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翻译技巧:汉译英最易翻错的100句(19)

91. 正如中国的一句俗话:“笨鸟先飞”。

[误] as an old chinese saying goes, "stupid birds have to start flying early."
[正] as an old chinese saying goes,"clumsy birds have to start flying early."

注:“笨鸟先飞”常用来比喻那些能力差的人,因为做事怕落后,所以就提前行动。这里的“笨”并非 stupid(智力低下的,愚蠢的)的意思,而用 clumsy(笨拙的,不灵巧的)更恰当。

92. 爸爸总爱发脾气。

[误] dad always likes losing his temper.
[正] dad is apt to lose his temper.

注:like doing something 表示“喜欢干某事”,一般用来说明某人的兴趣爱好;而 be apt to do sth.则表示“常常发生某种行为”或“容易发生某种变化”。根据原文的意思显然应该用后者。

93. 欧文按捺不住激动的心情,大声喊道:“我中奖了!”

[误] owen couldn't hold back his exciting feeling, and he shouted, "i've got the winning number in the bond!"
[正] owen couldn't hold back his excitement, and he shouted, "i've got the winning number in the bond!"

注:exciting feeling 这种搭配很不地道,虽然“振奋人心的消息”是 exciting news,“有趣的故事”是 interesting story,但“激动的心情”却要用名词形式 excitement 来表达。

94. 丹尼斯自己不努力,还老是眼红别人的成就。

[误] denis himself doesn't work hard, however, he is always red-eyed of other people's achievements.
[正] denis himself doesn't work hard, however, he is always green-eyed of other people's achievements.

注:中国人说一个人嫉妒用“眼红”,但英美人则用“眼绿”来形容。英语的 green 除了表示颜色之外还有“嫉妒”的意思,又如:i was absolutely green (with envy) when i saw his splendid new car(我看到他那辆漂亮的新车非常眼红)。其实,英语中许多表示色彩的词汇都有特殊的含义,不能照字面去理解。再比如:he gave me a black look(他恶狠狠地蹬了我一眼);she visits us once in a blue moon(她难得来看我们一次)等。

95. 夏天要多喝白开水。

[误] you should drink more white boiled water in summer.
[正] you should drink more plain boiled water in summer.

注:“白开水”不是指“水的颜色是白色”,而是指“水中没有添加其他的东西”。而 plain 正是指“没掺杂其他东西的,单纯的”,所以能确切表达原文的含义。