英语PK台 第822期:翻译入门(11)

 　　When I first came to Beijing in the early 1980s, the city felt dusty overall--a one-time capital of temples and palaces was transformed into a landscape of factories and chimneys, and people rode simple steel bicycles or diesel-belching buses through the windy old streets. This was my initial impression of this capital city.

　　上世纪八十年代初我初来北京的时候，感觉这里到处尘土飞扬—这座庙宇和宫殿曾经随处可见的古都冒出了很多工厂和烟囱，人们骑着简易的钢架自行车或者乘坐喷着浓烟的柴油公交车在刮着大风的古老街道上穿行—这就是当年我对北京的最初印象。

　　Leafing through old photo albums, I can still sense the taste unique to old Beijing. Its streets, walls, temples, gardens and alleys¹ were part of a carefully woven tapestry² that reflected the constellations³ above and geomantic forces below. It epitomized the political-religious system that ran traditional China for millennia⁴. It was Chinese belief incarnate⁵.

　　如今翻看当年的老照片，依然可以感受到老北京特有的味道：街道、高墙、寺院、园林和小巷共同构成了一幅精心编织的挂毯，映衬出天上的星宿与地上的风水。这是传统中国几千年来实行的政教体系的缩影，曾是中国人信仰的尘俗体现。

　　Sadly, its great city walls and many of its temples and distinctive⁶ alleys, or hutong, were destroyed to make way for aggressive industrialization. The 1980s brought economic reforms and unregulated real estate development, which wiped out almost all of the rest of the old town. Like many people who have fallen in love with this city, I was disheartened and felt Beijing’s culture was lost. But in recent years I have come to realize that Beijing’s culture is not dead; it is being reborn in odd corners of the city and in unexpected ways. It is not the same as the past, but vibrant⁷ still.

　　可惜后来为了大力推行工业化建设，北京城内宏伟的城墙、大量的寺庙乃至独特的胡同都遭到损毁。随着八十年代推行的经济改革和房地产行业的无序野蛮开发，残余的旧城区风貌几乎消失殆尽。像许多爱上这个城市的人一样，我感到沮丧，觉得北京的文化已经失落了。但是最近几年，我开始2018/10/29注意到：北京的文化并没有消亡，而是在城市的偏僻角落里，以意想不到的方式得以重生。此时的文化已然异于彼时的文化，但仍然充满活力。

1 alleys   

胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径

参考例句：

• I followed him through a maze of narrow alleys. 我紧随他穿过一条条迂迴曲折的窄巷。
• The children lead me through the maze of alleys to the edge of the city. 孩子们领我穿过迷宫一般的街巷，来到城边。

2 tapestry   

n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面

参考例句：

• How about this artistic tapestry and this cloisonne vase?这件艺术挂毯和这个景泰蓝花瓶怎么样？
• The wall of my living room was hung with a tapestry.我的起居室的墙上挂着一块壁毯。

3 constellations   

n.星座( constellation的名词复数 )；一群杰出人物；一系列（相关的想法、事物）；一群（相关的人）

参考例句：

• The map of the heavens showed all the northern constellations. 这份天体图标明了北半部所有的星座。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His time was coming, he would move in the constellations of power. 他时来运转，要进入权力中心了。 来自教父部分

4 millennia   

n.一千年，千禧年

参考例句：

• For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。
• In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。

5 incarnate   

adj.化身的，人体化的，肉色的

参考例句：

• She was happiness incarnate.她是幸福的化身。
• That enemy officer is a devil incarnate.那个敌军军官简直是魔鬼的化身。

6 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

7 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。