淺談首戰CATTI二級筆譯的得與失

樊飛玉

【摘要】筆者是MTI在讀學生，2015年5月份第一次參加CATTI二級筆譯考試，由于犯了很多翻譯上的硬傷，導致二筆沒能通過。以下內容即是筆者對考試中一些問題的梳理總結，側重于對第一篇英漢翻譯試題進行分析，希望對其他備考CATTI二級筆譯的同學有所啟發。

【關鍵詞】CATTI考試 翻譯策略 翻譯技巧

英譯漢第一篇：由一場兒童沙堆比賽談到荷蘭的水害治理。

Along a rugged， wide North Sea beach here on a recent day， children formed teams of eight to 10， taking their places beside mounds of sand carefully cordoned by candy-cane striped tape. They had one hour for their sand castle competition.

分析：“rugged”是“陡峭，高低不平”的意思。“cordon”作動詞講是“用警戒線圍住”的意思。考試時將“on a recent day”譯成了“最近的一天”，其實譯成“近日”足以表達清楚。“children formed teams of eight to 10”考試時譯成“8-10歲的孩子們按照年齡分成了若干小組”犯了理解上的錯誤，原句應該是想說“孩子們八人一組，十人一隊”。在翻譯“taking ones place”時，沒來得及查字典核實，翻譯成了“各自站在……旁邊”其實“take ones place”有“就位”的意思，若翻譯成“各就各位”更好。最后一句話里有一個時間段理解的問題：他們是已經比賽完了呢還是站在那里準備等待比賽開始呢？如果按后者理解的話，似乎應譯成“他們要在1小時內完成堆沙堡的比賽”。

Then they watched the sea invade and devour their work， seeing whose castle could withstand the tide longest. The last standing flag won.

分析：seeing伴隨狀語，筆者覺得承前翻譯比較妥當，所以沒有斷句。“withstand”是“抵御，承受，頂住”的意思，這句話可譯為“看誰的沙堡在潮水中持續的時間最久”。“The last standing flag won”可變通表達成 “沙堡上小旗最后倒下的那組獲勝”。

This was no ordinary day at the beach， but a newly minted， state-sanctioned competition for schoolchildren to raise awareness of the dangers of rising sea levels in a country of precarious geography that has provided lessons for the world about water management， but that fears that its next generation will grow complacent.

分析：考試時將“no ordinary at beach”譯成了“沙灘上的這一天不同尋常”。或許翻譯成“孩子們在海灘上度過的這一天意義非凡”更好。經分析可知，“but that fears that”中的第一個“that”應該是“country”的先行詞在后面定語從句中做主語，因此正確理解似乎是“國家擔心他的下一代會變得驕傲自滿起來”。“fear”一詞除了“恐懼，害怕”的意思，還有“擔憂，唯恐”之意，用在這里恰恰合適。

As global climate change threatens to raise sea levels by as much as four feet by the end of the century， the authorities here are working to make real to children the forecasts that may seem far-off， but that will shape their lives in adulthood and old age.

分析：“make real to sb.”意思是“使某人清楚...”考試時將“that may seem far-off”中的“that”誤判為關系代詞引導定語從句了，現在想來make real to sb...that應該是引導賓語從句并與后面“but that will shape ...”連起來翻譯才對。“shape”翻譯成“塑造”不妥，似乎可變通翻譯成“影響”。

Before the competition， the children， ages 6 to 11， were coached by experts in dike building and water management. Volunteers stood by， many of them freshly graduated civil engineers， giving last-minute advice on how best to battle the rising water.

分析：“stand by”有“支持，做好準備”的意思，不應該想當然翻譯成“站在一旁”。另外，當時認為“last-minute advice”應該是“重要建議”的意思，查牛津字典得知：last-minute 意思是最后一分鐘才完成（或決定、安排好）的；緊急關頭的.

A recently released report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on water management in the Netherlands pointed to an “awareness gap” among Dutch citizens.

分析：“Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on water management in the Netherlands”意思是“經濟合作與發展組織”另外 “awareness gap”直譯成“意識鴻溝”不妥，“gap”有一層意思是“分歧；隔閡；差距”，因此似乎可翻譯成“意識分歧”

通過參加這次考試，筆者反思了很多，深切體會到翻譯水平的提高真的是“冰凍三尺，非一日之寒”，想要成為一名譯者，必須付出極大的努力。CATTI二筆備考之路任重而道遠，筆者會愈挫愈勇，一直堅強地走下去，相信在不久的將來一定能通過CATTI二筆考試。

參考文獻：

[1]連淑能.英漢對比研究[M].北京：高等教育出版社，2010.

[2]劉宓慶.文體與翻譯[M].北京：中國對外翻譯出版公司，1998.

[3]孫致禮.翻譯：理論與實踐探索[M].譯林出版社，1999.9.