The Wonderful Use of Boasting庐隐Lu Yin🔥背景知识：《吹牛的妙用》是庐隐的后期作品，选自她的《东京小品》（散文、短篇小说、杂文合集，1935年版）。庐隐的杂文短小精悍、直爽坦率、笔锋锐利，此文也有反映。吹牛往往是为了兜售“伪劣”。作者在半个多世纪以前以揶揄的口气所鞭挞的社会痼疾，今仍随处可见，知识界也不例外。吹牛是一种夸大狂，在道德家看来，也许认为是缺点，可是在处世接物上却是一种刮刮叫的妙用。Boasting is a kind of megalomania. Though moralists may call it a human failing, it does, however, serve extremely useful purposes in social intercourse.🎈「（吹牛）可是在处世接物上却是一种刮刮叫的妙用」意即「待人接物时，（吹牛）极为有用」，故译为it does, however, serve extremely useful purposes in social intercourse。🎈处世接物：social intercourse假使你这一生缺少了吹牛的本领，别说好饭碗找不到，便连黄包车夫也不放你在眼里的。Without the capability for boasting, you will be looked down upon by even a rickshaw puller, to say nothing of finding a good job.🎈「缺少了吹牛的本领」译为Without the capability for boasting，中文中的动词「缺少」译为英文中的介词without。🎈别说：to say nothing of西洋人究竟近乎白痴，什么事都只讲究脚踏实地去作，这样费力气的勾当，Because of their earnest and down-to-earth approach to work, Westerners are, in the eyes of Chinese smarties, next door to idiotic.🎈「近乎白痴」译为next door to idiotic或（idiocy、being idiotic），其中next door to意同bordering on、almost the same as。🎈in the eyes of Chinese smarties为补充成分，西洋人在中国人眼里近乎白痴，虽无其词却有其意。我们聪明的中国人，简直连牙齿都要笑掉了。They are being laughed at by Chinese smarties for the tremendous amount of energy they put into their activities.🎈「我们聪明的中国人」译为Chinese smarties，其中smarties带有贬义，作「自作聪明的人」或「自以为是的人」。在翻译过程中，词汇的词性并不是原封不动地从原文搬到译文，而是根据译文的语言习惯进行；词汇感情色彩的翻译一般应严格按照原文的精神来进行，而不是像词汇的词性翻译那样受译文的支配，也就是说，褒义词必须翻译成褒义词，贬义词必须翻译成贬义词，中性词也应翻译成中性词。🎈以下是「褒贬译法」的一些例子：Many people think that he is one of the most ambitious politicians of our times.很多人认为他是现今最有野心的政客之一。Although he is very young, he is very ambitious in his research work.他虽然很年轻，但是在研究工作中很有雄心壮志。A funny story有趣的故事She is a bit funny sometimes.她有时有点疯疯癫癫的。西洋人什么事都讲究按部就班的慢慢来，从来没有平地登天的捷径，而我们中国人专门走捷径，而走捷径的第一个法门，就是善吹牛。While Westerners go about whatever work they do methodically and patiently, never dreaming of reaching great heights in one step, we Chinese are always given to seeking a shortcut and regard the ability to boast as the master key to it.🎈never dreaming of reaching great heights in one step非谓语动词作状语🎈「走捷径」出现了两次，第一次用shortcut，第二次出现就可以用代词it。吹牛是一件不可看轻的艺术，就如修辞学上不可缺少“张喻”一类的东西一样。Boasting is an essential art of life just as hyperbole is an indispensable rhetorical figure.🎈不可缺少：essential; indispensable🎈如同：just as像李太白什么“黄河之水天上来”，又是什么“白发三千丈”，这在修辞学上就叫作“张喻”，而在不懂修辞学的人看来，就觉得李太白在吹牛了。The Tang poet Li Bai’s famous lines “The Yellow River comes from the sky” and “My white hair of thirty thousand feet” are examples of hyperbole, which, to those who know little about the art of rhetoric, may sound like a gross exaggeration on the part of the poet.🎈「李太白什么」译为The Tang poet Li Bai’s famous lines，其中The Tang poet和famous lines都非文字表面所有，起注释作用，有助于外国读者理解内容。🎈which, to those who know little about the art of rhetoric, may sound like a gross exaggeration on the part of the poet为非限制性定语从句。该从句变换了语序，还原之后为which may sound like a gross exaggeration on the part of the poet to those who know little about the art of rhetoric，其中who know little about the art of rhetoric为定语从句修饰those。🎈「吹牛」由动词转为名词a gross exaggeration。而且实际上说来，吹牛对于一个人的确有极大的妙用。That boasting is of extremely great use to one is beyond doubt.🎈有极大的妙用：be of extremely great use🎈的确：beyond doubt🎈此句是由That引导的主语从句。人类这个东西，就有这么奇怪，无论什么事，你若老老实实的把实话告诉他，不但不能激起他共鸣的情绪，而且还要轻蔑你冷笑你，Man is a queer animal. Suppose you tell someone the plain truth about a certain matter without holding anything back, he will probably laugh at you scornfully instead of returning a congenial response.🎈「不能激起他共鸣的情绪」译为instead of returning a congenial response，其中congenial作「志趣相投的」解，意同sympathetic或agreeable等。此句也可译为instead of having a sympathetic echo aroused in his heart。🎈「轻蔑你冷笑你」实际是一个意思，故译为laugh at you scornfully。假使你见了那摸不清你根底的人，你不管你家里早饭的米是当了被褥换来的，你只要大言不惭的说“某部长是我父亲的好朋友，On the other hand, suppose, penniless as you are, you brag unabashedly to somebody who knows little about you, “Minister So-and-So is a good friend of my father’s,” 🎈上一句讲的是和认识的人之间发生的情况，这句是和不太熟悉的人之间的交谈，所以增译了On the other hand这一连接词。🎈who knows little about you作为定语从句修饰somebody。🎈「你不管你家里早饭的米是当了被褥换来的」意即「尽管你穷得叮当响」，此句虽可直译为though you may be so hard up as to have to pawn your bedding for money to buy rice for cooking the congee you eat for breakfast，但是稍显罗嗦。现采用意译法处理：penniless as you are，干净利落。某政客是我拜把子的叔公，我认得某某巨商，我的太太同某军阀的第五位太太是干姐妹”，“Politician So-and-So is my grandpa’s sworn brother,” “I know a certain business tycoon very well,” or “My wife is a nominally adoptive sister of a certain warlord’s fifth concubine.”🎈我拜把子的叔公：my grandpa’s sworn brother🎈某某巨商：a certain business tycoon🎈干姐妹：a nominally adoptive sister吹起这一套法螺来，那摸不清你的人，便贴贴服服的向你合十顶礼，说不定碰得巧还恭而且敬的请你大吃一顿燕菜席呢！The listener will adore you like a deity or may even, at an opportune moment, respectfully treat you to a big dinner featuring edible bird’s nest!🎈「说不定碰得巧还恭而且敬的请你大吃一顿燕菜席呢」译为may even, at an opportune moment, respectfully treat you to a big dinner featuring edible bird’s nest，其中用at an opportune moment（适当的时候）表达「碰得巧」。🎈「大吃一顿燕菜席」意即「吃一顿以燕窝为特色的盛餐」，故译为a big dinner featuring edible bird’s nest，其中edible有释义作用，但也可省略，因燕窝已是一道中国名菜。吹牛有了如许的好处，于是无论那一类的人，都各尽其力的大吹其牛了。People of every description, being aware of the usefulness of boasting, are doing all they can to put it into practice.🎈此句意为「无论哪一类人知道了吹牛的好处，都会尽其所能地吹牛」。🎈being aware of the usefulness of boasting为非谓语动词作原因状语。🎈此处「大吹其牛」用put it into practice来避免用词重复。但是且慢！吹牛也要认清对手方面的。But wait a minute! You’ve got to know enough about the person you are boasting to.🎈you are boasting to作为定语从句修饰the person。不然的话必难打动他或她的心弦，那么就失掉吹牛的功效了。Otherwise, you’ll make a bungle of it and fail to touch a chord in his or her heart.🎈失掉功效：make a bungle🎈难以做某事：fail to do sth.比如说你见了一个仰慕文人的无名作家或学生时，而你自己要自充老前辈时，你不用说别的，只要说胡适是我极熟的朋友，郁达夫是我最好的知己，Suppose you meet an unknown writer or a young student who worships men of letters and you want to pretend to be a senior, all you have to say is that Hu Shih is a close friend of yours or that Yu Dafu is your second self.🎈who worships men of letters and you want to pretend to be a senior作为定语从句修饰an unknown writer or a young student，因用的是or，所以从句谓语动词为第三人称单数形式。🎈「郁达夫是我最好的知己」译为Yu Dafu is your second self，其中second self的意思是「密友」，意同bosom friend。注意此处的「我」和前半句的「你」在译文中应当保持一致，译为you。最妙你再转弯抹角的去探听一些关于胡适郁达夫琐碎的佚事，比如说胡适最喜听什么，郁达夫最讨厌什么，于是便可以亲亲切切的叫着“适之怎样怎样，达夫怎样怎样”，And, what is better, you can try to find out by a roundabout way some trifling personal anecdotes about the two celebrities, such as what Hu Shih best likes to know and what Yu Dafu strongly dislikes, so that you can refer to them affectionately by their first names.🎈最妙：what is better🎈「关于胡适郁达夫琐碎的佚事」和「适之怎样怎样，达夫怎样怎样」这两处未译为Hu Shih、Yu Dafu，而使用名词和代词the two celebrities和their，避免重复使用人名，保持译文的简洁性。这样一来，你便也就成了胡适郁达夫同等的人物，而被人所尊敬了。Consequently, you’ll end up becoming a personage on a par with both of them, and enjoying the respect of all.🎈「被人所尊敬」尊敬由动词转为名词，并使用过渡动词enjoy，译为enjoy the respect of all。🎈on a par with：相提并论如果你遇见一个好虚荣的女子呢，你就可以说你周游过列国，到过土耳其南非洲！并且还是自费去的，When you meet a girl who is vain, just tell her that you have toured to various countries, such as Turkey and South Africa, … and at your own expense into the bargain!🎈「并且还是自费去的」译为at your own expense into the bargain，其中into the bargain作「而且还」「另外」解。此句也可译为and, in addition（或moreover），at your own expense。这样一来就可以证明你不但学识阅历丰富，并且还是资产阶级。That suffices to prove you are not only a man of much learning and experience but also well-to-do.🎈suffice to：足以🎈学识阅历丰富：a man of much learning and experience🎈「资产阶级」在此作「富裕的」解，不必直译为a bourgeois，译well-to-do、well off即可。于是乎你的恋爱便立刻成功了。And you will thereby win her heart instantly.🎈此句译为And you will thereby win her heart instantly，比逐字直译And you will win immediate success in love灵活可取。他如遇见商贾、官僚、政客、军阀，都不妨察言观色，投其所好，大吹而特吹之，When you meet a businessman, bureaucrat, politician or warlord, you can, after gathering each and every mood of them, start boasting wildly to cater to their likes.🎈「他」实则译为「你」，如果你遇见……🎈「察言观色」如直译为watching their words and countenance（或facial expressions），似缺深层意思，现以意译法处理：after gathering each and every mood of them，其中gathering作「推测」或「通过观察而理解」解。🎈投其所好：cater to their likes总而言之，好色者以色吹之，好利者以利吹之，好名者以名吹之，好权势者以权势吹之，To sum up, you should brag about women to those who are fond of women, about money to those who are money-mad, about fame to those who are desirous of personal fame, and about power to those who hanker after a position of great influence.🎈此句将吹嘘的内容先译出，然后再以定语从句修饰。🎈「好色者以色吹之」意即「和好色之人谈论女人」，故译为brag about women to those who are fond of women。🎈「好利者以利吹之」意即「和爱财者谈钱」，故译为brag about money to those who are money-mad。🎈「好名者以名吹之」意即「和爱慕名声者谈名声」，故译为brag about fame to those who are desirous of personal fame。🎈「好权势者以权势吹之」意即「和爱权势者谈权势」，故译为about power to those who hanker after a position of great influence。此所谓以毒攻毒之法，无往而不利。Like combating poison with poison, this trick will always work wonders.🎈「无往而不利」意即「每次出手都能成功」，故译为always work wonders。或曰吹牛妙用虽大，但也要善吹，否则揭穿西洋镜，便没有戏可唱了。Yes, bragging is of great use, but you need to be very skillful in the performance of it, otherwise you’ll give away the show and end up in a complete fiasco.🎈give away意为丧失，失去。🎈「揭穿西洋镜」意即「失败」，故译为end up in a complete fiasco。这当然是实话，并且吹牛也要有相当的训练，And to be good at bragging, you also need a considerable amount of training.🎈此处「吹牛」指的是「善吹」，故译为to be good at bragging，to do作目的状语。第一要不红脸，You should first of all be thick-skinned.🎈不红脸即脸皮薄：be thick-skinned你虽从来没有著过一本半本的书，但不妨咬紧牙根说：“我的著作等身，只可恨被一把野火烧掉了！”For instance, although you have never authored a single book, you can nevertheless brazenly declare, “I’ve published a great many books, but unfortunately they’ve all been destroyed by a big fire!”🎈「咬紧牙根」在此作「厚着脸皮」解，故译为brazenly，由动词转为副词。🎈「我的著作等身」即我的很多著作，故译为publish a great many books。你家里因为要请几个漂亮的客人吃饭，现买了一副碗碟，你便可以说：“这些东西十年前就有了，”以表示你并不因为请客受窘。When you are entertaining some stylish guests at dinner, you can, for appearances’ sake, refer to the table set you have just bought for the occasion by saying, “We’ve been using it for as long as ten years.”🎈「以表示你并不因为请客受窘」不宜直译，可按「装点了门面」之意译为for appearances’ sake。🎈you have just bought for the occasion为定语从句，修饰the table set，因关系代词that在从句中作宾语，故可以省略。假如你荷包里只剩下一块大洋，朋友要邀你坐下来入圈，你就可以说：“我的钱都放在银行里，今天竟匀不出工夫去取！”When your friends invite you to join them in a mahjong game, you, though worth only one silver dollar in your pocket, can tell them, “All my money is in a bank. I’ve no time today to go there to draw money.”🎈「假如你荷包里只剩下一块大洋」译为though worth only one silver dollar in your pocket，其中worth作「拥有……的财产」解，译文选用此词代替having，可略带俏皮。🎈「入圈」即「打麻将」，故译为join them in a mahjong game。假如那天你的太太感觉你没多大出息时，你就可以说张家大小姐说我的诗作的好，王家少奶奶说我脸子漂亮而有丈夫气，。If your wife happens to complain you’re sort of good for nothing, you can tell her that the eldest daughter of a certain Zhang family has been admiring you for the excellent poems you write and the daughter-in-law of a certain Wang family has been admiring you for being handsome and manly. 🎈此处「感觉」含有「抱怨」之意，故译为complain。🎈「没多大出息」意即「没有什么出息」，故译为sort of good for nothing，其中sort of等于somewhat，表示「一点儿」「有几分」。这样一来太太便立刻加倍的爱你了That will make your wife instantly redouble her love for you.🎈「加倍的爱你」这一词组进行了词性转换，「加倍的」由形容词转为动词redouble，「爱你」由动词变为名词词组her love for you。这一些吹牛经，说不胜说。I could thus go on and on enumerating various manifestations of self-praise!🎈此句意为「我可以讲出很多吹牛经」，故译为enumerate various manifestations of self-praise。🔥必背词汇megalomania n. 自大狂；夸大狂；妄自尊大 英义a mental illness or condition in which sb has an exaggerated belief in their own importance or power例句It seems that there is something advantageous in the megalomania that is his defining lifelong trait. 狂妄自大正是他长久统治的关键，看起来，这样的品质似乎有些好处。moralist n. 道德家，卫道士〔含贬义〕英义someone who has very strong beliefs about what is right and wrong and how people should behave – used to show disapproval例句a narrow-minded moralist心胸狭隘的卫道士rickshaw n. 人力车；黄包车英义a small light vehicle with two wheels used in some Asian countries to carry passengers. The rickshaw is pulled by sb walking or riding a bicycle.例句Before liberation he had to pull a rickshaw to earn a little money.解放前他不得不拉人力车来挣点儿钱。gross adj. 严重的英义very obvious and unacceptable例句gross indecency / negligence / misconduct 严重猥亵 / 过失 / 渎职 queer adj. 奇怪的；反常的英义strange or unusual例句His face was a queer pink colour. 他满脸奇怪的粉红色。 congenial adj. 意气相投的；情趣相投的；合得来的英义pleasant to spend time with because their interests and character are similar to your own例句a congenial colleague 意气相投的同事 tycoon n. (企业界的)大亨，钜头，钜子英义a person who is successful in business or industry and has become rich and powerful例句a business / property / media tycoon 产业大亨；房地产钜头；传媒钜子bungle n. 搞糟了的事情；失误英义something that is done badly and that causes problems 例句Their pay was late because of a computer bungle. 由于计算机出错，他们的工资晚发了。roundabout adj. 迂回的；间接的；兜圈子的英义not done or said using the shortest, simplest or most direct way possible例句It was a difficult and roundabout trip. 这是一次艰难而曲折的旅行。 hanker v. 渴望，渴求(某事物)英义to have a strong desire for sth例句He had hankered after fame all his life. 他一生追求名望。 fiasco n. 惨败；可耻的失败；尴尬的结局 英义something that does not succeed, often in a way that causes embarrassment例句What a fiasco! 真是使人下不了台！🔥重点词汇一种夸大狂 a kind of megalomania缺点 a human failing 在处世接物上是一种呱呱叫的妙用 serve extremely useful purposes in social intercourse别说好的饭碗找不到 say nothing of finding a good job近乎白痴 next door to idiotic脚踏实地去做 their earnest and down-to-earth approach to work费力的勾当 the tremendous amount of energy they put into their activities做事按部就班地慢慢来 go about whatever work they do methodically and patiently从来没有平步登天的捷径 never dreaming of reaching great heights in one step善吹牛 regard the ability to boast as the master key一件不可看轻的艺术 an essential art of life不可缺少的修辞 an indispensable rhetorical figure不懂修辞学 know little about the art of rhetoric有极大的妙用 be of extremely great use老老实实的把实话告诉他 tell someone the plain truth about a certain matter without holding anything back不能激起他共鸣的情绪 instead of returning a congenial response轻蔑你冷笑你 laugh at you scornfully摸不清你根底 know little about you 恭而且敬请你大吃一顿燕菜席 respectfully treat you to a big dinner featuring edible bird’s nest无论那一类的人 people of every description失掉吹牛的功效 make a bungle of boasting 打动他或她的心弦 touch/ strike a chord in his or her heart一个仰慕文人的无名作家或学生 an unknown writer or a young student who worships men of letters自充老前辈 pretend to be a senior最好的知己 your second self拐弯抹角的探听佚事 find out by a roundabout way some trifling personal anecdotes……同等的人物 a par with sb.周游列国 tour to various countries自费 at one’s own expense学识阅历丰富的人 a man of much learning and experience投其所好大吹特吹 start boasting wildly to cater to their likes没有戏可唱end up in a complete fiasco有相当的训练 need a considerable amount of training没多大出息 sort of good for nothing 🔥复盘测试一种夸大狂缺点在处世接物上是一种呱呱叫的妙用别说好的饭碗找不到近乎白痴脚踏实地地区去做费力的勾当做事按部就班地慢慢来从来没有平步登天的捷径善吹牛一件不可看轻的艺术不可缺少的修辞不懂修辞学有极大的妙用老老实实的把实话告诉他不能激起他共鸣的情绪轻蔑你冷笑你摸不清你根底恭而且敬请你大吃一顿燕菜席无论那一类的人失掉吹牛的功效打动他或她的心弦一个仰慕文人的无名作家或学生自充老前辈最好的知己拐弯抹角的探听佚事……同等的人物周游列国自费学识阅历丰富的人投其所好大吹特吹有相当的训练没多大出息没有戏可唱🔥表达对比关于「程度（…极）」的相关表达吹牛是一种夸大狂，在道德家看来，也许认为是缺点，可是在处世接物上却是一种刮刮叫的妙用。Boasting is a kind of megalomania. Though moralists may call it a human failing, it does, however, serve extremely useful purposes in social intercourse.像李太白什么“黄河之水天上来”，又是什么“白发三千丈”，这在修辞学上就叫作“张喻”，而在不懂修辞学的人看来，就觉得李太白在吹牛了。The Tang poet Li Bai’s famous lines “The Yellow River comes from the sky” and “My white hair of thirty thousand feet” are examples of hyperbole, which, to those who know little about the art of rhetoric, may sound like a gross exaggeration on the part of the poet.想到“井底”与“铅色”，觉得象征的意味丰富极了。How pregnant with meaning are the two expressions — “the bottom of a well” and “leaden”!他们都是极严肃，同时又极慈蔼，生活是那样纪律，那样恬淡，They were as grave as kind, self-disciplined, and calm and modest.每逢母鸡要生蛋的时候，她真是欢喜极了，她要多把些粮食给它，又要替它做窝。She will be immensely delighted whenever a hen is laying, giving it additional feed, making it a new roost, etc.
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庐隐《中学时代生活的回忆》 
爱是一颗心遇到另一颗心（出处+配图） 
