翻译题
It is speculated that gardens arise from a basic need in the individuals who made them: the need for creative expression. There is no doubt that gardens evidence an irrepressible urge to create, express, fashion, and beautify and that self-expression is a basic human urge; 46 yet when one looks at the photographs of the gardens created by the homeless, it strikes one that, for all their diversity of styles, these gardens speak of various other fundamental urges, beyond that of decoration and creative expression. One of these urges has to do with creating a state of peace in the midst of turbulence, a 'still point of the turning world,' to borrow a phrase from T. S. Eliot. 47 A sacred place of peace, however crude it may be, is a distinctly human need, as opposed to shelter, which is a distinctly animal need. This distinction is so much so that where the latter is lacking, as it is for these unlikely gardeners, the former becomes all the more urgent. Composure is a state of mind made possible by the structuring of one's relation to one's environment. 48 The gardens of the homeless which are in effect homeless gardens introduce form into an urban environment where it either didn't exist or was not discernible as such. In so doing they give composure to a segment of the inarticulate environment in which they take their stand. Another urge or need that these gardens appear to respond to, or to arise from, is so intrinsic that we're barely ever conscious of its abiding claims on us. When we are deprived of green, of plants, of trees, 49 most of us give in to a demoralization of spirit which we usually blame on some psychological conditions, until one day we find ourselves in a garden and feel the oppression vanish as if by magic. In most of the homeless gardens of New York City the actual cultivation of plants is unfeasible, yet even so the compositions often seem to represent attempts to call arrangement of materials, an introduction of colors,small pool of water, and a frequent presence of petals or leaves as well as of stuffed animals. On display here are various fantasy elements whose reference, at some basic level, seems to be the natural world. 50 It is this implicit or explicit reference to nature that fully justifies the use of the word 'garden' though in a 'liberated' sense, to describe these synthetic constructions. In them we can see biophilia—a yearning for contact with nonhuman life—assuming uncanny representational forms. (440 words)
【答案解析】句子的主干是it strikes one that...，it在句中是形式主语，that后面的for all...beyond that of decoration and creative expression才是真正的主语。...yet when one looks at...by the homeless是时间状语从句。for all their diversity of styles是介词短语作状语，表示让步关系；beyond that of decoration and creative expression是介词短语作后置定语，修饰前面的urges。 (1)created by the homeless是过去分词短语作后置定语，修饰the gardens，翻译时应将其置于the gardens之前，可译为“由无家可归者建造的花园的照片”。 (2)strike此处的意思是“产生于某人的头脑中”，it strikes sb.即指“某人不禁有……的感觉；某人突然意识到……”。如：It suddenly struck me how we could improve the situation.我突然想到一个办法可以让我们改进这种局面。 (3)介词短语for a11 their diversity of styles中，for all的意思是“尽管，虽然”。翻译时，可将该介词短语转译成句子，即“这些花园虽然风格各异”。 (4)speak of此处的意思是“表明，显示”，如：Everything at the party spoke of careful planning。这次聚会上的一切都体现出了安排之周密。 (5)beyond that of decoration and creative expression是介词短语作后置定语，其中的that指代前面出现的urges，是为了避免重复。翻译时，可将这一长定语置于urges之前。various other fundamental urges, beyond that of decoration and creative expression即可译为“除了装饰和创造性表达之外的多种其他的基本欲求”。
【答案解析】句子的主干是A sacred place of peace...is a...human need。however crude it may be是让步状语从句。as opposed...animal need是介词短语作状语，修饰其前面的句子，which is a distinctly animal need是其中嵌套的非限制性定语从句，修饰先行词shelter。 (1)however crude it may be中的代词it指代的是全句的主语a sacred place of peace。翻译时，为避免重复，it不必译出。 (2)as opposed to意为“与……相反”，shelter意为“住所；躲避处”，因为前半句说的是“平静之所”这种人类高级的需求，为体现其比较对象是一种较为低级的需求，也为了句子的平衡性，将shelter译为“栖身之处”比较恰当。 (3)which is a distinctly animal need是非限制性定语从句，修饰前面的shelter。翻译时，不必将其所修饰的内容译出，可用“那”来替代，以使句子简洁。
【答案解析】句子的主干是The gardens of the homeless...introduce form into an urban environment。which are in effect homeless gardens是定语从句，修饰先行词gardens；where it either didn't exist or was not discernible as such也是一个定语从句，修饰先行词environment。 (1)The gardens of the homeless中的the homeless指一类人，意思是“无家可归者”，因此，the gardens of the homeless可译为“无家可归者的花园”。而homeless gardens中的homeless是形容词，意思是“无家可归的；无家的”，由于一般意义上的花园都是建在自己家旁边，因此无家可归者建造的花园就可译为“无家之园”。 (2)in effect意为“实际上，事实上”，例如：It's called a pay rise, but in effect wages will fall.那是一次所谓的加薪，而事实上工资将会下降。 (3)where it either didn't exist or was not discernible as such是由where引导的定语从句，因其较长，为使句意通顺，翻译时不必置于先行词environment之前，可顺次翻译。it指的是前文中的form，翻译时，要将此译出。 (4)discernible意为“依稀可辨的”，例如：There is often no discernible difference between rival brands.相互竞争的品牌之间往往看不出明显的差别；as such意为“严格说来”，例如：The new job is not a promotion as such, but it has good prospects.担任这一新的职务算不上是真正的提职，但是有较好的前途。
【答案解析】句子的主干是...most of us give in to a demoralization of spirit...。which we usually blame on some psychological conditions是一个定语从句，修饰先行词demoralization of spirit。until one day we find一直到句子末尾是一个较长的时间状语从句，其中又包含一个简短的方式状语as if by magic。 (1)give in to原本意为“屈服”，demoralization原本意为“泄气，士气低落”，结合上下文可知，give in to a demoralization of spirit可译为“感到精神不振”。 (2)which we usually blame on some psychological conditions是一个较长的定语从句，为使句子通顺，翻译时不必置于先行词之前，顺译即可。blame...on的意思是“归因于，归咎于”。psychological conditions原本意为“心理状态，精神状况”，结合上下文，翻译时宜采用增译法，即译为“我们的心理状态”。 (3)as if by magic在句中作状语，修饰动词vanish，表示方式。翻译时，依据汉语表达习惯，应将其置于动词前翻译，译为“奇迹般地消失殆尽”。
【答案解析】该句是一个It is...that...结构的强调句，被强调的部分是主语this implicit or explicit reference to nature。though in a“liberated”sense是让步状语，具体描述use这一动作。句末的to describe these synthetic constructions是不定式短语作后置定语，修饰the use of word garden。 (1)句中this implicit or explicit reference to nature是被强调的部分，翻译时可利用增译法以突出强调意味，即“正是由于……”。implicit or explicit这一对反义词可译为“或含蓄或明确的”；reference意为“参照”。 (2)justify意为“证明……是合理的或公正的”，例如：Her success had justified the faith her teachers had put in her.她的成功证明了老师们对她的信心是正确的。 (3)the use of word“garden”是名词短语，为使句子更符合汉语的表达习惯，翻译时宜转化为动词短语，即“用‘花园’一词来……”。 (4)动词不定式短语to describe these synthetic constructions在句中作定语，因其比较长，最好转译为目的状语，即“描述这些人为的建造”。 (5)though in a“liberated”sense是插入语，表示让步，保留英语原来的语序则句子不通顺，宜将其单提出来，置于全句开头或结尾。这一副词短语如果按照字面翻译，成分残缺，可采用增译法使译文更容易理解。liberated本意是“解放的；不受束缚的”，在此处可意译为“灵活的”。