翻译题 46.Globalization places us in increasingly more situations where we may need to host international business associates for meals. With so many cultural differences in dining preferences, even among those of the same nationality and culture, the safest and most considerate thing we can do when treating a guest is to simply ask. Avoid making too many assumptions about what your guests would like and inquire about their preferences.
China's dish names are infused with its culinary culture, and expressing them in English is not always so easy. Zhao Huimin, director of Beijing Foreign Affairs Office, said, "As Beijing is striving to become a 'World City', we need a better language environment. And Chinese food has become more popular around the world in recent years, so it's essential to standardize the translation. The newly published book contains easy-to-understand English names of almost all mainstream dishes of China's eight major cuisines. It is for reference only, and is not compulsory."

【正确答案】 全球化可能使我们需要款待国际商业伙伴的情况日益增加。饮食喜好方面的文化差异很大，即使是在相同国籍和文化背景下，当在招待客人时，我们能够做得最安全、最周到的事情就是直接询问他们。对于你的客人喜欢什么，不要进行太多的假设，而是要去询问他们的喜好。
中国菜名注入了中国的烹饪文化，因此用英语表达并不总是那么容易。北京市外事办主任赵惠民说：“随着北京在努力地成为‘世界城市’，我们需要更好的语言环境。近年来中国食品在世界范围内变得越来越受欢迎，因此翻译规范化是至关重要的。这本新出版的书(这里指《中文菜单英文译法》)几乎收录中国八大菜系中所有主流菜肴的简单易懂的英文名称。该书仅供参考，并非是强制性的。”

【答案解析】 本文节选自International Business: Food Lost in Translation: How Authentic Is That International Cuisine?(国际商业：翻译中丢失的食物：国际烹饪有多正宗?)，主要论述了由于中国美食走向世界，规范中文菜名是很有必要的。第一段第一句中places... in... situations表示“将……置于……的环境中”，这里采用意译的方法；其中包含where引导的定语从句修饰situations。第二句较长，找到句子主干the safest and most considerate thing we can do is to simply ask；句中的when引导的时间状语从句翻译时应前置。第二段首句将infused with译为“注入”更地道。