專八翻譯真題：
得病以前，我受父母寵愛，在家中橫行霸道，一旦隔離，拘禁在花園山坡上一幢小房子里，我頓感打入冷宮，十分郁郁不得志起來。一個春天的傍晚，園中百花怒放，父母在園中設(shè)宴，一時賓客云集，笑語四溢。我在山坡的小屋里，悄悄掀起窗簾，窺見園中大千世界，一片繁華，自己的哥姐，堂表弟兄，也穿插其間，個個喜氣洋洋。一霎時，一陣被人摒棄，為世所遺的悲憤兜上心頭，禁不住痛哭起來。

解析：
閱學(xué)生之譯文，發(fā)現(xiàn)有一個問題值得注意，那就是如何在動筆翻譯前，能迅速正確地確定英譯的主語。如：

學(xué)生譯文（以下簡稱“學(xué)譯”）：Before the illness, I was much petted by parents, doing everything at will in the home.

學(xué)譯：Before I became ill, I have received all the favor of my parents, just like a little tyrant at home.

參考譯文：Before I fell ill, I had been the bully under our roofs owing to my doting parents.

我們知道，漢語表達(dá)大多為“意合”結(jié)構(gòu)，結(jié)構(gòu)松散，以一個一個看似并列的短句拼湊而成，彼此邏輯關(guān)系不明顯；但英語則不同于漢語，它是形合語言，非常講究句子內(nèi)部的邏輯關(guān)系的“外化”，所謂“外化”，即使用Connectives來表現(xiàn)其邏輯關(guān)系。我國譯界有一個著名比喻：漢語句子的結(jié)構(gòu)像”竹竿“，是一節(jié)接一節(jié)的；而英語句子則像“葡萄”，主干很短，而“掛”在上面的附加成分則很多?？梢哉f，漢譯英的過程，是一個由“竹竿”向“葡萄”轉(zhuǎn)換的過程。首先要確定“一節(jié)接一節(jié)”的漢語句子，選其中的哪一節(jié)為英句的“（葡萄）主干”。

上面的漢語原句就含有一定的邏輯關(guān)系?！笆芨改笇檺邸笔且?，而“在家中橫行霸道”則是果?！肮睉?yīng)是全句的重心，英譯上句，“（葡萄）主干” 當(dāng)選定“在家中橫行霸道”而非學(xué)生譯文所選的“我受父母寵愛”。

學(xué)譯：When isolated and taken into custody in a small house on the hillside of our garden, I felt like I was abandoned, getting more and more depressed.

學(xué)譯：As soon as I was kept apart in a small flat built on the hillside in the garden, I suddenly felt being consigned to limbo, gloomily and disappointedly.

參考譯文：Feeling like being deposed into a cold palace, I began to taste the bitterness of depression and frustration immediately after I was segregated and confined in a small house on a hillside in our garden.

漢語原句有“四節(jié)”，哪一部分應(yīng)該成為英句之主干？“我頓感打入冷宮”，還是“十分郁郁不得志起來”？學(xué)譯都把“我頓感打入冷宮”處理為“主干”，而參考譯文則反其道而行之。細(xì)細(xì)分析，“十分郁郁不得志起來” 和“我頓感打入冷宮”，兩者也有主次關(guān)系。顯然，“十分郁郁不得志起來” 為主，“我頓感打入冷宮” 為次。兩者之間，不僅存在時間先后的順序，而且還存在著邏輯上的“因果”。因此參考譯文處理得當(dāng)。另一個值得參考之處在于：“主干”（I began to taste the bitterness of depression and frustration）的前后均有附加成分，句子顯出“平衡美”。

學(xué)譯：At one dusk in spring, flowers were blooming wildly in the garden, my parents were holding a banquet, in which guests were gathering, laughters could be heard everywhere.

學(xué)譯：On a spring evening, hundreds of flowers were in full bloom in the garden where my parents hosted a banquet. For a while, guests gathered in large number, laughing and talking, which could be heard clearly.

參考譯文：On a spring evening, my parents gave a banquet in the garden where a profusion of flowers were in full bloom. In no time, a crowd of their guests collected and laughter was heard all over there.

漢語原句的“節(jié)數(shù)”增加到“五節(jié)”。譯成英語，仍應(yīng)確定正確的“主干”，兩個“學(xué)譯”不謀而合，將“園中百花怒放”，而不是“父母在園中設(shè)宴” 作為主干來處理。讀來，給人一種觀比薩斜塔的感覺。相比之下，參考譯文則給人一種美感，散發(fā)出濃郁的英語味。原因很簡單，參考譯文選對了英譯之“主干” （my parents gave a banquet in the garden）。另外一個值得記取的經(jīng)驗是：漢語原句出現(xiàn)了一個句號，因此80%左右的學(xué)生譯文，也亦步亦趨硬性譯成了一句，以上兩句“學(xué)譯”也不例外。復(fù)觀參考譯文我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，被處理成兩句后從容之中多了些干練。

學(xué)譯：I stayed in the small flat on the hillside, quietly opened the curtain, caught glimpse of the world in the garden, it was so flourishing：my brothers and sisters, male cousins, were coming and going through, everyone looked pleasant.

學(xué)譯：In the small cottage on the hillside, secretly I opened the curtain to see the prosperity of the big world in the garden. All of them were delighted, including my brothers, my sisters, and my cousins.

參考譯文：I, without being noticed, lifted the curtain in my small room, only to spy the bustle of a kaleidoscopic world down in the garden, and my elder sisters, brothers and my cousins, each full of the joys of spring, were shuttling among the guests.

漢語原句的“節(jié)數(shù)”有了空前的增加：八節(jié)。面對如此長的“竹竿句”，學(xué)譯顯得有點(diǎn)“技窮”，無奈之下，以上兩句學(xué)譯便依樣畫葫蘆，照漢語原文的感覺走，見一句就譯一句，不考慮“節(jié)”間關(guān)系，不分析時間先后和邏輯內(nèi)涵。第二句學(xué)譯甚至沒有弄清“自己的哥姐，堂表弟兄”和“個個喜氣洋洋”之間的關(guān)系，不明白“個個喜氣洋洋”指的就是“自己的哥姐，堂表弟兄”，而錯把All of them were delighted當(dāng)作“主干”，而把my brothers, my sisters，and my cousins 用including 作為其中包含的成員處理。

復(fù)觀參考譯文，發(fā)現(xiàn)譯者在落下譯筆之前，對原句的邏輯梳理非常到位，因此確定主干也極為果斷?！扒那南破鸫昂煛?、“也穿插其間”分別作了“主干”，英譯就站穩(wěn)了腳跟。特別值得一提的是，譯者在第一個“主干” （lifted the curtain in my small room）之后，用了一個動詞不定式短語，表示結(jié)果，在這個動詞不定式短語前添加了一個副詞only，譯文頓時生色！這說明，除了經(jīng)過邏輯分析確定“主干”之外，能活用所掌握的詞匯，也極為重要。我們初學(xué)英語之時，就已經(jīng)學(xué)到：only to是一個很有感情色彩的表達(dá)，其含義是：不料竟會……；沒想到會……。

學(xué)譯：It was so quick that I felt being deserted by people and by the whole world, bursting into tears.

學(xué)譯：I couldn‘t help crying bitter, with a feeing of being abandoned by others flooded in my heart at that moment.

參考譯文：Quickly enough, I was thrown into a fist of sorrowful anger at being forgotten and discarded by the rest and could not help crying my heart out.

漢語原句的“節(jié)數(shù)”有四節(jié)。若對句中的最后兩節(jié)略作分析，不難發(fā)現(xiàn) “悲憤兜上心頭” 和 “禁不住痛哭起來” 之間是一種先后關(guān)系，也略帶因果關(guān)系，但總的來說，兩個短語所占分量大致相同所以處理時，以使用并列句為好，沒有必要強(qiáng)調(diào)主次。學(xué)譯分別把 “悲憤兜上心頭” 和 “禁不住痛哭起來” 作為主語，另一個短句作為修飾成分，但讀起來感覺分句不是太簡略就是太冗長。而參考譯文的并列處理則擺平了這兩個短句，讀起來通順流暢。
所以，在選定“主干”時，也應(yīng)當(dāng)避免形而上學(xué)的思維，選擇主句的同時，還要深入分析以下句間真正的關(guān)系所在，在并列或先后關(guān)系的句子中，也不能強(qiáng)行設(shè)立一個“主干”，而弄巧成拙。