八十一歲結(jié)婚
Getting Married at 81

張恨水
Zhang Henshui

| 譯文摘自張培基《英譯中國散文選二》

金圣嘆說過：“人生三十不仕，不當(dāng)再仕，五十不娶，不當(dāng)再娶。何則？用非其時(shí)也?！边@一種說法，可代表中國人一般的普通思想。中國人的事業(yè)觀，最羨慕“少年得志”，最傷感“大器晚成”。為了這個(gè)原因，便是有所成就的人，到了五十以上，便有退休的意思。
Jin Shengtan says, “People over 30 should not become an official, and people over 50 should not get married. Why? Because otherwise they would be doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.” That is representative of the mentality of people at large in China. According to the Chinese outlook on life, it is most enviable “to achieve success in one’s early years” but most sorrowful “to fail to achieve it until one’s old age”. Hence, even a successful man will feel like going to retirement when he is on the wrong side of 50.

要點(diǎn)：
1，“金圣嘆說過…”中的“說過”可譯為says或said,前者通常指有書面記載的言論
2，“用非其時(shí)也”意即“因?yàn)闀r(shí)間不對(duì)”或“因?yàn)槟鞘窃阱e(cuò)誤的時(shí)間做錯(cuò)誤的事情”譯為Because otherwise they would be doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.
3，“少年得志”= to achieve success in one’s early years
“大器晚成”= to fail to achieve it until one’s old age
4，on the wrong side of=…歲以上，過了…歲；之前見過on the right side of 意為“在…歲以下”

綜述：本段有文言文成分，理解原文有一定難度。

六十七十的人若還在事業(yè)上努力，就有抽身不得的慨嘆了。照人生上壽不過八十而言，為私人作一番打算，這種作風(fēng)好像也有點(diǎn)道理。只是就事業(yè)的觀點(diǎn)上說，就不對(duì)。因?yàn)樵绞怯心昙o(jì)的人，他的學(xué)識(shí)經(jīng)驗(yàn)也就越豐富，大事業(yè)正需要這種人撐持。而且為人作事，也必須有個(gè)自信心。一老就覺得自己不行，那也透著我們生命力不強(qiáng)。
And those who continue to work out of necessity in their sixties or seventies must bemoan their plight. However, considering that men seldom live up to the age of 80, their personal concerns may seem to be impeccable. But, from the standpoint of a worthy cause, they are wrong. Because the older one is, the more knowledgeable and experienced he is and therefore the more indispensable he is to a great cause. Moreover, one should conduct oneself with self-confidence. Calling yourself a good-for-nothing on account of age manifests your lack of vitality.

要點(diǎn)：
1，“就有抽身不得的慨嘆了”即“想必會(huì)為自己的處境叫苦”或“就會(huì)感嘆自己的苦境了”譯為bemoan their plight
2，“人生上壽不過八十”即“人很少有活過八十歲的” men seldom live up to the age of 80
3，“就事業(yè)的觀點(diǎn)上說”譯為from the standpoint of a worthy cause，其中worthy意為“有意義的，有價(jià)值的”
4，“為人作事”采用意譯的方法，譯為conduct oneself(即為人處世)
5，“一老就覺得自己不行”意即“因?yàn)槟赀~就覺得自己一無是處”譯為Calling yourself a good-for-nothing on account of age

綜述：在不偏離原文的基礎(chǔ)上適當(dāng)擴(kuò)充。

整個(gè)民族如此，那是我們一種自餒精神，對(duì)民族興衰大有關(guān)系。歐美人之成大事業(yè)總在晚年，恰與我們的觀點(diǎn)相反。最近有兩個(gè)老人的行為，值得借鑒，正可給我們打一針興奮劑。第一是美國務(wù)卿赫爾，以七十二歲之年，飛莫斯科開那全球注意的三國會(huì)議。第二是前英國首相勞合·喬治，八十一歲結(jié)婚。這可以證明他們的生命力強(qiáng)，也可以證明他們精神毫不衰老。老了還活潑的干，不必退休去等死，這人生才有意味，才沒枉過“吾生也有涯”的歲月。
The same is true of a nation. Self-confidence has a lot to do with its rise and fall. Unlike us Chinese, Westerners usually go in for great undertakings in late life. The recent cases of two Western senior politicians set a good example for us and serve to give us a shot in the arm. One was 72-year-old US secretary of state Cordell Hull, who went to Moscow to attend the 3-power conference in the limelight of the world. The other was former British prime minister Lloyd George, who got married at the age of 81. Their activities afforded proof of their vitality and youthful spirit. The way to live a meaningful life and fully utilize the transient days of one’s life is by continuing to work vigorously in old age rather than retire.

要點(diǎn)：
1，“自餒”即“喪失勇氣和信心”，譯者并沒有將“自餒精神”直接譯作losing confidence，而是轉(zhuǎn)換角度，將整句話處理為“信心對(duì)民族興衰有很大關(guān)系”。
2，“正可給我們打一針興奮劑”譯為serve to give us a shot in the arm，其中“to give us a shot in the arm”意為“給某人打氣（或刺激，鼓勵(lì)等）”
3，“證明”此處譯為afford proof of
4，“老了還活潑的干，不必退休去等死，這人生才有意味，才沒枉過“吾生也有涯”的歲月。”可看做是一個(gè)“事實(shí)+評(píng)論”句，按英文的“先評(píng)論后事實(shí)”的行文順序進(jìn)行組織，譯為The way to live a meaningful life and fully utilize the transient days of one’s life is by continuing to work vigorously in old age rather than retire.
5，“沒枉過‘吾生也有涯’的歲月”意即“沒有浪費(fèi)短暫的一生”從正面譯為fully utilize the transient days of one’s life

綜述：注意倒數(shù)第二點(diǎn)“事實(shí)與評(píng)論的關(guān)系”。

現(xiàn)在我國的事業(yè)，多半在四五十歲的中年人手上。中年人干吧，我們的前途還遙遠(yuǎn)著呢！
Our national cause now rests, for the most part, on the shoulders of our middle-aged men—men in their forties or fifties. Middle-aged fellow countrymen, roll up your sleeves to strive for our distant goal!

要點(diǎn)：
1，“在…手上”=rest on the shoulder of
2,“中年人干吧”譯為Middle-aged fellow countrymen, roll up your sleeves，其中roll up your
sleeves意即“大干一場”

綜述：本篇篇幅很短，但文學(xué)性稍強(qiáng)，尤其是四字詞和古文的穿插，譯起來需要一番功夫~?

聲明:本雙語文章的中文評(píng)析系滬江英語原創(chuàng)內(nèi)容,轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處。中文評(píng)析僅代表作者個(gè)人觀點(diǎn)，如有不妥之處，歡迎指正。