2014年考研英語一翻譯題

Part C

Directions:

Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written on the ANSWER SHEET(10 points)

Music means different things to different people and sometimes even different things to the same person at different moments of his life. It might be poetic, philosophical, sensual, or mathematical, but in any case it must, in my view, have something to do with the soul of the human being. Hence it is metaphysical; but the means of expression is purely and exclusively physical: sound. I believe it is precisely this permanent coexistence of metaphysical message through physical means that is the strength of music.46) It is also the reason why when we try to describe music with words, all we can do is articulate our reactions to it, and not grasp music itself.

Beethoven’s importance in music has been principally defined by the revolutionary nature of his compositions. He freed music from hitherto prevailing conventions of harmony and structure. Sometimes I feel in his late works a will to break all signs of continuity. The music is abrupt and seemingly disconnected, as in the last piano sonata. In musical expression, he did not feel restrained by the weight of convention. 47) By all accounts he was a freethinking person, and a courageous one, and I find courage an essential quality for the understanding, let alone the performance, of his works.

This courageous attitude in fact becomes a requirement for the performers of Beethoven’s music. His compositions demand the performer to show courage, for example in the use of dynamics. 48) Beethoven’s habit of increasing the volume with an extreme intensity and then abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage was only rarely used by composers before him.

Beethoven was a deeply political man in the broadest sense of the word. He was not interested in daily politics, but concerned with questions of moral behavior and the larger questions of right and wrong affecting the entire society.49) Especially significant was his view of freedom, which, for him, was associated with the rights and responsibilities of the individual: he advocated freedom of thought and of personal expression.

Beethoven’s music tends to move from chaos to order as if order were an imperative of human existence. For him, order does not result from forgetting or ignoring the disorders that plague our existence; order is a necessary development, an improvement that may lead to the Greek ideal of spiritual elevation. It is not by chance that the Funeral March is not the last movement of the Eroica Symphony, but the second, so that suffering does not have the last word. 50) One could interpret much of the work of Beethoven by saying that suffering is inevitable, but the courage to fight it renders life worth living.

46. It is also the reason why when we try to describe music with words, all we can do is articulate our reactions to it, and not grasp music itself.

【句型分析】本句主句主干為it is the reason，why引導定語從句，修飾the reason。定語從句的主干是all we can do is articulate our reactions and not grasp music itself，其表語是不定式短語，由于主語中含有do，不定式符號to省略：articulate our reactions and not grasp music itself。our reactions之后to it為其定語，it指代music。定語從句中還包含when引導的時間狀語從句。

【翻譯要點】①本句主干的主句是主系表結構，reason后why引導的定語從句較長，翻譯時可以與主干部分結合，調整表達為：這也就是為什么….。

②定語從句中，when引導時間狀語從句，其中with words做狀語，翻譯時需調整語序到其修飾的to describe之前，可以表達為“當我們嘗試用語言來描述音樂時”。定語從句的主干順譯即可，其中reaction根據語境，可以翻譯為“感受”，其定語to it在表達時前置，it指代還原為“音樂”，則可以翻譯為“所有我們能做的，就是明確表達我們對于音樂的感受”，或者調整表達為“我們只能明確表達我們對于音樂的感受”。and之后，grasp依據語境，需要翻譯為“理解”。

【譯文總結】這也是為什么當我們試圖用語言來描述音樂時，我們只能明確表達我們對于音樂的感受，而不能完全理解音樂本身。

47. By all accounts he was a freethinking person, and a courageous one, and I find courage an essential quality for the understanding, let alone the performance, of his works.

【句型分析】本句為并列句。第一個分句he was a freethinking person, and a courageous one，句首by all accounts為固定搭配，意思是“根據各方面說”。第二個分句的主干為I find courage an essential quality，其中賓語為courage，而an essential quality是賓語補足語。quality后介詞短語for the understanding of his work為其定語，其中還包含一個插入結構let alone the performance。

【翻譯要點】① 第一個分句結構比較簡單，句首固定搭配by all accounts，可以調整表達，翻譯為“據大家所說”。主干順譯即可，其中he指代“貝多芬”，one指代person。這一部分可以翻譯為“貝多芬是個思想自由、充滿勇氣的人”。

②第二個分句，主干為“我發現勇氣是一個關鍵品質”，quality后為其定語for the understanding of his work，其中the understanding of his work意思為“對于其作品的理解”，做詞性轉化后，可以表達為“理解其作品”，這個介詞短語需要調整語序前置于quality，可以翻譯為“理解他作品的關鍵品質”，則第二個分句可以表達為“我發現勇氣，是理解他作品的關鍵品質”。還可以調整表達為“我發現勇氣這一品質，是理解他作品的關鍵”。

③在定語for the understanding of his work中的插入成分，在邏輯上let alone并列the understanding和the performance，二者共用定語of his works，順譯句末即可：更不必說是演出其作品的關鍵品質。

【譯文總結】人們普遍認為，他(貝多芬)是個思想自由、充滿勇氣的人，我發現勇氣這一品質，是理解他作品的關鍵，更不必說是演出其作品的關鍵。

48. Beethoven’s habit of increasing the volume with an extreme intensity and then abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage was only rarely used by composers before him.

【句型分析】本句主干為Beethoven’s habit was used by composers before him。本句的謂語為被動語態，主語habit后介詞短語of increasing the volume with an extreme intensity and then abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage為其定語，是由介詞of與and并列的兩個動名詞短語increasing the volume with an extreme intensity 和then abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage構成。

【翻譯要點】①本句主干較為簡單，但是主語habit后有很長的后置定語：Habit of increasing the volume…，其中“habit”可以詞性轉換為動詞“習慣”，而中文常常先表達次要信息，則這一部分可以翻譯一句話“貝多芬習慣增加…”，置于句首。第一個動名詞短語中，with an extreme intensity為狀語，表達時需調整語序到其修飾的increasing the volume前，根據語境，volume意思為“音量”，則increasing可以翻譯為“增高”。這一部分可以翻譯為“最大限度來逐漸增高音量”。第二個動名詞短語then abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage，狀語with a sudden soft passage需調整到following it前表達，其中passage根據語境，意思為“樂段”。則這一部分可以表達為“然后突然跟上輕柔的樂段”。整合本句主語與其定語，可以翻譯為“貝多芬習慣最大限度來逐漸增高音量，然后突然跟上輕柔的樂段”。

②本句主干意思為“在他之前，作曲家很少使用貝多芬的習慣”。中文語義重心在后，將本部分翻譯在句末即可。由于前句譯文已經提到這種習慣，則這部分可以表達為“在他之前，作曲家很少使用這種習慣”，結合語境還可以表達為“在他之前，作曲家很少使用這種方式”，或者“在他之前，只有極個別作曲家會使用這種方式”。

【譯文總結】貝多芬習慣最大限度來逐漸增高音量，然后突然跟上輕柔的樂段，在他之前，作曲家很少使用這種方式。

49) Especially significant was his view of freedom, which, for him, was associated with the rights and responsibilities of the individual: he advocated freedom of thought and of personal expression.

【句型分析】本句為完全倒裝，主句的主干是his view of freedom was Especially significant。

his view of freedom后為which引導的非限定性定語從句，修飾freedom，關系代詞which在定語從句中作主語。of the individual修飾the rights and responsibilities，冒號后進行解釋說明。

【翻譯要點】

① 本句主干為完全倒裝，但是在翻譯時，順譯即可，其中his指代“貝多芬的”，主干可以表達為：尤為重要的是，他(貝多芬)對于自由的看法….。

② which引導英語從句，修飾freedom，表達時翻譯成另一句話“對于他而言，這種自由是與個人的權利和責任聯系起來的”，其中for him還可以調整表達為“他認為”。

③冒號后進行解釋，可以翻譯為：他倡導思想自由和個人言論自由。

【譯文總結】尤為重要的是貝多芬對于自由的看法，他認為，這種自由是與個人的權利和責任聯系起來的：他倡導思想自由和個人言論自由。

50. One could interpret much of the work of Beethoven by saying that suffering is inevitable, but the courage to fight it renders life worth living.

【句型分析】本句主句主干為One could interpret much of the work of Beethoven，之后by saying that suffering is inevitable, but the courage to fight it renders life worth living為狀語，修飾interpret。其中that引導賓語從句suffering is inevitable, but the courage to fight it renders life worth living，為saying的賓語，賓語從句中it指代suffering。

【翻譯要點】①本句主語one，可以翻譯為“人們”或者“我們”。主干可以翻譯為“我們可以解釋貝多芬的大部分作品”。

②主干之后的狀語，可以翻譯為“通過說痛苦是無法避免的，但是與之相抗爭的勇氣使得生命值得繼續。”

③整合主干，可以表達為“我們可以這樣解釋貝多芬的大部分作品：苦難是不可避免的，但是與痛苦抗爭的勇氣使得生命值得繼續。”

【譯文總結】我們可以這樣解釋貝多芬的大部分作品：苦難是不可避免的，但是與痛苦抗爭的勇氣使得生命值得繼續。