2011年春季高級(jí)口譯考試英譯漢原文:

When president Obama took the stage here Wednesday to address a community---and a nation---traumatized by Saturday’s shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona, it invited comparisons to President George W.R Bush’s speech to the nation after the attacks of Sept.11, 2001, and the memorial service President Bill Clinton led after the bombing of a federal office building killed 168 people in Oklahoma City in 1995.

But Obama’s appearance presented a deeper challenge, reflecting the tenor of his times. Unlike those tragedies---which, at least initially, united a mournful country and quieted partisan divisions---this one has, in the days since the killings, had the opposite effect, inflaming the divide.

He directly confronted the political debate that erupted after the rampage, asking people of all beliefs not to use the tragedy to turn on one another.

It was a political reality Mr. Obama seemed to recognize the moment he took the stage. He called for an end to partisan recriminations, and for a unity that has seemed increasingly elusive as each day has brought more harsh condemnations from the left and the right.

It was one of the more powerful addresses that Mr. Obama has delivered as president, harnessing the emotion generated by the shock and loss from Saturday’s shootings to urge Americans “to remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together”.

1. traumatize:此詞的意思為使變得更加慘重,連接了“美國”和“周六槍擊案”之間的關(guān)系,意為:槍擊案使美國的安全現(xiàn)狀變得更加惡劣。而英語的連接方法,所謂的注重邏輯,其中一個(gè)特色就是通過分詞,也就是某個(gè)動(dòng)作的狀態(tài),來體現(xiàn)兩句話之間的關(guān)系。因此這里的traumatized by可以選擇不譯,即便說成“發(fā)生了”也符合了中文的習(xí)慣。注意此處“traumatized by”和“發(fā)生了”之間的關(guān)系,如果是考生自己翻譯“發(fā)生了”,是否會(huì)譯成“happened”?

2. it invited comparison to: 此處的invite是亮點(diǎn)之一,是遭致,引發(fā)的意思,那么這個(gè)詞組在就是引發(fā)了比較。對(duì)于整體的invite comparison to …,我們可以做一個(gè)詞性轉(zhuǎn)換,名詞轉(zhuǎn)為動(dòng)詞,翻譯成:這不禁讓我們聯(lián)想到。

3. and the memorial service President Bill Clinton led:克林頓總統(tǒng)所發(fā)起的一次紀(jì)念死者的活動(dòng)。這里要注意的是它與前句的President George W.R Bush’s speech to the nation after the attacks of Sept.11, 2001,是一個(gè)并列的關(guān)系,都是invite comparison to的賓語。

4 Tenor: 這個(gè)單詞的意思是主旨,這里是典型的上下文猜測詞義:對(duì)應(yīng)后面的“與前兩次慘劇相比較”,我們可以推斷出tenor of his times表示:他這個(gè)時(shí)代的特征, 特點(diǎn), 主流。

5 Turn on one another: turn on, 打開某人的開關(guān),表示激起某人的怒火,所以這里可以翻譯成激化矛盾,刀劍相向。

6. It was a political reality Mr. Obama seemed to recognize the moment he took the stage.

這個(gè)政治現(xiàn)實(shí),是奧巴馬在剛上任的時(shí)候就已經(jīng)意識(shí)到了的。注意這里的took the stage和文章開頭的took the stage不同,表示他上任,而不是站上講臺(tái)演講。

7. He called for an end to partisan recriminations, and for a unity that has seemed increasingly elusive as each day has brought more harsh condemnations from the left and the right.

這句話在全篇中最難,中間引導(dǎo)定語從句的that,其實(shí)后面是作為原因的補(bǔ)充,而英語的習(xí)慣是先說結(jié)果再說原因,中文可以選擇先解釋原因,而原因中間又有一個(gè)as作為原因,所以可先翻最后一句:黨派之間的相互譴責(zé)言辭更為越發(fā)激烈;再翻倒數(shù)第二句:因此團(tuán)結(jié)的力量日漸減弱,最后翻結(jié)果:所以奧巴馬懇請(qǐng)大家停止這種黨派間的相互指責(zé),以加強(qiáng)民族的團(tuán)結(jié)。

8. powerful: 可以理解成煽動(dòng)力,感染力,號(hào)召力。

9. Harness: 這個(gè)單詞用的最多的是表示對(duì)各種能源的利用。這里則是表示總統(tǒng)的演講技巧和政治手段,他抓住了周六槍擊事件中人們?cè)谑ビH人之后的震驚情緒,從而要求美國人民更加團(tuán)結(jié)。

作為一片新聞評(píng)論文章,通篇生詞少,邏輯清晰,難度不高于高口E-C的平均水平,只要對(duì)漢英兩種語言的特點(diǎn)有所了解和有過一定量的外刊翻譯的練筆,考生應(yīng)該可以有一個(gè)理想的發(fā)揮。

譯文:

就在奧巴馬周三在一個(gè)社區(qū)對(duì)美國人民做過演講的的第三天,亞利桑那的圖桑市再次發(fā)生慘絕人寰的槍擊案,這不禁讓人聯(lián)想起2001年的9.11襲擊案之后布什的演講;而1995的俄克拉瑪市的的聯(lián)邦政府辦公室爆炸案致使168人喪命之后,克林頓也組織了對(duì)死者的紀(jì)念活動(dòng)。

奧巴馬的演講提出了一個(gè)更大的挑戰(zhàn),也可以反映了出他的任職期間的特點(diǎn)。之前兩次慘劇,至少在剛剛發(fā)生之后,全國人民在悲痛的情緒中空前地團(tuán)結(jié),而各黨派之間的紛爭也得以平復(fù)。但這一次則不同,自從槍擊案發(fā)生之后,國家變得不團(tuán)結(jié),反而分裂的問題愈加嚴(yán)重。

這個(gè)政治現(xiàn)實(shí),是奧巴馬在剛上任的時(shí)候就已經(jīng)意識(shí)到了的。槍擊案引發(fā)了政治爭論,奧巴馬直面這個(gè)問題。無論是何種信仰的人士,他都懇請(qǐng)大家不要用災(zāi)禍?zhǔn)录砑せ堋?/p>

黨派之間的指責(zé)更加激烈,因此黨派之間的團(tuán)結(jié)力量日漸減小,奧巴馬提出要停止這種黨派間的指責(zé),凝聚團(tuán)隊(duì)的力量。

這是奧巴馬當(dāng)選總統(tǒng)之后最有煽動(dòng)力的演講之一,因?yàn)樗プ×酥芰鶚寭羰录腥藗冊(cè)谑ビH人之后的震驚情緒,從而要求美國人民更加團(tuán)結(jié),用他的演講的話來說,就是“永遠(yuǎn)不要忘記當(dāng)初是什么把我們團(tuán)結(jié)在了一起---我們的夢(mèng)想和希望?!?/p>