问答题 The biggest problem of the third industrial revolution is as easy to explain as it is difficult to solve. Technology is creating a global economy that is rapidly supplanting our old national economies. National governments cannot control this new economy, yet no one, least of all Americans, wants to create the form of global government that might be able to control it. As a result we were going to be living in a fundamentally unmanaged economic system. The difficulties of containing the 1997 Asian economic meltdown are just the first of many such difficulties we can expect.
National governments, which used to worry about managing and maintaining their economic systems, are slowly being pushed out of business. Changes in global finance overwhelm all but the largest governments. Governments have lost much of their influence over the movement of information and capital. They cannot control who crosses their borders either physically or culturally.
Conversely, the power of global businesses is growing with companies' ability to move to the most advantageous locations and play countries off against one another in bidding for attractive investment projects.

【正确答案】第三次工业革命最大的问题既容易说明，又难以解决。技术正在创立一种迅速取代我们陈旧国民经济体制的全球经济。

【答案解析】[解析] as...as结构一般译成“如同，与……一样”。但平时我们多见的是as...as之间只有一个形容词的结构，此处as...as...连接的是两个形容词不定式，翻译时可译为“既……又……”，即“既容易说明，又难以解决”。又如as difficult to implement as they are easy to state译作“说起来容易做起来难”，不仅意思符合，而且朗朗上口。

问答题 National governments cannot control this new economy, yet no one, least of all Americans, wants to create the form of global government that might be able to control it. As a result we were going to be living in a fundamentally unmanaged economic system.

【正确答案】各国政府无法控制这种新的经济，也没有人想要建立可以控制这种经济的全球性政府形式，美国人就更不用说了。结果是，我们似乎是要生活在一个根本没有管理的经济体制中。

【答案解析】[解析] yet引导的状语从句的主干部分是no one wants to create the form of global government，least of all Americans是插入语，翻译时置于句末，方符合汉语表达习惯。that might be able to control it是定语从句，可直接译作定语置于the form of global government(全球性政府形式)之前。其中it是指代主句中的new economy，翻译时最好将其所指代的内容译出。

问答题 The difficulties of containing the 1997 Asian economic meltdown are just the first of many such difficulties we can expect.

【正确答案】1997年亚洲的经济灾难难以得到遏制，只不过是我们可以预料的许多此类困难中的第一件难事。

【答案解析】[解析] 译文将整句拆为两个短句，句子长度变短，符合汉语的表达方式。

问答题 National governments, which used to worry about managing and maintaining their economic systems, are slowly being pushed out of business.

【正确答案】各国政府过去操心的是管理和维持各自的经济制度，现在正慢慢地变得无所作为。

【答案解析】[解析] 定语从句译法之一是打破原结构。有些定语从句与先行词关系密切，且在整个复合句中占重要位置，翻译时可打破原句结构，重新组合。原文which引导的定语从句修饰governments，译成汉语时没有作为主语National governments的限定成分，而是将主句和从句融合，译为一句；“各国政府过去操心的是管理和维持各自的经济制度”。又如：While there are almost as many definitions of history as there are historians, modern practice most closely conforms to one that sees history as the attempt to recreate and explain the significant events of the past.几乎每个历史学家都对史学有自己的界定，但现代史学家的实践最趋向于认为，历史学是试图重现过去的重大史实并对其作出解释。
An eccentric is one who insists upon being himself, provided he does not hurt them or himself.古怪的人只要不伤害他人或自己，总是我行我素。
系表结构和there be结构的翻译可使用合并先行词的方法，例如：
He is a man who enjoys his own company.他喜欢一个人待着。
There are a lot of people who are still living in poverty and facing starvation and exposure.有许多人仍然生活在贫困之中，挨饿受冻。

问答题 Changes in global finance overwhelm all but the largest governments.

【正确答案】全球金融的变化，唯一难不倒的是世界上最大的几个政府。

【答案解析】[解析] all but的意思是“几乎，差不多，除了……之外(都)”，例如：She all but fainted when she heard the news.听到那消息，她差点晕了过去。
All but one of the passengers were killed in the accident.除了一个乘客外，其他人都在这起事故中丧生。
英汉语均常常运用肯定的形式表达否定的意义，译者应注意肯定和否定之间的转换。overwhelm all but the largest governments译作“唯一难不倒的是世界上最大的几个政府”。类似的词还有anything but，too...to...，only，in case，least，before，rather than，more than和other(wise) than等，这些词均含否定意思，翻译时可使用否定句式。如：
He would do anything he was asked to do but return to his old life.只要不再过以往那种日子，叫他干什么他都愿意。
There are few developing island countries large enough to resist a sufficient spread of risks.发展中岛屿国家大多很小，不足以抵制大范围的风险。

问答题 Governments have lost much of their influence over the movement of information and capital. They cannot control who crosses their borders either physically or culturally.

【正确答案】各国政府已无法对信息和资本的流动进行干预，无法制约别国在资金和文化上的渗透。

【答案解析】[解析] 副词译作句子，原文理解的难点也往往是翻译处理的精彩部分。crosses their borders either physically or culturally如直译为“从身体上和文化上穿越国境”会使人不知所云。physically的字面意义可作多方面引申，这里可理解为资金上的渗透，而culturally可理解为外来文化的侵入。两个副词被译作句子，准确体现原文意义。又如：
The proposal was surprisingly criticized by people from all walks of life.这条建议受到了各阶层人士的批评，真令人吃惊。

问答题 Conversely, the power of global businesses is growing with companies' ability to move to the most advantageous locations and play countries off against one another in bidding for attractive investment projects.

【正确答案】相反，随着公司有能力迁往最有利的地方，并且挑动国与国之间为赢得有吸引力的投资项目相互对阵，全球性大公司的权力正在增长。

【答案解析】[解析] 该句难点在于动词短语play countries off against one another在全句中的成分。该句主语是the power of global businesses，谓语是is growing，介词with(随着)连接宾语 companies' ability，其后的不定式作定语说明是怎样的能力。该能力包含两个内容，一是to move to the most advantageous locations，另一即是(to) play countries off against one another。介词短语in bidding for attractive investment projects作状语表示play countries off against one another的目的。还应注意将with后面的内容提前，再翻译主句，以符合汉语句式的先后顺序。