《大國(guó)速度 百年京張》1（續(xù)二）From Steam to HSR—100 Years on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Line (Excerpt)

修建京張鐵路，最困難的是從南口到青龍橋這一段。

主要是山勢(shì)陡峭坡度高，還需要修很長(zhǎng)的隧道。2作為總工程師，詹天佑每天騎著毛驢，親自與工程技術(shù)人員去實(shí)地進(jìn)行勘測(cè)。無論是驕陽似火，或是狂風(fēng)大作，還是暴雨如注，他總是身背標(biāo)桿和測(cè)量?jī)x，奔波在崎嶇的山間小路上。

The most difficult section was from Nankou to Qinglong Bridge. The main difficulties were the steep gradients and the long tunnels required. As chief engineer， Zhan rode a donkey and went in person every day with engineering staff to survey the sites. In scorching sun， gales and storms， he would traverse the rugged mountain paths， a surveyor’s pole and a gauge on his back.

詹天佑帶領(lǐng)工程技術(shù)人員，歷盡艱險(xiǎn)前后勘測(cè)了三條線路。

Through all kinds of hardships， Zhan Tianyou led the engineering and technical staff in surveying three routes.

一條是關(guān)溝線——這條線路從南口至岔道城，長(zhǎng)22公里，經(jīng)過居庸關(guān)、青龍橋、八達(dá)嶺，盡是懸崖峭壁，坡陡路險(xiǎn)，工程量大，且運(yùn)輸量有限3。

Route one was the Guangou Route extending from Nankou to Cha-daocheng over a length of 22 kilometers， crossing the Juyongguan Pass， Qinglong Bridge， and the Badaling Ridge. The precipitous cliffs along the route meant heavy construction work and limited freight capacity on the line.

第二條線路是熱河線——從青龍橋繞過八達(dá)嶺，轉(zhuǎn)向東北方向，經(jīng)十三陵到延慶。這條線路雖然長(zhǎng)出15公里，但坡度較平緩，也無需開鑿八達(dá)嶺那樣長(zhǎng)的隧道，但要專門修一條運(yùn)輸材料的路，費(fèi)時(shí)費(fèi)錢。

Route two was the Rehe Route extending from Qinglong Bridge， bypassing Badaling Ridge， turning to the northeast， and passing the Ming Tombs to reach Yanqing. Although this route was 15 kilometers longer， its slopes were relatively gentle and it did not require a tunnel as long as Badaling. But a road designed for transporting materials would have to be built， costing time and money.

第三條路就是現(xiàn)在修成的豐沙線——從西直門往西，繞過石景山，經(jīng)三家店，到沙城附近出山到張家口。這條線路比較理想4，但山勢(shì)更加峻峭，坡度小但要修隧道65孔，工程費(fèi)用較高。

The third route was the Fengsha Route， extending west from Xizhimen to bypass Shijingshan， passing Sanjiadian to reach Zhangjiakou by exiting the mountains near Shacheng. This route had advantages， but the mountains were more precipitous. Though the overall gradient was lower， 65 tunnels were required， pushing up the construction costs.

經(jīng)過反復(fù)比較，最后，詹天佑采用了關(guān)溝線路。

After conducting considerable comparative analysis， in the end Zhan Tianyou chose the Guangou Route.

京張鐵路穿過崇山峻嶺，坡度很大。5按照國(guó)際的一般設(shè)計(jì)方法，鐵路每升高1米，就要經(jīng)過100米的斜坡。為了縮短線路，降低費(fèi)用，詹天佑設(shè)計(jì)的線路則是每提高1米，僅需修33米的斜坡。

The Beijing-Zhangjiakou line would traverse precipitous and towering mountains with a steep gradient. According to existing international design standards， each meter of gradient required 100 meters of line. In order to shorten the route and lower the cost， Zhan adopted a method that needed only 33 meters of line for each meter of gradient.

但是，這樣一來，坡度大了，火車爬山就更加吃力。怎樣使列車這龐然大物順利開上山，詹天佑整天開動(dòng)腦筋思索著。

This made the gradient much steeper， making it more difficult for the train to climb. Zhan’s thoughts constantly turned on the question of how to enable the monster to climb the mountains smoothly.

一天晚上，詹天佑苦思冥想列車爬坡的方法6，到了夜深還未休息。他的妻子和女兒陪伴他畫圖設(shè)計(jì)。夜深了，屋子里很冷，女兒手指凍得有點(diǎn)僵硬，一不小心，將冰涼的剪刀掉在了地上。詹天佑聽見響動(dòng)，從凝思中驚醒過來7。他看著掉在地上的剪子，突然大聲叫道：“有了！有了！”

Late one night， Zhan was restlessly pondering the question. His wife and daughter were by his side as he drew and designed. The room was very cold and the fingers of his daughter were chilled; her grip failed and she inadvertently dropped an icy pair of scissors on the floor. The noise roused Zhan Tianyou from his contemplation. He looked at the scissors on the floor and suddenly yelled out： “Got it！ I’ve got it！”

他的妻子和女兒莫名其妙。詹天佑興奮地說：“八達(dá)嶺的鐵路可以仿照剪子那樣修建，火車一折一返地往上爬，不就可以翻山越嶺了嗎？”

His wife and daughter had no idea what was going on. Zhan Tianyou said in excitement， “The railway at Badaling can be built like a pair of scissors！ As the train climbs back and forth， won’t it be able to scale the heights？”

后來，青龍橋那段鐵路修成了“人”字形（也稱“之”字形）線路8，火車一曲一折地輕輕松松爬上了山。當(dāng)?shù)厝税堰@段鐵路稱之為“剪子嶺”。

Later the section of railway at Qinglong Bridge was built in a zigzag， and the train was able to climb the mountains with ease. Local people there called this section of the line Scissor Mountain.

1本文節(jié)選自《大國(guó)速度 百年京張》第一章第三節(jié)，是展現(xiàn)中國(guó)第一代鐵路人智慧的精彩篇章。在京張鐵路的建設(shè)中，南口至青龍橋段尤為艱難，因?yàn)檫@段路程地勢(shì)陡峭，坡度極大。面對(duì)火車車身長(zhǎng)、既要爬坡又要轉(zhuǎn)彎的難題，中國(guó)鐵路之父詹天佑帶領(lǐng)團(tuán)隊(duì)迎難而上，巧妙地運(yùn)用了“人”字形設(shè)計(jì)方案，通過“增加線路長(zhǎng)度”來“減小坡度”，使火車能以折返行駛的方式爬坡上山。這不僅縮短了工期，還降低了成本。節(jié)選的譯文集中體現(xiàn)了中譯英時(shí)批判性閱讀和批判性思考對(duì)于精準(zhǔn)選詞、厘清邏輯和避免冗譯的重要性。" 2原文第二段的首句進(jìn)一步解釋了前一段所指出的施工難題，而這也是后文所述的詹天佑創(chuàng)新的原因，兩段文字的邏輯關(guān)系非常緊密。因此，將兩段合譯為一能夠以更簡(jiǎn)潔、連貫的方式呈現(xiàn)信息，增加譯文敘述的流暢性。

3翻譯時(shí)，需要運(yùn)用批判性思維，厘清行文邏輯，從而真正理解原文的深層含義，這在中譯英時(shí)尤為重要。比如：“懸崖峭壁，坡陡路險(xiǎn)，工程量大，且運(yùn)輸量有限”講述的都是修建關(guān)溝線的具體困難，這就構(gòu)成了斷句的依據(jù)；另外，“懸崖峭壁”和“坡陡路險(xiǎn)”都描繪了地理環(huán)境的艱險(xiǎn)，這兩個(gè)短語與“工程量大，且運(yùn)輸量有限”之間實(shí)為因果關(guān)系。因此，可以the precipitous cliffs作為主語，通過meant外顯這種隱含的邏輯關(guān)系，并使用along the route來呼應(yīng)前文，使句子結(jié)構(gòu)更為緊湊，語義更為連貫。" 4原文介紹了三條線路各自的特點(diǎn)，并比較了它們的利弊。因此，“比較理想”一詞在語境中意指第三條線路相較于前兩條線路的優(yōu)勢(shì)，將其意譯為had advantages比直譯為relatively ideal更為貼切。同理，下文“經(jīng)過反復(fù)比較”的翻譯，也采用了類似的策略。

5英語時(shí)態(tài)就像一塊豐富多彩的調(diào)色板，能夠?yàn)楣适碌臄⑹鲈鎏砬逦鷦?dòng)的色彩。在原文描述的語境中，由于京張鐵路當(dāng)時(shí)還未建成，因此不宜使用一般過去時(shí)，而應(yīng)選擇過去將來時(shí)，以表達(dá)當(dāng)時(shí)對(duì)一件即將發(fā)生之事的預(yù)判。" 6根據(jù)《大國(guó)速度 百年京張》的翻譯目的和讀者群，譯文的風(fēng)格應(yīng)傾向于簡(jiǎn)明易懂的英語，其基本原則之一便是言簡(jiǎn)意賅，避免冗余和重復(fù)。此句中“列車爬坡的方法”顯然是指代前句中述及的詹天佑整天開動(dòng)腦筋思索的難題。因此，翻譯時(shí)無需再次詳細(xì)闡述難題的內(nèi)容，只需簡(jiǎn)潔地譯為the question即可。" 7兩處譯例體現(xiàn)了無生命主語的妙用。

8“人”字形這一表達(dá)自序言開始多次出現(xiàn)，但在此處重復(fù)提及并未給作者闡述的觀點(diǎn)增加額外價(jià)值，因此無需譯出，以避免譯文冗長(zhǎng)拖沓。