2014年翻译考试笔译中级汉译英精选练习4

　　Lexicography provides at its best a joyful sense of busyness with language2) One is immersed in the details of language as in no other field. 3) Sometimes the details are so overwhelming and endless they sap the spirit and depress the mind4) Often at the end of a hard day’s work one realizes with dismay that the meager stack of finished work one has accomplished has an immeasurably slight impact on the work as a whole 5) As I hope the readers of this work will come to understand dictionaries do not sprint into being 6)People must plan them collect information and write them.7 )Writing takes time and it is often frustrating and even infuriating.8 )No other form of writing is at once so quixotic and so intensely practical.9) Dictionary making does not require brilliance or originality of mind.10) It does require high intelligence mastery of the craft and dedication to hard work.11) If one has produced a dictionary one has the satisfaction of having produced a work of enduring value.

　　参考译文

　　词典编纂的绝妙之处是给人一种与语言打交道的快乐感。不像其他领域，编词典的人整天都钻在语言材料中。有时碰到的语言材料浩如烟海，令人耗神。往往一天辛苦工作下来，发觉所完成的薄薄几页草稿只是全部工作的九牛一毛，好不沮丧。正如我希望这部著作的读者会逐渐明白的那样，词典并非是一蹴而就的。必须先制定计划，收集材料，然后方能编写。编写词典不仅耗费时间，而且常让人受挫，甚至恼怒。没有其他的写作像编纂词典那样，既要有空想又要脚踏实地。词典编纂并不需要横渡的才华或独创的思维，但却要求很高的智力，对词典编纂的精通，和甘于吃苦的精神。一个人编写出一部词典，就会因它的长久价值而得到一份快慰。