1. 有他这颗扫帚星,什么事情都办不成。
[误] With a comet like him, nothing can be accomplished.
[正] With a jinx like him, nothing can be accomplished.
注:扫帚星是中国人对慧星(comet)的俗称,因其后面拖着一条像扫帚一样的长尾巴而得名。在中国古代,扫帚星被认为是灾难的预兆,并被用来比喻不吉利的人或事;祸根:(person or thing that is thought to bring)bad luck(to sb/sth);curse。英语的comet 虽然没有这层含义,但却有一个对应的说法,即jinx。
例:Theres a jinx on/Someones put a jinx on this car: its always giving me trouble. (这辆汽车上有什么妨人的东西,总给我找麻烦。)
2.萝卜青菜,各有所爱。
[误] Some prefer radish but others prefer cabbage.
[正] Tastes differ.
注:Tastes differ/vary .是句英语谚语,除此以外,原句还可翻译成 No dish suits all tastes.或 You can never make everyone happy. 等。此外,我们还可以这样说:One mans meat is another mans poison. 总之,应采取意译。
3.他一向嘴硬,从不认错。
[误] He has always got a hard mouth and never admit a fault.
[正] He never says uncle.
注:say (cry) uncle: to give up or in; to surrender; to admit defeat. Mainly used by boys, as when fighting. 这句话主要是男孩们打架时的用语,当一方想制服另一方时,就用命令的口气说:Say uncle!这时,有的孩子为了表示不服输,就是不说。后来,say uncle 就成了服输的代名词,而 not say uncle 就相当于嘴硬了。
4.老师很喜欢这个嘴甜的小姑娘。
[误] The teacher likes this sweet-mouthed little girl very much.
[正] The teacher likes this honey-lipped little girl very much.
注:中国人喜欢说嘴甜,但 honey-lipped 更符合英美人的语言习惯。
5.同学们都很讨厌他,因为他经常拍老师的马屁。
[误] The students all dislike him because he often pats the teachers ass.
[正] The students all dislike him because he often licks the teachers boots.
注:以前在欧洲,臣民见到国王与王后往往要亲吻他们的靴子。后来,人们将 lick the boots 引申为为了某种目的而讨好某人,它与汉语的拍马屁含义一样。在美国英语中,拍马屁还有另一种说法,即 polish the apple,源于以前的学生用擦亮的苹果来讨好老师。
6.你听说了吗?迈克把他的女朋友给甩了。
[误] Have you ever heard that Mike broke up with his girlfriend?
[正] Have you ever heard that Mike dumped his girlfriend?
注:break up with sb. 虽然表示与某人分手了,但并没说明是谁先提出来的。而 dump 的原意指倾倒垃圾,用在这里则表示像倒垃圾一样地甩掉。
7.我们要把祖国建设成为社会主义的现代化强国。
[误] We will build our motherland into a socialist modern powerful country.
[正] We will build our motherland into a modern powerful socialist country.
注:形容词作为修饰语在汉语和英语中都很常用,但使用的先后次序却有所不同。在英语中我们一般遵循靠近原则,即越能说明本质属性的修饰词越靠近它所修饰的名词,当从这一点看不出区别时,就靠词的长短来决定,短的在前,长的在后。原文中最能说明国家本质的定语是社会主义的,所以 socialist 要最靠近它所修饰的中心词。
8.人都是这山望着那山高,对自己的现状没有满意的时候。
[误] Almost all people think that the other mountain is higher than the one hes standing on. They never feel satisfied with what theyve already got.
[正] Almost all people think that the grass is greener on the other hill. They never feel satisfied with what theyve already got.
注:这山望着那山高是指人不满足于现状的心理,它在英语中已经有了现成的说法,即 the grass is greener on the other hill(他山的草更绿),因此我们借用即可,这样既方便又更有利于与西方人沟通。
9.转战南北
[误] fight south and north
[正] fight north and south
注:在地理方位的表达习惯上,中英文有一定的区别。中国人习惯于先东西后南北,而且在涉及南北时,习惯于先说南,再说北,如:南征北战、南来北往等。而英美人与此正好相反,如江苏在中国的东南部英文是 Jiangsu is in the south-east of China, 而新疆在中国的西北部应译为 Xinjiang is in the north-west of China。
10.这个教授教得很烂。
[误] The professor teaches badly.
[正] The professor is so terrible.
注:有人认为第二句的意思是这个教授很可怕,其实不然。英语中 terrible 意思很灵活,例如:feel terrible 指身体不舒服 The food is terrible 则是说食物难吃极了。而第一句纯属中文式的表达。
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