Section ADirections: There are ten questions in this section. Each question is a sentence with one word or phrase underlined. Below the sentence are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Choose the word or phrase that is closest in meaning to the underlined one. Mark the corresponding letter with a single bar across the square brackets on your machine-scored Answer Sheet. Section BDirections: There are ten questions in this section. Each question is a sentence with something missing. Below each sentence are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Choose one word or phrase that best completes the sentence. Mark the corresponding letter with a single bar across the square brackets on your machine- scored Answer Sheet. Section ADirections: Put the following paragraph into Chinese. Write your Chinese version in the proper space on Answer Sheet Ⅱ.1. The striking contrast between the technological sophistication employed in the diagnosis of the problem and the lack of international coordination or political sophistication when it comes to solving it illustrates the crisis of technological civilization. As a species we have shown enough cleverness to disrupt the world's climate, but may not have enough to remedy the heavy toll that we've taken on climate. Things are of course made very much worse by the presence in the White House of an aggressively ignorant and anti-science administration. Ignorance about the size of the threatened rise in sea levels is no excuse for inaction. The possibility of this disaster must spur us into drastic action to curb global warming.
在诊断问题时,采用了尖端技术,而在解决问题时,却缺少国际合作或完善的政治方案,这两者之间的鲜明对照说明技术文明面临着危机。作为一个物种,我们有足够多的聪明才智干扰全球的气候,但在修补对气候造成的巨大破坏时却显得愚蠢。当然,雪上加霜的是当前的美国政府不仅孤陋寡闻、反对科学,而且胆大妄为。不了解海平面上升的威胁程度绝不是无作为的借口。发生灾难的可能性迫使我们采取重大行动遏制全球变暖。
[解析] 此短篇文章比较难翻译,尤其是第一句。该句不仅结构复杂,用词也不少,使大多数同学感到困惑,所以近三分之二的同学“栽”在此句。实际上,比较难的词汇是sophistication,而striking, employ, collaboration, illustrate和civilization不算是难词,但也使不少同学感到“望而生畏”。
英译汉难点说明:
1.该句的基本框架是the striking contrast between...and...illustrates the crisis...。...employed in the diagnosis of the problem是定语,修饰technological sophistication.其中的employ在此句中的意义是“采用”或“使用”,而不是“雇用”。
2.与employed in the diagnosis of the problem相平行的是when it comes to solving it,作为时间状语修饰the lack of international collaboration or political sophistication,其意义不是“谈到……”。
3.take a heavy toll on...是个十分常见的词组,意义是“对……造成重大破坏”。
4....the presence of an...administration的意义是“……政府的出现”。我们经常听到the Trump administration,通常翻译为“特朗普政府”。
5.在...the size of the threatened rise...这句中,size的正确意义是“程度”或“规模”,不是“面积”。
6.“发生灾难的可能性”不可能“激发”或“鼓励”人们做什么,更好的泽法是“敦促”,“促使”或“迫使”。
Section BDirections: Put the following paragraph into English. Write your English version in the proper space on Answer Sheet Ⅱ.1. 容易上网、众多的功能和微信的流行使手机成为最主要的数字产品。手机是我们随时了解时事的最佳手段。乘公交车或购物都可以用手机支付。人类目前依赖手机的程度在几十年前可能是无法预见的。大学生每天看手机上的时间比看电视多得多。
Easy access to the Internet, multiple functions and the popularity of WeChat have turned the cell phone into the dominating digital gadget. It is the best means by which we update ourselves on / keep ourselves informed of current affairs. We can pay for our bus ride or shopping via the cell phone. The extent to which humans are currently dependent on the cell phone might have been beyond prediction decades ago. College students spend much more time watching their cell phones than watching television.
[解析] 汉译英难点说明:
1.“容易上网、众多的功能和微信的流行”是平行的成分,所以最好用类似的结构翻译,而不是不同结构的混用,如getting online easily, many functions and that WeChat is popular。
2.不少同学把“随时了解”简要地翻译为know...at any time。比较流行的泽法是keep one informed of..., update somebody on..., stay up tO date with...或keep track of...。
3.有些同学不了解pay与Pay for的区别。我们可以pay one's bill,但Pay for the meal,所以“支付公交车费”应该用Pay the bus fare或Pay for a bus ride。不少同学的译文是taking a bus or shopping can Pay with a cell phone,根本不考虑语态。
4.“人类目前依赖手机的程度”的译文出错率最高。有些人的译文是the extent of human dependence on the cell phone,至少看起来还像英文。定语从句看似简单,但学生经常在引导词上出错,请翻译:
我们看待同一个问题的角度
信息技术将来发展的方向
大学生提高英语水平的速度
儿童观看动画片时表现出的兴趣
农民工以前的工作和生活条件
吸烟诱发肺癌的机理
参考译文是:
the perspective from which we look at the same matter the direction in which IT will be developing the speed/rate at which college students improve their English proficiency the interest with which children watch cartoons the conditions under which migrant laborers used to work and live the mechanism by which cigarette smoking induces lung cancer
在这些英语译文中,不能省略介词+引导词,否则定语从句无法与前面的名词连接,这样的错误在科技论文中比较常见。
5.“几十年前可能是无法预见的”也是出错率极高的地方。很多同学忽略了这是对过去的推测,因此忘记在情态动词后使用完成时。同学们谈语法时都知道情态动词+完成时,但实际使用时经常想不起来用完成时。
6.最后一句汉译英考查的是比较级,主要涉及词序。诸如the time college students spend on their cell phones is much more than the time they spend watching TV 或the time college students spend looking at their cell phones is much more than watching TV之类的译文是典型的直译,汉语味十足。