2015年12月四级翻译练习(24)
【原文】
聘金（endowment）是中国传统习俗的一部分。通常，新郎（bridegroom） 需要给新娘家一笔钱作为聃礼来定下婚礼。但是近几年来其标准不断上升，致使大多数家庭都很难达到。快速上涨的生活成本是聘金增加的主要原因。对于大多数年轻人来说，结婚意味着独立组建家庭，然而物价的不断上涨使这一切变得越来越困难。因此，许多新婚夫妇都只能向父母求助。
【解析】
1.第2句中的“作为聘礼”在汉译英时，可以顺承前面一句“聘金”而省略不译。“来定下婚礼”表目的，故将其译作状语 to fix a marriage.
2.第3句“……不断上升，致使大多数家庭都很难达到”表因果关系，可用so…that…结构来表达，“某人很难做某事”英语对应的表达为sb finds it difficult to do sth，此句可译为...have become so high…that a majority of families are finding it difficult to meet them.
3.翻译第4句“快速上涨的生活成本是聘金增加的主要原因”时，如果按照原主干“生活成本是主要原因译，则不能很好表达出原句强调”上涨“的利害关系，故转换结构，用”快速上涨“作主语用介词短语in the living cost 作定语。
4.倒数第2句中的“结婚意味着独立组建家庭，然而物价的不断上涨使这一切变得越来越困难”是一个表转折的并列句。但通过分析发现，“这一切”指代前半句内容，故可用which引导非限制性定语从句将前后分句联系起来，以避免不必要的信息重复，这样句子更加简洁紧凑。“物价的不断上涨”处理成原因状语because of the constantly rising prices置后，使句子表达清晰流畅。
【译文】
Endowment is part of Chinese tradition. Usually, a bride groom needs to pay a certain amount of money to the bride's family to fix a marriage. But the standards have become so high in recent years that a majority of families are finding it difficult to meet them. The rapid rise in the living cost is the main reason for the increase of endowment. For most young people, marriage means setting up a family independently, which has become increasingly difficult because of the constantly rising prices. Consequently, many newly married couples turn to their parents for help.
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