实例解析：英语四级考试翻译题答题要点

　　翻译作为语言听、说、读、写、译五大能力之一，新大纲就六级阶段的要求提出，学生应“能借助词典将难度略低于课文的英语短文译成汉语，理解正确、译文达意，译速为每小时350个英语单词。能借助词典将内容熟悉的汉语文字材料译成英语，译文达意，无重大语言错误，译速为每小时300个汉字。”英译汉是1996年大学英语考试委员会公布的第一批新题型中的一类，属主观题，该题型从属于阅读理解部分，从阅读理解的四篇短文中选取5个片断，大部分是一个较长、较复杂的句子，但有时也有2-3个句子组成的一个段落或片断。要求考生在15分钟内将该5题译成汉语，占分10%，每题2分。根据指令提示，翻译时还可回到前面参阅所译句子的有关上下文。
　　两种语言的对译讲究的是“信、达、雅”，这是翻译题评分的基本原则。“信”即忠实于原文;“达”即达意，即译文与原文的语义上的一致或等同，这是评分的重要原则，考生是否理解了原文，是否忠实于原文，都要根据译文的内容来作评判，所以“达”是根本。考试意义上的翻译对“雅”的要求不同于文学翻译，要求并不太高，只是译文应通顺流畅，符合译文语言的表达习惯。
　　一、英译汉样题、参考答案及评分标准
　　英译汉题型有详细、具体的评分标准，每道题的2分被统一细化为四个0.5分，三个0.5用以判给题中的三个语言点，即每题就语言而言有三个得分点，一个0.5分判给整句译文的语言结构是否通顺流畅、符合汉语习惯。
　　二、答题要点与真题解析
　　英译汉必须以理解原文为前提，而短文中句子或段落片段的翻译还必须基于对原文上下文的理解，所以英译汉试题解题的第一要点是:
　　正确理解短文，精确理解所译部分，准确分析该部分的句法结构和表意逻辑关系。要将一道英译汉题做好，必须精确地理解所需翻译的那部分句子，而精确的理解必须以正确理解短文为前提，有时还须准确地对有关句子的结构作语法分析，同时，还必须理清该部分在语意方面有几个层次及各层次间的先后关系。
　　在准确理解原文后，要注意正确、恰当地用汉语将原文各层次的语意以与原来相同的先后关系表达出来，这又需要了解一些译文处理技巧，要不然，在英语的影响下，你的译文形似汉语，读起来仍“洋味十足”。所以解答汉译英的第二要点是:学会用符合习惯的标准汉语表述原文。几种在翻译中经常用到的避免英式汉语的方法是:
　　(1)拆译法。选作英译汉试题的英语句子通常都较复杂，往往从句套从句，翻成译语要把这些从句拆开，翻成一句句相对独立的汉语句子――这么做使理清各语意层次的先后关系显得非常重要。
　　(2)合译法。英语中定语从句、同位语从句及用作定语的介词短语、分词短语和不定短语常后置在名词中心词之后，翻译时有时需要将这些后置修饰语合并到名词中心词的前置定语之中。
　　(3)重组法。英语句子结构越复杂，与以短句为特点的汉语表达习惯的差距越大，这时需要采用重组概念，改变一种角度，对原文各层次的语意进行重组，以恰到好处、通顺地道的汉语正确表达原文的信息。根据英译汉评分标准，每道题有四个得分点，所以在英译汉答题时，还要注意第三点:
　　分析原文各题的得分点，重点理解，重点表达。从样题及历年英译汉真题实例中，我们发现，得分点一般都是一些特定的短语、句式或与短文要点密切相关的重要词语。对于原文中的这些语言点，考生必须结合上下文反复琢磨，求得理解上的准确，而后通过上面介绍的几种翻译处理技巧，恰当地将它们用汉语表达出来。以下是英译汉真题实例解析。
　　Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:
　　(S1) British universities， groaning under the burden of a huge increase in student numbers， are warning that the tradition of a free education is at risk.The universities have threatened to impose an admission fee on students to plug a gap in revenue if the government does not act to improve their finances and scrap some public spending cutbacks.
　　The government responded to the universities threat by setting up the most fundamental review of higher education for a generation， under a non-party troubleshooter(麻烦调解人)，Sir Ron Dearing.
　　One in three school-leavers enters higher education，five times the number when the last review took place thirty years ago.
　　Everyone agrees a system that is feeling the strain after rapid expansion needs a lot more money， but there is little hope of getting it from the taxpayers and not much scope for attracting more finance from business.
　　Most colleges believe students should contribute to tuition costs， something that is common elsewhere in the world but would mark a revolutionary change in Britain.Universities want the government to introduce a loan scheme for tuition fees and have suspended their own threatened action for now. They await Dearing’s advice， hoping it will not be too late――some already reported to be in financial diffculty. As the century nears its end， the whole concept of what a university should be is under the microscope.Experts ponder how much they can use computers instead of classrooms， talk of the need for lifelong learning and refer to students as consumers.
　　The Confederation(联盟)of British Industry， the key employers’ organization， wants even more expansion in higher education to help fight competition on world markets from booming Asian economies.But the government has doubts about more expansion. (S2)The Times newspaper agrees， complaining that quality has suffered as student numbers soared， with close tutorial supervision giving way to mass production methods more typical of European universities.
　　1.The chief concern of British universities is ____.
　　A)how to tackle their present financial difficulty B)how to expand the enrollment to meet the needs of enterprisesC)how to improve their educational technology D)how to put an end to the current tendency of quality deterioration
　　2.We can learn from the passage that in Britain ____.
　　A)the government pays dearly for its financial policy B)universities are mainly funded by businesses C)higher education is provided free of charge D)students are ready to accept loan schemes for tuition
　　3.What was the percentage of high school graduates admitted to universities in Britain thirty years ago?
　　A)20% or so. C)Above 30%.B)About 15%. D)Below 10%.
　　4.It can be inferred from the passage that ____.
　　A)the British government will be forced to increase its spending on higher education B)British employers demand an expansion in enrollment at the expense of quality C)the best way out for British universities is to follow their European counterparts D)British students will probably have to pay for their higher education in the near future
　　5.Which of the following is the viewpoint of the Times newspaper?
　　A)Expansion in enrollment is bound to affect the quality of British higher education. B)British universities should expand their enrollment to meet the needs of industry. C)European universities can better meet the needs of the modern world. D)British universities should help fight competition on world markets.
　　该短文是一篇讲述英国大学学生膨胀，经济上不堪重负的说明文。
　　S1题由两句组成，语言点主要有①分词短语groaning…，②impose…on …to plug a gap，③条件句中scrap some public spending cutbacks，④汉语译文的结构。这段文字较长，但意义上是一个整体，翻译时要特别注意各层次的关系:①不堪重负――②提醒――③威胁――④如果――⑤就强行(impose)。参考译文:(S1)因为学生数量猛增而不堪重负，英国大学正提醒人们传统的免费教育已面临危机。他们威胁如果政府不采取行动增加拨款而继续削减公共事业开支的话，他们将强行向学生收取入学费以填补收入中的不足。
　　S2题只有一句，但较长，主要由一个分词短语(complaining…)组成，该短语中有that从句，that从句中又有as从句及with复合结构，结构较复杂。同时，该句位于句末，需要对上文有所了解。语言点:①agree，②suffer，③with短语，④整句结构。参考译文:(S2)泰悟士报持相同观点，声称随着学生数的猛增及周密的导师制管理模式为欧洲大学特有的规模生产方式所替代，教育质量已大受影响。
　　附阅读理解参考答案:
　　1.A 2.C 3.D 4.D 5.A