2017年12月大学英语四级翻译练习:竹文化
话题材料:
中国因其国宝(national treasure)—熊猫—而闻名于世。熊猫的食物竹子—也深受中国人民的喜爱。中国是世界上拥有竹子最多的国家,被称为竹子的王国。竹文化长久以来深深根植于中国人的思想中。对中国人民来说,竹子是美德的象征。它反映了人的灵魂和情感。中国古代的学者对竹子非常敬重。这就解释了为什么历史上有那么多的著作和绘画都是以竹为主题的。
参考译文:
China is worldwide famous for its national treasure, the pandas.The panda's food, bamboo, is also favored by Chinese people.It is known as the Kingdom of Bamboo possessing more bamboos than any other country in the world. Bamboo culture has been rooted in Chinese people's minds for a long time.To the Chinese people, bamboo is a symbol of virtue, which reflects people's souls and emotions.Ancient Chinese scholars looked up with great respect to bamboo.This explains why there are so many writings and paintings dedicated to the plant throughout history.
1.中国因其国宝—熊猫—而闻名于世:“因...而闻名于世”可译为be worldwide famous for,也可用be worldwideknown for来表示。类似的表达方式还有beknown/famous as(作为...而出名),be famous/knownto(对...来说很出名)。
2.中国是世界上拥有竹子最多的国家,被称为竹子的王国:前半句可以理解为“中国有比世界上任何国家都多的竹子”。后半句的“被称为”可译为be known as。“竹子的王国”可译为the Kingdom of Bamboo。
3.对中国人民来说,竹子是美德的象征:“象征”可译为symbol, a symbol of意为 “某物的象征”。
4.中国古代的学者对竹子非常敬重:“中国古代的学者”可译为ancient Chinese scholars。“对...非常敬重”可译为look up with great respect to.", look up to表示“尊敬”,with great respect表示“满怀敬意”。