研英翻译演练(10)

　　But even he was unable to discover how long the gorilla lives,or how or why it dies,nor was he able to define the exact social patterns of the family groups,or indicate the final extent of their intelligence.

　　答案：

　　要点：本句前半句中or how or why it dies位于表示否定意义的unable后，相当于and he was unable to discover how it dies and he was unable to discover why it dies,翻译时将这里的or译为以及，更合乎汉语习惯。后半句中nor后面的or不宜译为或者，而应将or indicate译为也未能说明。nor was he...为倒装结构。

　　译文：可是连他也未能弄清楚大猩猩能活多久、怎样死亡以及死亡的原因是什么，他也不能肯定其家族群居的确切方式，也未能说明它们智力的最高程度。