Bus fire kills at least 47 in Xiamen, China
中国厦门公交车起火爆炸事件造成至少47人遇难
An unemployed man intent on killing himself set off an explosion that engulfed a bus in flames and killed
47 people in the southeastern city of Xiamen on Friday, according to reports on Saturday by state-run news
organizations.
周六,据中国官方媒体报道:周五,中国东南部的厦门市发生一起由一名失业男子因意图自杀,遂引爆炸弹而致使公
交车着火,并最终造成47人死亡的惨剧 。
intent :意图 strategic intent 战略意图
set off:引爆 eg:to set a mine off 引爆地雷 engulf 吞没;吞噬;席卷 eg:The overflowing
river has engulfed many towns and villages along its banks.泛滥成灾的河水已把其沿岸一带的许
多城乡给淹没了 。
kill 在此是"导致死亡"的意思,常见于主语为灾难或者意外事件
The reports identified the man as Chen Shuizong, who was about 60 and impoverished. He had written a
suicide note in which he expressed deep frustration, said the reports, which were based on details of
the investigation released by officials in Xiamen. Mr. Chen was believed to have died in the explosion.
报道中确定此男子为60岁穷困潦倒的陈水总 。根据厦门官方发布的调查细节报告,事发前他曾写过一份"自杀笔记",其
中透露出他深深的挫败感 。陈某自己也死于此次爆炸中 。
impoverish:使贫穷;使枯竭 eg:a village impoverished by flood 被洪灾弄得贫困的村庄
suicide note:绝命书;自杀遗书
The state news agency Xinhua said earlier on Saturday that the explosion was believed to be a “serious
criminal case.” It occurred at 6:20 p.m. Friday, at the height of the rush hour. Ninety people were aboard
the bus, which was part of Xiamen’s Bus Rapid Transit system. Thirty-four people were hospitalized.
官媒《新华社》在周六早些时候称,这次爆炸被认为是一起“严重的刑事案件” 。事件发生在周五下午6:20的上下班
高峰时段 。公交车隶属于厦门市快速公交系统(BRT),车上当时有90名乘客 。其中44名乘客被转往医院进行救治 。
criminal case:刑事案件(民事案件:civil case) at the height of :在…的顶峰或鼎盛时期 eg:
At the height of the economic crisis 在经济危机的高峰期
rush hour:上下班高峰时间 Bus Rapid Transit :BRT 快速公交
hospitalized=be sent into hospital 被送往医院
Eight missing students were confirmed killed , and seven injured students will still get a chance to get
into college after missing part of the national entrance exam because of the fire.
8名失踪学生已经确定为死亡,因为这次起火事件而影响考试的另外7名受伤高考学生仍将获得上大学的机会 。
补充翻译技巧:英语中的被动语态极为广泛,尤其是在科技英语中 。这是因为:1、被动结构比主动结构更少
主观色彩 。2、被动结构更能突出主要特征,说明对象,引人注目 。3、很多情况下被动比主动更为简短 。
然而汉语中被动则不太常见 。因为从习惯上来说,汉语中“被”“遭”“挨”等总给人不舒服的感觉,因此在
英译汉时,往往把被动语态改成主动结构 。
最常见的例子莫过于:It is commonly believed that...人们普遍认为...
又比如:Communications satellites are used for international live transmission throughout the
world.
全世界都将通讯卫星用于国际间的实况转播 。