longsentence讲义.docVIP

Correct comprehension is always the first and foremost step; and the dialectical unity of faithfulness and smoothness is always what we should strive to achieve. understand clearly：(a) what the author is driving at; (b) what his argument or views are, and what “logic sequence” there is in the original; (c) what grammatical relations there are among the three, four, five, or even more “modifiers” in the long sentence to be translated. 1. Two Stages and Seven Steps in Translating a Long Sentence Stage I Comprehension Step 1: present the long sentence in a skeleton form Step 2: infer the main idea from the context and the whole text Step 3: distinguish between the principal and subordinate elements Step 4: find out the interrelations between principal and subordinate clauses Stage II Presentation Step 5: enter on a tentative translation of each sentence division Step 6: rearrangement and synthesis Step 7: finishing touches 2. Sample Analysis English Version: Just advanced by the Russians and later picked up and made much of by certain American writers, was the claim that U-2 pilots were worried that if the device had to be used the CIA had rigged it in such a way that it would explode prematurely, thus eliminating, in one great blast, all incriminating evidence, planes and pilot. Step 5 Enter on a tentative translation of each sentence division: 1）俄国人原来提出了这种说法；后来美国一些作者又接过来大肆宣扬。 2）U-2飞行员感到不安。 3）中英情报局在机上安上了一种装置，可以提前把飞机和驾驶员同事统统炸毁，从而消除一切罪证。 4）条件是不得已而要使用这种装置的话。 Step 7 Finishing touches: U-2飞机驾驶员感到担心的是：中央情报局已在U-2飞机上安上了一种装置，这种装置在必要时能提前爆炸，把包括飞机和驾驶员在内的一切罪证一下子都消灭干净。这种说法原是俄国人提出来的，后来又被美国一些写文章的人接过来大肆宣扬。 The above mentioned seven steps are generally interwoven throughout the process of translation and we should learn to make use of them according to different circumstances. On the other hand, to a great extent, the layout of a good piece of translation comes from the creative work of the translator, whose flexibility and