北外翻译笔记 第28课 翻译与文体--论说文翻译(1)

　　论说文是书面语体中运用得非常广泛的一种文体，通常分为议论和论述两种，是相对于散文中的记叙（Narration）和描写（Description）而言的。其常见形式包括社科论著、论文、评论、演讲、讲座、报告等。论说文的文体特点主要有以下几条：
1） 措词严谨规范。论说文的功用主要在于对某一观点进行解释、说明或阐述，因此，此类文章讲求理性与逻辑性，在措词上表现为正式语体的词、大词、抽象词、外来词用得较多，而绝少使用俚语俗语及过于口语化的词，以体现其庄重、严谨的特点。
2） 句法及篇章结构较为复杂。由于论述文旨在解析思想，阐发论点，辨明事理，展开论证，因此文章内容往往比较复杂。为全面、慎密地表述自己的见解，避免片面、疏漏，论说文中往往长句、复杂句使用较多。另外论说文讲究谋篇布局及条理层次，因而在篇章结构上较为复杂，往往段落之间环环相扣，层层递进。除此之外，论说文还十分讲究修辞，辞格上多用排比、递进、设问等，以增强文章的感染力和说服力。
下面一例节选自一篇论说文，它较为清晰地显示了论说文体的主要特点：
Science and Ethics¹
Science impinges upon ethics in at least five different ways.
In the first place, by its application it creates new ethical² situations. Two hundred years ago the news of a famine in China created no duty for Englishmen. They could take no possible action against it. Today the telegraph and the steam engine have made such action possible, and it becomes an ethical problem what action, if any, is right. Two hundred years ago a workman generally owned his own tools. Now his tool may be a crane or steam hammer, and we all have our own views as to whether these should belong to shareholders³, the State, or guilds⁴ representing the workers.
Secondly⁵, it may create new duties by pointing out previously⁶ unexpected consequences of our actions. We are all greed that we should not run the risk of spreading typhoid by polluting the public water supply. We are probably divided as to the duty of vaccinating⁷ our children, and we may not all be of one mind as to whether a person likely to transmit club foot or cataract⁸ to half his or her children should be compelled to abstain⁹ from parenthood.
Thirdly, science affects our whole ethical outlook by influencing our views as to the nature of the world-in fact, by supplanting¹⁰ mythology¹¹. One man may see men and animals as a great brotherhood¹² of common ancestry¹³ and thus feel an enlargement of his obligations. Another will regard even the noblest aspects of human nature as products of a ruthless struggle for existence and thus justify¹⁴ a refusal to assist the weak and suffering. A third, impressed with the vanity of human efforts amid the vast indifference¹⁵ of the universe, will take refuge in a modified epicureanism. In all these attitudes and in many others there is at least some element of rightness.
Fourthly, in so far as anthropology¹⁶ is becoming scientific, it is bound to have a profound effect on ethics by showing that any given ethical code is only one of a number practiced with equal conviction and almost equal success; in fact, by creating comparative ethics. But, of course, any serious study of the habits of foreigners, whether scientific or not, had this effect, as comes out plainly enough in the history of ancient Greek ethics. Hence science is not wholly responsible for the ethical results of anthropology.

1 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

2 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

3 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

4 guilds   

行会，同业公会，协会( guild的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• View list of the guilds that Small has war on. 看目前有哪些公会是我们公会开战的对象及对我们开战的对象。
• Guilds and kingdoms fit more with the Middle Age fantasy genre. （裴）:公会和王国更适合中世纪奇幻类型。

5 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 vaccinating   

给…接种疫苗( vaccinate的现在分词 )； 注射疫苗，接种疫苗

参考例句：

• At first blush, vaccinating the wolves against rabies seems a simple solution. 乍一看来，为狼群注射防狂犬病疫苗是一种简单的办法。
• Also vaccinating children against misers (measles) has saved many lives. 还有，给儿童进行疫苗接种防止麻疹也挽救了许多生命。

8 cataract   

n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障

参考例句：

• He is an elderly gentleman who had had a cataract operation.他是一位曾经动过白内障手术的老人。
• The way is blocked by the tall cataract.高悬的大瀑布挡住了去路。

9 abstain   

v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免

参考例句：

• His doctor ordered him to abstain from beer and wine.他的医生嘱咐他戒酒。
• Three Conservative MPs abstained in the vote.三位保守党下院议员投了弃权票。

10 supplanting   

把…排挤掉，取代( supplant的现在分词 )

参考例句：

11 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

12 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

13 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

14 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

15 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

16 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。