弗朗西斯·培根《论领导 On Leadership》 -英语翻译教程-中英双语赏析

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论领导

On Leadership

🔥提示：本文是一篇以精练的语言写成的小品文。全文以简单句为主，但遣词造句讲究修辞，文体的特点是言简意赅，采用对比、排比、堆砌的手法渲染主题加强气势，使人印象深刻。像这样的文章总体了解并不难，但词的含义和辨义以及汉语对应词的选择，却并不容易。这是本文翻译的主要问题。

🎈英文标题中的介词on/of+…表示“关于，涉及”。如弗朗西斯·培根著作《论学习》/《谈读书》，其标题译为Of Studies.

什么是领导？领导应具备什么品质，这很难精确地解说，但辨认指陈却不难。

What is leadership? Its qualities are difficult to define. But they are not so difficult to identify.

🎈leadership意为“领导（一种行为）”，不可数。这个词本身也可以作可数名词，表示“领导班子”。“领导”也可译leader。

🎈“这很难精确地解说，但辨认指陈却不难”→很难定义（define），却易辨认（identify）

领导者不强制别人与自己协调一致，而是帮助他们跟上。

Leaders don’t force other people to go along with them. They bring them along.

🎈bring along和go along 一样都有advance之意，后者还有agree的意思。

领导者让别人承担义务，首先自己承担义务，造成一种能鼓励创造的环境，待人诚恳，处事公正。

Leaders get commitment from others by giving it themselves, by building an environment that encourages creativity, and by operating with honesty and fairness.

🎈it即commitment，理解为“义务”；giving it themselves意即“自己承担义务”。

🎈断句：首先自己承担义务，（造成一种能鼓励创造的环境），/待人诚恳，处事公正。括号内的部分是“自己承担义务”的目的。整句话即：领导者要让别人承担义务，就要做到

1.自己承担义务（以……）

2.待人诚恳，处事公正。又，“待人诚恳，处事公正”是以工作环境为前提，可以理解成“经营、管理、运营”之意，也就是operate。

领导者对人要求很多，同时给人也很多。他们有雄心壮志——不仅为自己，也为和他们一道工作的人。

Leaders demand much from others, but also give much to them. They are ambitious—not only for themselves, but also for those who work with them.

🎈要求…（做）… demand A from B

例句

Mr Byers last night demanded an immediate explanation from the Education Secretary.

昨晚拜尔斯先生要求教育大臣立刻作出解释。

🎈“有雄心壮志”→“雄心勃勃的”（词性转换），译作ambitious。

他们设法吸引人才，留住他们，使他们充分发挥才能。

They seek to attract, retain and develop other people to their full abilities.

🎈设法seek to/try to/strive to/manage to/find a way to/…

🎈充分发挥…give full play to…

例句

The tutor is asked to give the student individual support and encourages them to give full play to their potential.

导师要对学生进行单独辅导，并鼓励他们充分发挥个人潜力。

好的领导者不是“孤胆骑警”。他们认识到一个组织要获得成功，其方针在于把许多人的才能和力量结合起来。

Good leaders aren’t “lone rangers.” They recognize that an organization’s strategies for success require the combined talents and efforts of many people.

🎈“孤胆骑警”：美国有一部非常流行的电视连续剧，片名和主人公都叫The Lone Ranger，是个仗义行侠的骑，喜欢单独行动或带一个印第安人帮手（名为Tonto）。此人标志是红衫和黑面罩。

🎈“一个组织要获得成功，其方针在于…”也可译the success of an organization relies on its strategies combining/integrating talents and efforts of many people。

领导艺术是一种催化剂，把众人的才智转化成业绩。

Leadership is the catalyst for transforming those talents into results.

🎈把…转化成…transform A into B

例句

Your metabolic rate is the speed at which your body transforms food into energy.

新陈代谢率是身体把食物转换为能量的速度。

领导者明白，在争论的问题上出现两种意见时，并非必然有一种是错的。

Leaders know that when there are two opinions on an issue, one is not bound to be wrong.

🎈明白 know/understand/realize/recognize/be aware of…

🎈注定、肯定be bound to

例句

Well, our kids were bound to meet.

我们的孩注定相遇。

他们认识到匆忙草率就会促成肤浅片面。

They recognize that hustle and rush are the allies of superficiality.

🎈“会促成肤浅片面”译作are the allies of superficiality（是…的盟友），表达生动形象，让人眼前一亮。

他们愿意接受新的设想或建议，但对它们的后果要作认真的探讨。

They are open to new ideas, but they explore their ramifications thoroughly.

🎈“愿意接受……”完全可以译作be willing to do结构。而参考译文选用的be open to sth所表示的含义并未偏离原文，可以借鉴积累。explore主要有两个意思：1、探险、探索2、探讨（观点、建议等）

成功的领导者无论是感情上还是理智上都着眼未来而不眷恋过去。

Successful leaders are emotionally and intellectually oriented to the future—not wedded to the past.

🎈“无论是感情上还是理智上”译作两个副词emotionally and intellectually，简单明了。此外，“身体上和精神上”也常用类似表达

老舍《养花》

有益身心keep me fit in mind and body/keep me mentally and physically fit

他们渴望负责、改革、开拓。

They have a hunger to take responsibility, to innovate, and to initiate.

🎈渴望…have a hunger to…。乔布斯在斯坦福大学毕业演讲中说过，他最喜欢的一句话叫做Stay hungry, Stay foolish 求知若饥，虚心若愚

他们不仅仅满足于守成，他们要前进，要创新。

They are not content with merely taking care of what’s already there. They want to move forward to create something new.

🎈满足于be content with/be satisfied with

🎈负责、处理、照料take care of

例句

Don’t worry about the travel arrangements. They’re all being taken care of.

别担心旅行安排，一切都会有人照管的。

🎈创新innovate/create something new，形容词修饰-body、-thing等词需要后置。

领导者不仅给予方向性指导，也对问题和要求给予具体解答，不仅示以献身精神而且给予力量。他们说话既根据经验，也根据对问题的认识和对同事的了解。

Leaders provide answers as well as direction, offer strength as well as dedication, and speak from experience as well as understanding of the problems they face and the people they work with.

🎈给予provide/offer/produce

《夜间来客》

从手提包中拿出摄影机来。He produced a camera from his bag。：produce显然不是“生产”的意思，而是指“提供”，意同provide。之前我们也见过，

萧红的《当铺》中有一句：“拿包子给他看，他跳起来了。

The moment I produced the buns, he jumped up from his bed.”

领导者处事灵活而不武断。他们认为与其循规蹈矩不如目标一致。他们力图在矛盾冲突中求得意见协调。

Leaders are flexible rather than dogmatic. They believe in unity rather than conformity. And they strive to achieve consensus out of conflict.

🎈instead of 和rather than的区别：

都有“而不是”的意思。

instead of：“代替，而不是”，重点词是of，它是介词，所以后接名词，代词和v-ing形式，尤其需注意的是动词该用动名词形式，即v-ing；

rather than：“（是……）而不是……”，它是连词，前后成分在形式上必须保持一致，所以后面的结构应该与前面一样，就有可能出现代词主格，动词的各种形式等，不一而足，但关键是要和与它对比的结构形式一致！

例句

I’ll go there instead of him.

I rather than he（与I一致）will go there.

Yesterday he walked here instead of driving here.

Yesterday he walked here rather than drove（与walked一致）here.

🎈达成一致、达成共识achieve consensus (on…)/reach a consensus

领导艺术全在于使下级工作人员不断地发挥所长，帮助他们最大限度地发掘潜力，推动他们为共同事业而奋斗。

Leadership is all about getting people consistently to give their best, helping them to grow to their fullest potential, and motivating them to work toward a common good.

🎈all about = entirely concerned with

🎈grow to their fullest potential意同come to their fullest potential（达到极限，即发掘潜能）

🎈共同事业/共同利益a common good。其中good是单数名词，表示“好处、利益”。

例句

为了国家的利益辞职to resign for the good of the country。

领导者务使该办的事情按时办成。

Leaders make the right things happen when they’re supposed to.

🎈the right things 指“该做的事”,make. . .happen 可译“办成”。when they are supposed to 之后省了happen, be supposed to happen = should happen, they指上文的things。“使该办的事情按时办成”何尝不是我们每个人对自己的要求，所以to be a qualified leader for ourselves。

好的领导者，卓有成效的领导者，善于对人关怀尊重。

A good leader, an effective leader, is one who has respect.

🎈A good leader和an effective leader互为同位语；积累one/those who…的句型。has respect要参考下句来决定意思，下句have to have in order to get，明确指出have具有give或show的意思。其实，这里“对人关怀尊重”可以补全译作has respect for others。

要得人尊重必须尊重别人。

Respect is something you have to have in order to get.

🎈结构划分：Respect is something you have to have /in order to get（目的状语），整句为主系表结构。这句话paraphrase一下，就是“尊重别人是赢得别人尊重的前提”，也可译作Respecting others is the prerequisite of being respected。译法多种多样，大家选自己顺手的。

领导者对本组织各级人员都表示尊重，对他们的工作、能力、愿望与要求表示关怀，他就会发现人家也尊重他关怀他。

A leader who has respect for other people at all levels of an organization, for the work they do, and for their abilities, aspirations and needs, will find that respect is returned.

🎈who has respect for other people … and for their abilities, aspirations and needs整个都是who引导的定从，修饰句首的a leader。

这样，所有有关人员就都会激励起来共同努力。

And all concerned will be motivated to work together.

🎈“这样”可以译出，则译文为And so all…，此时so为副词，表示“那么、这样一来”。

🎈所有有关人员all (that is/are) concerned/involved

🎈共同努力work together/make joint efforts/go hand in hand

🔥必背词汇

commitment        cn.承诺，责任，义务

英义

A commitment is something which regularly takes up some of your time because of an agreement you have made or because of responsibilities that you have.

例句

I’ve got a lot of commitments.

我承担了很多责任。

fairness           un.公平，公道，公正

英义

Fairness is the quality of being reasonable, right, and just.

例句

He says the new document will guarantee fairness for blacks in Georgia.

他说这个新文件将保证佐治亚州的黑人受到公平对待。

motivate        v.使决心做，使决意做

英义

If someone motivates you to do something, they make you feel determined to do it.

例句

How do you motivate people to work hard and efficiently?

你是怎样激励大家奋发高效地工作的？

🔥重点表达

很难精确地解说are difficult to define

辨认指陈却不难are not so difficult to identify

造成一种能鼓励创造的环境building an environment that encourages creativity

有雄心壮志are ambitious

设法seek to

孤胆骑警lone rangers

催化剂catalyst

把…转化成…transform A into B

注定be bound to

匆忙草率hustle and rush

…会促成肤浅片面are the allies of superficiality

愿意接受新的设想或建议are open to new ideas

后果ramifications

无论是感情上还是理智上emotionally and intellectually

着眼未来oriented to the future

眷恋过去wedded to the past

渴望…have a hunger to…

满足于be content with

力图在矛盾冲突中求得意见协调strive to achieve consensus out of conflict

共同事业/共同利益a common good

使该办的事情按时办成make the right things happen when they’re supposed to

所有有关人员all concerned

共同努力work together

🔥复盘测试

很难精确地解说

辨认指陈却不难

造成一种能鼓励创造的环境

有雄心壮志

设法

孤胆骑警

催化剂

把…转化成…

注定

匆忙草率

…会促成肤浅片面

愿意接受新的设想或建议

后果

无论是感情上还是理智上

着眼未来

眷恋过去

渴望…

满足于

力图在矛盾冲突中求得意见协调

共同事业/共同利益

使该办的事情按时办成

所有有关人员

共同努力

🔥表达对比

「设法，千方百计」有几种表达？

（leave no stone unturned; bend over backwards; by all manner of means; by hook or by crook; make every endeavor）

They seek to attract, retain and develop other people to their full abilities.

他们（设法）吸引人才，留住他们，使他们充分发挥才能。

I think Richard is bucking for a promotion.

我看理查德正在（千方百计地）想要升职。

We must do everything to rise the per unit yield.

我们要（千方百计）提高单位面积产量。

Still Holmes managed to talk his way out of trouble.

贺姆斯仍然（设法）逃过一劫。

But please, find a way to be around each other.

但是请（设法）和平相处。

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