张培基英译散文赏析之《西欧的夏天》

西欧的夏天

Summer in Western Europe

吴冠中

Yu Guangzhong

| 译文摘自张培基《英译中国散文选二》

旅客似乎是十分轻松的人，实际上却相当辛苦。旅客不用上班，却必须受时间的约束；爱做什么就做什么，却必须受钱包的限制；爱去哪里就去哪里，却必须把几件行李蜗牛壳一般带在身上。旅客最可怕的噩梦，是钱和证件一起遗失，沦为来历不明的乞丐。旅客最难把握的东西，便是气候。

Light-hearted as he seems,a traveler is in fact under great stress. Though on vacation, he is nevertheless subject to the restraint of time. He can do whatever he likes on the trip, but he has to keep the expenditure within the limits of his pocket. Wherever he goes, he has to take with him his cumbersome hand luggage. He faces the most horrible possibility of losing his money and credentials, which will reduce himself to a pauper of unknown background. And, besides, he can never be sure of the weather.

要点：

1，“旅客似乎是十分轻松的人，实际上却相当辛苦。”译为Light-hearted as he seems,a traveler is in fact under great stress.其中“轻松的“还可译为jiyous joyful cheerful等，但Light-hearted有carefree (无忧无虑)的含义，更加贴合语境，”辛苦“此处即”处于紧张状态“译为under great stress.与前面的Light-hearted形成对比。还要注意本句用第三人称he来代指“旅客”拉近了与读者的距离。

2，“旅客不用上班”意即“旅客在度假”或“即使是在假期”译为Though on vacation/vacationing。比直译为though he doesn’t go to work 确切。

3,” 爱做什么就做什么，却必须受钱包的限制”译为He can do whatever he likes on the trip, but he has to keep the expenditure within the limits of his pocket，“受…的限制”=within the limitation of…

4,”蜗牛壳一般“译者只取其本质含义译为cumbersome，简洁生动。

5，“沦为来历不明的乞丐“译为which will reduce himself to a pauper of unknown background.其中reduce to 我们在《我坐了木船》等文中见过无数次了，此处重点看”来历不明“的译法除了译为…of unknown background以外，还可译为unidentifiable …

综述：本段值得注意的是：原文连续用三个排比句说明了旅客在旅行中会遇到的限制。译文没有完全按照同等的排比结构进行翻译 ，而是将三个排比句译成了三个单句 ，均 用 “ he ”作主语。避免句式重复，也使译文和原文在结构和内容上都做到了基本对应。

我现在就是这样的旅客。从西班牙南端一直旅行到英国的北端，我经历了各样的气候，已经到了寒暑不侵的境界。此刻我正坐在中世纪古堡改装的旅馆里，为读者写稿，刚刚黎明，湿灰灰的云下是苏格兰中部荒莽的林木，林外是隐隐的青山。晓寒袭人，我坐在厚达尺许的石墙里，穿了一件毛衣，如果要走下回旋长梯像走下古堡之肠，去坡下的野径漫步寻幽，还得披上一件够厚的外套。

That’s what I’m like now. I’ve traveled all the way from the southern tip of Spain to the northern tip of England, experiencing a variety of climates until I’ve become apathetic to the elements. I’m now sitting in a medieval castle turned hotel, writing an article for my readers. The day is just dawning. In Central Scotland, there lies under the gray wet clouds a wild wooded region, beyond which a green mountain stands faintly visible. In the chilly air of the early morning, I have to be dressed in a woolen sweater while sitting on a stone wall one foot on thickness. But I need, in addition, an outer garment to keep me warm in case I come down the spiral staircase—the intestines of the castle—to take a stroll along an unfrequented path down the mountain slope in search of secluded places of quiet beauty.

要点：

1，“寒暑不侵“即”对各种天气都不在乎了“或”适应了各种天气“，译为I’ve become apathetic to the elements或be indifferent to the change of weather。

2,” 中世纪古堡改装的旅馆”译为a medieval castle turned hotel,turned 是不及物动词turn的过去分词，用作adj。

3，“刚刚黎明“译为The day is just dawning. dawn原来也可以用作动词。意为”开始；破晓，天亮“如：The morning dawn fresh and clear after the storm.

The next day dawn somber and gloomy

4，”湿灰灰的云下是苏格兰中部荒莽的林木，林外是隐隐的青山”译为In Central Scotland, there lies under the gray wet clouds a wild wooded region, beyond which a green mountain stands faintly visible.这两个分句出现两个主语，修饰成分较多，乍看比较混乱，但略作分析便可明了“树林“是核心词，应做主语；”湿灰灰的云下“”苏格兰中部“作状语，分别译为In Central Scotland和under the gray wet clouds，分置于句首和句中；”林外是隐隐的青山“译为定从，后置，即beyond which a green mountain stands faintly visible。

5，厚达尺许（即一尺左右）= one foot on thickness

晓寒袭人(即早上的空气很冷)= In the chilly air of the early morning

6，“走下回旋长梯像走下古堡之肠“用as或like直接翻译略显冗杂，译者直接将”古堡之肠“转译为”回旋长梯“的同位语，精简了句式，也传达了原文的意思。

7，“野径“一般意为”人迹稀少的小路“或”冷清的小路“，译为an unfrequented path。

“寻幽“即”寻找宁静的美景“译为in search of secluded places of quiet beauty。

综述：

本段要注意“晓寒袭人，我坐在厚达尺许的石墙里，穿了一件毛衣“很容易译为散句，译者译为In the chilly air of the early morning, I have to be dressed in a woolen sweater while sitting on a stone wall one foot on thickness.避免了这点。

从台湾的定义讲来，西欧几乎没有夏天。昼蝉夜蛙，汗流浃背，是台湾的夏天。在西欧的大城，例如巴黎和伦敦，7月中旬走在阳光下，只觉得温暧舒适，并不出汗。西欧的旅馆和汽车，例皆不备冷气，因为就算天热，也是几天就过去了，值不得为避暑费事。我在西班牙、法国、英国等地租车长途旅行，其车均无冷气，只能扇风。

By Taiwan standards, Western Europe has practically no summer at all. Summer in Taiwan is characterized by man’s copious perspiration as well as daytime chirping of cicadas and nighty croaking of frogs while in big European cities, like Paris and London, the mid-July temperature is so moderate and comfortable that none sweat even in the sun. Hotels and cars in Western Europe are usually not air-conditioned because hot days are so few that people don’t bother about having a cooler. The cars I hired for long-distance driving in Spain, France and England had fans, but no air-conditioning.

要点：

1，“从台湾的定义讲来“即”以台湾的标准“译为By Taiwan standards。

2，“汗流浃背“= copious perspiration（大量的汗珠）

3,” 昼蝉夜蛙”意即“白天能听到蝉叫，晚上能听到蛙鸣“此处译者为了句式一致，将其名词化译为“白天的蝉鸣和夜里的蛙鸣“= daytime chirping（啁啾声）of cicadas and nightly croaking（哇哇声） of frogs，使得句式更加简洁，此外拟声词的运用也为译文增色不少。

4，“只觉得温暧舒适，并不出汗“因果关系。

5，“例皆不备冷气“意为”都没装空调“，故译为are usually not air-conditioned，其中”没装空调“译者灵活滴将”装空调“转为be done的形式，后面又出现的” 均无冷气“译为no air-conditioning，这里的air-conditioning作名词”空调系统“或”空调设备“讲。

综述：注意第五点省去动词的译法。

巴黎的所谓夏天，像是台北的深夜，早晚上街，凉风袭肘，一件毛衣还不足御寒。如果你走塞纳河边，风力加上水气，更需要一件风衣才行。下午日暖，单衣便够，可是一走到楼影或树阴里，便嫌单衣太薄。地面如此，地下却又不同。巴黎的地车比纽约、伦敦、马德里的都好，却相当闷热，令人穿不住毛衣。所以地上地下，穿穿脱脱，也颇麻烦。

The climate of Paris in summer is like that of Taipei at night. When you go out on an early morning or late evening, your woolen sweater will be hardly warm enough to keep out the nip in the air. When you walk along the Seine, where it is even chillier due to the strong wind coupled with the cold waters, you have to wear a windcheater. Then, all you need is just an unlined garment in the afternoon when it is warm, but you’ll feel like putting on more when you are under the shade of buildings or trees. That’s all for things aboveground. Now things underground. The subway of Paris is better than that of New York, London or Madrid, but it is so hot and stuffy that you feel like taking off your woolen sweater. Consequently you’ll be annoyed by having to don or doff your clothes now and then, depending on whether you’re aboveground or underground.

要点：

1，“如果你走塞纳河边，风力加上水气，更需要一件风衣才行。”译为When you walk along the Seine, where it is even chillier due to the strong wind coupled with the cold waters, you have to wear a windcheater.其中“风力加上水气”是“塞纳河边的”状态，因此用where引导的从句修饰，而“更需要穿”根据意思转为“不得不穿”来翻译，也算是贴合原文意思。

2，then承上启下，无实际意思

3，“地面如此，地下却又不同。”译为That’s all for things aboveground. Now things underground.意同… is one thing and…is another。

4，“嫌单衣太薄”和“令人穿不住毛衣”，分别译为you’ll feel like putting on more，和you feel like taking off your woolen sweater， “嫌太薄”即“想多穿”，“穿不住”即“想脱掉”，这两个词都不好翻，但译者抓住其本质含义，以一个feel like准确地表达了原文的意思。

5，“所以地上地下，穿穿脱脱，也颇麻烦。”译为Consequently you’ll be annoyed by having to don or doff your clothes now and then, depending on whether you’re aboveground or underground.其中now and then和depending on whether you’re aboveground or underground都是为了充分表达原文意思而增益的部分而增益的部分。

综述：注意本段的合译，本篇文章的特色就在于合译和四字词的翻译。

7月在巴黎的街上，行人的衣装，从少女的背心短裤到老妪的厚大衣，四季都有。7月在巴黎，几乎天天都是晴天，有时一连数日碧空无云，入夜后天也不黑下来，只变得深洞洞的暗蓝。巴黎附近无山，城中少见高楼，城北的蒙马特也只是一个矮丘，太阳要到九点半才落到地平线上，更显得昼长夜短，有用不完的下午。不过晴天也会突来霹雳：7月14日法国国庆那天上午，密特朗总统在香热里榭大道主持阅兵盛典，就忽来一阵大雨，淋得总统和军乐队狼狈不堪。电视的观众看得见雨气之中，乐队长的指挥杖竟失手落地，连忙俯身拾起。

In July, Parisians in the open are seen dressed in the clothes of all seasons, ranging from young girls’ vests and short skirt to elderly women’s thick overcoats. In July, Paris has sunny weather almost every day. Sometimes the sky is blue and cloudless for days on end and, when night comes, it never turns pitch dark, but remains a deep blue. There are no mountains in its vicinity and few high-rises in the city proper. Montmartre in the north of the city is a mere hillock. As the sun never sinks below the horizon until 9:30 pm, the days seem even longer and the nights even shorter. And the afternoons seem to last endlessly. Nevertheless, sometimes a thunderbolt also comes from the clear sky. On the morning of July14, French National Day, when President Mitterrand was presiding over the review of a massive military parade on Champs Elysées, it suddenly started rainning in torrents. The President and the military band, caught in the downpour, found themselves in a very awkward situation. TV viewers even saw the bandmaster bend down quickly to pick up the baton he had dropped onto the ground in a flurry.

要点：

1，“7月在巴黎的街上”是典型的中式表达，译者在此只译In July,而将“在巴黎的街上”用下文的Parisians in the open体现出来，既忠实于原文意思，又不拘泥于原文形式。

2，“一连数日”= for days on end,其中on end 意为“连续地”，其同义词还有successively， consecutively ，continuously ，continually ，without end ，running ，on the run，on the trot

3，proper在此意为副词“完全地，彻底地”。

4，in torrents意即“（大雨）倾盆地”。

5，“电视的观众看得见雨气之中，乐队长的指挥杖竟失手落地，连忙俯身拾起。”译为TV viewers even saw the bandmaster bend down quickly to pick up the baton he had dropped onto the ground in a flurry.本段多动词句颇多，一般用我们之前讲的方法都能化解（即“找主要动词为谓语，次重要的译为非谓语或从句，再不重要的译为介词短语”），但这句话中的动词是可以连成一体的，因此译者调整了动词的顺序，译为可以串联起来的动作。

综述：本段需要断句和合译的分句颇多。是练习的好材料

法国北部及中部地势平坦，一望无际，气候却有变化。巴黎北行一小时至卢昂，就觉得冷些；西南行二小时至罗瓦河中流，气候就暖得多，下午竟颇燠热，不过入夜就凉下来，星月异常皎洁。

In Northern and Central France lie boundless level plains with varying climates. Rouen, which is a one-hour ride to the north of Paris, is cooler while the central reaches of the Loire River, which is a two-hour ride to the southwest of Paris, is much warmer. The latter becomes very hot in the afternoon, but cooler at night with the bright moon and stars in the sky.

要点：

1，“巴黎北行一小时至卢昂”即“卢昂位于巴黎北部，距巴黎有一小时车程”，译为Rouen, which is a one-hour ride to the north of Paris,而后面的“西南行二小时至罗瓦河中流“也采取了同样的句式。

2，“下午竟颇燠热，不过入夜就凉下来，星月异常皎洁。“译为The latter becomes very hot in the afternoon, but cooler at night with the bright moon and stars in the sky.用 the latter化简句子的长度，也是值得借鉴的，我们在《朋友》中也见到过。

综述：注意本段”向（东西南北）行+时间+至某地“的表述。

再往南行入西班牙，气候就变得干暖。马德里在高台地的中央，七月的午间并不闷热，入夜甚至得穿毛衣。我在南部安达露西亚地区及阳光海岸（Costa del Sol）开车，一路又干又热，枯黄的草原，干燥的石堆，大地像一块烙饼，摊在酷蓝的天穹之下，路旁的草丛常因干燥而起火，势颇惊人。可是那是干热，并不令人出汗，和台湾的湿闷不同。

Down in Spain, the climate is arid and warm. Madrid is located in the center of plateau. Its noontime temperature in July is not sultry, and you have to wear a woolen sweater towards the evening. In Southern Spain, when driving in the Andalucia region and along the Costa del Sol, I found everything dry and hot. The grass was turning yellow and the rocks were dry. The earth was like a pancake roasting under the deep blue firmament. Alarmingly, the roadside grass often started burning by itself. Unlike Taiwan which is humid, Southern Spain is hot and dry and so people there don’t sweat at all.

要点：

1，”再往南行入西班牙“即“再往南行驶进入西班牙” Down in Spain，可以看做是是driving down the south, we entered in Spain 的省略形式,in此处是介词代替动词。

2，“摊在…下”意为“在…下烤着…”故译为roasting under。

3，“势颇惊人“即”火势颇为惊人“，通常我们会采用从句的形式，而译者此处用副词更显简洁。

英国则趋于另一极端，显得阴湿，气温也低。我在伦敦的河堤区住了三天，一直是阴天，下着间歇的毛毛雨。即使破晓时露一下朝暾，早餐后天色就阴沉下来了。与我存走过滑铁卢桥，7月的河风吹来，水气阴阴，令人打一个寒噤，把毛的翻领拉起。

England is at the other extreme, being overcast and wet with a low temperature. It was gloomy all the time and kept drizzling intermittently during the three days when I stayed in the River Embankment area of London. Sometimes the morning sun made its brief appearance at daybreak, but the sky turned overcast soon after breakfast. While crossing Waterloo Bridge with Wocun against the July wind blowing from the River Thames, a nip in the air sent shivers down my spine, forcing me to turn up my fur collar.

要点：

1，“下着间歇的毛毛雨“= kept drizzling intermittently

2，“我在伦敦的河堤区住了三天“很容易让人联想到使用spend on,然而根据上下文我们发现，这个分句并不是主句，而是一个状语即”我在…住了三天，那时/那几天…“，因此译为during the three days when I stayed in the River Embankment area of London.

3，“与我存走过滑铁卢桥，7月的河风吹来，水气阴阴，令人打一个寒噤，把毛的翻领拉起.“即”我和…过桥时，顶着7月的河风，带着寒气的空气使我寒颤，迫使我立起了我的毛领“合译时注意分析各个分句间主语的关系，”我“和”河风“是”我顶着河风走“的关系，against依旧是一个可以代替动词的介词

综述：注意本段的合译。找关系找关系。

我们开车北行，一路上经过塔尖如梦的牛津，城楼似幻的勒德洛（Ludlow），古桥野渡的蔡斯特（Chester），雨云始终罩在车顶，雨点在车窗上也未干过。进入步布瑞亚的湖区之后，遍地江湖，满空云雨，偶见天边绽出一角薄蓝，立刻便有更多的灰云挟雨遮掩过来。真要怪华兹华斯的诗魂小气，不肯让我一窥他诗中的晴美湖光。在我一夕投宿的鹰头（Hawkshead）小店栈楼窗望出去，沿湖一带，树树含雨，山山带云，很想告诉格拉斯米教堂墓地里的诗翁，我国古代有一片云梦大泽，也出过一位水气逼人的诗宗。

We drove up north through Oxford with its dreamy spires, Ludlow with its illusory old castles and Chester with its ancient bridge and solitary ferry crossing. Rain clouds continued to hang over our car and raindrops remained intact on its windows. After entering the Lake District, Cumbria, we found rivers and lakes everywhere and the sky full of rain clouds. Occasionally a speck of light blue would appear over the horizon only to be soon blotted out by dark grey rain clouds. I could not help complaining against Wordworth for grudging me a sunny scene of the beautiful Lakeland as described in his poems. In Hawkshead, I put up for one night at a small inn. Looking out of its window, I saw all trees around the lakes wet with rain and all mountains shrouded by clouds. How I longed to tell the great poet lying in Grasmere Churchyard that in ancient China there was also a great poet domiciled in a region of rivers and lakes!

要点：

1， 本段中的“向北行驶”译为drove up north，up north即“到北部”。

2， 塔尖如梦的牛津= Oxford with its dreamy spires

城楼似幻的勒德洛= Ludlow with its illusory old castles

古桥野渡的蔡斯特= Chester with its ancient bridge and solitary ferry crossing

这几句皆可理解为“某地有着…”句式一致，语言优美。

3，“真要怪华兹华斯的诗魂小气，不肯让我一窥他诗中的晴美湖光”译为I could not help complaining against Wordworth for grudging me a sunny scene of the beautiful Lakeland as described in his poems.其中grudge意即“勉强做；不情愿地给；吝惜”。

4，“树树含雨，山山带云”即“所有的树都被雨打湿而所有的山都笼罩在云里”= all trees around the lakes wet with rain and all mountains shrouded by clouds

5，“云梦大泽”即“云梦泽” ，是中国湖北省江汉平原上的古代湖泊群的总称，在此泛指湖泊河流，译为in a region of rivers and lakes!

6，“水气逼人”根据上下文理解为“伟大的”，译为great。

综述：本文作为一片写景散文文笔优美，翻译有一定难度，除了注意松散句的合译以外，本篇的选词也值得注意。很多表达都是值得积累的。