殖民地时期
——2015年英译汉及详解
Within the span of a hundred years, in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, a tide of emigration—one of the great folk wanderings of history—swept from Europe to America.【F1】
This movement, driven by powerful and diverse motivations, built a nation out of a wilderness and, by its nature, shaped the character and destiny of an uncharted continent.
【F2】
The United States is the product of two principal forces—the immigration of European peoples with their varied ideas, customs, and national characteristics and the impact of a new country which modified these traits.
Of necessity, colonial America was a projection of Europe. Across the Atlantic came successive groups of Englishmen, Frenchmen, Germans, Scots, Irishmen, Dutchmen, Swedes, and many others who attempted to transplant their habits and traditions to the new world.【F3】
But the force of geographic conditions peculiar to America, the interplay of the varied national groups upon one another, and the sheer difficulty of maintaining old-world ways in a raw, new continent caused significant changes.
These changes were gradual and at first scarcely visible. But the result was a new social pattern which, although it resembled European society in many ways, had a character that was distinctly American.
【F4】
The first shiploads of immigrants bound for the territory which is now the United States crossed the Atlantic more than a hundred years after the 15th-and-16th-century explorations of North America.
In the meantime, thriving Spanish colonies had been established in Mexico, the West Indies, and South America. These travelers to North America came in small, unmercifully overcrowded craft. During their six- to twelve-week voyage, they survived on barely enough food allotted to them. Many of the ships were lost in storms, many passengers died of disease, and infants rarely survived the journey. Sometimes storms blew the vessels far off their course, and often calm brought unbearably delay.
To the anxious travelers the sight of the American shore brought almost inexpressible relief. Said one recorder of events, "The air at twelve leagues' distance smelt as sweet as a new-blown garden." The colonists' first glimpse of the new land was a sight of dense woods.【F5】
The virgin forest with its richness and variety of trees was a real treasure-house which extended from Maine all the way down to Georgia.
Here was abundant fuel and lumber. Here was the raw material of houses and furniture, ships and potash, dyes and naval stores.
【答案解析】解析：本句考查的重点是：过去分词作后置定语。 本句的主干为This movement built a nation and shaped the character and destiny of an uncharted continent。driven by powerful motivation为过去分词作定语，修饰主语This movement。out of a wilderness作后置定语，修饰a nation。by its nature为插入语，of an uncharted continent为介词短语作后置定语，修饰the character and destiny。 ①为符合汉语表达习惯，需将driven by powerful motivations提到句首进行翻译。 ②介词短语of an uncharted continent较短，应翻译为前置定语。
【答案解析】解析：本句考查的重点是：同位语及定语从句。 本句的主干为The United States is the product of two principal forces。破折号后面的内容是两个同位语：the immigration of European peoples with their varied ideas，customs，and national characteristics和the impact of a new country，用来解释说明two principal forces，其中第二个同位语中又含有一个定语从句which modified these traits，修饰a new country。 ①介词短语of two principal forces及with their varied ideas，customs，and national characteristics较短，应翻译为前置定语。 ②将定语从句which modified these traits翻译为前置定语，这可以使第二个同位语的翻译与第一个同位语的翻译在结构上实现对等。
【答案解析】解析：本句考查的重点是：形容词短语作后置定语及定语从句。 本句的主干为The first shiploads of immigrants crossed the Atlantic。bound for the territory为形容词短语作后置定语，修饰immigrants，其后又跟了一个定语从句which is now the United States，修饰the territory。时间状语more than a hundred years…of North America位于句末，修饰整个句子。 ①为使译文更顺畅，可以将形容词短语bound for翻译为动词“运往”。 ②汉语表达中常常将时间状语提前，因此时间状语more than a hundred years…of North America的翻译应放在句首。 ③定语从句which is now the United States可译为前置定语，以使译文流畅。
问答题
【F5】
【正确答案】正确答案：郁郁葱葱、树种繁多的原始森林是一座从缅因一直向南绵延到佐治亚的天然宝库。
【答案解析】解析：本句考查的重点是：介词短语作后置定语及定语从句。 本句的主干为The virgin forest was a real treasure-house。介词短语with its richness and variety of trees作后置定语，修饰主语The virgin forest。定语从句which extended from Maine all the way down to Georgia修饰treasure-house。 ①为使译文顺畅，需将介词短语with its richness and variety of trees译为前置定语。 ②限制性定语从句which extended from Maine all the way down to Georgia较长，所以单独翻译，更符合汉语的表达习惯。 ③virgin原意是“处女；处女的”，在此可译为“原始的”。