂的交流系统，都是现阶段人们研究的课题 。

3)

What accounts for other's success

is some special secret or a lucky break. But rarely is

success so mysterious.

别人的成功是源于某种特殊的奥秘 或者某种机遇。但成功是很少如此神秘的。

1.2

代词

“it”

引导的主语从句的翻译方法

这类主语从句翻译时可前可后。例如，

按照主语在前的顺序翻译

:

1)

It

doesn't make much difference

whether he attends the meeting or not.

他参不参加会议没有多大关系。

2)

It

is good news

that our team has won the championship.

我们队得了冠军是好消息。

3)

It

seemed inconceivable

that the pilot could have survived the crash.

驾驶员在飞机失事之后还能活着，真是不可思议。

4)

It

is a matter of common experience

that bodies are lighter in water than they are in air.

物体在水中比在空气中轻，这是一种常识。

15

变换顺序，主语从句翻译时被置于句后

:

1)

It

is obvious

that such uncomfortable feelings must affect people adversely.

显然，这种不安的感觉会对人们产生不利的影响。

2)

It

is certain

that technology, especially computer technology, will rule our lives to a

greater and greater degree.

可以肯定，技术将越来越多地主宰我们的生活，特别是计算机 技术。

3)

It

was evident

that to answer the letter he needed something more than goodwill, ink,

and paper.

很显然，要回复这封信，他需要的不只是好意、墨水和纸张。

也可以在翻译时用人称做主语：

1)

It

never occurred to me

that she was so dishonest.

我从未想到她这么不诚实。

2)

It

is imagined by many

that the operations of the common mind can by no means be

compared with these processes.

许多人认为普通人的思维活动根本无法与这些过程相比。

3)

It

was observed by professors and women students alike

that the boys were

over

教授们和女生都发现，男孩 子正在逐渐

“

接管

”

< br>课堂讨论。

4)

It

was thought

that this drug was blown into the bedroom through a tube in the form of

a fine powder which the sleeper breathed in.

人们认为，这种药是被人通过一根管子以细粉的形式吹入卧室 ，然后被睡着的人吸入

的。

2.

宾语从句

2.1

以

that, what, how

等引导的宾语从句译成汉语时一般不需要改变原文顺序。例如：

< br>

16

1) The groups charge

that the Navy's plan violates federal laws that protect animals from

being mistreated.

这些组织指控海军的计划违背了保护动物不受虐待的联邦法律。

2) But critics wonder

if dolphins can be trusted to guard nuclear weapons.

但是批评家们怀疑海豚是否能担负起守卫核武器的重任。

3) Scientists have reason to think

that a man can put up with far more radiation than 0.1

REM without being damaged.

科学家有理由认为一个人能 够忍受远远超过

0.1

雷姆的幅射而不受伤害。

2.2

用

“it”

作形式宾语

< /p>

译成汉语时按原文顺序翻译，但

“it”

不必译出。例如：

1) I made

it

clear to them

that they must hand in their papers before 10 o'clock in the

morning.

我向他们讲清楚了，他们必须在上午

10

时前交论文。

2) You have all heard

it

repeated

that men of science work by means of induction and

deduction.

你们都多次听说过

,

科学家采用归纳法和演绎法进行工作。

3) He just took

it

for granted

that he would pass the exam.

他想当然地认为自己能通过考试。

3

．表语从句

英语表语从句翻译成汉语时可以按照原文顺序翻译。例如：

1) And all I know is

that my baby doesn't hear a thing

.

我只知道我的宝宝什么也听不见。

2) A more serious criticism is

that the apes are responding to unconscious cues from their

trainers

.

更严厉的批评认为，猿猴其实是在对他们的训练员们不自觉的暗示做出反应。

17

3) One of the reasons that therapy often takes so long is

that, once you leave the safety and

support of a session, you reenter the world where familiar people elicit the familiar reactions

.

治疗往往需要很长的时间，原因之一是，一旦给予你安全保护 和帮助的一个疗程结束

后，你重新又回到了原来的世界，那儿你的熟人会诱使你重蹈覆辙 。

4) The most important part of any therapy is

not what you understand or what you talk

about, but what you do

.

一种疗法的关键不在于你领悟到什么或谈论了什么，而在于你 做了什么。

5) That is

why the Tortoise's shell is not smooth

.

那就是乌龟壳不平整的原因。

6) And the interesting thing is

that even people who swear this is not possible have been

healed by a placebo

.

有趣的是，甚至 那些信誓旦旦认为这是不可能的人，也因为用了安慰剂而康复了。

4

．同位语从句

4.1

同位语从句翻译成汉语时，

可按照原文顺序翻译，

适当增添某些动词，

以使语言流

畅。例如：

1) But, until now, there has been no evidence

that any bird could make the big leap to

associating one sound exclusively with one object or quality

.

然而到目前为止，还没有证据显示任何一种鸟已经实现了这一 飞跃：把某一个声音只

与某种物体或特征联系起来。

2) There are occasional hints

that he has grasped even more advanced concepts

but Dr

Pepperberg is cautious.

偶尔有一些迹象表明它已掌握了更高级的概念，但佩珀伯格博士对此很谨慎。

< br>

3) A year later, the father received a letter

that one of his lost ships had been found and

had arrived filled with merchandise for him

.

一年后，父亲收到了一封 信，信上说找到了他失踪的一条船，船上满载货物，已经到

港。

4) The scientists have been looking for evidence

that Alex understands more complicated

ideas

.

科学家们一直在寻找证据来证明亚历克斯懂得更复杂的概念。

18

4.2

但在有些情况下，翻译时，同位语从句可以提前。例如：

1) The fact

that they are doing more shopping

may result in their spending more money in

stores they go to.

青少年现在购物更多了，这就会使 他们在所光顾的商店里花钱更多。

2) That aspect has to be weighed against the fact

that they might not help your career plans

.

但这些工作可能无助于你的择业规划，你必须在这两个方面权衡一下。

3) Your abilities count, but the belief

that you can succeed

affects whether or not you will.

你的能力固然很重要，但是相信自己会成功的信 念将影响你能否获得成功。

4.3

增加

“

即

”

或

“

那 就是

”

，或用冒号、破折号分开。

1) This reinforced the idea

that anything was possible, that I could do anything I wanted

.

这进一步增强了我的想法：世上无难事，只要我想要做的事，我都能够做到。