美国《幸福》杂志曾在征答栏中刊登过这么一个题目:假如让你重新选择,你做什么?一位军界要人的回答是去乡间开一个杂货铺;一位劳动部长是想做一家饮料公司的经理

游客2024-11-05  11

问题     美国《幸福》杂志曾在征答栏中刊登过这么一个题目:假如让你重新选择,你做什么?一位军界要人的回答是去乡间开一个杂货铺;一位劳动部长是想做一家饮料公司的经理……其问也有一般百姓的回答。想做总统的,想做外交官的,想做面包师的,应有尽有。但是,很少有人想做现在的自己。
    人有时非常矛盾。本来活得好好的,各方面的环境都不错,然而当事者却常常心存厌倦。对人类这种因生命的平淡和缺少激情而苦恼的心态,有时是不能用不知足来解释的。

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答案     The US Fortune magazine once posed to its readers such a question in a questionnaire: " If you were to choose again, what would you like to be?" "I’d like to run a grocery store in the countryside," a high-ranking officer in the military responded. The Minister of Labor preferred to become the manager of a beverage company... People in other trades answered the same question in various ways. Some wished to run for President, others wanted to be diplomats, and still others cherished the idea of working in a bakery. Whatever they set their minds on, few people were willing to remain what they are now.
    People are now and then in a dilemma. They lead a fairly good life and their circumstances are as good as they can be, but from time to time they grow tired of all these. Sometimes it can hardly attribute this mentality, arising from the monotony of one’s life and lack of passion, to insatiability on the part of humans.

解析 1.第一段第一句中“刊登过这么一个题目”,其实就是向读者提出过一个问题,可以译为posed to its readers such a question。“征答栏”相当于问卷调查,故译为questionnaire。
2.“假如让你重新选择”可译为对现在的虚拟语气If you were to choose again。
3.“要人”其实就是“居高位者”,级别我们一般用rank来表示,这里的“军界要人”指的是级别较高的军官,军官用officer表示,故译为a high-ranking officer in the military,简洁准确。
4.“一般百姓”在这里是相对于前面的高官而言,即指“其他行业的人”,故译为People in other trades。
5.“想做……想做……想做……”是并列结构,可采用不同的动词,以避免重复,故分别译为wished to,wanted to be和cherished the idea of。
6.第一段最后一句中“很少有人想做现在的自己”实际上省略了“不论他们想做什么”。翻译的时候可以把这层意思补充出来,译为Whatever they set their minds on。
7.第二段第二句中“各方面的环境都不错”不太容易翻译,可以稍微夸张一下,译为circumstances are as good as they can be。
8.最后一句主语太长,可以把主语中心词提前,把原文繁杂的定语处理成为一个分词结构,使句子更加通顺,结构更加清晰,故译为…mentality,arising from the monotony of one’s life and lack of passion…。
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