童鞋们,Frances老师又回来啦!
前一段时间忙着给老板翻译英文书,目前暂告一段落。
Frances终于又有空跟大家聊聊英语学习的事儿啦~
上一次,Frances老师给大家分享了一篇
《卫报》上的文章,并给出了翻译。
今天,我们进一步来分析一下这篇文章。
原文如下:
Roses weave themselves into our lives in a way no other flower does, and they have our devotion in return: in every annual nation’s favourite flower poll, they leap into first place, leaving lilies, tulips and sweet peas flailing in their wake.
If you don’t have a rose in your life at the moment, it is a good time of year to remedy this. It is not, from a horticultural point of view, the best time for planting – that would be in autumn or winter, when they have lots of time to develop their root system before any top growth is required – but it is the best time for gazing, sniffing and falling in love with them, which is of course the most important part. Once you have found the one you want, you can plant now, too, as long as you are prepared to keep it well watered all summer. This is absolutely the time to wander gardens, garden centres and nurseries, and stick your nose deep into a few roses to find out which one best evokes the perfumed hillsides of Iran and the perfect English country house summer garden.
For shade
Generally roses want sun and lots of it; the best and most plentiful displays will always come from roses that bask in full sun all day. But there are varieties that will tolerate shade for some of the day, so seek these out if you are determined to fit a rose into a less than ideal spot. Pale roses are particularly good in darker corners, as they light them up. Try the almost thornless ‘A Shropshire Lad’, which has beautiful cupped and ruffled flowers in pale pink, with a rich fruity fragrance. Flowers will last longer and can keep their scent better in shade, too. ‘Susan Williams-Ellis’ is a vigorous, early-flowering, pure white rose with a classic old rose fragrance, and worth trying in a little shade.
For containers
If you don’t have soil into which roses can sink their roots, you can still have them in containers. Choose as large a pot as you can muster. Roses thrive best in deep, rich, moist but well-drained soil; recreate that richness with a compost such as Dalefoot Wool or Carbon Gold biochar and be prepared to keep them well watered and fed in summer. Poor, starved-looking plants with few flowers will be the result if you neglect them. ‘Sir Walter Scott’ has a short, bushy habit and deep pink flowers with an old rose fragrance, and is good in a pot. It flowers all summer long. ‘Robin Redbreast’ is a ground-covering rose that grows happily in a container. It is little and low-growing, and has the brightest red single flowers with sunny yellow stamens.
For fences and walls
Whether you have a short fence to clothe or an ugly outbuilding to hide, there is a rose that will do the job fragrantly and prettily. Some climbers are particularly good at staying compact, and ‘Gertrude Jekyll’, which grows to around 1.8 metres (5ft), is one of the best at this, its stems covered in perfect ruffled pink flowers with a beautiful fragrance. ‘Alchymist’, with soft, salmon-orange flowers and a strong scent, grows a little larger, to around 3 metres (10ft). For clothing bigger structures and for growing into trees, consider the beautiful and dramatic rambler ‘Veilchenblau’, which grows up to 6 metres (20ft). The flowers have an intense fruity scent and open a bruised purple colour, fading to lavender. ‘Rambling Rector’ is another beauty for climbing through trees, producing pure white, scented, double flowers in great clouds.
New words:
weave [wi:v] v.编织,穿行
devotion [dɪˈvəʊʃn] n.热爱,奉献
poll [pəʊl] n.民意调查,投票
tulips [t'ju:lɪps] n. 郁金香
flail [fleɪl] v.抽打,鞭打
remedy [ˈremədi] n.补救办法
horticultural[ˌhɔ:tɪ'kʌltʃərəl] adj.园艺的
gaze[geɪz] v.凝视,注视
sniff [snɪf] v.嗅,闻
evoke[ɪˈvəʊk] v.唤起,产生
ruffled [ˈrʌfld] adj.褶皱的
muster[ˈmʌstə(r)]v.集合,聚集
Well-drained['weldr'eɪnd] adj. 排水良好的
compost[ˈkɒmpɒst] n.堆肥,混合肥料
stamens[s'teɪmənz] n.花蕊
clothe[kləʊð]v.给穿衣服,覆盖
stem[stem] n.根茎
rambler[ˈræmblə(r)] 攀缘蔷薇
bruise[bru:z] adj.瘀伤的,青紫的
lavender[ˈlævəndə(r)] n.&adj.淡紫色(的)
文章详解:
Para 1: (第一段)
*rose* 我们都知道rose 表示玫瑰。但实际上,它还可以指中国的月季(Chinese rose)和蔷薇花。
*weave into* 短语,weave 本来指编织,纺织。Weave into 指把...织进...里。显然,我们不能把这句翻译成:把玫瑰编织进我们的生活。翻译的原则之一即是:符合译入语国家的语言习惯。在这里,即要符合汉语的语言习惯。所以,我们要找一个与编织意思相近的词,我们可以考虑融入一词,表示玫瑰充斥在我们的生活中,与我们的关系非常紧密。
*In return* 短语,意思是作为回报。
*leap into* 短语,leap的意思是跳,跃。Leap into一词很形象地表达了玫瑰花勇夺桂冠的情形。恰好,中文也有“跃居”一词,不仅将原文leap一词忠实翻译出来,更将原文所传达的形象表现了出来。
*Leaving lilies, tulips and sweet peas...*一句是现在分词作状语。现在分词属于非谓语动词的一种。非谓语动词即不做谓语的动词。为什么不能作动词?因为英语中有个big rule: 一句话中,只能有一个动词作谓语。言外之意,如果出现了第二个动词,就只能做谓语以外的其他成分,即非谓语。我们看到,原文句子里已经有leap动词作谓语了,所以leave只好作非谓语喽。非谓语的形式有三种:不定时to do, 现在分词v-ing和过去分词v-ed,动名词v-ing.
Para 2
*from a horticultural point of view* 英语中有一个结构,叫插入语--通常由逗号隔开,和句子的其他成分没有句法上的关系,即使去掉,也不会影响原句的结构和主要意义。插入语可以是一个词,短语,或者是句子。
*when they have lots of time to develop their root system...* 是when引导的一个非限制性定语从句。(对于限制性定语从句和非限制定语从句的区别,其实很简单:只要看有没有逗号就可以了。一般来说,有逗号即非限制定语从句,没有逗号即限制性定语从句。)整个定语从句用来修饰先行词autumn or winter
*top growth* 初见这个词,可能会有点摸不着头脑。但仔细分析,便可将它的意思猜出个大概。Top growth 首先是名词,从growth可以看出,它在before引导的时间状语从句中作主语。所以,本句可大致译为:在xxx被要求之前,要发展好根系。再仔细琢磨,这里应该是个对比,即xxx和根系相对应,因此xxx即(植物)的地上部分(的生长)。
*Once you have found the one you want....keep it well watered all summer*本句中包含3个从句。你都能找到吗?从句的明显标志即引导词,所以once引导的you have found the one是一个状语从句,as long as引导的you are prepared to keep it well是另一个状语从句。那么还剩一个在哪里?是the one you want.这是一个定语从句,the one是先行词,引导词that应放在you want前,只不过被省略了。Grammar:定语从句中,如果引导词在从句中作宾语,可以省略。
*keep it well watered* keep的用法:keep +sb/sth+adj表示使某人或某物保持某种状态,如Please keep that child quiet. 请叫那个孩子别出声。本句意思是:使你的花得到充足的灌溉,保持好的状态。
*Which one best evokes the perfumed hillsides of Iran* 这个句子,即使把所有单词都查出来,还是会不明白它在讲什么。Which one 指本句前面提到的玫瑰花。evoke引起,产生。Perfumed 有香味的,芬芳的。那什么叫做hillsides of Iran 伊朗的山坡?查度娘,答案就出来了。Iran的国花即玫瑰,而且玫瑰花制品的产量居世界首位。而且举世闻名的大马士革玫瑰就出自伊朗。OMG,原来如此。明白了这些,本句就不难理解了---你去找一找,看看是哪一种玫瑰发出的香味,使得伊朗这个遍地玫瑰的国家,芳香四溢呢?所以,当你看不懂文章的时候,主要有三个原因:1.词汇2.语法3.背景知识。
Para 3:
*Plentiful displays* plentiful adj. 充足的,丰富的。display n.展览,陈列,展示。当展示和玫瑰花放在一起,再结合后半句 will always come from roses that bask in full sun all day.即可猜出,plentiful displays指开得好的,充分绽放的玫瑰花(通常都是那些全天接受阳光照耀的)
Tolerate v.容忍,忍受。但在这里用来和shade搭配,不能直译为忍受阴暗。考虑到植物的特性,我们汉语常说:喜阴,喜阳。即译为:有些玫瑰品种是喜阴的。
*Try the almost thornless “A Shropshire Lad”,which has beautiful cupped and ruffled flowers....*其中,cupped由cup变来,表示杯状的,ruffled表示有褶皱的。它们都是用来形容玫瑰花的外形。
Para 4:
*Choose as large a pot as you can muster*这里是形容词的原级。表示和...一样,用as...as,中间用形容词的原型。这是中学考试的一个常见考点。
*Poor,starved-looking plants...*其中,starved-looking是合成词,是英语构词法的一种。这种现象在英语中非常常见。本是两个独立意义的词,用连字符结合起来,便构成了一个新词。新词的意义往往是两个词相加的意思。这里starved表示饥饿,looking表示面貌,结合起来,即表示看起来营养不良的(花)
Para 5:
*Whether you have a short fence to clothe or an ugly outbuilding to hide...* fence 篱笆,栅栏 short fence矮小的篱笆,我们都知道许多英美国家的人都住在大房子里,外面是花园,花园外是篱笆,所以short fence不难理解。Clothe v.给...穿衣服。考虑到翻译的原则,我们自然不能把它翻译为:给篱笆穿衣服。顺着文章继续看下去,我们知道这段作者要讲一种climbers攀缘植物。这些植物爬在篱笆上,不就像是给篱笆穿衣服了吗?后面的an ugly outbuilding to hide亦是如此。
为方便大家查阅,最后附上Frances老师翻译的参考译文:
玫瑰深深地融入我们的生活,这是其他花朵无法比拟的;当然,我们也以对它的热爱作为回报。在每年的“国民最喜欢的花”投票活动中,玫瑰总是跃居第一名,将百合,郁金香和豌豆花远远甩开,使其望尘莫及。
如果你的生活此刻还没有玫瑰相伴,现在是进行补救的最佳时刻。因为,从园艺的角度来讲,种植玫瑰的好时候是在秋天或者冬天,而非夏天。在秋冬,玫瑰可以有大量的时间来发展根系,以利于日后地上部分的生长;但在夏天,你可以仔细凝视,轻闻花香,进而爱上它们---这才是最重要的。当你发现自己想要的那种玫瑰,即刻去种---前提是,你已经准备好,在这个夏天给它好好浇水。现在绝对是你逛花园,园艺中心和苗圃的最佳时刻。把头深深埋入玫瑰花中,闻一闻,是哪种玫瑰使得伊朗的山坡,英国的乡村夏日花园芳香四溢?
玫瑰花通常喜阳。想要它们绚丽绽放,往往需要有阳光全天照射。但也有些品种,能够接受几天没有阳光。因此,如果你决定将玫瑰种在并不理想的地方,就可以去寻找这种属性的玫瑰。浅色玫瑰能够在暗角落里茁壮成长,因为它们喜阴。试试少刺的“什罗普郡少年”,它有着漂亮的淡粉色杯形褶皱花朵和水果浓香。这种玫瑰在阴暗处花开更久,花香亦更浓。“苏珊.威廉姆斯.艾丽斯”充满活力,属纯白色早花品种,有着典型的紫玫瑰芳香,也可以放在阴凉处。
如果没有能够让玫瑰扎根的土壤,你可以把它们种在容器里。尽可能选择较大的花盆。玫瑰在深厚,营养丰富且潮湿的土壤中生长良好,但土壤的排水性能要好。可以使用堆肥(如Dalefoot Wool)或Carbon Gold生物炭,使土壤变得肥沃。注意在夏天给花多浇水,多施肥。如果你忽视对它们的培育,你的花会看起来营养不良,稀稀拉拉的。“沃尔特.司各特爵士”呈丛生状,深粉色花瓣,紫玫瑰芳香,适合栽种于花盆中。整个夏季,花开不败。“知更鸟”是一种地被类玫瑰,适合栽种于容器中。它植株矮小,花朵呈亮红色,花蕊呈日光黄。
无论您是想美化矮篱笆还是想遮蔽难看的外墙,有一种玫瑰可以使它们变得芬芳美丽。一些攀缘植物能够保持紧凑。“特鲁德.杰基尔”这种玫瑰最擅长这项工作了。它可以长到约1.8米(5英尺),其根茎被粉色褶皱花朵覆盖,芳香扑鼻。“炼金术师”花瓣柔软,呈三文鱼橘色,花香浓郁,长得更高,约有3米(10英尺)。要遮蔽更大的建筑体或希望长成林木,则可选择硕大美丽的攀缘蔷薇“蓝莓月季”。它可以长到6米(20英尺)。蓝莓月季具有强烈的水果香气,花朵呈青紫色,渐变为淡紫色。“攀缘雷克托” 这种玫瑰能攀爬过树,花朵呈纯白色,有香气,一簇往往生有两朵花。