作为翻译初学者，如何“偷取”张爷爷的神来之笔？

养花 On Growing Flowers

老舍 Lao She

我爱花，所以也爱养花。我可还没成为养花专家，因为没有工夫去作研究与试验。我只把养花当作生活中的一种乐趣，花开的大小好坏都不计较，只要开花，我就高兴。在我的小院中，到夏天，满是花草，小猫儿们只好上房去玩耍，地上没有它们的运动场。

I love flowers and hence have taken to growing them. But, short of time to do research and experiment in flower cultivation, I am no gardener at all. I merely take flower cultivation as a pleasure of life. I really don’t care whether or not my flowers will put forth by my flowers are plump and nice-looking. I’ll be delighted as long as they can bloom/blossom. In summer, flowers and plants growing in luxuriance in my small courtyard will leave little open space as a playground for the little cats, so they have to sport about in our rooms instead.

要点： 1. 先说标题，此处并没有单纯译为Growing flowers，而是加了on（此处表“关于”），因为本文并不单单是说养花这家事情，而是通过写“养花”表达自己对于知识的重视

2.“所以也爱养花“译为hence have taken to growing them，其中动词短语to take to的意思是“开始喜欢”。此句也可译为are therefore fond of growing flowers。

1)take to

A.开始喜欢；对···产生好感

eg: I took to my new boss immediately. 我立刻对新老板产生了好感。

He hasn’t taken to his new school. 他对新学校还没有产生兴趣。

B.培养···的能力

eg:She took to tennis as if she’d been playing all her life.

她网球打得很好，好像一生都在从事这项运动似的。

C.开始沉湎于；养成···习惯

eg:I’ve taken to waking up very early.我已形成习惯，醒得很早。

3.short of (doing) sth. 没有；如果不；除非（unless）

eg: Short of a miracle, we’re certain to lose.除非发生奇迹，否则我们输定了。

Short of asking her to leave there’s not a lot we can do about the situation.

要是不请她走，我们也就没有多少办法应付这种局面了。

4.take...as... 把···当作/看作/认作··· （类似于regard ...as...；以及后文的leave...as...）

eg: Though the work is hard, I take it as a pleasure of life.

即使这份工作很困难，但我只把它当成生活中的一种乐趣。

5.put forth

A.长出（叶、芽等）；抽芽

eg: Spring has come and the trees are putting forth new leaves.春天到了，树叶长出了新芽。

B.提出；发表

Eg: The scientist has put forth a new theory in his research field.

这位科学家在他的研究领域提出了一个新理论。

6.“只好上房去玩耍”译为they have to sport about in our rooms instead，其中动词短语to sport about的意思是“嬉戏”（to play and jump about happily）。

7.be delighted (to do sth./ that...) 高兴/愉快做某事

eg: I’d be absolutely delighted to come. 我非常乐意前来。

8.as long as 只要 as +adj./adv.原级 + as

类似短语：as soon as “一···就···”

as well as “也，和···一样”

（as well as意思上可与not only...but (also)...互换，尤其是在写作的时候）

eg: She is beautiful as well as smart. 她既漂亮又聪慧。

She is not only smart, but also beautiful.

9.sport about 嬉戏；玩耍

Sport vi. +adv./prep. 开心活泼地玩；嬉戏

about prep. 在···到处；各处；类似于around

常见的短语有：go about/around; wander about; get about/around; move around（在后文哦）

10.instead 替代；反之 （常放于句末或句首；区别常放句首或句中的instead of）

eg:He didn’t reply. Instead, he turned on his heel and left the room.

他没有回答，反而转身离开了房间。

Now I can walk to work instead of going by car. 现在我可以步行去上班，而不必开车了。

综述：我们这次重点说下文中的比喻，第一个是把地比喻成了“运动场”，二是说小猫在“玩耍”。译文中，译者也如实地把原文中的运动场译成playground，保留了原义的形象。而第二个“玩耍”并没有处理成我们常用的play about或have fun…而是译成了sport about，鲜明地展现了猫儿在运动场玩耍的英姿，真可谓妙译。大家好好体会~

花虽多，但无奇花异草。珍贵的花草不易养活，看着一棵好花生病欲死是件难过的事。我不愿时时落泪。北京的气候，对养花来说，不算很好。冬天冷，春天多风，夏天不是干旱就是大雨倾盆；秋天最好，可是忽然会闹霜冻。在这种气候里，想把南方的好花养活，我还没有那么大的本事。因此，我只养些好种易活、自己会奋斗的花草。 I grow many flowers, but none of them are exotic or rare ones. It is difficult to grow a precious flower species. And I feel bad to see a good flower dying of illness. I don’t want often to shed tears over that. But Beijing’s climate is more or less unfit for the growing of flowers. Freezing in winter, windy in spring, and either too dry or too often visited by rainstorms in summer. While autumn is the best of all, it is often plagued by a sudden frost. In a climate like this, it is far beyond my capacity to grow precious flowers of southern breed. Therefore, I only grow flowers and plants that are hardy and enjoy a high survival rate.

要点： 1.“花虽多，但无奇花异草。”注意此句的主语的选取，译文选取“我”作为主语来串句子，还是找共同部分，看选哪个主语有助于行文~“奇花异草”意为“指稀奇少见的花草”因此译为exotic or rare flowers

2.万能句型（it作形式主语句型）：It is + adj. (+for/of sb.)+ to do sth. 注意介词for/of 的区别

eg: It is difficult for me to work out the problem. 解决这个问题对于我们来说很困难。

It is kind of you to help me. 你真好，来帮助我。

同样地，拓展一下it形式宾语的用法：find/think/consider/believe/make/appreciate +it+其它

eg: I find it not easy to learn English well. 我觉得学好英语是不易的。

I would appreciate it if you offer me the chance. 如果您能为我提供这个机会，我会很感激。

He can make it possible to realize his dreams. 他会使梦想实现成为可能。

3.feel 感官动词，无被动，后面常接adj.作表语，类似还有look;sound;taste;smell

eg: The cake tastes delicious.这蛋糕尝起来很美味。

The flowers look attractive. 这些花看起来很迷人。

4. die of 死于（内因）；die from 死于（外因）

eg: The old man died from an accident two years ago. 这位老人两年前死于车祸。

再区分一组短语：be made of 由···制成（看得出原材料）

be made from 由···制成（看不出原材料）

eg: The door is made of wood. 这扇门由木头制成。

The paper is made from wood. 纸是由木头制成的。

5. shed （shedding; shed; shed）

A. 去除；摆脱

eg: The factory is shedding a large number of jobs. 这家工厂正大批裁员。

Museums have been trying hard to shed their stuffy image.

博物馆一直努力改变自己沉闷的形象。

B. 使落下；使掉下；掉落

eg: Luck shed his clothes onto the floor. 卢克把衣服脱地板上。（可以替代take off 哦~）

A duck’s feathers shed water immediately.鸭子的羽毛不沾水。

C. 蜕；落（皮、叶等）

eg:The old crab would never shed his shell in the open. 这只老螃蟹不会在外面蜕壳的。

（借用《螃蟹》（鲁迅）里翻译的短语）

D. 流；洒

eg: She shed no tears when she heard he was dead. 她听到他的死讯时没流一滴眼泪。

E. 散发出光；把光照到（或洒在）···上

eg:The candles shed a soft glow on her face. 蜡烛在她的脸上映着一层柔光。

6. be unfit for... 对···不合适

这类形容词短语（结构“系动词+adj.+介词”）要多积累：

be full of/ be filled with 充满···

be covered with 覆盖着···

be friendly to 对···友好

be harmful to 对···有害处

be grateful/thankful to 对···感激

be accustomed/used to 对···习惯/适应；习惯于

be exposed to 暴露于···

be fond of 喜欢；喜爱···（不要只用like/love/enjoy 哦~）

（注意，介词后面+n./pron./doing）

7. visit;plague;hit 侵袭；遭遇；遭受

（本译文采用了三个不同的动词来表达遭遇自然灾害hit 在后文）

8. beyond one’s capacity( to do sth.) 超出某人的控制能力；非能力范围所及

eg: The situation is beyond our control. 我们已无法控制这一局面。

It’s beyond me why she wants to marry Jeff. 我无法理解她为什么要嫁给杰夫。

9.“冬天冷，春天多风，夏天不是干旱就是大雨倾盆；秋天最好，可是忽然会闹霜冻。”译为Freezing in winter, windy in spring, and either too dry or too often visited by rainstorms in summer. While autumn is the best of all, it is often plagued by a sudden frost.原文语言简洁生动，而译者用平行结构也是寥寥几笔就将原文意思表达清楚了。另外，原文中的“闹”运用拟人的修辞，译文也用visit生动地体现了出来~

10.“我只养些好种易活、自己会奋斗的花草”译时稍作灵活处理：I only grow flowers and plants that are hardy and enjoy a high survival rate，其中用enjoy a high survival rate（成活率高）表达“好种易活”；用hardy（耐寒、耐劳、能吃苦）表达“会奋斗的”。行文生动活泼~

不过，尽管花草自己会奋斗，我若置之不理，任其自生自灭，它们多数还是会死了的。我得天天照管它们，像好朋友似的关切他们。一来二去，我摸着一些门道：有的喜阴，就别放在太阳地里，有的喜干，就别多浇水。 Although such flowers are able to weather through by themselves, I, however never ignore them or abandon them to their own fate, for otherwise most of them will probably end up dead. I have to care for them every day as if they were my close friends. Thus, in the course of time, I’ve somehow got the hang of flower cultivation, some flowers which are accustomed to growing in the shade should not be too much exposed to the sun. Those which prefer dryness should not be watered too often.

要点： 1.“自己会奋斗”即“自力更生”译为able to weather throughby themselves，其中动词短语to weather（表示平安地度过，比go高级一大截~） through的意思是“对付困难”、“渡过风暴”等。此句也可译为able to carry on the struggle for existence by themselves，但意思太大，不太符合本文的语言风格，也比较啰嗦

1) weatherv. 经受住；平安地渡过（困难）

eg: The company just managed to weather the recession. 这家公司勉强渡过了衰退期。

She refuses to resign, intending to weather the storm.

她拒绝辞职，想要经受住这次风暴的考验。（等待情况的好转）

2) by oneself 靠···（某人）自己 =on one’s won 独自；靠··自己

2.“任其自生自灭”中的“自生自灭”意为“自然地发生，生长，又自然地消灭”，此处不宜按字面直译，现意译为abandon them to their own fate。

3.“一来二去”的意思是“经过一定的时间”，故译为in the courseof time，course又一次出现~是翻译中常用的梗~具体用法见《艰难的国运与雄健的国民》

4.got the hang of 找到···的窍门,掌握···的要领

eg:it’s not difficult once you get the hang of it. 你掌握了要领就不难了。

5.“喜阴。喜干”意为“适应潮湿/干燥的环境”因此译者分别用了accustom to和prefer来表达此意

注：注意对于不好翻译的表述，一定要把握其实质含义~

这是个乐趣，摸住门道花草养活了，而且三年五载老活着、开花，多么有意思呀！不是乱吹，这就是知识呀！多得些知识，一定不是坏事。 It gives me much pleasure to know the right way of handling them. How interesting it is to be able to keep my flowers and plants alive and watch them thrive and bloom year in year out! It is no exaggeration to say that there is much knowledge involved in this! And the more knowledge one acquires, the better it is of course.

要点： 1.“三年五载”以灵活的办法译为year in year out（每年），类似的表达还有day in(and) day out（每天）~相较于every year, everyday,前者更加适合文学翻译

2.“不是乱吹，这就是知识呀”意即“我可没有夸张哦，这的确有很多知识在里面！”故译为It is no exaggeration to say that there is much knowledge involved in this!要知道，老舍写这篇文章的目的是通过养花这件事说明知识的重要性~翻译时一定不要按字面意思来译

3，“多得些知识，一定不是坏事”译为And the more knowledge one acquires, the better it is of course.采用反话正说的手法，巧妙地将作者重视知识的语气表现地淋漓尽致~

1) the +adj.比较级， the +adj.比较级“越···越···”

eg: The more, the merrier.（人）越多越快乐。（这是Susan 在 Desperate Housewives说滴~）

形容词短语的另一个用法：比较级 and 比较级 “越来越···”

eg: More and more students are interested in playing Rubik's cube.

（据小君班上情况）越来越多的同学对拧魔方感兴趣了。

综述：说理性散文，要把握作者的真实意图，译文要尽量贴合原文的氛围和背景~

我不是有腿病吗，不但不利于行，也不利于久坐。我不知道花草们受我的照顾，感谢我不感谢；我可得感谢它们。在我工作的时候，我总是写了几十个字，就到院中去看看，浇浇这棵，搬搬那盆，然后回到屋中再写一点，然后再出去，如此循环，把脑力劳动与体力劳动结合到一起，有益身心，胜于吃药。 As I have some trouble with my leg, I can’t move around easily, nor can I sit too long. I don’t know if the flowers under my care are grateful to me or not. However, I wish for my part to acknowledge my thanks to them. I often leave off sedentary work after writing a few dozen words and go to the courtyard to take a look at the flowers, watering them and moving about the potted ones. Then I’ll return to my room to write a bit more. I’ll go through the same back-and-forth process again and again, thus combining mental with manual labour. This is a better way to keep me fit in mind and body than taking medicine.

要点： 1.“我不是有腿病吗”即“我有腿病”，译为 I have some trouble with my leg，此处用疑问的句式表达肯定的观点，译为陈述句~

1)as 由于；因为

区分引导原因状语从句的连接词：because/ for/ since/ as

并掌握as 的其他用法:

a. 引导定语从句 As we all known, Jay Zhou is an outstanding star.

b. 引导状语从句

表原因 As it is raining, we have to put off the sports meeting.（由于）

表让步（=though）Young student as he is, he knows a lot about history.（尽管）

表时间 Taylor Swift sang as she walked along the stage. （一边···一边···）

As the time went by, the country grew quickly. （随着···）

2)have trouble with sth. ···有问题（类似于 there is something wrong with ...）

这里的trouble 是“疾病”(disease)的意思， have trouble with one’s +身体部位

eg: He is suffering from heart trouble. 他患有心脏病。

拓展短语：have trouble/difficulty/ problems (in ) doing sth. 做···有困难

3)underprep. 由···控制（或管理、经营）

eg: Under its new conductor, the orchestra has established an international reputation.

在新指挥的领导下，这个乐团建立了国际声誉。

注意，如果表达“在某人的帮助下”，只能用介词 with；反义词为without

eg:With the help of Mr. Zheng, Celine is able to translate the essay.

在郑老师的帮助下，Celine能够翻译出这篇散文。

2.“不但不利于行，也不利于久坐”运用“否定+nor”的结构，这个之前在《我坐了木船》中有详细介绍，忘记的童鞋请穿越~~另外，此句和前面的分句有逻辑上的因果关系，下面的“不知…我可得感谢它们”也有逻辑上的转折，翻译时要体现体现体现出来~！

3.“我可得感谢它们”译为I wish for my part to acknowledge my thanks to them，其中for my part是插入语，意为“就我而言”；“感谢”译为acknowledge thanks to，这个句型在领导人们的讲话上也常用~

4.“然后再出去，如此循环”不宜按字面直译，现译为I’ll go through the same back-and-forth process again and again，其中定语back-and-forth作“来来往往”解；go through the same process作“重复同一过程”解。

5.keep +n.+adj. 保持··· （类似搭配：make +n.+adj. “使（某人或某物）···”）

eg:Please keep the door open and keep the windows closed. 请让门开着，窗户关着。

The story makes me excited. 这个故事使我激动惨了~

“有益身心”可有两种译法：to keep me fit in mind and body或to keep me mentally and physically fit。

综述：依旧注意语言选词的运用要贴合背景，原文语言简洁活泼，译文也不宜过于死板~

要是赶上狂风暴雨或天气突变哪，就得全家动员，抢救花草，十分紧张。几百盆花，都要很快地抢到屋里去，使人腰酸腿疼，热汗直流。 In case of a violent storm or a sudden change of weather, however, the whole family will have to turn out to salvage the flowers and plants. Everybody will then feel keyed up. By the time when we have managed to move the several hundred potted flowers to the rooms in a hurry, we will be dog-tired and wet with perspiration.

要点： 1.turn out

A.出席（某项活动）；在场

eg: A vast crowd turned out to watch the procession.

有一大群人出来观看游行队伍。（传说中的万人空巷咩~）

B.向外；朝外

eg: Her toes turn out. 她的脚趾向外撇。

C.原来是；结果是；（最后）证明是（+that 从句/ to be ）

eg:It turned out that she was a friend of my sister. 她原来是我姐姐的朋友。

The job turned out to be harder than we thought. 这工作结果比我们想象的要难。

“就得全家动员”译为the whole family will have to turn out，其中动词短语to turn out的意思是“出动”或“出来参加”。

2.key up 使紧张（尤指重要事件前，紧张不安，激动万分）

keyed up adj. feel keyed up 感到万分紧张（再也不会只用nervous啦~~）

“十分紧张”译为feel keyed up，其中动词短语to key up的意思是“使紧张”，因此keyed up和excited、tense等同义

3.“几百盆花，都要很快地抢到屋里去，使人腰酸腿疼，热汗直流”译为By the time when we have managed to move the several hundred potted flowers to the rooms in a hurry, we will be dog-tired and wet with perspiration.其中译者并没有具体地翻译这两个四字格，而译成了dog-tired（极度疲乏，像狗一样累）和wet with perspiration（汗珠，汗）。不仅传达了原文信息，又保留生动的形象~

综述：原文风格俏皮幽默，张爷爷很好地把握了这点，从dog-tired，key up等词就可以看出，因此我们需要进行各种风格的翻译和阅读时，加强自己对于语境的把握~

第二天，天气好转，又得把花儿都搬出去，就又一次腰酸腿疼，热汗直流。可是，这多么有意思！不劳动，连棵花儿也养不活，这难道不是真理么？ The next day, when the weather is fine, we will have another round of being dog-tired and wet with perspiration in taking all the flowers out to the courtyard again. How interesting it is! Isn’t it true that without doing manual labour, we couldn’t even keep a single flower alive?

要点： 1.have another round of doing 又…（很形象的“又一轮···”）

2.keep sth. alive 让···活着；keep +n.+adj. 保持··· （再次出现的用法，敲黑板啦）

“不劳动，连棵花儿也养不活，这难道不是真理么？”反问句，译为一般疑问句Isn’t it true that without doing manual labour, we couldn’t even keep a single flower alive? 将语言的运用发挥到淋漓尽致~

综述：跟我念，积累表达~

送牛奶的同志，进门就夸“好香”！这使我们全家都感到骄傲。赶到昙花开放的时候，约几位朋友来看看，更有秉烛夜游的神气(12)——昙花总在夜里放蕊。花儿分根了，一棵分为数棵，就赠给朋友们一些；看着友人拿走自己的劳动果实，心里自然特别喜欢。 It filled the whole family with pride whenever the milkman exclaims on entering our gate, “What a sweet smell!” When the night-blooming cereuses are about to be in flower, we will invite some friends to visit us in the evening to feast their eyes on them—in an atmosphere smacking of nocturnal merry-making under candle lights. When the cereuses have branched out, we will pick some of the flowers and give them as a present to our friends. We are of course especially happy to see them take away our fruits of labour.

要点： 1.fill sb with

又出现了表示“使某人感到…”的句子了，这次是fill sb with,迄今为止，我们已经见过的表达有：generate in sb a feeling/sensation of ;give sb great pleasure(使某人愉悦);inspire sb by(使某人振奋)~

2. be about to do sth. ...when... 正要做某事时，就···（熟悉的短语，陌生的用法~敲黑板！）

3. on 就在某时，或某种场合中（类似于when/as soon as引导的时间状语从句）

eg: On my arrival/ On arriving home, I found my house was broken into.

我一回到家，就发现家里被人破门而入了。（这是有多惨，sigh~）

（另外：表示已连接上、处于工作状态或使用中：The oven is on. 微波炉开着。）

4. be in flower 花开 （泪牛满面，以前我只知道come out；噢！不！还有前文的bloom和blossom）

eg: The roses are in flowerearly this year. 今年玫瑰花开得早。

The crocuses are late coming into flower. 番红花开得迟。

5.feast one’s eyes ( on sth./sb.) 欣赏某物/某人之美；大饱眼福；赏心悦目

eg: I feast my eyes on the art works in the museum. 博物馆里的艺术作品让我大饱眼福。

6.smack of

A.带有···味道

eg: His clothes smack of some bad smell. 他的衣服透着难闻的味道。

B.带有···意味

eg: In my view, his behaviour smacks of hypocrisy. 在我看来，他的行为带点虚伪。

“更有秉烛夜游的神气”中的“秉灯夜游”是成语，比喻“及时行乐”，今结合上下文按“夜间秉烛作乐”的意思译为nocturnal(夜间活动的，夜间发生的) merry-making（作乐） under candle lights。又“更有……神气”意即“带有……的味道”，故全句译为in an atmosphere smacking of nocturnal merry-making under candle lights.

7. branch out

A. 长出新枝

eg: The loquat tree is going to branch out in spring. 这棵枇杷树在春天会长新枝。

（俺十年前种的枇杷树已经很大了哦~）

B. 涉足（新工作）；拓展（新业务）

eg: The company branched out intoselling insurance. 该公司开展了保险销售业务。

I decided to branch out onmy own. 我决定自己单干。（哈哈哈，你们的陈大力老师~）

当然，也有伤心的时候，今年夏天这有这么一回。三百株菊秧还在地上（没有移入盆中的时候），下了暴雨。邻家的墙倒了下来，菊秧被砸死者约三十多种，一百多棵！全家都几天没有笑容！ 有喜有忧，有笑有泪，有花有实，有香有色，既须劳动，又长见识，这就是养花的乐趣。 Of course, there is a time to feel sad too. Last summer, a rainstorm hit us when 300 chrysanthemum seedlings in the courtyard were about to be transplanted to pots. Suddenly, the wall of our neighbour collapsed and crushed more than 100 seedlings of 30 varieties. The whole family were sad-faced for quiet a few days! Joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, flowers and fruit, fragrance and colour, manual labour and increased knowledge—all these make up the joy of flower cultivation.

要点： 1.adj. and adj. （这种句式常用在句中作状语）

Eg: Tired and exhausted, he soon fell asleep on the sofa. 精疲力竭地，他很快在沙发上睡着了。

Hungry and thirsty, I couldn’t do it any more. 又饿又渴，这事儿我再也做不下去了。

“有喜有忧，有笑有泪，有花有实，有香有色”译为Joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, flowers and fruit, fragrance and colour, 译文在翻译“有…,有…”句式时采用直接列举的方式，更简洁更符合原文轻快的气氛~

2.“既须劳动，又长见识”运用词性转换，译为manual labour and increased knowledge，也是为了贴合原文的氛围~

3. make up 组成(of)；弥补(for)；化妆/化装(make yourself/sb. up)；编造（谎言、借口等）

eg: We need one more person to make up a team. 我们需要再多一个人来组成一个队。

50 studentsmake up of our class. 50名学生组成我们一个班。

Nothing can make up forthe loss of a child. 失去一个孩子是任何东西都无法弥补的。

She never wears make-up. 她从来不化妆。（哇，这人一定很美~）

综述：之所以选这篇是希望大家在翻译时要注意文章风格，译时一定要结合思考语言背景，作者意图，以表现出翻译深思熟虑的特征~

后记：作为翻译初学者，不管是先拿到一篇中文还是英文的文章，都会有很多困惑。作为一个学习翻译的过来人，张爷爷的这本《英译中国现代散文选（一）》真的很适合用来学习汉译英。想在此为大家提供一个“傻瓜式”的学习方法，通过斟酌其中的字句转换、学习短语运用；与此同时，随身携带一本 牛津高阶英汉双解词典 是很有必要的事情。在译文中抽取的词汇、短语都可以通过词典中的解析、例句来理解、吸收！