21.拆句的情况多,合句的情况少。
Poets as we know have always a made great use of alliteration. They are persuaded that the repetition of a sound gives an effect of beauty.
我们知道,诗人一般总喜欢押头韵,觉得重复一个声音会产生美的效果。(原文两句都比较短,译文合成一句,语气较顺。)
22.注意文体,应该用口语的地方,选用适合口语的词句。
“I remember thinking, ‘No. No. It’s not Jackson, it’s not my husband, it’s not my Jackson,’” she said. “But it was. He was lying in the street, right across from our house. The police said a man shot him over a parking space.”
“记得我当时就想:‘不,不。不是杰克逊,不是我丈夫,不是我的杰克逊’”她说。“可是,那不是别人,正是他。他躺在大街上,就在我们的房子对面。警察说,为了争一块停车的地方,人家把他打死了。”
23.一段文章的最后一句,特别是全文最后一段的最后一句,要比较有力,否则文章煞不住。中英文都是这样。翻译时就要把这最后一句的分量表达出来,给人以深刻的印象。
Words have weight, sound and appearance; it is only by considering these that you can write a sentence that is good to look at and good to listen to.
词具有一定的分量、声音和形状,只有考虑到这些因素,写出来的句子才能既好听,又好看。(若把“好听”放在最后,就压不住了。)
24.题目可以照原文译,也可以根据文章的内容拟定。
A Valentine to One Who Cared Too Much.
衷肠曲(这个题目是参照文章的内容拟定的。原题的意思是:在情人节写给一个人的信,这个人关心的事情太多了。)
25.遇到中国读者可能不熟悉的典故、人名、地名等,除了加注以外,还可以在译文中加几个字,略加说明。
I learned a great many new words that day. I do not remember what they all were; but I do know that mother, father,sister, teacher were among them — words that were to make the world blossom for me, “like Aaron’s rod, with flowers.”
那一天我学了许多新词,也记不清都有哪些词了。但是其中肯定有“母亲”、“父亲”、“姐姐”、“老师”——后来就是这些词把一个美好的世界展现在我的面前,就像《圣经》上说的“亚伦的杖开了花”一样。(这个典故出自《旧约 民数记》第17章第8节。为了帮助中国读者了解,译文加了“就像《圣经》上说的”几个字。)