原文：

检点我们的幸福感

在重复的岁月里，我们渐渐有点摸不着过年的幸福了，不少人觉得过年“没劲”，还有几分无奈和麻木。这个时候，检点我们的幸福感，就显得很有必要。

对不同的人，幸福的体验是大相径庭的。但问题是，低层次的需要得到满足之后，高层次的需要往往并不“从天而降”。说白了，我们还不太习惯培植源自情感、归属、自尊等层次的幸福，对这些需要还比较朦胧而粗糙。所以，比如尽管我们对婚姻越来越挑剔，也有足够的勇气对窒息人的婚姻说不，但对于如何经营一个完美的婚姻，我们往往束手无策。所以，尽管有人说现在的日子如同天天过年，但我们心里却时常有点空落落的。

所以当我们越来越找不到过年的幸福感觉时，我们有必要停下来好好回味一下我们的生活。在貌似重复的岁月里，我们有必要让内心的生命体验一点点凝聚、回味和升华。在剥却了吃喝等内容之外， 我们更改珍视春节另一层的情感意蕴，及春节魅力的核心----阖家团圆所召唤出的那份浓浓亲情。

正是由于有了包括春节在内 大大小小的节日，我们千篇一律的生活步调才得以实现某种变奏，我们才会猛然意识到应该珍重和享受我们有限的生命，我们才在狂欢和宣泄中得到休整和放松。就此而论，节日对于文明的意义，很深很深。

（499字，选自《江南晚报》2002-02-11）

Reflections on our Attitude to Happiness①

王昌玲译

Year after year, our happiness gained from celebrating the Spring Festival is diminishing. Quite a

②few of us feel it is “no fun” and just go through the motions of celebrating it. Under this circumstances,

we need to check what’s wrong with our sense of happiness.

③Happiness differs greatly. But the problem is, when our basic physical needs are satisfied, the

loftier needs don’t come naturally as a result. To put it more straight, we are quite unaccustomed to cultivating happiness from affections, sense of belonging, and self-esteem, and still vague about these loftier needs. For instance, although we become increasingly critical about our marriage and have the guts to say no to a stifling one, yet we haven’t the foggies ideas about how to manage a perfect marriage.

④That is why, we often feel empty inside although it’s said that every day is another Spring Festival.

Therefore, we need to stop and ponder over our life, just when the happiness of spending the Spring Festival is getting out of reach. During the seemingly same years, we need to look inside and listen to

⑤our heart. Besides winning and dining, we shoud more treasure the affective meaning conveyed by

the Spring Festival, namely the essence of its charm – our deep love for our family triggered at the reunion time.

Just because of observing various festival, big or small, including the Spring Festival, can we have

⑥some change in our regular life pace. Only then, can we come a sudden realization that we should

cherish and enjoy our limited life; only then, can we rest, relax and restore our energy in reveling and unbosoming ourselves. Judging by this, festivals exert a far-reaching influence over human civilization.⑦

(297 words)

注 释

①英语文章的题目多为名词性词语，题目“检点我们的幸福感”，不宜直译成Check What’s Wrong with Our

Sense of Happiness。Reflections on Our Attitude to Happiness回译过去是：反思幸福观，与原文题目暗合。

②“还有几分无奈和麻木”，意思是说每到过年时，虽不情愿，或兴致不高，但还是得做做样子，用英语惯用语go through the motions of doing something译之，虽没有直接译出“无奈”和“麻木”，但其意已蕴含在内。

③此句模仿英文谚语Taste differs，比直译成Happiness means different things to different people要简洁含蓄。

④“现在的日子如同天天在过年”，汉语是明喻，但直译every day is like celebrating the Spring Festival，太过直白，所以译成暗喻every day is another Spring Festival。

⑤汉语此句是对上句意义的重复，“回味”一词用了两次，直译有重复之感。英语行文忌讳重复。所以意译为we need to look inside and listen to our heart。这与题目中的Reflections一词遥相呼应。

⑥“有了大大小小的节日”，“有了”一词不能直接译成have，have是静态动词，不如observing的动感强烈。而且，observing与下文两个小句的开头Only then相衔接呼应，行文简洁。Only then: Only when we are observing various festivals.

⑦“文明”一词，可以理解为中华文明，也可以理解为整个人类文明。后一种理解深化了文章的内涵。

Revive Our Sense of Happiness①

朱柏桐 译

We take less and less pleasure in celebrating the Spring Festival year after year. Some simply dismiss the Festival as “short of fun”, with a degree of reluctance and apathy. So it is time to revive our

②sense of happiness.

People have different needs for happiness. The thing is, after our basic needs are met, the advanced ones do not “dawn on us from nowhere”. To put it straight, we are still insensitive and vague about these needs, unaware they are to be cultivated by affection, self-esteem and the sense of belonging. As in the case of marriage, we are increasingly critical of it, and even bold enough to reject a stifling one. But no one can boast about how to manage a perfect marriage. Although “every day is

③spent like a Spring Festival” as is said, we often feel hollow at heart.

As our sense of happiness is being blunted by the routine celebrate, we should stop for some reflection on our spiritual life awaiting us to notice, condense and enhance. We ought to cherish more the emotional essence of the Spring Festival: its charm lies in the close kinship kindled by the family

④reunion rather than the feasting.

It is the Spring Festival and other big and small festivals that spice our monotonous life, spur us to treasure and enjoy our limited span on earth, to rest and relax in the festive gala. Hence lies the great

⑤significance of the festivals to human civilization.

注释

① 这篇短文的主题明确：认识到节日的精神意义和文化内涵才能重获幸福感。翻译时紧紧抓住这一点。结合全篇的内容来看并不是讲我们的幸福感有什么错，而是随着年复一年的过节正在逐渐丧失，需要对节日的意义提高认识。题目采用原文的动态译法，将主题做了延伸。

② 第一段的第一句处于开篇位置，其重要性不亚于题目，因此要把关键问题（幸福感的丢失）摆在这里，有了前面的“无奈”和“麻木”，才需要复苏我们的幸福感，翻译时不宜省去这层意思。

③ 这一段旨在说明问题的缘由是对精神层次幸福感的需要缺乏认识。翻译时注意前后呼应，将后面“对幸福不同层次的需要”的意思直接译出，这样意思更为明了贴切主题。

④ 整段的译法比较简洁灵活，避免了原文的迂回与模糊，如“貌似重复的岁月”、“内心的生命”、“剥却了”、“另一层情感意蕴”等。

⑤ 这段用强调句式将“春节”放在首位，并作为主语以加强重点，突出主题。

除上述分段注释五点以外，从全篇来看还有几点值得注意：

1） 为了句式平衡及朗读上口，译文中有几处将语序进行了适当的调整与增减。如“cultivated by affection,

self-esteem and the sense of belonging”, 而不是“cultivated by affection, the sense of belonging and self-esteem”; “to human civilization”而不是”to civilization”。

2） 同时也注意了避免重复及行文的一致性：如“在重复的岁月里……”，“在貌似重复的岁月里……”

分别译为“year after year”和“the routine celebration”；“越来越挑剔…..”，“越来越找不到……”分别译为“increasingly critical”和“is being blunted……”。又如把“过年”与“春节”统一译为“the Spring Festival”。

3） 译文使用了头韵、尾韵、排比等修辞手法以加强可读性。如“to notice, condense and enhance…”,

“close kinship kindled ……”, “spice our …life, spur us to …, to rest and relax…”。

第二篇：Reflective Journal about translation techonology

Name: Wu Jinyun Student No:3360598

Reflective Journal

The translation technologies as Google translation can not be parsed in translation, just application of grammar programs do not achieve translation required fidelity. When I applied “Google” translation tool I met some about grammar trouble in the translation. For example: “the job gives him plenty of responsibility-he is in charge of several thousand workers-and plenty of cash”. The Google translation result is literal translation. Although the reader could understand the mainly meanings in target language, it is not consistent with target grammar and thinking habits. In the sentence, “plenty of cash” and “plenty of responsibility” are parallel relationship, and the contents which are between the dashes are supplement for “responsibility”. However, Google translation ignores this parallel relationship and just simply copy of the original dash. The correct translation meaning (Back translation): he was this work, responsibility huge, charge thousands of workers, wages rich. According to read the English-Chinese grammar, it could modify the result of Google translation and then accord with target language grammar logical.

I think we can combine with corpora database to improve the translation quality when we translate the source language. Corpus is devoted to language information retrieval and statistical tools is constituted by a large collection of written language, and through the computer storage and processing, its biggest features is able to quickly provide a huge number of authentic language materials and the related statistics (Maia,2005).The advantages of corpus are accurate, comprehensive record ofa real example of the English language. It reflects the most typical usage and core of contemporary English which includes the most widely used syntax, vocabulary and phrases meaning and provides a large number of examples.The translators could adopt the corpus to improve theirtranslation quality when they do professionalpractice.

1/ 3

Name: Wu Jinyun Student No:3360598

In currently, the translation technology is lack of understanding that different languages represent different cultures. It can not transgress the cultural barriers between different languages. This is a flaw in translation technology as well as the important weak point. I will apply “Google” translation tool to prove the argument. For example: “There is a bit of old Adam in us all”. Google translation: the current position in all of our old Adam (Romainsed translation: mu qianzaiwo men de laoya dang weiquan). If the reader does not understand English culture, he would not understand what the meaning is. Because Google translation result is that the Chinese equivalent of word “Adam” is just a person?s name and does not represent any of the cultural significance. Therefore, I applied Google search engine tool in helping to improve the previously translation. In the Google search engine result showing, “the old Adam” has specific cultural connotation of the phrase in English, it refers to the first man Adam against the will of God because of human selfishness and the nature of evil in the Bible. Therefore, according to understand the real meaning of the source language, I could translate the source language more accurate rather than simply understand the literal meaning.

I think we can use some of the idiom?s strategies when we do professional practice through reflection and analysis. Choosing one suitable strategy applies to professional translation practice. Baker (2011) mentioned the idiom strategies have six different of styles which take into consideration register and rhetorical effect. Firstly, the strategy described using an idiom of similar meaning and form; secondly, the strategy described using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar form; thirdly, the strategy described borrowing the source language idiom;the fourth strategy described translation by paraphrase; finally, the strategy is translation by omission of a play on idiom or omission of entire idiom (Baker, 2011, p76-84). Therefore, mentioned in the previous source language, I used the second strategy to translate it because word “Adam” is loan words in Chinese.

2/ 3

Name: Wu Jinyun Student No:3360598

In the application of Google translation, despite its advantage of translation speed, obviously it greatly reduces the accuracy and readability of translation. In hence, Google translation needs further improvement by establishment of a database of specific domain and combination with links which are relative source language/target language resource. In addition, Google could attach links of the relative content on the translation result to enhance the translation accuracy. On the other hand, whether accurate translate the emotional colouring of a word is critical based on context, the different words have different of style colours in different body language. In many cases, the translation dictionaries tools assistance is ineffective, in this time we can refer to the corpora database that is a good idea. Therefore, the translators could combine with Google translation and corpus together to enhance translation more quality such as clear the logic and rhetorical and high work efficient.

Speed and high efficiency are its advantages of the translation technology, although the level of translation quality is not high it still exists little readability. In addition, Google translation may be faster to achieve the desired purpose of the translation under not highly precise understanding original text occasions, the important point of Google translation is save a lot of manpower, money and time. Moreover, with the progress of linguistics, translation technology may also be getting better.

References:

Baker M 2011, In Other Words: A coursebook on translation, 2nded, Routledge, USA Maia B 2005, ?Terminology and Translation-bringing research and professional training together through technology?, Translators’ Journal, Vol.50, No.4

3/ 3