考研英語的英譯漢與四六級的翻譯有很多不同之處,很多考生因為沒能掌握這些不同而導致這部分總拿不到高分,下面就英譯漢這部分的內容做一概述。
難點
1.需要聯系上下文來理解詞義
考研英語的英譯漢是給你一篇文章,然后從中劃出5個句子,因此就必須把詞句的含義放到原文中來理解,切不可斷章取義,有的詞語翻譯出來的意思與其本意可能會有不同,這正是英譯漢要考察的要點之一。
2.多為長難句
英譯漢句子平均的單詞量在30個左右,而且結構復雜,修飾成分多,考生很容易因沒有理清句子結構而造成翻譯得南轅北轍的現象。
建議
首先要擁有一定的單詞量,背單詞不能只知道其常用的意思,還應知道其作為其它屬性或者完全與本意看似不相關的其他含義,這樣才能在聯系上下文翻譯的時候對單詞的含義做到觸類旁通;其次,要有對長難句的“免疫”能力,可以在做閱讀題的時候,把典型的復雜長難句記下來,試著劃分句子結構,做到熟能生巧。最后,平時可以多看一些英文文章,培養一下語感,有助于對句子含義的整體把握。
真題解析
Directions: Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written on the ANSWER SHEET(10 points)(2014年考研英語真題Part C)
Music means different things to different people and sometimes even different things to the same person at different moments of his life. It might be poetic, philosophical, sensual, or mathematical, but in any case it must, in my view, have something to do with the soul of the human being. Hence it is metaphysical; but the means of expression is purely and exclusively physical: sound. I believe it is precisely this permanent coexistence of metaphysical message through physical means that is the strength of music。(46)It is also the reason why when we try to describe music with words, all we can do is articulate our reactions to it, and not grasp music itself。
Beethoven's importance in music has been principally defined by the revolutionary nature of his compositions. He freed music from hitherto prevailing conventions of harmony and structure. Sometimes I feel in his late works a will to break all signs of continuity. The music is abrupt and seemingly disconnected, as in the last piano sonata. In musical expression, he did not feel restrained by the weight of convention。(47)By all accounts he was a freethinking person, and a courageous one, and I find courage an essential quality for the understanding, let alone the performance, of his works。
This courageous attitude in fact becomes a requirement for the performers of Beethoven's music. His compositions demand the performer to show courage, for example in the use of dynamics。(48)Beethoven's habit of increasing the volume with an extreme intensity and then abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage was only rarely used by composers before him。
Beethoven was a deeply political man in the broadest sense of the word. He was not interested in daily politics, but concerned with questions of moral behavior and the larger questions of right and wrong affecting the entire society。(49)Especially significant was his view of freedom, which, for him, was associated with the rights and responsibilities of the individual: he advocated freedom of thought and of personal expression。
Beethoven's music tends to move from chaos to order as if order were an imperative of human existence. For him, order does not result from forgetting or ignoring the disorders that plague our existence; order is a necessary development, an improvement that may lead to the Greek ideal of spiritual elevation. It is not by chance that the Funeral March is not the last movement of the Eroica Symphony, but the second, so that suffering does not have the last word。(50)One could interpret much of the work of Beethoven by saying that suffering is inevitable, but the courage to fight it renders life worth living。
46. It is also the reason why when we try to describe music with words, all we can do is articulate our reactions to it, and not grasp music itself。
【主干識別】
It is also the reason。
【其他成分】
why when we try to describe music with words, all we can do is articulate our reactions to it, and not grasp music itself 定語從句
when we try to describe music with words 定語從句中的狀語從句
all we can do is articulate our reactions to it, and not grasp music itself 定語從句的主句,在翻譯的時候一定要注意在正確理解的基礎上按照中文的表達習慣完成翻譯。
比如對于all we can 的翻譯,由于前面已經把we翻譯成“我們”了,所以這里就不需要再翻譯“我們”了。可以直接翻譯為:只能……
our reactions to it 可以直接翻譯為“我們對于音樂的反應”,也可以翻譯為“我們的感受”。
【詞匯突破】
articulate 清楚地表達
grasp 理解
【參考譯文】
這也是為什么我們用語言描述音樂時,只能清楚地表達出自己的感受,卻不能理解音樂本身。
47. By all accounts he was a freethinking person, and a courageous one, and I find courage an essential quality for the understanding, let alone the performance, of his works。
【主干識別】
I find…
【其他成分】
賓語從句之一:He was a freethinking person and courageous person。
賓語從句之二:Courage is an essential quality for the understanding and the performance of his works。
這兩個句子相對比較簡單,只是需要理解一些插入語的層次;
a freethinking person, and a courageous one 第一個句子主干的插入語
the understanding of his works,the performance of his works第二個句子主干的插入語
在翻譯技巧上注意名詞和動詞間的相互轉化:理解他的作品,演奏他的作品
【詞匯突破】
by all accounts 從各個方面來說……
【參考譯文】
我認為從各個方面來說,他都是個思想自由的勇者。而且我認為理解他的作品必須具備勇敢這一品質,演奏他的作品就更是如此。
48. Beethoven's habit of increasing the volume with an extreme intensity and then abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage was only rarely used by composers before him。
【主干識別】
Beethoven's habit was only rarely used。
【其他成分】
of increasing the volume with an extreme intensity and then abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage 作habit 的定語
這是本句的難點。我們一直強調,在英文向中文轉化的過程中,一定要將過長的成分單獨成句,這樣符合中文的習慣,同時,名詞和動詞的相互轉化也是與之相伴的技巧。這里habit和with就可以翻譯為:“習慣用……”這樣一個中文的句子就出現了:貝多芬習慣用強烈的漸強來增大音量。再翻譯后半部分:abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage,此處following也翻譯為動詞。
(這)was only rarely used by composers before him。用一個偉大的代詞“這”來代替之前的主語部分,接著再翻譯后半部分就很容易了。
【詞匯突破】
volume 音量
passage (音樂作品的)段落
【參考譯文】
貝多芬習慣用強烈的漸強來增大音量,然后突然緊接舒緩的曲段,這是之前的作曲家極少使用的手法。
49.Especially significant was his view of freedom, which, for him, was associated with the rights and responsibilities of the individual: he advocated freedom of thought and of personal expression。
【主干識別】
Especially significant was his view of freedom。
這個是一個完全倒裝的句子,正常的語序應該是:his view of freedom was especially significant。
【其他成分】
which(指代自由),for him, was associated with the rights and responsibilities of the individual 定語從句(可以單獨成句)
he advocated freedom of thought and of personal expression 冒號引導的一個句子,在翻譯中依然可以單獨成句。
【詞匯突破】
advocate 提倡
【參考譯文】
他對于自由的看法尤其重要,他認為自由與個人的權利和義務相關,他提倡思想和表達自由。
50.One could interpret much of the work of Beethoven by saying that suffering is inevitable, but the courage to fight it renders life worth living。
【主干識別】
One could interpret much of the work of Beethoven。
【其他成分】
by saying that suffering is inevitable 狀語
but the courage to fight it renders life worth living 狀語中的賓語從句,單獨成句即可。
courage to fight 可以翻譯為:勇于抗爭,也可以翻譯為:抗爭的勇氣。
renders life worth living 可以翻譯為:使人生值得活下去,也可以翻譯為:賦予生命以意義。
【詞匯突破】
interpret 對(書面或口頭材料)釋義,解釋(作者,說話人)的意思
render 使……
【參考譯文】
人們也許可以將貝多芬的大多數作品解釋成:苦難在所難免,但勇于抗爭賦予生命以意義。
通過今天的學習,希望大家能成功地在英譯漢這個“陣地”上再拿下一城,為自己考研成功增加一個砝碼,加油!