As dawn breaks in Hanoi the botanical gardens start to fill up. Hundreds of o

游客2024-01-02  21

问题    As dawn breaks in Hanoi the botanical gardens start to fill up. Hundreds of old people come every morning to exercise before the tropical heat makes sport unbearable. Groups of fitness enthusiasts proliferate. Elderly ladies in floral silks do tai chi in a courtyard. In the shade of a tall tree, dozens of ballroom dancers sway to samba music. Others work up a sweat on an outdoor exercise-machine.
   In the next few decades the gardens will become busier still. Vietnam has a median age of only 26. But it is greying fast. Over-60s make up 12% of the population, a share that is forecast to jump to 21% by 2040, one of the quickest increases in the world. Growing prosperity has also helped bring down the fertility rate in the same period from about seven children per woman to less than two.
   Demography is changing in similar ways in many Asian countries. But in Vietnam it is happening while the country is still poor. When the share of the population of working age climbed to its highest in South Korea and Japan, annual GDP per person stood at $32, 585 and $31, 718 respectively. Even China managed to reach $9, 526. In Vietnam, which hit the same peak in 2013, incomes averaged a mere $5, 024.
   This shift brings headaches. First, will the government be able to support millions more Vietnamese in old age? Only the extremely poor and people over 80 (together around 30% of the elderly) get a state pension, which can be as little as a few dollars a week. The most recent survey of the old, in 2011, found that 90% of them had no savings. Debt was common. Supporting them will become ever more expensive. The IMF predicts that pension costs, at the present rate, could raise government spending as a share of GDP by eight percentage points by 2050. That is faster than in any of the other 12 Asian countries it examined.
   The problem is worse in the countryside, where most old folk live. Previously the young cared for their parents in old age. Today they tend to abandon village life to seek their fortune in the city. Surveys suggest that the share of old people living alone is rising, especially in villages. Many work until they die. Around 40% of rural men are still toiling at 75, twice the rate of city-dwellers. In Britain that figure is 3%. Often they do gruelling manual jobs, such as rice farming or fishing.
   Providing health care for millions more old people is another worry. Alzheimer’s, heart disease and age-related disability are growing. In the botanical garden Toau, a 78-year-old in a white sports T-shirt, says he is there on doctor’s orders, before taking a pill for his bad heart and joining an exercise group. About a third of over-60s do not have health insurance, which is costly. Many provinces still have no proper geriatric departments in hospitals. Informal health-insurance groups have popped up to fill the gaps.
   The government is starting to implement policies to reduce the fiscal burden and improve the lot of the elderly. Last year it relaxed the one-child policy. In May it said it would increase the retirement age from 60 to 62 for men and 55 to 60 for women, and reform the pension scheme to provide wider coverage. Next year it plans to begin revamping the health-insurance and social-assistance systems.

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答案    黎明时分,河内的各个植物园里开始挤满人。每天早上,数百名老人都来植物园锻炼身体,直到热得无法忍受才停下来。健身爱好者成群结队,越聚越多。穿着印花绸子的老太太们在院里打着太极;一棵大树的树荫下,几十名交际舞者随着桑巴音乐摇摆着身体:另外一些人在户外健身器上锻炼得大汗淋漓。
   在未来几十年里,这些植物园会更热闹。虽然越南人口的中位数年龄只有26岁,但人口老龄化的速度很快。60岁以上人口占人口总数的12%,预计到2040年,这一比例将跃升至21%,这是世界上老龄化增速最快的国家之一。经济的持续繁荣也降低了同期的人口出生率,从之前每名妇女生产约7个孩子降至不足2个。
   许多亚洲国家的人口统计正以类似的方式发生着变化。但在越南,这种情况发生在该国经济还不发达的时候。在韩国和日本,适龄劳动人口的比例上升到最高时,人均国内生产总值分别为32585美元和31718美元。就连中国也达到了人均9526美元。而在2013年达到同样峰值的越南,平均收入仅为5024美元。
   这种转变带来了一些麻烦。首先,越南政府未来是否有能力供养数百万的老年人呢?只有极端贫困的人和80岁以上的人(总共约占老年人人口的30%)才能获得国家养老金,其数额很少,每周只有几美元。2011年针对老年人的最新调查发现,90%的老年人没有积蓄,欠债很普遍。国家救济他们的花费会越来越高。国际货币基金组织预测,按目前养老金比率计算,到2050年,养老金开支会将政府支出占国内生产总值的比例提高8个百分点。这个增速比接受调查的另外12个亚洲国家都快。
   对大多数老年人居住的农村而言,问题更加严重。以往年轻人会照顾年老的父母,而今,年轻人往往放弃乡村生活,去城市谋生。调查显示,独居老人的比例在不断上升,尤其是在乡村。很多老人至死仍在劳作。约40%的农村老人在75岁高龄时依然辛苦劳作,这一比例是城市居民的两倍,而英国只有3%。通常这些农村老人从事的都是繁重的体力劳动,如水稻种植或捕鱼。
   另一个令人担忧的问题是为数百万以上的老年人提供医疗卫生保健服务。老年痴呆症、心脏病、与年龄有关的残疾都在不断增加。植物园里,78岁的图奥身穿白色运动T恤,他说在植物园里锻炼也是遵照医嘱,之后还得服用治疗心脏病的药物,继续参加锻炼团队的活动。60岁以上的老人中,约三分之一的人没有医保,因为医保太贵了。许多省份的医院还没有老年科,但非正式医疗保险组织已经出现,填补了此项空白。
   越南政府正着手实行减轻财政负担和改善老年人境遇的政策。去年,越南政府放宽了独生子女政策。今年5月,越南政府声称会延长退休年龄,男性由原来的60岁延长至62岁,女性由原来的55岁延长至60岁:越南政府还会改革养老金政策,扩大养老金覆盖面。明年,政府计划开始修订医疗保险制度和社会救助制度。

解析 1.As dawn breaks in Hanoi the botanical gardens start to fill up.黎明时分,河内的各个植物园里开始挤满人。
[技巧分析]显化英语形态变化
英语是综合一分析语,运用形态变化、相对固定的词序和丰富的虚词来表达语法关系,而汉语是分析语,不用形态变化,用虚词和词序表达语法关系。本句中的gardens是复数,因此在翻译时加入了“各个”,显化了原文中的形态变化,更准确地翻译了原文的意思。
本文中类似的例子还有:
Demography is changing in similar ways in many Asian countries.
许多亚洲国家的人口统计正以类似的方式发生着变化。
This shift brings headaches.
这种转变带来了一些麻烦。
The share of old people living alone is rising.
独居老人的比例在不断上升。
Alzheimer’s,heart disease and age-related disability are growing.
老年痴呆症、心脏病、与年龄有关的残疾都在不断增加。
2.Hundreds of old people come every morning to exercise before the tropical heat makes sport unbearable.每天早上,数百名老人都来植物园锻炼身体,直到热得无法忍受才停下来。
[技巧分析]调整语序和词义
英语的语序比较灵活,原文利用虚词to和before,使整个句子连接得非常紧凑;而汉语是意合的语言,注重隐性连贯,以神统形,所以在翻译时调整了语序和词义,先把时间状语every morning提前,译为“每天早上”,然后把before引导的时间状语译为“直到……”的结构,这样更符合汉语的表达。如果译为“每天早上,在热带气候的炎热让他们无法忍受之前,数百名老人都来植物园锻炼身体”,就会显得翻译腔很重。
3.In the next few decades the gardens will become busier still.在未来几十年里,这些植物园会更热闹。
[技巧分析]选词用词
busy在这个语境中不能翻译为“忙碌”,应该译为“热闹”。
4.Vietnam has a median age of only 26.越南人口的中位数年龄只有26岁。
[技巧分析]选词用词
a median age是中位数年龄,不是年龄平均数。中位数年龄或年龄中位数是将全体人口按照年龄大小顺序排列,居于中间位置的那个年龄。它可以反映人口年龄的集中趋势和分布特征,是考察人口年龄构成类型的重要指标之一。
5.In Vietnam,which hit the same peak in 2013,incomes averaged a mere $5,024.而在2013年达到同样峰值的越南,平均收入仅为5024美元。
[技巧分析]前置定语从句原句是复合句,包含关系代词which引导的定语从句,修饰先行词Vietnam。定语从句很短,可以在翻译时按照汉语习惯置于中心词之前。
6.Only the extremely poor and people over 80(together around 30% of the elderly)get a state pension,which can be as little as a few dollars a week.只有极端贫困的人和80岁以上的人(总共约占老年人人口的30%)才能获得国家养老金,其数额很少,每周只有几美元。
[技巧分析]拆分定语从句
原句是复合句,包含关系代词which引导的定语从句,修饰先行词pension。译文根据汉语习惯将定语从句拆分出来,处理为单独的两个小句。
7.The IMF predicts that pension costs,at the present rate,could raise government spending as a share of GDP by eight percentage points by 2050.国际货币基金组织预测,按目前养老金比率计算,到2050年,养老金开支会将政府支出占国内生产总值的比例提高8个百分点。
[技巧分析]基本常识+理解结构
IMF的全称是International Monetary Fund,译为:国际货币基金组织。GDP的全称是Gross Domestic Product,译为:国内生产总值。这两个专有词的翻译都属于基本知识储备。原句谓语动词predicts引导了一个宾语从句,其中as a share of GDP作定语修饰先行词spending,by eight percentage points作状语修饰动词raise。
8.The problem is worse in the countryside,where most old folk live.对大多数老年人居住的农村而言,问题更加严重。
[技巧分析]调整语序+篇章连贯
原句是复合句,包含关系副词where引导的定语从句,原句可以单独译为“问题在农村更严重,而大多数老人居住在农村”。但是下文紧接着讲的就是问题,所以调换语序译为“对大多数老年人居住的农村而言,问题更加严重”后,语义更加连贯。
9.Providing health care for millions more old people is another worry.另一个令人担忧的问题是为数百万以上的老年人提供医疗卫生保健服务。
[技巧分析]调整语序+篇章连贯
原句是一个主系表结构,现在分词短语Providing health care for millions more old people是主语。由于上一段讲的是农村老人的问题,接下来一段讲的是医疗卫生保健的问题,这句作为该段首句,应该承接上段,紧接着说另一个问题是什么,所以在翻译时将表语another worry提前作了主语,译为:另一个令人担忧的问题。
10.In the botanical garden Toau,a 78-year-old in a white sports T-shirt,says he is there on doctor’s orders,before taking a pill for his bad heart and joining an exercise group.植物园里,78岁的图奥身穿白色运动T恤,他说在植物园里锻炼也是遵照医嘱,之后他还得服用治疗心脏病的药物,继续参加锻炼团队的活动。
[技巧分析]理解结构+调整语序
原句是个复合句,谓语动词says引导了一个宾语从句。根据上下文,可推测状语before taking a pill for his bad heart and joining an exercise group是宾语从句的状语,也就是说,在吃药和参加锻炼团队活动之前,他先遵照医嘱来到植物园锻炼。但在翻译时应根据汉语习惯,按照事情的先后顺序排列,所以把before转换为“之后”。
11.About a third of over-60s do not have health insurance,which is costly.60岁以上的老人中,约三分之一的人没有医保,因为医保太贵了。
[技巧分析]理解主从关系
原句是个复合句,含有关系代词which引导的定语从句,修饰先行词insurance。由于定语从句和主句的关系为因果关系,所以翻译时加入了关联词“因为”。
12.In May it said it would increase the retirement age from 60 to 62 for men and 55 to 60 for women,and reform the pension scheme to provide wider coverage.今年5月,越南政府声称会延长退休年龄,男性由原来的60岁延长至62岁,女性由原来的55岁延长至60岁;越南政府还会改革养老金政策,扩大养老金覆盖面。
[技巧分析]重复名词+理解结构
根据上下文可推测,原文的代词it指的是越南政府。英语更多使用代词以达到语篇连贯的目的,汉语则更多使用名词重复,所以在翻译时重复了名词“越南政府”。原句是个复合句,谓语动词said引导了一个宾语从句,其中主语it(第二个it)有两个谓语动词,分别是increase和reform。
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