许地山《落花生》 -英语翻译教程-中英双语赏析

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落花生

The Peanut

许地山

Xu Dishan

🔥背景知识：本文是许地山（1892-1941）的名篇。作者回忆自己童年时代一个小小片段，以朴实无华、清新自然的笔调，从花生的平凡而有用，谈到做人的道理，富于哲理，反映他身处旧社会的污泥浊流而洁身自好、不慕虚名的思想境界。

🔥学习建议：文中列出了两种译文(选自《张培基散文选》和《散文佳作108篇》)，句子解析部分只针对译文1。大家可自行从选词、句式、冗长or精简、直译or意译、修辞手法等角度对两种译文进行供对比赏析。两种译文没有对错之分，都是学习的好材料，可以借鉴模仿。

🔥说明：对于翻译学习者来讲，除了积累表达和运用翻译技巧，对不同的译文进行对比也是一种好的学习方式。对比时注意

①自己想不到的地方②各译文的不同之处。提供多种译文版本的材料真的很难得，请一定珍惜这些材料并进行对比赏析，这会让翻译学习有一个质的提升的。本期活动会穿插几篇提供两种译文的文章，供大家学习＆练习。

我们屋后有半亩隙地。

译文1：Behind our house there lay half a mou of vacant land.

译文2：At the back of our house there was half a mu of vacant land.

🎈Behind our house是地点状语。

🎈隙地（xì dì），释义为空着的地方，现译为vacant land。

🎈表示地点的here和 there位于句首时，其后用完全倒装形式。这类倒装句的谓语通常是动词be和come, go等表示移动或动态的不及物动词：

There’s Jim. 吉姆在那儿。

Here comes the bus. 公共汽车来了。

此句的主句是一个倒装句,主语是my house, 谓语是lay (lie的过去式）,there是地点状语，也可以看成另类的there be句型（类似于there lived an old man, there stands a tall tree)

母亲说：“让它荒芜着怪可惜，既然你们那么爱吃花生，就辟来做花生园罢。”

译文1：Mother said, “It’s a pity to let it lie waste. Since you all like to eat peanuts so very much, why not plant some here?”

译文2：“It’s a pity to let it go to waste like that”, Mother said. “Since you all enjoy eating peanuts, let us open it up and make it a peanut garden.”

🎈 lie waste中lie是连系动词，表示“处于……状态”，lie waste就是“处于荒废、荒芜等状态”。

【补充】lay与lie形近词辨析：

这是两个根本不同的动词，但是有些变化形式重叠，容易混淆。主要容易混淆的就是lie的过去时lay与lay的动词原形重叠。此外，还要注意，lay是及物动词，lie则是不及物动词。

例句

Leghorns lay large eggs.

莱亨鸡下的蛋大。

Andrew lay in the hammock all afternoon.

安德鲁一下午都躺在吊床上。

还有，lie如果是指“说谎”，就是规则动词：lie, lied, lied。

🎈“就辟来做花生园罢”原句也可译为why not have them planted here或why not make a peanut plot of it，但现译更直截了当，且避免在同一句中重复peanuts一词。

我们几姊弟和几个小丫头都很喜欢——买种的买种，动土的动土，灌园的灌园；过了不几个月，居然收获了！

译文1：That exhilarated us children and our servant girls as well, and soon we started buying seeds, ploughing the land and watering the plants. We gathered in a good harvest just after a couple of months!

译文2：At that my brother, sister and I were all delighted and so were the young housemaids. Some went to buy seeds, some dug the ground and others watered it and, in a couple of months, we had a harvest!

🎈“几姊弟”在下文将涉及，为防累赘，译为children。

🎈也as well

🎈“动土”在此处意为“犁地（松土）”，现译为plough the land。其中，plough一词，美国英语用plow。

🎈句中water名词活用作动词。【补充】与之类似的，“遛狗”可以用walk一词表达，译作walk a dog。

🎈收获、收集gather in

🎈积累a couple of的用法，适当的时机场合可以把several换下来歇歇。

妈妈说：“今晚我们可以做一个收获节，也请你们的爹爹来尝尝我们底新花生，如何？”我们都答应了。

译文1：Mother said, “How about giving a party this evening to celebrate the harvest and inviting your Daddy to have a taste of our newly-harvested peanuts?” We all agreed.

译文2：“Let us have a party tonight to celebrate,” Mother suggested, “and ask Dad to come for a taste of our fresh peanuts. What do you say?” We all agreed, of course.

🎈“做一个收获节”不宜直译为hold a harvest festival，现取意译。

🎈“…怎么样？/好吗？/行不行？how about”表示提出建议。例如:How about we go for a meal?我们去吃饭好不好？

母亲把花生做成好几样食品，还吩咐这节期要在园里底茅亭举行。

译文1：Mother made quite a few varieties of goodies out of the peanuts, and told us that the party would be held in the thatched pavilion on the peanut plot.

译文2：Mother cooked the peanuts in different styles and told us to go to the thatched pavilion in the garden for the celebration.

🎈“食品”也可译为food，但不如goodies 贴切；goodies指“好吃的东西”，常用于口语。

🎈“园里”即花生地、园里，现译作on the peanut plot。其中，plot尤指作特殊用途的一小块土地。

那晚上底天色不大好，可是爹爹也来到，实在很难得！

译文1：It looked like rain that evening, yet, to our great joy, father came nevertheless.

译文2：The weather was not very good that night but, to our great delight, Dad came all the same.

🎈 “那晚上底天色不大好”译为It looked like rain that evening, 符合原意和英语习惯。

🎈译文中，yet是连词；nevertheless是副词。

爹爹说：“你们爱吃花生吗？”

我们都争着答应：“爱！”

译文1：

“Do you like peanuts?” asked father.

“Yes, we do!” we vied in giving the answer.

译文2：

“Do you like peanuts?” Dad asked.

“Yes!” we all answered eagerly.

🎈“争着（给出）回答”译作vied in giving the answer，其中vie in doing/vie to do表示“争着做某事”。

“谁能把花生底好处说出来？”

译文1：“Which of you could name the good things in peanuts?”

译文2：“But who can tell me what the peanut is good for?”

🎈name做动词讲时，除了常见的“命名”的释义，还可以表示“提出，说出，指出”，例如：Call Marty, tell him to name his price.给马蒂打电话，让他出个价儿。

姊姊说：“花生底气味很美。”

哥哥说：“花生可以榨油。”

译文1：

“Peanuts taste good,” said my elder sister.

“Peanuts produce edible oil,” said my elder brother.

译文2：

“It is very delicious to eat,” my sister took the lead.

“It is good for making cooking oil,” my brother followed.

🎈taste是感官动词，用主动语态即可。如：It tastes good.尝起来不错。

🎈榨油produce edible oil，其中edible是增益成分，表明榨的是可食用花生油，表意更加准确。[补充一组词]：（嘴巴）edible（耳朵）audible（眼睛）visible

我说：“无论何等人都可以用贱价买它来吃；都喜欢吃它。这是它的好处。”

译文1：“Peanuts are so cheap,” said I, “that anyone can afford to eat them. Peanuts are everyone’s favorite. That’s why we call peanuts good.”

译文2：“It is inexpensive,” I said. “Almost everyone can afford it and everyone enjoys eating it. I think this is what it is good for.”

🎈“无论何等人可以用贱价买它来吃”译作anyone can afford to eat them，其中anyone和afford连用，即表示任何人都能负担的起这个价格，也就是贱价。

🎈why we call peanuts good中call意同 “think”。认为……call sb./sth. +adj.是常见搭配。

爹爹说：“花生底用处固然很多；但有一样是很可贵的。

译文1：“It’s true that peanuts have many uses,” said father, “but they’re most beloved in one respect.

译文2：“Peanut is good for many things,” Dad said, “but there is one thing that is particularly good about it.

🎈（某）一方面in one respect

例句

Sam was not a sly boy, but he was odd in one respect.

萨姆不是一个淘气的孩子，但他有一个奇怪的习惯。这个例句和文中的译文非常相似，大家细细感受。

这小小的豆不像那好看的苹果、桃子、石榴，把它们底果实悬在枝上，鲜红嫩绿的颜色，令人一望而发生羡慕的心。它只把果子埋在地底，等到成熟，才容人把它挖出来。你们偶然看见一棵花生瑟缩地长在地上，不能立刻辨出它有没有果实，非得等到你接触它才能知道。”

译文1：Unlike nice-looking apples, peaches and pomegranates, which hang their fruit on branches and win people’s admiration with their brilliant colours, tiny little peanuts bury themselves in the earth and remain underground until they’re ripe. When you come upon a peanut plant lying curled up on the ground, you can never immediately tell whether or not it bears any nuts until you touch them.”

译文2：Unlike apples, peaches or pomegranates that display their fruits up in the air, attracting you with their beautiful colours, peanut buries its fruit in the earth. It does not show itself until you dig it out when it is ripe and, unless you dig it out, you can’t tell whether it bears fruit or not just by its frail stems above ground.”

🎈“这小小的豆”译为tiny little peanuts。英语中常把tiny和little用在一起，有“小得可怜（爱）”等含意。

🎈“鲜红嫩绿”不宜直译，译brilliant colours即可。

我们都知道until通常与否定词连用（not……until）表示“直到……才……”，那如果until单用呢？此时until可以表示“在……之前、直到” ，例如：Until 1982 he was senior lecturer in botany at Durham University.1982年以前他一直是达勒姆大学生物系的高级讲师。此处remain unearthed until they’re ripe同理，until表示成熟之前一直埋在地下，也就是“成熟之后才被人挖出来”。

🎈“瑟缩”意即“蜷曲而不舒展”，故有现译。

🎈 whether or not可用于表达“是否、能否、有没有、要不要……”等意

例句

I’m debating whether or not to go to the gym.

我在考虑要不要去健身房。

🎈开花、结果bear flowers/fruits

a strong, fruit-bearing apple tree.粗壮的结满果实的苹果树

我们都说：“是的。”母亲也点点头。

译文1：“That’s true,” we said in unison. Mother also nodded.

译文2：“That’s true,” we all said and Mother nodded her assent.

🎈(做事、说话等）一起，一齐in unison

爹爹接下去说：“所以你们要像花生，因为它是有用的，不是伟大、好看的东西。”

译文1：“So you must take after peanuts,” father continued, “because they’re useful though not great and nice- looking.”

译文2：“So you should try to be like the peanut,” Dad went on, “because it is useful, though not great or attractive.”

🎈“你们要像花生”译为you must take after peanuts，其中take after 是成语，意即take……as an example（学习……的榜样）。

我说：“那么，人要做有用的人，不要做伟大、体面的人了。”

爹爹说：“这是我对于你们的希望。”

译文1：

“Then you mean one should be useful rather than great and nice-looking,” I said.

“That’s what I except of you,” father concluded.

译文2：

“Do you mean,” I asked, “we should learn to be useful but not seek to be great or attractive?”

“Yes, ” Dad said. “This is what I wish you to be.”

🎈 增译Then you mean，更符合对话习惯。

🎈而不是rather than

例句

I think I’ll have a cold drink rather than coffee.

我想要冷饮，不要咖啡。

🎈“这是我对于你们的希望”中“希望”意同“期望”，现译为That’s what I except of you。其中，expect of sb.表示对某人有所期望。E.g. That, my friends, is what the peoples expect of us.

朋友们，这就是人民寄予我们的期望。

🎈大家可以留心一下文中的“说”是否都译成了said，答案当然是否定的。比如，上文“接着说”是continued，此处虽然“爹爹说”虽然只有“说”字，没有额外修饰成分，但根据语境将其译作了concluded。疯狂暗示，大家这么棒棒，肯定知道要怎么做了。

我们谈到夜阑才散，所有花生食品虽然没有了，然而父亲底话现在还印在我心版上。

译文1：We kept chatting until the party broke up late at night. Today, though nothing is left of the goodies made of peanuts, father’s words remain engraved in my mind.

译文2：We stayed up late that night, eating all the peanuts Mother had cooked for us. But Father’s words remained vivid in my memory till this day.

🎈夜阑：夜深；夜将尽时。（阑，将近、将完。）现译作late at night。

🎈the party broke up是增益成分，使表意更明确，未译出也不算错。其中，break up表示“散（会）、使解散”等。

例句

A neighbor asked for the music to be turned down and the party broke up…

因为一个邻居要求把音乐音量调低，聚会便散了。

🎈today是增译成分，原文虽无其词而有其意。

🎈仍刻在脑海中remain engraved in my mind

🔥必背词汇

vacant       adj.未使用的，未被占用的，空的

英义

If something is vacant, it is not being used by anyone.

例句

Half way down the coach was a vacant seat…

车厢中部有一个空座。

exhilarate      v.使高兴，使兴奋，使激动

英义

to make sb feel very happy and excited.

例句

Speed had always exhilarated him.

速度总让他感到兴奋。

plough        v.犁[地]，耕地

英义

When someone ploughs an area of land, they turn over the soil using a plough.

例句

They ploughed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland.

他们犁了将近10万英亩未开垦的高沼地。

thatched        adj. (房屋或屋顶)用茅草(或稻草、芦苇)铺盖的

英义

A thatched house or a house with a thatched roof has a roof made of straw or reeds.

例句

They live in a thatched cottage.

他们住在茅舍里。

pavilion         cn.花园或公园里的亭，阁

英义

A pavilion is an ornamental building in a garden or park.

例句

Humphrey Repton’s design for a garden pavilion at Durham Park

汉弗莱·雷普顿为德拉姆公园设计的花园凉亭

edible       adj.可食用的，能吃的

英义

If something is edible, it is safe to eat and not poisonous.

例句

edible fungi

食用菌

pomegranate      n.石榴

英义

A pomegranate is a round fruit with a thick reddish skin. It contains lots of small seeds with juicy flesh around them.

例句

There was a pomegranate tree near the entrance to the cemetery.

墓园的入口边上有株石榴树。

🔥重点表达

隙地vacant land

也as well

犁地plough the land

收获、收集gather in

…怎么样？/好吗？/行不行？how about

争着做某事vie in doing/vie to do

榨油produce edible oil

认为……call sb./sth. +adj.

偶然碰到(或发现) come upon

开花、结果bear flowers/fruits

(做事、说话等）一起，一齐in unison

学习……、以……做榜样take after…

散（会）、使解散break up

仍刻在脑海中remain engraved in my mind

🔥复盘测试

隙地

也

犁地

收获、收集

…怎么样？/好吗？/行不行？

争着做某事

榨油

认为……

偶然碰到(或发现)

开花、结果

(做事、说话等）一起，一齐

学习……、以……做榜样

散（会）、使解散

仍刻在脑海中

🔥表达对比

「一起，一齐」you有几种表达？

我们（都）说：“是的。”

“That’s true,” we said in unison.

Before we all worked together, we laughed together.

之前我们（一起）工作, 我们一起欢笑。

And also for the men alongside whom they served.

也是为了和他们（一起）服役的男兵。

All seven of them held out their broomsticks.

七个人（一齐）把扫帚往前一举。

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