2017年catti英语笔译初级模拟题：鲜花与空调
【汉译英】
鲜花与空调
张海迪
Bamberg位于德国巴伐利亚州，是个美丽而古朴的小城，那里漂亮的小街让人流连忘返。我更喜欢Bamberg楼房的窗户，因为很多窗台上都摆放着美丽的花。那些花姹紫嫣红，千姿百态，美得让人感动。1此时想起自己的家——济南，我生活了很多年的一个中国中部城市。2这些年，我们中国的城市汽车越来越多，道路越来越拥挤3。路旁的楼房也越来越高，越来越密集了，但楼房的窗台上很少摆放鲜花，每一个窗下几乎都挂着大大小小的空调。每当酷暑来临，我们的各种媒体上都会有商家销售空调的报道，比如一天售出几百台，或是一个月售出几千台4。
但是却没有人去计算这么多制冷剂会产生多少有害气体，这么多空调又会消耗多少能源.排放多少二氧化碳?夏天，我去开会，一些会议室的空调开得很大，温度低得让人发冷5，还有的办公室甚至开着窗子吹空调。
尽管Bamberg的夏天也有很炎热的日子，但居民楼房都没有装空调，大多数商店和公共汽车上也没有空调。我曾想人们怎么度过夏天6呢?那里的朋友告诉我，即使最高温度达到42摄氏度的日子，人们也只是用各种其它方法避暑。比如，他们到河边去，到树林里去，或是吹电扇，喝冷饮7，但就是不装空调。他们说，空调是造成温室气体的原因之一，要保护环境，就要减少这些气体的排放。这话让我很感动——为了保护环境，人就要做出牺牲。
但有多少人能够这样自觉地去实践8呢?
人类是从远古走来的，不同的人种都有过与风霜雨雪、酷暑严冬的搏斗经历。正是因为这些锻炼和忍耐，人类才进化了，有了健壮的体魄和聪明的头脑。而现代文明却让人对工业产品有了越来越多的依赖，人们的耐受力正在下降。夏天，一些人吹电扇已经不能满足散热的需要了，他们白天要开着空调工作，晚上还要开着空调睡觉。尤其是一些孩子，已经成为“空调一代9’’，冬天不冷，夏天不热，变得经不起风吹日晒10……
Bamberg的朋友们说，自然环境是人类生命延续的保障，有了良好的自然环境，人们才能有更好的生活质量。这里山青水绿，鸟鸣花香，令人心旷神怡。而且绿色多了，也能调节气湿¨。
中国科技部12发布的《全民节能减排手册》指出，即使只是出门前3分钟关空调，按每台每年可节电约5度的保守估计13，相应减排4.8千克。如果对中国1.5亿台空调都采取这一措施，那么每年可节电约7.5亿度，减排72万吨。
夏天你可以不用空调吗14，或者至少是可减少它的使用?你是希望看到楼房窗台上摆放着鲜花呢还是更愿意看到窗下挂着嗡嗡作响的空调?
词汇
1.巴伐利亚州Bavaria
2.拥挤的congested
3.致冷剂refrigerant
4.二氧化碳carbon dioxide
5.排放emission
6.电扇electric fan
7.耐受力resilience
8.做出牺牲make a sacrifice
9.自然环境natural environment
10.生活质量quality of life
注释
1.本句子与前一句在意义上联系紧密，生动地描述了窗台上花的美丽多姿，成一句，用英语定语从句和现在分词结构，使句子意义紧凑、结构严谨。
2.本句中“济南”与“一个中国中部城市”属同位关系，应作同位语处理，了多年的”可以使用英语定语从句来翻译。
翻译时可以合另外“我居住3.本句前半句与后半句是因果关系，因此可以将前半旬译为主句，后半句使用介词with和分词短语译出，这样句子主次信息清楚、符合英语的表达习惯。
4.本句的翻译可以参照注释3.5.本句中“空调开得很大”可以翻译为on at full blast。再如：把燃气开到最大。I had the gas fire going full blast.收音机开到最大。The radio was on at full blast.另外，“温度低得让人发冷”，承接前半句强调结果，可以使用现在分词结构翻译。
6.“度过夏天”可以翻译为survive summer.再如：许多家小公司没能度过经济萧条。A lot of smaller firms did not survive the recession.
7.本句中介绍了他们避暑的不同方法，与前一句形成了总分关系，因此不宜单独成句，可以利用英语平行结构，翻译为动宾词组。
8.“自觉地去实践”，根据此处的语境可以翻译为put... into practice.再如：这给他机会将自己的想法付诸实践。It gave him chance to put his ideas into practice.
9.“空调一代”可以直译为air-conditioned generation，形象生动，又不乏幽默。
10.本句中“变得经不起风吹日晒”可以根据语境翻译为unable to cope with either wind or sun.
11.“调节气温”通常翻译为regulate the temperature.再如：出汗有助于调节体温。Sweating helps regulate body temperature.
12.“科技部”的官方译文为Ministry of Science and Technology.
13.”保守估计”可以根据语境翻译为at a conservative estimate.如：据保守估计，水只有近一码深，甚至接近边缘。At a conservative estimate the water was nearly a yard deep，even near the edge.
14.本句中“夏天你可以不用空调”，表达了“没有……也行”的意义，可以使用英语的do... without的短语来译。再如：我没有足够的钱买汽车，所以只好将就着不用车了。I haven't enough money to buy a car, so I'll just have to do without one.
【参考译文】
Flowers and Air Conditioner
Zhang Haidi
The narrow streets of Bamberg, a charming old town in the German state of Bavaria, are hard to forget. I am particularly fond of the windows, many of which are decorated with window boxes of flowers displaying a profusion of colors.
And then I think of Jinan, the eastern Chinese city where I have lived for many years. The number of cars in Chinese cities has rocketed in recent years, with roads becoming ever more congested and the buildings alongside becoming taller. Instead of window boxes full of flowers, the only decoration on the outside of Chinese buildings tends to be air-conditioning units.
As summer approaches, the news media carry reports of air-conditioning manufacturers' sales promotions, with hundreds of new systems being sold in a single day, thousands in a single month. But there's no mention of the ozone-depleting substances produced by some refrigerant gases, or how much power these appliances will consume and the associated emissions of carbon dioxide ( CO2). In summertime business meetings, the air conditioning often is on at full blast, leaving attendees shivering. Sometimes a window is even left open to let some cold air out.
Summer in Bamberg can also be scorching, but no homes have air conditioning, and very few shops or buses do either. I used to wonder how they survived summer. A friend told me that even though the temperature can reach 42℃ ( about 1070 Fahrenheit) , the locals have their ways of coping with the heat: take a walk by the river; sit under the trees; use an electric fan; have a cold drink - but do not install air conditioning. They know that air conditioning produces greenhouse gases and, to protect the environment, emission of those gases needs to be reduced.
I was impressed. To protect the environment, the people of Bamberg are willing to make a sacrifice. But how many people are able to put this into practice? Humanity has always struggled with the weather. It is one of the processes that helped us evolve into strong and intelligent creatures. But our modern civilization sees us rely more and more on the products of industry, and our resilience is decreasing. Some feel that a simple electric fan is not enough to keep them cool in summer and that they need air conditioning, even while they sleep. Some children have become part of an "air-conditioned generation": they don't get hot in summer or cold in winter, and are unable to cope with either wind or sun.
My friend in Bamberg said that the natural environment is essential for humanity's survival.
Improved quality of life depends on a good natural environment - green hills and clear water, wildlife and flowers. Not only do these leave us happy and carefree, they also help to regulate the temperature.
China's Ministry of Science and Technology has published a handbook on ways the public can reduce energy use and emissions. One way is to turn off your air conditioning three minutes before you leave the house, rather than as you walk out of the door. At a conservative estimate, one person doing this would save five kilowatt-hours ( kWh) of electricity a year and reduce CO2 emissions by 4.8 kilogrammes. If all the users of China's 150 million air-conditioning units did the same, 750 million kWh of electricity could be saved annually, with CO2 emissions reduced by 720,000 tonnes.
Could you do without air conditioning in summer, or at least reduce its use? Would you rather see flowers or humming machines on the window sills of buildings?
