六级翻译第一套 洞庭湖

原文:

洞庭湖位于湖南省东北部,面积很大,但湖水很浅。洞庭湖是长江的蓄洪池,湖的大小很大程度上取决于季节变化。湖北和湖南两省因其与湖的相对位置而得名,湖北意为“湖的北边”,而湖南则为“湖的南边”。洞庭湖作为龙舟赛的发源地,在中国文化中享有盛名。据说龙舟赛始于洞庭湖东岸。为的是搜寻楚国爱国诗人屈原的遗体。龙舟赛与洞庭湖及周边的美景,每年都吸引着成千上万来自全国和世界各地的游客。

解析:

这段话共有七个句子。

【第一句】洞庭湖位于湖南省东北部,面积很大,但湖水很浅。

这句话描述洞庭湖的概况。可以放在一句话中翻译,将“面积很大,但湖水很浅作状语”,但如果不知如何写,可简化拆成两句话翻译。 其中主语洞庭湖译为Dongting Lake,核心谓语为位于,是be located in/be situated in。“面积”在英语中无完全对应译文,但在这,指的是湖泊大小,故可翻为size。描述湖水“浅”常用形容词shallow, 如想不到这一单词,也可翻为not deep。

故这句话可翻为:

Dongting Lake is located in the northeast of Hunan Province. It is big in size, but the water is not very deep.

更高级的翻译是:

Enormous in its size, yet extremely shallow in its depth, Dongting Lake is located in northeastern Hunan province.

【第二句】洞庭湖是长江的蓄洪池,湖的大小很大程度上取决于季节变化。

这句话是进一步说明洞庭湖的面积问题。这个句子可以翻译成两个简单句,但是也可以把其中暗藏的因果关系翻译出来,形成一个复杂句。蓄洪池,标准的英文翻译是flood basin,但是如果不知道这个词汇的话,可以用简单的单词通过解释把这个词翻译出来。另外,取决于,这个词组的翻译是depend on。

故这句话可翻为:

Dongting Lake stores the floods of the Yangtze River. The size of the lake depends largely on the change of seasons.

更高级的翻译是:

Owing to the fact that Dongting Lake is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, the area that the lake covers depends on the season.

【第三句】湖北和湖南两省因其与湖的相对位置而得名,湖北意为“湖的北边”,而湖南则为“湖的南边”。

这个句子是介绍与洞庭湖相关的两个省份的情况。“因 … 得名”的英文是be name after,而如果这个词组反应不出来的话,也可以用简单的说法来替代,“名字来自于 …”。而在翻译湖南湖北名字的意思这两个并列的短句的时候,可以在后面句子里省略be动词。

故这句话可翻为:

The names of Hubei and Hunan Province come from their relative locations to the lake.

更高级的翻译是:

The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their relative locations to the lake: Hubei means "North of the Lake" and Hunan, "South of the Lake".

【第四句】洞庭湖作为龙舟赛的发源地,在中国文化中享有盛名。

这句话的难点在于发源地的翻译,place of origin,而如果没法给出准确的翻译的话,也可以用birthplace进行替代。所谓“享有盛名”,也就是“非常有名”的意思,进行一个简单的转化之后,就会好翻很多。

故这句话可翻为:

As the birthplace of dragon boat races, Dongting Lake is very famous in Chinese culture.

更高级的翻译是:

Dongting Lake is celebrated in Chinese culture as the place of origin of dragon boat racing.

【第五句】据说龙舟赛始于洞庭湖东岸。

【第六句】为的是搜寻楚国爱国诗人屈原的遗体。

据说,可以被翻译为it is said that。而东岸,则是需要一个稍微有点难度的单词,shore,表示湖的岸。当然,如果不知道这个单词的话,也能用eastern side of the lake表示湖的东边,毕竟龙舟赛只可能在水里进行,不可能在陆地上进行。

第五句和第六句在翻译的时候可以组合成一个句子,因为第六句实际上是省略了和前一句一样的主语,“龙舟赛”。爱国,patriotic。这个单词稍难,如果用country-loving,虽然不如patriotic精确,但是在语法上也没错

故这两句话可翻为:

It is said that dragon boat races started on the eastern side of the lake, in order to look for the body of Qu Yuan, a country-loving poet in the state of Chu.

更高级的翻译是:

Dragon boat racing is said to have begun on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake as a search for the body of Qu Yuan, a patriotic Chu poet.

【第七句】龙舟赛与洞庭湖及周边的美景,每年都吸引着成千上万来自全国和世界各地的游客。

这句话的主语是词组龙舟赛与…美景,而谓语是吸引着。

故整句话可翻为:

Dragon boat races and the beautiful scenery around Dongting Lake attract thousands of tourists from all over China and the world every year.

更高级的翻译是:

Dragon boat racing and Dongting Lake, with the gorgeous scenery around it, attract thousands of tourists across China and the globe every year.

全文翻译

【过关版】

Dongting Lake is located in the northeast of Hunan Province. It is big in size, but the water is not deep. Dongting Lake stores the floods of the Yangtze River. The size of the lake depends largely on the change of seasons. The name of Hubei and Hunan Province come from their relative locations to the lake. Hubei means “the north of the lake”, while Hunan means “the south of the lake”. As the birthplace of dragon boat races, Dongting Lake is very famous in Chinese culture. It is said that dragon boat races started on the eastern side of the lake, in order to look for the body of Qu Yuan, a country-loving poet in the state of Chu. Dragon boat races and the beautiful scenery around Dongting Lake attract thousands of tourists from all over China and the world every year.

【高分版】

Enormous in its size, yet extremely shallow in its depth, Dongting Lake is located in northeastern Hunan province. Owing to the fact that Dongting Lake is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, the area that the lake covers depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their relative locations to the lake: Hubei means "North of the Lake" and Hunan, "South of the Lake". Dongting Lake is celebrated in Chinese culture as the place of origin of dragon boat racing. Dragon boat racing is said to have begun on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake as a search for the body of Qu Yuan, a patriotic Chu poet. Dragon boat racing and Dongting Lake, with the gorgeous scenery around it, attract thousands of tourists across China and the globe every year.