1997-2010_英语专业八级翻译部分真题解析经典1

1997—2010年英语专业8级统考题中英译汉试题评析【1997年8级测试英译汉】Operaisexpensive:thatmuchisinevitable.1Butexpensivethingsarenotinevitablytheprovinceoftherichunlessweabdicatesociety’spowerofchoice.2Wecanchoosetomakeopera,andotherexpensiveformsofculture,accessibletothosewhocannotindividuallypayforit.3Thequestionis:whyshouldwe?Nobodydeniestheimperativesoffood,shelter,defense,healthandeducation.4Buteveninaprehistoriccave,mankindstretchedoutahandnotjusttoeat,drinkorfight,butalsotodraw.5Theimpulsetowardsculture,thedesiretoexpressandexploretheworldthroughimaginationandrepresentationisfundamental.6InEurope,thisdesirehasfoundfulfillmentinthemasterpiecesofourmusic,art,literatureandtheatre.Thesemasterpiecesarethetouchstones7forallourefforts;theyarethetouchstonesforthepossibilitiestowhichhumanthoughtandimaginationmayaspire;theycarrythemostprofoundmessagesthatcanbesentfromonehumantoanother.8【参考译文】聆听歌剧，无疑昂贵至极。但是，昂贵的东西并不是非富人莫属，除非我们放弃社会的选择权。我们可以做出选择，使歌剧和其他形式的高消费文化也能让那些作为个体消费不起的人们所享受。但问题是，有必要这么做吗？食物、居所、防护、健康与教育缺一不可，这一点人人认可。即便史前，住在洞穴中的人类伸出手来，不仅为了吃饭、喝水或搏杀，也为了作画。对于文化的冲动，对于通过形象思维和再现手段来表达并探索世界的欲望，这是人的本性。在欧洲，这一欲望反映在音乐、绘画、文学和戏剧之类的艺术杰作之中。这些杰作是我们全部成果的试金石，是人类思想和想象力可及程度的试金石。它们承载着最深刻的信息，使之在人类成员之间传播。【1998年8级测试英译汉】IagreetosomeextentwithmyimaginaryEnglishreader.Americanliteraryhistoriansareperhapspronetoviewtheirownnationalscenetoonarrowly,mistakingprominenceforuniqueness.Theydoover-phrase1theirownliterature,orcertainlyitsminorfigures.AndAmericansdoswingfromaggressiveover-phraseoftheirliteraturetoanequallyunfortunate,imitativedeference.2Butthen,theEnglishthemselvesaresomewhatinsularintheirliteraryappraisals.3Moreover,infieldswheretheyarenotpre-eminent—e.g.inpaintingandmusic—theytooalternatebetweenboastingofnativeproductsandcopyingthoseoftheContinent.HowmanyEnglishpaintingstrytolookasthoughtheyweredoneinParis;howmanytimeshavewereadinarticlesthattheyreallyrepresentan“Englishtradition”afterall.TospeakofAmericanliterature,then,isnottoassertthatitiscompletelyunlikethatofEurope.Broadlyspeaking,AmericaandEuropehavekeptstep4.Atanygivenmoment5thetravelercouldfindexamplesinbothofthesamearchitecture,thesamestylesindress,thesamebooksontheshelves.IdeashavecrossedtheAtlanticasfreelyasmenandmerchandise,thoughsometimesmoreslowly.WhenIrefertoAmericanhabit,thoughts,etc.,Iintendsomesortofqualificationtoprecedetheword,forfrequentlythedifferencebetweenAmericaandEurope(especiallyEngland)willbeoneofdegree,sometimesonlyofasmalldegree.Theamountofdivergenceisasubtleaffair,liabletoperplex6theEnglishmanwhenhelooksatAmerica.Heislookingatacountrywhichinimportantsensesgrewoutofhisown,whichinseveralwaysstillresembleshisown—andwhichisyetaforeigncountry.7Thereareoddoverlappingsandabruptunfamiliarities;kinshipyieldstoasuddenalienation,aswhenwehailapersonacrossthestreet,onlytodiscoverfromhisblankresponsethatwehavemistakenastrangerforafriend.8【参考译文】在一定程度上，我赞同这位虚构的英国读者的观点。美国的文学史工作者也许惯于过分狭隘地看待本国文坛，误将显著当独特。他们的确过分渲染本国文学，至少对二流的作家肯定会吹捧。美国人确实也走极端，要么咄咄逼人，对本国文学大肆渲染，要么亦步亦趋，对别国文学顶礼膜拜。这两种做法同样的不幸。话又说回来，英国人自己在文学鉴赏方面也显得有些孤陋寡闻。而且，在诸如绘画音乐这些本国没有杰出成就的领域里，他们也走极端，要么吹嘘本国的作品，要么模仿大陆上的作品。试想，有多少幅英国画试图做得让人看上去像是在巴黎绘的；我们又有多少次读到他们的作品真正代表着一种“英国式的传统”呢？说到美国文学，并非意欲断言，它与欧洲文学全然不同。广而言之，美国与欧洲一直步伐一致。任何时刻，旅行者在两地均能看到同样的建筑，款式相同的服饰，相同的书籍。思想如同人员与货物往来一样，自由地横跨大西洋，不过有时会稍微慢一些。当我说美国习惯、美国思想等时，我只想在这一词汇前加上某种修饰语，因为，欧美（尤其是英美）之间的差异往往只是程度上的差异，而且有时候微乎其微。差异的多少至精至细，很容易使英国人对美国迷惑不解。他所看的那个国家，从某些重要的意义上来说，脱胎于他自己的国家，并在某些方面与他自己的国家相差无几——然而，它却实实在在是一个异邦。两个国家，既有重叠，也有陌生，重叠使人颇感奇怪，陌生令人觉着突如其来：亲戚一下子变做陌生路人。犹如我们向马路对面的某个行人打招呼，结果出乎意料，那人表情漠然，原来，我们误把陌路当友人。【1999年8级测试英译汉】Insomesocietiespeoplewantchildrenforwhatmightbecalledfamilialreasons1:toextendthefamilylineorthefamilyname2,topropitiatetheancestors;toenabletheproperfunctioningofreligiousritualsinvolvingthefamily3.Suchreasonsmayseemthininthemodern,secularizedsocietybuttheyhavebeenandarepowerfulindeedinotherplaces.Inaddition,oneclassoffamilyreasonssharesaborderwiththefollowingcategory4,namely,havingchildreninordertomaintainorimproveamarriage:toholdthehusbandoroccupythewife5,torepairorrejuvenatethemarriage;toincreasethenumberofchildrenontheassumptionthatfamilyhappinessliesthatway6.Thepointisunderlinedbyitsconverse7:insomesocietiesthefailuretobearchildren(ormales)isathreattothemarriageandareadycausefordivorce.8Beyondallthatistheprofoundsignificanceofchildrentotheveryinstitutionofthefamilyitself.9Tomanypeople,husbandandwifealonedonotseemaproperfamily—theyneedchildrentoenrichthecircle,tovalidateitsfamilycharacter,togathertheredemptiveinfluence10ofoffspring.Childrenneedthefamily,butthefamilyseemsalsotoneedchildren,asthesocialinstitutionuniquelyavailable,atleastinprinciple,forsecurity,comfort,assurance,anddirectioninachanging,oftenhostile,world.Tomostpeople,suchahomebase,intheliteralsense,needsmorethanonepersonforsustenanceandingenerationalextension.【参考译文】在有些社会，要孩子只是为了所谓的家族原因：传宗接代，延续香火，安慰祖辈，维系礼仪。在现代世俗社会中，这类原因似显苍白，但在其他地方，这些原因确实强劲有力。此外，有一类家族原因与下面一组原因共通，即生儿育女是为了维系或改善婚姻：能拴住丈夫或者让妻子有事可做；修复或重振婚姻；之所以多生孩子是因为他们认为多子多福。反过来说：在某些社会中，不生孩子（或不生男孩）不仅是婚姻的一种威胁，还成为离婚的便当理由。此外，更为重要的是，孩子对于家庭这一机构自身尤为重要。对许多人来说，夫妻两人还不算一个真正意义上的家庭——他们需要孩子来丰富两人小天地，使它具有家庭特征，并使他们自己