【正确答案】①Suzhou is located beside Taihu Lake, and it is a fertile and scenic land with a subtropical monsoon climate, moderate with four distinct seasons. ②Suzhou is a beautiful city of gardens threaded by rivers and canals. Hence it is called the 'Venice of the Orient'. ③Established in 514 BC, Suzhou had become the most abundant 'land of grain and meat' of ancient China since Song Dynasty, and thus popularized the sayings that 'Up above there is Paradise, down here there is Hangzhou and Suzhou' and that 'Bumper harvests in Suzhou and Huzhou are enough for the whole nation'. ④Suzhou is the site of the prosperous Wu culture, and it has bred up many advanced scholars—who passed triennial court exams—and high officials in all dynasties. ⑤When these people returned to their birthplace as they retired after ambition fulfillment or because they felt disappointed and wanted to live in seclusion, they would spend a great amount of money on gardens, through which they could express literary feelings in senior years. ⑥The beautiful scenery, gentle customs, and peaceful life here also helped promote the construction and advance of many gardens in Suzhou. ⑦The Ming and Qing dynasties—between the 14th and 20th century—were the prime periods of garden building, when at one time there were more than 200 private family gardens in Suzhou. A dozen of them are still in good condition today, including the top four classic gardens—the Fisherman's Net Garden, Lion Grove, Humble Administrator's Garden and Lingering Garden.

【答案解析】1．①句“四季分明，气候温和”译为four distinct seasons and moderate climate，但由于前面已有a subtropical monsoon climate，故可将moderate前置修饰climate，译为moderate with four distinct seasons。 2．③句翻译难点为俗语“天上天堂，地下苏杭”和“苏湖熟，天下足”，意思分别是“江南美景可与天堂相媲美”和“苏州、湖州丰收，天下人的食物就都充足”，在翻译时会损失原文的意境之美，但要尽量将主要意思表达清楚，译为Up above there is Paradise, down here there is Hangzhou and Suzhou和Bumper harvests in Suzhou and Huzhou are enough for the whole nation。 3．④句“科举及第的文人”是中国古代的考试制度下，通过殿试的文人(也即进士)。在译文中为降低读者的理解难度，可选择英文中的较为相近的概念advanced scholars“学识很高的人”表达即可。若加以说明“通过殿试”的话，可以译为advanced scholars who passed triennial court exams；但是即使译出，若没大量文字说明，外国读者可能还是无法理解其中蕴含的中国文化。故这里也可以选择只译作advanced scholars。 4．⑤句“借以抒发其晚年的文人情怀”直译为to express their literary feelings in senior years，会比笼统表达为for literary cultivation更便于读者理解。 5．advance作为名词时有a change，discovery，or invention that brings progress(进步、发展)的意思，可作为development和improvement的同义词。故⑥句“促进了大量园林的建设和发展”可译为to promote the construction and advance of many gardens in Suzhou。