西塘是一個具有一千多年歷史的水鄉(xiāng)古鎮(zhèn)，保存完好的明清時期建筑群是其他旅游景點所無法相比的。徜徉古鎮(zhèn)街頭，使人們仿佛置身于一副美麗的水墨畫之中。河兩岸高聳的粉墻和水中清晰的瓦房倒影，還有那在微風里婆娑搖曳的楊柳，似乎都在為這個古鎮(zhèn)增添著異彩和生機。
在這個寧靜的水鎮(zhèn)里，生活的腳步似乎完全聽命于那淌著潺潺流水的河流。西塘可以說是水的同義詞。這里的河流是那樣的蜿蜒曲折、波光粼粼，映射出一派寧靜祥和的街景。夜幕降臨，河岸邊數(shù)千盞燈籠與晚霞一并點燃，把整個小鎮(zhèn)映襯得燈火通明，為鎮(zhèn)民們照亮了回家的路。

Xitang, a river-side town with a history of more than 1,000 years, boasts a group of well-preserved buildings from Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty that are unmatched by any other resorts. Take a free walk in its streets, and you will feel as if you were in a picturesque Chinese ink painting. The high-standing white wall on both sides of the river and the clear reflection of tile-roofed houses in the water as well as the willows waving and dancing in the breeze all vividly bring life and vigor to the town.

In this tranquility, the pace of life seems to be harmoniously subject to the gurgling streams. The name of the town Xitang is a synonym of water. The winding rivers with sparkling ripples give away the tranquility it has acquired. As the fall of night ignites thousands of lanterns along the riverbanks and set off the sunset glow, the whole town become ablaze with light and illuminates the way home for its residents.

解析：

本文是一篇旅游景點介紹文，原文中運用了大量的修辭和擬人手法，翻譯起來有一定的難度。為了讓讀者能夠有身臨其境的感覺，原文詞藻優(yōu)美，詩意盎然；但是，英文的行文強調(diào)結(jié)構(gòu)嚴謹，提倡清晰明了的結(jié)構(gòu)脈絡(luò)，這對于譯者的挑戰(zhàn)就比較大了。

本文譯者在進行翻譯的時候，用了很多十分地道的英文表達方式，比如說boasts …以及ignites…，這些用詞不僅能夠恰當?shù)貙⒃牡囊馑急磉_清楚，而且能夠讓這些畫面躍然紙上，彌補了在漢譯英過程中所丟失的中文意境；此外，譯者在翻譯某些中文句子時進行了句式轉(zhuǎn)換，比如說“在這個寧靜的水鎮(zhèn)里”，譯者將其處理成了in this tranquility，這樣就比較符合英文的表達方式了。

總而言之，在處理這類文意比較優(yōu)美的中文時，首先應(yīng)當注意先將原文意思正確地用英文表達出來；在此基礎(chǔ)上，再去推敲是否可以用一些更為地道的英文來表達。當然，這也需要大家平常在學(xué)習(xí)的過程中有意識地去積累一些句式的常用表達法，這樣，才能夠在時間有限的考場上正常的發(fā)揮出來。