2011年11月翻译考试英语初级笔译实务真题及答案
Section 1: English-Chinese Translation (英译汉) (60 points)
Translate the following passage into Chinese. The time for this section is 120 minutes.
This month, the United Nations Development Program made water and sanitation the centerpiece of its flagship publication, the Human Development Report.
Claims of a "water apartheid," where poor people pay more for water than the rich, are bound to attract attention. But what are the economics behind the problem, and how can it be fixed? In countries that have trouble delivering clean water to their people, a lack of infrastructure is often the culprit. People in areas that are not served by public utilities have to rely on costlier ways of getting water, such as itinerant water trucks and treks to wells. Paradoxically, as the water sources get costlier, the water itself tends to be more dangerous. Water piped by utilities - to the rich and the poor alike - is usually cleaner than water trucked in or collected from an outdoor tank.
The problem exists not only in rural areas but even in big cities like Manila and Jakarta, said Hakan Bjorkman, program director of the UN agency in Thailand. Further, subsidies made to local water systems often end up benefiting people other than the poor, he added.
The agency proposes a three-step solution. First, make access to 20 liters, or 5 gallons, of clean water a day a human right. Next, make local governments accountable for delivering this service. Last, invest in infrastructure to link people to water mains. The report says governments, especially in developing countries, should spend at least 1 percent of gross domestic product on water and sanitation. It also recommends that foreign aid be more directed toward these problems. Clearly, this approach relies heavily on government intervention, something Bjorkman readily acknowledged. But there are some market-based approaches as well.
By offering cut-rate connections to poor people to the water mainline, the private water utility in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, has steadily increased access to clean water, according to the agency’s report. A subsidy may not even be necessary, despite the agency’s proposals, if a country can harness the economic benefits of providing clean water.
People who receive clean water are much less likely to die from water-borne diseases - a common malady in the developing world - and much more likely to enjoy long, productive, taxpaying lives that can benefit their host countries. So if a government is trying to raise financing to invest in new infrastructure, it might find receptive ears in private credit markets - as long as it can harness the return. Similarly, private companies may calculate that it is worth bringing clean water to an area if its residents are willing to pay back the investment over many years.
In the meantime, some local solutions are being found. In Thailand, Bjorkman said, some small communities are taking challenges like water access upon themselves. "People organize themselves in groups to leverage what little resources they have to help their communities," he said. "That’s especially true out in the rural areas. They invest their money in revolving funds and saving schemes, and they invest themselves to improve their villages. "It is not always easy to take these solutions and replicate them in other countries, though. Assembling a broad menu of different approaches can be the first step in finding the right solution for a given region or country.
Section 2: Chinese-English Translation (汉译英) (40 points)
Translate the following passage into English. The time for this section is 60 minutes.
即使遇到丰收年景，对中国来说，要用世界百分之七的耕地养活全球五分之一的人口仍是一项艰巨的任务。
中国政府面临许多挑战，最严峻的挑战之一就是耕地流失。过去几年中，平均每年有66.7万公顷耕地被城市扩建、工业发展以及公路建设工程占用，另有1万平方公里的耕地被沙漠吞噬。
中国北方地区地下水位下降，农民不得不改种耐旱、地产作物，甚至撂荒。同时，农业基础设施损耗严重，三分之二的灌溉设施需要整修。
由于农民为增加收入而改种经济作物，农业生产方式正在转变。过去十几年，全国水果和蔬菜种植面积平均每年增加130万公顷。因此，水稻、玉米及小麦产量急剧下降。中国已由粮食净出口国变为粮食净进口国。
中国政府把农业改革视为头等大事，投入大量资金用于提高小麦和稻米的收购价以及改进农田灌溉基础设施。近年来，农产品的价格稳步上升，中国政府采取此项措施以提高农民种粮的积极性。
