【正确答案】At the age of seventy, I may well say that I have experienced the hardships of life and developed a thorough understanding of worldly affairs. However, sometimes I seem to be clear in the head, while other times I get confused.
【答案解析】[解析] 根据原文的结构，译成两个独立句。“古稀”是中国人古代指七十高龄的说法，“世事洞明”见《红楼梦》第五回“游幻境指迷十二钗饮仙醪曲演红楼梦”中的一副对联，原文是“世事洞明皆学问人情练达即文章”，这是曹雪芹对王熙凤的评价。“饱经风霜”一语根据上下文，可采用多种译法，如： 他饱经风霜的脸颊上隐隐泛起了红晕。Something like a blush tried to assert itself in his weather-beaten cheek. 暖暖的春风拂过他饱经风霜的脸。Warm spring winds wafted across his weathered face. He was a tall, thin, care-worn man.他是个瘦高个儿，看上去饱经风霜。 我已是饱经风霜，年老体衰。I am much too battered and old.
问答题
孔子曰：“七十而从心所欲，不逾矩。”大概已达到大彻大悟的思想境界了吧。
【正确答案】When Confucius said: "At seventy I can follow my heart's desire without transgressing what is right", he must have achieved the supreme enlightenment.
【正确答案】We ordinary people, living in a utilitarian-oriented society, rush about all day long, vexed by daily necessities like fuel, rice, cooking oil and salt, and tempted by cardinal vices such as wine, women, avarice and pride. What an immense difficulty to follow our hearts' desire in the face of conflicts between pursuits and cares!
【正确答案】To say that we elderly people should have a free rein does not mean we could follow our bigoted course and presume on our superiority. In plain language, it means that we, after the discovery of our individual way of living, build our own "Realm of Liberty" in the depths of our minds.
【答案解析】[解析] 原句包含三个四字成语“从心所欲”、“我行我素”、“倚老卖老”。翻译以意译为主。为避免与以上译文重复，“从心所欲”译成了have a free rein。以上三个词语的翻译还可采用其他方法，如： 从心所欲：obey the dictates of one's heart 我行我素：play fast; satisfy oneself; complete self-sufficiency 口语化很强的词“说白了”除参考译文提供的翻译之外，还可有其他译法，如：in common parlance, plainly spoken, to speak bluntly等。
问答题
海阔任鱼跃，天高任鸟飞，悠悠然自得其乐。
【正确答案】The wide sea allows the fish to leap about and vast sky the birds to fly. We are as happy as a lark with such freedom from restraint.
【答案解析】[解析] “海阔任鱼跃，天高任鸟飞”出自宋·阮阅《诗话总龟前集》卷三十引《古今诗话》，表达出禅僧自由自在的广阔胸襟。后比喻可以自由行动，或无拘无束地施展才能。译文使用了非人称主语句(impersonal subject sentence)结构，这符合英语的造句习惯。汉语成语“自得其乐”采用意译。该成语还可译成enjoy/amuse oneself, take delight in, be highly diverted with oneself, find gratification in等。
【正确答案】This kind of freedom is both infinite and finite, that is, the infinite "do-as-one-pleases" within the finite space of life. This, I think, is what Confucius meant when he said "one can do as one pleases without breaking the established rules".