2014年考研英语一翻译题

Part C

Directions:

Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written on the ANSWER SHEET(10 points)

Music means different things to different people and sometimes even different things to the same person at different moments of his life. It might be poetic, philosophical, sensual, or mathematical, but in any case it must, in my view, have something to do with the soul of the human being. Hence it is metaphysical; but the means of expression is purely and exclusively physical: sound. I believe it is precisely this permanent coexistence of metaphysical message through physical means that is the strength of music.46) It is also the reason why when we try to describe music with words, all we can do is articulate our reactions to it, and not grasp music itself.

Beethoven’s importance in music has been principally defined by the revolutionary nature of his compositions. He freed music from hitherto prevailing conventions of harmony and structure. Sometimes I feel in his late works a will to break all signs of continuity. The music is abrupt and seemingly disconnected, as in the last piano sonata. In musical expression, he did not feel restrained by the weight of convention. 47) By all accounts he was a freethinking person, and a courageous one, and I find courage an essential quality for the understanding, let alone the performance, of his works.

This courageous attitude in fact becomes a requirement for the performers of Beethoven’s music. His compositions demand the performer to show courage, for example in the use of dynamics. 48) Beethoven’s habit of increasing the volume with an extreme intensity and then abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage was only rarely used by composers before him.

Beethoven was a deeply political man in the broadest sense of the word. He was not interested in daily politics, but concerned with questions of moral behavior and the larger questions of right and wrong affecting the entire society.49) Especially significant was his view of freedom, which, for him, was associated with the rights and responsibilities of the individual: he advocated freedom of thought and of personal expression.

Beethoven’s music tends to move from chaos to order as if order were an imperative of human existence. For him, order does not result from forgetting or ignoring the disorders that plague our existence; order is a necessary development, an improvement that may lead to the Greek ideal of spiritual elevation. It is not by chance that the Funeral March is not the last movement of the Eroica Symphony, but the second, so that suffering does not have the last word. 50) One could interpret much of the work of Beethoven by saying that suffering is inevitable, but the courage to fight it renders life worth living.

46. It is also the reason why when we try to describe music with words, all we can do is articulate our reactions to it, and not grasp music itself.

【句型分析】本句主句主干为it is the reason，why引导定语从句，修饰the reason。定语从句的主干是all we can do is articulate our reactions and not grasp music itself，其表语是不定式短语，由于主语中含有do，不定式符号to省略：articulate our reactions and not grasp music itself。our reactions之后to it为其定语，it指代music。定语从句中还包含when引导的时间状语从句。

【翻译要点】①本句主干的主句是主系表结构，reason后why引导的定语从句较长，翻译时可以与主干部分结合，调整表达为：这也就是为什么….。

②定语从句中，when引导时间状语从句，其中with words做状语，翻译时需调整语序到其修饰的to describe之前，可以表达为“当我们尝试用语言来描述音乐时”。定语从句的主干顺译即可，其中reaction根据语境，可以翻译为“感受”，其定语to it在表达时前置，it指代还原为“音乐”，则可以翻译为“所有我们能做的，就是明确表达我们对于音乐的感受”，或者调整表达为“我们只能明确表达我们对于音乐的感受”。and之后，grasp依据语境，需要翻译为“理解”。

【译文总结】这也是为什么当我们试图用语言来描述音乐时，我们只能明确表达我们对于音乐的感受，而不能完全理解音乐本身。

47. By all accounts he was a freethinking person, and a courageous one, and I find courage an essential quality for the understanding, let alone the performance, of his works.

【句型分析】本句为并列句。第一个分句he was a freethinking person, and a courageous one，句首by all accounts为固定搭配，意思是“根据各方面说”。第二个分句的主干为I find courage an essential quality，其中宾语为courage，而an essential quality是宾语补足语。quality后介词短语for the understanding of his work为其定语，其中还包含一个插入结构let alone the performance。

【翻译要点】① 第一个分句结构比较简单，句首固定搭配by all accounts，可以调整表达，翻译为“据大家所说”。主干顺译即可，其中he指代“贝多芬”，one指代person。这一部分可以翻译为“贝多芬是个思想自由、充满勇气的人”。

②第二个分句，主干为“我发现勇气是一个关键品质”，quality后为其定语for the understanding of his work，其中the understanding of his work意思为“对于其作品的理解”，做词性转化后，可以表达为“理解其作品”，这个介词短语需要调整语序前置于quality，可以翻译为“理解他作品的关键品质”，则第二个分句可以表达为“我发现勇气，是理解他作品的关键品质”。还可以调整表达为“我发现勇气这一品质，是理解他作品的关键”。

③在定语for the understanding of his work中的插入成分，在逻辑上let alone并列the understanding和the performance，二者共用定语of his works，顺译句末即可：更不必说是演出其作品的关键品质。

【译文总结】人们普遍认为，他(贝多芬)是个思想自由、充满勇气的人，我发现勇气这一品质，是理解他作品的关键，更不必说是演出其作品的关键。

48. Beethoven’s habit of increasing the volume with an extreme intensity and then abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage was only rarely used by composers before him.

【句型分析】本句主干为Beethoven’s habit was used by composers before him。本句的谓语为被动语态，主语habit后介词短语of increasing the volume with an extreme intensity and then abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage为其定语，是由介词of与and并列的两个动名词短语increasing the volume with an extreme intensity 和then abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage构成。

【翻译要点】①本句主干较为简单，但是主语habit后有很长的后置定语：Habit of increasing the volume…，其中“habit”可以词性转换为动词“习惯”，而中文常常先表达次要信息，则这一部分可以翻译一句话“贝多芬习惯增加…”，置于句首。第一个动名词短语中，with an extreme intensity为状语，表达时需调整语序到其修饰的increasing the volume前，根据语境，volume意思为“音量”，则increasing可以翻译为“增高”。这一部分可以翻译为“最大限度来逐渐增高音量”。第二个动名词短语then abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage，状语with a sudden soft passage需调整到following it前表达，其中passage根据语境，意思为“乐段”。则这一部分可以表达为“然后突然跟上轻柔的乐段”。整合本句主语与其定语，可以翻译为“贝多芬习惯最大限度来逐渐增高音量，然后突然跟上轻柔的乐段”。

②本句主干意思为“在他之前，作曲家很少使用贝多芬的习惯”。中文语义重心在后，将本部分翻译在句末即可。由于前句译文已经提到这种习惯，则这部分可以表达为“在他之前，作曲家很少使用这种习惯”，结合语境还可以表达为“在他之前，作曲家很少使用这种方式”，或者“在他之前，只有极个别作曲家会使用这种方式”。

【译文总结】贝多芬习惯最大限度来逐渐增高音量，然后突然跟上轻柔的乐段，在他之前，作曲家很少使用这种方式。

49) Especially significant was his view of freedom, which, for him, was associated with the rights and responsibilities of the individual: he advocated freedom of thought and of personal expression.

【句型分析】本句为完全倒装，主句的主干是his view of freedom was Especially significant。

his view of freedom后为which引导的非限定性定语从句，修饰freedom，关系代词which在定语从句中作主语。of the individual修饰the rights and responsibilities，冒号后进行解释说明。

【翻译要点】

① 本句主干为完全倒装，但是在翻译时，顺译即可，其中his指代“贝多芬的”，主干可以表达为：尤为重要的是，他(贝多芬)对于自由的看法….。

② which引导英语从句，修饰freedom，表达时翻译成另一句话“对于他而言，这种自由是与个人的权利和责任联系起来的”，其中for him还可以调整表达为“他认为”。

③冒号后进行解释，可以翻译为：他倡导思想自由和个人言论自由。

【译文总结】尤为重要的是贝多芬对于自由的看法，他认为，这种自由是与个人的权利和责任联系起来的：他倡导思想自由和个人言论自由。

50. One could interpret much of the work of Beethoven by saying that suffering is inevitable, but the courage to fight it renders life worth living.

【句型分析】本句主句主干为One could interpret much of the work of Beethoven，之后by saying that suffering is inevitable, but the courage to fight it renders life worth living为状语，修饰interpret。其中that引导宾语从句suffering is inevitable, but the courage to fight it renders life worth living，为saying的宾语，宾语从句中it指代suffering。

【翻译要点】①本句主语one，可以翻译为“人们”或者“我们”。主干可以翻译为“我们可以解释贝多芬的大部分作品”。

②主干之后的状语，可以翻译为“通过说痛苦是无法避免的，但是与之相抗争的勇气使得生命值得继续。”

③整合主干，可以表达为“我们可以这样解释贝多芬的大部分作品：苦难是不可避免的，但是与痛苦抗争的勇气使得生命值得继续。”

【译文总结】我们可以这样解释贝多芬的大部分作品：苦难是不可避免的，但是与痛苦抗争的勇气使得生命值得继续。