Sentence Translation
1. Most people are too anxious during tests. Such anxiety makes them less efficient than normal. As a result, their scores are much lower than they expected.
听到这句话,原本正双手颤抖心动过速紧张答题的考生会不禁莞尔一笑,也会不经意地在自己接下去考试中稳定情绪。的确,焦虑只会导致自己在考场中发挥失常。本句虽有3个分句,但难度不大,翻译的时候注意翻出因果关系和对比内容。
2. The office of Mr. Arthur Tiger, the prominent industrialist, was broken into during the weekend. A small amount of money was taken and the office itself was left in a terrible mess.
本句一开始提到了人名,若考生没有听清或无法记录,千万不能因此而打乱思路。课上我们曾经强调过,得分的关键不是人名,而是身份,之后作为插入语的身份一定要翻出来。若不认识prominent(卓越的)也不要紧张,只要抓住中心词industrialist(企业家)即可。边听可以边联想入室抢劫的场景---钱被偷了,屋内一片狼籍---以加深记忆。
3. A job interview works both ways. On the one hand, employers measure short-listed candidates during the conversation. On the other, prospective employees can decide whether the job in question is right for them.
课上我们特别提过"一方面。。。另一方面。。。"的记录方法,也特别解释过short-listed candidates,想必同学们不会再陌生。另外,大部分的考生都接触过求职这一话题,因此本句话还是比较贴近生活的。
4. The Stock Exchange Index was 998 in June 2005. Yesterday, it reached 5960, which is the highest in history and almost six times higher than two years ago.
本句主要考察的是数字的记录,出现了股指、倍数、时间以及年份。课上我们就这个专题进行过详细讲解及训练,绝大多数同学应该能够驾轻就熟了。自去年以来,股市已经成为一个全民话题,相信句中提到的数字大家也不陌生吧~
5. By far, the most serious economic problem in Britain is that of inflation, now being accelerated by overheated investment in capital and property and threatened further by possible wage explosion.
与奥会话题成为本次Spot-Dictation的主题一样,目前的考试越来越与时俱进。笔者在今年考前,特别在邱邱老师的博客上写过关于通货膨胀的热点追踪,这次考试果然就考到了。在房地产和资本市场的过度投资加速了在英国本来就已经很严重的通胀,且可能的薪酬暴涨会进一步加剧这一现象,前者属于需求拉动型,而后者属于成本推动型通货膨胀。在考前对此背景略有掌握的话,这最后一句听译中应该能拿到不错的分数。