英译汉
Maya: Away from Crowds
Central America is home to many secret treasures for tourists who like to avoid the crowds, including numerous ancient Maya settlements.
The seven countries of Central America - Guatemala, Panama, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica - are full of natural beauty and cultural treasures. Many of the region's nature reserves, ancient Maya settlements and colonial cities have been declared world cultural heritage sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
There are lots of volcanoes and an exotic animal kingdom to explore, yet few people outside the region know of them. The view into the crater of the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua is a breathtaking experience, enlivened by the accompanying strong smell of sulphur and the loud screaming of parrots. Yet the car park on the edge of the crater is nearly empty. This is a boon for daring travelers who can enjoy all the beauty without having to share it with hordes of other visitors.
El Salvador has a "road of flowers" and Nicaragua has a "road of white villages" connecting villages from the colonial period. Honduras is developing a means of connecting the native American communities in the Atlantic coast from the Garifuna, descendants of the Carribean Indians and Africans, to the Miskito Indians in the jungle.
Geological enthusiasts could also follow a volcanic trail through Central America. There are many volcanoes in just a small area, some with perfectly cone-shaped peaks constantly emitting smoke from their craters. Some of them are partially accessible.
A bus travels to the edge of the Masaya craters in Nicaragua, an active volcano just 500 meters high. For safety reasons, every traveler should get local information from the local tourism authority before climbing a volcano.
The Arenal Volcano in northern Costa Rica terrified local inhabitants and tourists in August 2000 when it spouted hot gas and ash.
Individual travelers can easily find travel information. The long distance buses that connect all the countries in the region are very comfortable with air conditioning and TV.
And if you travel through the villages in small, local rundowri buses, you will swiftly come into close contact with local inhabitants and their animals. You are .just as likely to have a hen thrust into your lap as a small child.
词汇
1.secret treasures秘密宝藏
2.Guatemala危地马拉
3.Panama巴拿马
4.Belize伯利兹
5.Honduras洪都拉斯
6.El Salvador萨尔瓦多
7.Nicaragua尼加拉瓜
8.Costa Rica哥斯达黎加
9.natural beauty自然美景 10. nature reserves自然保护区 11. crater火山口 12. sulphur硫磺 13. boon奖赏 14.hordes比肩接踵的 15. cone-shaped圆锥形的 16. Arenal Volcano阿雷纳尔火山 17. rundown破旧的 18. come into close contact亲密接触 注释
1.Maya：玛雅文明，公元前2600年左右发源于犹加敦半岛(Yucatan Peninsula)的美洲印第安人文明，在公元325年到925年间处于鼎盛时期，随后衰落。现在墨西哥、危地马拉和伯利兹等处尚存不少遗址。
2. Central America is home to many secret treasures for tourists who like to avoid the crowds: be home to原意为―是……的家园，动物或植物的栖息地或生长地‖，这里可理解为秘密宝藏的―隐藏之处‖。
3.world cultural heritage:世界文化遗产。在1972年10月联合国教科文组织在巴黎召开的第16届大会上决定成立―世界遗产委员会‖(World Heritage Committee)，并建立《世界遗产名录》(World Heritage List)，鼓励各国加大对世界遗产的保护力度。自1978年第一批世界遗产得到确认起至2003年，全世界共有754处财产被列入《世界遗产名处录》，其中包括582处世界文化遗产，149处世界自然遗产(World Natural Heritage)和23处混合遗产。期间我国有29处被列入了该名录。
4.the United Nations Educational，Scientific and Cultural Organization:联合国教育、科学与文化组织，通常简称为UNESCO(联合国教科文组织)。
5. The view into the crater of the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua is a breathtaking experience, enlivened by the accompanying strong smell of sulphur and the loud screaming of parrots. 本句意为：当你往尼加拉瓜的玛莎雅火山口望进去(the view into...)的时候，你会倒吸一口冷气(breathtaking)，但是当你闻到那股浓烈的硫磺味，听到鹦鹉尖厉的叫声时，你又会回过神来，惊叹( enlivened by)它的壮美。本句有人译为―游览尼加拉瓜的玛莎雅火山是一次惊心动魄的历程。置身其中，你会被从火山口喷发出来的强烈硫磺气味和鹦鹉的尖叫声所震撼。‖这样译法实际上是误解了原文。原文中的两个意义相反的关键词 ―breathtaking‖和―enlivened by‖表明，主句和从句描写了两个动作或状态，一个是朝玛莎雅火山口看了以后有点窒息的恐怖感，后一个动作则是闻到浓烈的硫磺味和听到鹦鹉的尖叫声后为之一惊( enlivened)的感觉。两者不应该割裂开来。另外，experience一词这里还是不译为好。
6. Yet the car park on the edge of the crater is nearly empty. This is a boon for daring travelers who can enjoy all the beauty without having to share it with hordes of others visitors. 这两句要和上下文联系起来理解：尽管玛莎雅火山如此美丽，但是敢于驱车靠近火山口的人却很少。所以，它的美景是对那些勇敢的独行者的一种奖赏。
7....villages from the colonial period:殖民时期，指哥伦布于1492年发现美洲后至19世纪中叶西班牙殖民者对中美洲的殖民时期。除了伯利兹以外，上述中美洲国家都于19世纪20年代和30年代获得独立。
8. Geological enthusiasts could also follow a volcanic trail through Central America.这里volcanic trail意为―连接各座火山的小道‖，而不是―由火山构成的小道‖。
9. There are many volcanoes in just a small area, some with perfectly cone-shaped peaks constantly emitting smoke from their craters. Some of them are partially accessible.这里后一句中的some是前句中的some的一部分，意为：在那些终年冒着烟灰的火山中，有些山因为烟灰较为浓烈而难以接近。这里―因烟灰浓烈‖是句子的隐含意义，如不译出，本句与上句的联系就断了，很容易给人一种突兀之感。另外，partially accessible不可译为―只有部分可以接近‖或―不能完全接近‖那种佶屈聱牙的汉语。在理解原文的本意(即：有些火山由于烟灰浓烈而难以接近)的基础上，可以把结果(即：因此人们无法完全看清它们的庐山真面目)表达出来。
10.you will swiftly come into close contact with local inhabitants and their animals. You are just as likely to have a hen thrust into your lap as a small child.注意这里just as在意义上连接前面的swiftly和后面的likely，表示两者的相似性。这里后一句可改写为：You are likely to_ as you swiftly come into close contact with...。
参考译文
远离人群——去玛雅
中美洲蕴藏着大量的秘密宝藏，包括众多的古代玛雅遗址，等待着那些喜欢远离人群的旅行者去发现。中美洲的七个国家——危地马拉、巴拿马、伯利兹、洪都拉斯、萨尔瓦多、尼加拉瓜和哥斯达黎加——遍布自然美景和文化宝藏。本地区有许多自然保护区、古玛雅人遗址和殖民时期的城市已经被联合国教科文组织列入世界文化遗产。
那里有太多的火山和珍禽异兽有待探寻，可是它们却鲜为外人所知。当你往尼加拉瓜的玛莎雅火山口望进去的时候，你会倒吸一口冷气，但是当你闻到那股浓烈的硫磺味，听到鹦鹉尖厉的叫声时，你又会回过神来，惊叹它的壮美。然而火山口附近的停车场却几乎空无一人。这是给勇敢者的一种奖赏，他们可以尽情独享这一切，而不必同比肩接踵的其它游客分享美景。
萨尔瓦多有一条―鲜花之路‖，尼加拉瓜则有一条―白色村庄之路‖，连接殖民时期留下来的各个村庄。洪都拉斯也正开发一条信道，把大西洋沿岸的美洲土著人社区，如加勒比印第安和非洲人的后裔加里福那人社区，和生活在丛林中的墨斯奇陶印第安人社区连接起来。
地质爱好者也可以沿着连接各座火山的小道穿越中美洲。中美洲地域不大，但是火山众多。有些火山呈完美的圆锥形，山口终年喷着烟雾。有些火山因烟灰浓烈而难窥全貌。
旅游汽车可以到达高度仅500米的尼加拉瓜玛莎雅火山口的边缘。出于安全原因，每个旅游者登山前必须先到当地旅游局了解有关信息。
2000年8月，哥斯达黎加北部的阿雷纳尔火山突然喷出滚烫的气体和火山灰，令当地居民和游客猝不及防，魂飞魄散。
旅游散客也很容易获取有关旅游资料。配有空调和电视的长途客车连接着本地区的所有国家，是非常舒适的交通工具。
要是你搭乘的是破旧的村际小客车，你很快就可以与当地居民和动物亲密接触。随时随地会有一只母鸡像小孩一样撞到你的怀里。
