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九、介词（Prepositions）
介词，也是英语一道别样的景致。随着英语学习的深入，我们开始认识英语介词那风采多姿的表达才能。比如，在以下几句的英译中，只因使用了介词between，译文就顿显精神和魅力。
a.由于喝了一点威士忌酒，加之气氛热烈，人群拥挤，她差点儿昏过去。
Between the whisky, the atmosphere and the crowd, she felt ready to faint.
b.因忙于教学、写作及演讲，他很少有时间读书。
Between teaching, writing and lecturing, he has little time for reading.
C. 烧啦，打扫啦，洗啦，缝啦，写啦，弄得她十分忙碌。
Between cooking, cleaning, washing, sewing, and writing, she was very busy.
（kylepluto按：哈哈，毛老师“近水楼台先得月”，这三个例子来自一篇发表在ESTL的文章《Between可用于三者或三者以上》，我也打出来过，贴在我的名为“《科技英语学习》杂志摘抄”的帖子里了）
然而，须牢记的是：英语介词又是一把双刃剑！稍有不慎，用错了介词，我们的英译马上就“破相”。
除去固定词组的搭配之外，介词与名词的搭配基本上都有内在的规律可循。以下几个译例是否能给读者提个醒呢？
1.一天，上课的铃声响了，罗伯特先生走向教室。
原译：One day, on the ringing bell for class, Mr. Robert walked into the classroom.
改译：One day, on the ringing bell of the class, Mr. Robert walked into the classroom.
小析：注意介词的选择。
2.我们如何能够获得真正的幸福呢？我们能够通过不同的途径去获得幸福，只要我们努力，只要我们耐心。
原译：How can we achieve real happiness? We can, by various ways, so long as we can afford to endeavor and to take pains.
改译：How can we achieve real happiness? We can, in various ways, so long as we can afford to endeavor and to take pains.
小析：介词by应易作in。
3.真的，巨松不可能生长在贫瘠的土壤里。
原译：True, no monster pine-tree can grow on impoverished soil.
改译：True, no monster pine-tree can grow in impoverished soil.
小析：注意介词的选择。
4.从他吹奏的口琴中，我已经得出结论，他是一个聪明的男孩。
原译：From the performance at the harmonica I had already concluded he was a smart boy.
改译：From the performance on the harmonica I had already concluded he was a smart boy.
小析：注意（用于乐器前的）介词的选择。
5.那些日子，我生活在幸福之中。
原译：Those days I lived in a state of happiness.
改译：During those days I lived in a state of happiness.
小析：强调过去的一段时间，须用介词。
十、一致性（Consistency）
英语和汉语的一个重大区别在于：英语非常重视和讲究表达的逻辑性，而汉语则是一种疏放的、具有整体效应的语言。比如，汉语有一句形容英雄人物的名言：脸不变色心不跳。假如照字面直译成英语，以英语为母语者就会愕然。
英语讲究逻辑性，有许多方面的表现，其重要表现之一，即讲究“一致性”。本节所讲的“一致性”并不局限于“谓语应与主语在人称上保持一致”这一点。
此处所指“一致性”，既有语法上的一致，又有语体上的一致。语法上的一致要求主谓一致，分词与逻辑主语一致，行文结构一致等。而语体上的一致要求保持作文作为正式文体的特征，不使用与正式文体相矛盾的语言和文字，等等。
1.自从我1998年9月进入上海交通大学之后，我全身心地投入了学习和阅读，往返于寝室和食堂。
原译：Since I entered SJTU in September, 1998, I have been devoting myself to studying and reading. I ran from dormitory to dining room.
改译：Since I entered SJTU in September, 1998, I have been devoting myself to studying and reading. I have been running from dormitory to dining room.
小析：Keep the tense consistent.
2.我们应求助于广告，一般说来，广告提供了信息，并直截了当。假如广告说的是真话，它可以服务人民，节省人们的时间和精力。
原译：We must turn to ads for help, for it is generally informative and direct. If it is really telling the truth, it can be a service to people, it saves time and energy.
改译：We must turn to ads for help, for they are generally informative and direct. If they are really telling the truth and can be a service to people, they save time and energy.
小析：译途匆匆。译者单复数意识的薄弱会造成多大的纰漏，刚刚还在译：We must turn to ads for help，而接着却连用了四个it来指前面的“ads”！
3.悲哀的音乐让你忧伤，在你歌唱的时候，你会感觉到一个孤独的女孩被她的情人遗弃了，正在流泪倾诉她的苦闷。
原译：The plaintive melody makes one sad. As you sing, you feel as if a lonely girl deserted by her lover, is pouring out her pains in tears.
改译: The plaintive melody makes you cry. As you sing, you feel as if a lonely girl deserted by her lover, is pouring out her pains in tears.
小析：在同一句译文中，代词不宜变化过多。如以上两句，即用了one和you，两者选一即可。
4.在农村，空气清新，而城市的空气则受到“现代化”的污染；农村的天空是湛蓝的，城市的天空则因工业的尘埃而成了灰蒙蒙的。
原译：In the countryside, the air is fresh while in city it is polluted by “modernization”; the sky is blue while in city it is gray due to industry dusts.
改译：In the countryside, the air is fresh while in city it is polluted by “modernization”, the sky in the countryside is blue while in city it is gray due to industry dusts.
小析：这实际上是parallelism（平行结构），其中的in the country不可缺少。
5.因此，时间不仅将人分成了三大类，而且把他们推向不同的角色。
原译：So time will not only divide man into three general types, but also pushes them into different roles.
改译：Hence time will not only divide man into three general types, but also pushes him into different roles
小析：(1) Keep the number consistent (man-them);
(2) Do not begin sentence with “so”! “Hence” or “therefore” would fit nicely here.
6.什么是幸福？每个人对这个问题都有不同的回答。
原译：What is happiness? Everyone has a different response to it.
改译：What is happiness? Everyone has a different response to this question.
小析：You cannot use a pronoun because it is too far away from its antecedent.
7.友谊是一种关系，一种能够陪伴终生的关系。
原译：Friendship is a kind of relationships that may accompany a person all his life.
改译：Friendship is a kind of relationship that may accompany you all your life.
小析：Do not change person in your essay.全文的人称应保持一致。（Kyle按；不过这里只是摘出了一句，我们就没有必要转换人称了。）此外，“a kind of”之后的名词应用单数形式。
8.但是，她给了她周围的人一个极好的教训。
原译：But she did teach all the people around her a very good lesson.
改译：But, at that time, she nonetheless taught all the people around her a very good lesson.
小析： “Did teach” is an emphatic form that we usually say in spoken registers. In a written register it would be more elegant to use “…at that time, she nonetheless taught all the people…”
9.我很随意地环顾了院子，他们有三间卧室，左右各有苹果树。
原译：I looked around the yard casually, they have three rooms, apple trees standing right and left.
改译：I looked around the yard casually, they had three rooms, apple trees standing right and left
小析： “Have” should be in the past tense in agreement with the rest of the passage.
10.但是，最终你发现你自己才是真正受骗了。
原译：But finally you find that it is you yourself who is really deceived.
改译：But finally you find that it is you yourself who are really deceived.
小析：The verb has to agree with “you”, so it is “are”.
11.光阴流逝多年，我才看清祖父是多么爱我。
原译：It was after many years’ precipitation of time that I was able to see how Grandpa loved me.
改译：With the passage of many years, I was able to see clearly how Grandpa loved me.
小析：原句中的precipitation实属矫揉造作。宜改用更符合本文文体的表达，自然而又朴素。
12.这个女孩受不了孤独，特别是在周末。
原译：The girl couldn’t bear the loneliness, specially in weekends.
改译：The girl couldn’t bear the loneliness, especially on weekends.
小析：specially/especially含义极近，但是前者用于日常的（familiar）文体；而后者则较为正式，属于书面体。另外，注意介词的选择。
（全文完 哇，累死我啦！！！）
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