Diction（选词法）

Diction（选词法）

Choice of Affective Meanings（选择情感意义）

Affective meaning refers to what is communicated of the feelings and attitudes of the writer towards the reader. You may address somebody as an “idiot” to convey your despise, or describe something as “marvelous” to express your positive evaluation. There are basically three types of affective meanings: positive (褒义), neutral (中性), and derogatory (贬义).

Positive portly (发福的) Neutral overweight (超重的) Derogatory obese (臃肿的) slender, slim (苗条的) underweight (体重不够的) skinny (瘦削的) senior, elder (长者) old man/woman (老人) fossil (老朽)

Some words when used in different contexts may have different affective meanings. In translating, it is significant to determine the implications of these words according to the context.

Words death result ambition scheme collaborate Positive 仙逝，长眠 成果 雄心，抱负 Neutral 死，死亡 结果 志向，强烈欲望 Derogatory 一命呜呼，见鬼 后果 野心 计划，规划，方案 阴谋，诡计，计谋 合作，协作 与敌勾结，通敌 歧视 discrimination 辨别力，识别力，鉴赏力 不一视同仁

1. individualism: ① feeling or behaviour of a person who likes to do things his/her own way, regardless of what other people do; ② theory that favours free action and complete liberty of belief for each individual person (contrasted with the theory that favours the supremacy of the state); (OALD 2002:758) ③ the idea that the rights and freedom of the individual are the most important rights in a society (LDCE 1998:776).

个人主义: 一切从个人出发，把个人利益放在集体利益之上，只顾自己，不顾别人的错误思想。个人主义是生产资料私有制的产物，是资产阶级世界观的核心。它的表现形式是多方面的，如个人英雄主义、自由主义、本位主义等（《现代汉语词典》2002：656）。

Therefore, individualism（中性词）≠ 个人主义（贬义词）≈ 个体主义

2. liberalism: liberal opinions or principles, esp. with regard to social and political matters; liberal: ①willing to understand and respect the ideas and feelings of others; ②supporting or allowing some change, e.g. in political or religious affairs; ③encouraging or leading to a wide general knowledge, wide possibilities for self-expression, and respect for other

56

people’s opinions; ④giving freely and generously; ⑤given freely; large; ⑥neither close nor very exact (LDCE 1998:873).

自由主义：①19世纪和20世纪初期的一种资产阶级政治思想。自由主义者代表资产阶级的利益，反对政治的、社会的和宗教的束缚，在历史上曾经起过进步的作用。但在资产阶级取得政权后，自由主义就成了掩饰资产阶级统治的幌子。②革命队伍中的一种错误的思想作风，主要表现是缺乏原则性，无组织，无纪律，强调个人利益等（《现代汉语词典》2002：2550）。

Therefore, liberalism（中性词）≠ 自由主义（贬义词）

3. pragmatism: pragmatic ways of considering and dealing with things; pragmatic: dealing with matters in the way that seems best under the actual conditions, rather than following a general principle; concerned with practical results (LDCE 1998:1173).

实用主义：现代资产阶级哲学的一个派别，创始于美国。它的主要内容是否认世界的物质性和真理的客观性，把客观存在和主观经验等同起来，认为有用的就是真理，思维只是应付环境解决疑难的工具（《现代汉语词典》2002：1744）。 Therefore, pragmatism（褒义词）≠ 实用主义（贬义词） Examples:

1. Aggressive nations threaten world peace. 侵略成性的国家威胁世界和平。

A salesman must be aggressive if he wants to succeed. 推销员如要成功，必须有闯劲。 2. He incited the soldiers to fight bravely. 他激励士兵勇敢作战。

He was charged with inciting people to violence. 他被控煽动人们暴动。 3. Every dog has his day. 人人皆有得意之时。

4. “You chicken!” he cried, looking at Tom with contempt. “你这胆小鬼！”他轻蔑地看着汤姆嚷道。

(3) Compare and translate the following, paying attention to the words in italics: 1. ① The story of the hero is extremely moving. ② He storied about his age.

③ That face must have a story belonging to it. ④ The real story was made public.

⑤ What a story! I don’t believe a word of it.

2. ① He’s a stubborn child who won’t obey his mother. ② The defenders put up stubborn resistance. 3. ① Thy found a mountain refuge for climbers. ② The political dissidents sought refuge abroad. 4. He is a bookworm.

5. All the constitutional powers were vested in a single being.

Choice of Grammatical Meanings（选择语法意义）

57

Examples:

1. The lapped wafers are then polished to a mirror finish with graded diamond polish. 把研磨好的薄片用各级金刚砂抛光剂抛光到镜面光洁度。

2. Take the cart back to the back yard and back it into the shed at the back of the stable. 把牛车拉回到后院，再把它倒到牛棚后面的小屋去。 3. He had no stomach to follow us. 他不想跟我们走。

I can’t stomach this job any longer. 这工作我再也受不了啦。 Drills

4. ①It is neither round nor square. ②The wheels go round rapidly.

③The night watchman makes his rounds every hour. ④The earth moves round the sun.

⑤The ship rounded the Cape of Good Hope. ⑥The talk rounded into a plan. 5. I iron my clothes with an iron.

6. Brush your hair with the hairbrush. 7. Paper the walls with white paper.

8. You must ship the cargo in a large ship.

Choice of Contextual Meanings（选择语境意义）

Examples: Book

1. Show me the complaint book, please. 请把意见簿拿给我看看。

2. Milton’s Paradise Lost consists of twelve books. 弥尔顿的长诗《失乐园》共有12卷。 3. That’s all I remember, sir, on the Book.

凭《圣经》起誓，长官，我记得的就是这些。

4. He claims to have been graduated from this college, but his name is not on the books. 他自称是从本学院毕业的，但注册簿上没有他的名字。 5. He is always painstakingly at his books. 他总是埋头苦读。

6. The music was fine, but the book was very poor. 音乐是出色的，但是歌词很糟。

7. How many names are there on your books? 你们的登记名册上共有多少人？

8. He went out to the village to pay tradesmen’s books. 他到村里的买卖人那儿付账去了。

9. In the business college students are taught to keep books. 商学院教授学生作簿记。 10. Are you in the book?

58

电话簿里有你的电话号码吗？ Drills Power

1. I will do everything within my power to assist you. 2. The new kinescope has a resolving power of 800 lines. 3. Basically, all power is with the people.

4. Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.

5. China has a few nuclear weapons, but it will never join the so-called club of nuclear powers.

英语词义：较概括，较灵活，范围很宽 汉语词义：较具体，较凝滞，范围较窄

Choice of Collocative Meanings（选择搭配意义）

Examples: 1. Build (v.)

build a house 盖房子 build a fire 生火 build a ship 造船 build a car 制造汽车 build a bridge 架桥 build a stamp collection 集邮 build a dam 筑坝 build an answer 思索作答 build one’s confidence 树立信心

build the drama of a story 构思故事的戏剧性情节 build scholars of tomorrow 培养未来的学者 Reading builds the mind. 阅读能发展智能。

2. Subjection of nature’s forces to man, machinery, application of chemistry to industry and agriculture, steam-navigation, railways, electric telegraphs, clearing of whole continents for cultivation, canalization of rivers, whole populations conjured out of the ground — what earlier century had even a presentiment that such productive forces slumbered in the lap of social labour? (K. Marx and F. Engels: Manifesto of the Communist Party) 自然力的征服，机器的采用，化学在工业和农业中的应用，轮船的行驶，铁路的通行，电报的使用，整个整个大陆的开垦，河川的通航，仿佛用法术从地下呼唤出来的大量人口 — 过去哪一个世纪能够料想到有这样的生产力潜伏在社会劳动里呢? Drills

Translate the following, paying attention to the collocations: 3. Heavy (adj.) a heavy rain a heavy sea a heavy load a heavy buyer a heavy crop a heavy demand heavy news heavy sorrow a heavy vote a heavy thinker a heavy schedule a heavy politician heavy advertising a heavy play heavy casualties This book is heavy reading.

59

4. Good (adj.)

good manners good soil a good king good humor a good Catholic good living good eggs a good question a good debt good sense a good hour a good eater and a good sleeper

5. In order to get a large amount of waterpower we need a large pressure and a large current. 6. Briefly, a long thin wire has a high resistance; a short thick wire has a low resistance.

7. This country was recovering its true self, drawing lessons both from its own mistakes and from its enemies.

8. On display was merchandise attractive in price and quality. 9. They captured fifty enemy soldiers and many weapons.

3.5 Choice of Stylistic Meanings（选择文体意义）

Examples of Chinese stylistic synonyms

书面语词 母亲 诞辰 清晨 逝世 散步 恐吓 口语词 妈妈 生日 早上 死

溜达 吓唬

古语词/旧词 殆 乘 致 木匠 厨子 大夫 现代词/新词 危险 坐 给 木工 厨师 医生

普通用语 给 现在 办法 安排 私下 这 措施 部署 擅自 此 公文用语 给予 兹

普通用语 飞 心 静 光亮 半夜 寂寞 文艺作品用语 飞翔 心灵 寂静 晶莹 子夜 寂寥

Examples of English stylistic synonyms with their translations

Informal broke, flat broke, hard up 穷, 衣袋空空, 穷光蛋, 一个子儿也没有 Neutral poor 贫穷 Formal (Literary) poverty-stricken, penniless, in want, underprivileged, impecunious, indigent 身无分文，一文不名，穷困，贫困 pooped, dog-tired, worn- tired out, played-out, all in 没劲, 累死了 疲劳 exhausted, weary, fatigued, spent 疲乏，疲备，筋疲力尽，疲惫不堪 boy, young young/little punk (贬), kid, person, young guy, lad teenager 小流氓, 年轻人, 男孩子，小鬼, 小伙子 男孩, 年轻人，青少年 youth, stripling 年轻人, 年轻男人 60

Examples of English words with their Chinese stylistic synonyms

Words lively irrelevant identical thick with discretion with eloquence great contribution invulnerability meager food frightened

A good translator should represent not only the original thought but also the original style as well in the target language. That is called “意似，形似，神似”. To illustrate this point, here are given some examples taken from Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw (1912) and translated by 杨宪益：《卖花女》—

1. I’m getting chilled to the bone. What can Freddy be doing all this time? He’s been gone twenty minutes.

冷死我了。佛莱第这半天是干什么去了？他去了二十分钟了。 2. Well, it ain’t my fault, missus. 这怪不着咱呀，太太。

3. That sounds more like it, Judy. 这还差不离，姑娘。

4. No, nothing more for you to worry about. 是的，现在没有让你伤脑筋的事了。

5. Nah then, Freddy: Look wh’y’ gowin, deah. (= Now then, Freddy: Look where you’re going, dear.)

这是怎么的，佛莱第，你走路不长眼睛哪？

6. You ought to be stuffed with nails, you ought. Take the whole blooming basket for sixpence.

你真该千刀万剐！你出六便士把咱这整篮子花都拿去好不？

7. It was artful of you, colonel; but I bear no malice: I should have done the same myself. I’ve been the victim of one woman after another all my life; and I don’t grudge you two getting the better of Eliza. 上校，你们真鬼，可是咱不怪你；要是咱，咱也这么办。咱一辈子总是吃娘儿们的亏；咱也不怪你们两位占了伊莉莎的便宜。 8. What the devil use would they be to Pickering?

61

Explanatory 生动的 无关的 相同的 厚的，稠的 小心谨慎 以雄辩的口才 巨大贡献 无法攻破 简单的食物 害怕 Descriptive / Idiomatic 栩栩如生 风马牛不相及 千篇一律 如胶似漆 稳扎稳打 娓娓动听 丰功伟绩 固若金汤 粗茶淡饭 胆战心惊 辟克林要它作什么屁用？

9. Damn Mrs. Pearce; and damn the coffee; and damn you; and damn my own folly in having lavished my hard-earned knowledge and the treasure of my regard and intimacy on a heartless guttersnipe.

别斯太太也好，咖啡也好，还有你，都去你们的！我真他妈的糊涂，浪费我辛苦得来的知识和我难得的一番好心，来教一个没有良心的叫化子。 10. The door is opened violently: and Higgins enters with his hat on. 房门猛烈被推开，息金斯不脱帽子就闯进来了。

11. He opens his umbrella and dashes off Strandwards, but comes into collision with a flower girl who is hurrying in for shelter, knocking her basket out of her hands. 他打开雨伞向河滨街方向急忙跑去，但一开步就撞着一个匆匆忙忙跑过来避雨的卖花女，把她手里的篮子撞落在地上。

12. I’m a respectable girl: so help me, I never spoke to him except to ask him to buy a flower off me.

咱可是正经人家的女孩子。老天爷，咱也没说别的，就是请他买一枝花。 13. I wouldn’t have eaten it, only I’m too ladylike to take out of my mouth. 咱本来不想吃，咱是觉得打嘴里往外拿太难看。

14. I’m only a common ignorant girl; and in my station I have to be careful. There can’t be any feelings between the like of you and the like of me. 我不过是个普普通通没有知识的女孩子；处在我的地位不得不当心。你们这种人和我们这种人之间不可能有任何感情。 15. I’d run them down your ungrateful throat.

我要把它塞到你这忘恩负义的东西的嘴里去。/ 我要把它塞到你的嘴里去，你这忘恩负义的东西。

16. You’re an ungrateful wicked girl. 你真是个不识好歹的坏丫头。

17. If you refuse this offer you will be a most ungrateful wicked girl. 你要是不接受，你就是最没有良心、最坏的姑娘。

Comparison of Translated Sentences 译句比较

1. Whoever tries to twist you up, may the end of his nose take a twist. ①谁要是想捉弄你，谁的鼻子尖就会弄歪。 ②谁要是捉弄你，就叫谁的鼻子尖儿歪了。 ③谁骗你，谁就不得好死。

2. Either a flat “yes” or a flat “no” — go back where you came from.

①要么干脆说“行”，要么干脆说“不行”，要不然，你从什么地方来还是回到什么地方去吧。

②干脆说“行”或者“不行”—— 否则你哪里来就回哪里去。 ③要就要，不要就拉倒 —— 你请便吧。 3. Ignore it as you ignore the cold of last winter.

①你别去理他，就像别理上一个冬天有多冷一样。 ②别理睬它，就像你不理睬去年冬天的寒冷那样。 ③管他们干什么？他们的话，当作耳边风好了。

62

4. They confused me so that I didn’t know the big end from the small. ①我连粗细大小都分不清了。 ②他们使我真假不分。

③他们把我搞得不知东西南北了。

Examples & Drills

Compare the following translations, and point out which is preferred for keeping its original style:

1. Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight, is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition of business. (Francis Bacon: Of Studies, 1597) ①读书足以怡情，足以傅彩，足以长才。其怡情也，最见于独处幽居之时；其傅彩也，最见于高谈阔论之中；其长才也，最见于处世判事之际。（王佐良译）

②读书使人感觉快乐，使人富有光彩，使人增长才干。其快乐之处，主要在于独处休闲之时；其光彩之处，主要显于社交交谈之时；其才干之处，主要见于判断处事之时。

Drills

Translate the following in different styles wherever possible: 5. Nothing is nobler than to sacrifice one’s life for the country.

6. Nothing gives the translator more trouble and perplexity than the translation of technical terms of social and natural sciences.

7. It is a true saying that time and tide wait for no man. 8. There is nothing surprising about this. 9. There is no help for it.

10. It was just the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Choice of Ambiguous Meanings（选择模糊意义）

Ambiguity, according to D. Bolinger, is defined as one surface structure covering two or more deep structures, that is, one linguistic expression allows more than one understandings or interpretations. Ambiguity can be classified as lexical ambiguity (词汇歧义) and structural ambiguity (结构歧义).

(1) Lexical ambiguity: The multiple meaning of the utterance depends on the meaning of the single word. For example, in the sentence I saw him at the bank, the word bank could mean 1) the money bank, 2) the river bank, or 3) the blood bank. Similarly, the sentence She can not bear children could mean 1) she can not give birth to children because she is sterile or 2) she can not tolerate the children. More examples:

As Green designed the machine, he must have realized its capability. ①因为这台机器是格林设计的，他一定事先知道它的性能。 ②格林设计这台机器的时候，一定事先知道它的性能。

63

(2) Structural ambiguity: The multiple meaning of the utterance depends on the sentence structure. For example, the sentence Flying planes can be dangerous could mean 1) the act of flying planes can be dangerous (flying planes is analyzed as a gerund phrase) or 2) planes that are flying can be dangerous (flying is analyzed as an -ing participle functioning as a pre-modifier of planes). More examples:

She showed her baby pictures.

①她拿出了自己婴儿时期的照片。 ②她把婴儿的照片拿给她看。 ③她把一些照片拿给她婴儿看。

Another source of structural ambiguity is negation. For instance, John didn’t beat Mary because he loves her.

①John didn’t beat Mary, for the reason that he loves her. (not is the negator of beat) 约翰爱玛丽，所以没有打她。

②John did beat Mary for reasons other than that he loves her. (not is the negator of the adverbial because-clause)

约翰打了玛丽，并不是因为爱她。

We can employ the following means to disambiguate the problematic expressions:

(1) Locate an ambiguous expression and related it to the context or background knowledge. For example, the sight of a fishing rod can normally justify our interpretation of the word bank in the sentence I saw him at the bank as “the river bank”.

(2) Stresses and other phonological devices can also help to eliminate lexical and/or structural ambiguity:

①I wasn’t ˇlistening all the｀time. (= For the whole time, I wasn’t listening.) 我整段时间都没听。

②I wasn’t listening all the ˇtime. (= It is not true that I was listening all the time.) 我并不是整段时间都在听。 Drills

Translate the following and see how many ways in which they may be interpreted: 1. He does not lend his book to anybody.

2. I knew that you had seen him before I met you. (R. Quirk) 3. I did not sing at yesterday’s concert as I wished. 4. They asked me what I didn’t know. 5. John and Mary are married.

6. They painted the cars black and white.

7. Bob will interview some guests this morning and Peter this afternoon. 8. There will be meetings on Monday and on Tuesday. 9. Wherever you live, you can keep a horse.

10. These are simple books and magazines for children.

Choice of Extended Meanings（选择引伸意义）

Extend the Meaning from the Concrete or Specific to the Abstract or General（词义从具体引向抽象，从特殊引向一般，从局部引向概括，从“实”引向“虚”）

1. Nowadays a student heading for college may pack a frying pan along with his books.

64

实译：如今上大学的学生除了带他的书上学校以外，还可以带上一个煎烙饼的平底锅

了。

虚译：如今大学生在学校里也可以自己做点吃的了。

2. The scene is a dramatic reenactment of one among thousands of spontaneous acts that led up to the revolution.

实译：这是最终导致革命的千万次自发行动的戏剧的再现。

虚译：这个非同寻常的事件，只不过是最终导致革命的千万个自发行动之一。

3. Monday-morning quarterbacking about Israel’s lack of preparedness for the October war plunged the country into a new political crisis last week.

实译：人们像星期一上午的四分卫那样指责以色列在十月战争中缺乏准备。上周，这

种指责将以色列推入了一场新的政治危机。

虚译：人们事后指责以色列在十月战争中缺乏准备。上周，这种指责将以色列推入了

一场新的政治危机。（Monday-morning quarterbacking的直译是“星期一上午的四分卫”。美国的橄榄球赛一般在周末举行，因此星期一上午再来指手画脚便成了十足的马后炮。这个词语有强烈的美国色彩，必须虚译）

4. When I go around on speaking engagements, they all expect me to assume a Quaker-Oats look.

实译：我应邀外出演讲时，他们都指望我摆出一付像麦片商标中的老头那样的表情。 虚译：我应邀外出演讲时，他们都指望我摆出一付毫无表情、一本正经的面孔。

（Quaker-Oats是欧美一种有名的麦片商标，商标中画的老头模样毫无表情， 我国读者不熟悉，应虚译）

Extend the Meaning from the Abstract or General to the Concrete or Specific（词义从抽象引向具体，从一般引向特殊，从概括引向局部，从“虚”引向“实”）

1. There is more to their life than political and social and economic problems; more than

transient everydayness.

虚译：他们的生活远不止那些政治的、社会的和经济的问题，远不止一时的日常性。 实译：他们的生活远不止那些政治的、社会的和经济的问题，远不止一时的柴米油盐

问题。

2. He is a valuable acquisition to the team. 虚译：他是该队宝贵的一种获得。 实译：他是该队不可多得的新队员。

3. The chauvinism of the bourgeoisie is only a vanity, giving a national cloak to all their own pretensions. 虚译：资产阶级沙文主义只不过是一种虚荣，它给资产阶级的种种要求罩上一件民族

的外衣。 实译：资产阶级沙文主义只不过是一种虚假的装饰品，它给资产阶级的种种要求罩上

一件民族的外衣。

4. The upper society then had not lost its exclusiveness nor its brilliance.

虚译：当时的上流社会仍然焕发着奇光异彩，也没有失去它的排外性。

实译：当时的上流社会仍然焕发着奇光异彩，而且依然壁垒森严，不容下层人涉足。 Drills

Translate the following, extending the meanings of the words in italics: .

5. The Malian people, in spite of their geographical confinement, have already given the

65

proof that they are determined to face all the difficulties and the necessary sacrifices to safeguard their dignity.

6. We have done so because education gives full scope to the flowering of the human personality.

7. As relations between China and Australia develop, the continuing importance of expanding trade will be balanced by the development of close contact over a broad range of political issues.

8. The pen is mightier than the sword. 9. We felt the patriot rise within us.

10. The circumstances only served to develop the poet in him

Choice of Equivalent Meanings（选择对应意义）

Some English words or expressions look equivalent to their Chinese counterparts, but actually they are different. These are called “false friends”. Careless beginners are liable to take too literally（望文生义）or mix up those words or expressions which look alike in the two languages but in fact are different in meaning. Care should be taken not to be confined or taken away by what we see in the original text.

Examples:

1. busybody ≠ 忙人 =（贬义）好管闲事的人 = a person who takes too much interest in other people’s affairs (LDCE 1998:186) 2. the long and (the) short of it ≠ 它的长短处（cf. merits and demerits）= 总的结果/情况，要点，总而言之，总之 = the general result, expressed in a few words (LDCE 1998:896) 3. She has a weakness for pork. ≠ 吃猪肉她可不行。= 她有爱吃猪肉的嗜好。(weakness for = a strong liking, esp. for something that is bad or slightly disapproved of, LDCE 1998:1742) Drills

(1) Correct the following Chinese translations with the help of dictionaries: 1. sweet milk 加糖牛奶 2. good sailor 好水手

3. glasses 玻璃（cf. glass） 4. colours色彩（cf. colour）

5. quarters 四分之一（cf. quarter） 6. hostilities敌意（cf. hostility） 7. spectacles景象（cf. spectacle） 8. horseplay马戏（cf. circus） 9. dry toast 干面包

10. blackbird 乌鸦（cf. crow） 11. What a shame! 真可耻！ 12. I dare say 我敢说

13. dog-eared狗耳朵的（cf. dog’s ears） 14. to move heaven and earth惊天动地

15. bus boy公共汽车乘务员（cf. busman） 16. vegetable oils 菜油（cf. rape-seed oil） 17. Reminiscences of Marx《马克思回忆录》

66

18. You can’t be too careful. 你不能太仔细。

19. a black and white cow 一头黑牛和一头白牛（cf. a black and a white cow） 20. (a) hundred and one 一百零一（cf. one hundred and one） 21. I have no opinion of him. 我对他没意见。 (2) Translate the following: 1. dry goods 6. familiar behavior 2. free-living 7. yellow boy 3. sweet water 8. to pull up one’s socks 4. small talk 9. outstanding issues 5. industrial relations 10. to send somebody to the chair 11. a matter of the last importance (3) Translate & Compare:

1. He is too glad to say anything.

He is only too glad to do so. 2. My mother has gray hairs.

My mother has gray hair.

3. No one appeared from anywhere.

They appeared from nowhere. 4. Cloth is made from cotton.

Cloth is made of cotton.

5. We agreed on the terms of the contract.

We agreed to the terms of the contract. 6. He escaped prison.

He escaped from prison.

(4) Translate the following, paying attention to the words in italics: 1. He is being a fool.

2. I usually sleep late on Sundays.

cf. I sat up to watch the midnight movie.

3. There were rats and rats and rats all over the house.

4. Those who go tiger hunting should remember that there are tigers and tigers. 5. He reminded me that I had better not go there today. I shook my head. 6. It made my hair stand on end.

7. We often compare notes with each other on our study.

Many slangs, idioms, or colloquial expressions cannot be translated literally. Compare English with Chinese:

1. Tell me another! (= I don’t believe you / I think you are joking or lying, LDCE 1998:1588) 我才不信哩！/我想你是在开玩笑吧！/不见得吧？/靠不住吧？/哪有这种事？/别瞎扯啦！

2. “Well, I declare!” said Mary, “How should I know, if you don’t.” (I declare! = an expression of slight surprise or anger, LDCE 1998:383 ) 玛丽说，“哎哟，那才怪呢，你们都不知道，我怎么会知道？”

3. “Look! That boy is wearing a green coat.” said Lisa. “What of it?” Linda answered. (What

67

of it = Why should I care? / Why is that important? LDCE 1998:1751) “瞧！那男孩穿绿色外衣。”莉萨说。“那又有什么关系？”琳达回答道。

4. That horse is bound to win; I would put my shirt on it. (put one’s shirt on = to risk all one’s money on / bet heavily on, LDCE 1998:1401) 那匹马必定会赢，我要把全部的钱都押上去。

5. “What’s the time?” “Search me; I haven’t got a watch.” (Search me = I don’t know, LDCE 1998:1363)

“现在几点了？”“我不知道，我没有手表。”

6. “John and Mary are going to get married.” “You don’t say!” (You don’t say = I’m surprised, an expression of slight surprise, often used in a sarcastic way, LDCE 1998:1346 ) “约翰和玛丽将要结婚了。”“真的吗？/没想到。/未必吧。/不会吧。/没有的事吧。” 7. At $20 this camera was a steal! (steal = something for sale very cheaply, LDCE 1998:1506 )

才二十美元，这照相机真是便宜极了！ Drills

Put into Chinese with the help of dictionaries: 8. “Let’s go home.” “You said it! I’m tired.”

9. “Do you know him? “ “Oh, I knew him from way back.”

10. Here it’s nine o’clock and you two TV watchers haven’t done the dishes yet. On the double!

11. You mean these aren’t real diamonds? Oh God, I’ve been had! 12. He is dead, as I live.

13. “Did you enjoy yourself?” “And how!”

14. He’s really gone to town this time and bought a Rolls Royce. 15. I clung onto the branch for dear life.

There are differences between British English and American English, which are usually shown in dictionaries. Careless translators are liable to make mistakes in translating.

Examples:

(1) Same word(s), different meanings（同词异义）

Words or Expressions Meaning in British English Meaning in American English 一楼 （大学或学院的）全体教职员 （甜）玉米，玉蜀黍（籽粒） 人（不论男女） 女用手袋 不好看的，相貌平庸的 使（未婚女子）怀孕 the first floor faculty corn guy pocketbook homely 二楼 （大学里的）院，系，部 谷物（尤指小麦），谷粒 男人 小笔记本 家常的，简单的，普通的 knock somebody up 敲门把某人唤醒

(2) Different words, same meaning（异词同义）

British English American English Meaning 零 行李 68

nought luggage

zero baggage tin spanner candidature scone biscuit braces vest waistcoat handbag purse purse

can wrench candidacy biscuit cookie suspenders undershirt vest change purse wallet, billfold 罐头 扳手 候选人资格（身份） 软饼 饼干 （男裤的）吊带 汗衫 马甲，西装背心 purse, pocketbook （女用）手提包；手袋 （装零钱的女用）钱包 （装零钱/钞票的）皮夹子 Drills

What are the meanings of the following words or expressions in British English and American English?

1. billion 2. pavement 3. conservatory

4. be called to the Bar

5. tram, tramcar; streetcar, trolley 6. in the family way; in a family way 7. duck’s egg; goose egg 8. town hall; city hall

9. inland mails; domestic mails 10. underground; subway 11. saloon; sedan

12. The opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.

Choice of Exact Meanings（选择准确意义）

A careful translator should weigh (掂量，斟酌，权衡) the meaning of the original before choosing a suitable Chinese word or expression. Three criteria are proposed here for choosing suitable words: preciseness (准确), conciseness (精练), and gracefulness (优美). Common mistakes in this respect may be chiefly due to the following:

(1) Lapping up a word or an expression without digesting it (囫囵吞枣); (2) Extending the meaning beyond its limits (引伸过头); (3) Rigidly adhering to letter or form (拘泥字面).

A comparative study of synonymous expressions in the two languages is always necessary for appropriate translation. Some thesauruses such as Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases (S. Lloyd 1982, Longman), Longman Lexicon of Contemporary English (T. McArthur 1981, Longman) and its bilingual edition《当代英汉双解分类用法词典》（海洋大学出版社，1992）, and《现代汉语分类词典》（汉语大词典出版社，1998）are useful for multiple choice of synonymous words and expressions. In given context, the choice of words is a matter of diction calling for our careful consideration. For instance, when expressing the idea “看”, we have at least the following English and Chinese words to choose:

69

English: look, see, watch, eye, view, observe, witness, glance, gaze, peep, stare, glare, etc. Chinese: 看，看见，看到，观，视，瞧，见，瞟，瞥，溜，窥，瞅，瞪，注视，等等。 More examples in Chinese: * 词义轻重不同

祝贺（轻）— 庆祝（重） 批评（轻）— 批判（重） 轻视（轻）— 鄙视（重） 欺侮（轻）— 欺压（重） 损坏（轻）— 毁坏（重） 责备（轻）— 责骂（重） * 词义范围大小不同

信件（大）— 信（小） 树木（大）— 树（小） 时代（大）— 时期（小） 河流（大）— 河（小） 战争（大）— 战役（小） 车辆（大）— 车（小） * 词语搭配不同

充足（阳光）— 充分（理由） 侵犯（主权）— 侵占（土地） 发挥（作用）— 发扬（精神） 召集（众人）— 召开（会议）

The Other Side of Midnight

(Excerpts) Sidney Sheldon

Constantin Demiris was the ruler of an empire larger and more powerful than most countries. He had no title or official position, but he regularly bought and sold prime ministers, cardinals, ambassadors and kings. Demiris was one of the two or three wealthiest men in the world and his power was legendary. He owned the largest fleet of cargo ships afloat, and airline, newspapers, banks, steel mills, gold mines — his tentacles were everywhere, inextricably woven throughout the woof and warp of the economic fabric of dozens of countries.

He had one of the most important art collections in the world, a fleet of private planes and a dozen apartments and villas scattered around the globe.

Constantin Demiris was above medium height, with a barrel chest and broad shoulders. His features were swarthy, and he had a broad Greek nose and olive black eyes that blazed with intelligence. He was not interested in clothes, yet he was always on the list of best-dressed men and it was rumored that he owned over five hundred suits. He had his clothes made wherever he happened to be. His suits were tailored by Hawes and Curtis in London, his shirts by Brioni in Rome, shoes by Daliet Grande in Paris and ties from a dozen countries.

Demiris had about him a presence that was magnetic. When he walked into a room, people who did not know who he was would turn to stare. Newspapers and magazines all over the world had written an incessant spate of stories about Constantin Demiris and his activities, both business and social.

CONCLUSION

70

本文来源：https://www.bwwdw.com/article/1omv.html