问答题
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. Caught in the web of its own time and place, each generation of historians determines anew what is significant for it in the past. Interest in historical methods has arisen less through external challenge to the validity of history as an intellectual discipline and more from internal quarrels among historians themselves. While history once showed its close relationship with literature and philosophy, the emerging social sciences seemed to afford greater opportunities for asking new questions and providing rewarding approaches to an understanding of the past. Social science methodologies had to be adapted to a discipline governed by the primacy of historical sources rather than the imperatives of the contemporary world. During this transfer traditional historical methods were augmented by additional methodologies designed to interpret the new forms of evidence in the historical study.
【正确答案】
【答案解析】历史学家对历史的定义都有各自的界定,但现代历史学家的研究趋向于把历史看作是在还原过去发生的重大历史事件并对其做出解释。由于受自身时代及地位的限制,每一代历史学家都在重新定义对于过去的历史来说什么才是最重要的。人们对历史方法的兴趣并不是由外部对历史作为一门学科合法性地位的挑战引起的,而是源于历史学家自己的内部争论。历史曾经与文学以及哲学的关系很密切,但新兴的社会科学似乎提出了新的问题并为理解过去的历史提供了有益的解决方法。当然,社会科学方法论必须调整以受历史资源支配,而不是受当代世界需要的制约。在这个转变中,那些解读历史研究新材料的新方法充实了传统的历史研究方法。
[解析]
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.
本句首先是由while引导了一个转折句,表示“尽管……但是”,而且从句是一个“there be”句型。主句较为复杂,主语是“modern practice”,谓语动词是“conform to”,宾语是“one”,宾语后面接了一个that引导的定语从句,定语从句中有一个“see...as”的词组,“as”的宾语“attempt”后又接了一个目的状语。
practice的本义是“实践”,但直译为“现代实践”的话,读者会不知所云,深入理解得知它指的是“历史实践”,但还有一定的模糊性,最后直接译为“历史研究”,符合文义。
历史学家对历史定义都有各自的界定,但现代历史学家的研究趋向于把历史看作是在还原过去发生的重大历史事件并对其做出解释。
During this transfer traditional historical methods were augmented by additional methodologies designed to interpret the new forms of evidence in the historical study.
本句的主句是“traditional historical methods were augmented by additional methodologies”,主句是一个被动句,被动谓语动词是“were augmented”,本句还包含一分词结构作定语,“designed to interpret the new forms of evidence in the historical study”修饰“methodologies”。
“augment”是“增加,提到”的意思,“traditional historical methods”由“additional methodologies”来增加,两种都是方法论,隶属于理论范畴,后者添加到前者,使前者的内容充实,译为“补充”。
在这个转变中,那些解读历史研究新材料的新方法充实了传统的历史研究方法。