2008年考研英語(yǔ)英譯漢試題及解析

　　In his autobiography, Darwin himself speaks of his intellectual powers with extraordinary modesty. He points out that he always experienced much difficulty in expressing himself clearly and concisely, but (46) he believes that this very difficulty may have had the compensating advantage of forcing him to think long and intently about every sentence, and thus enabling him to detect errors in reasoning and in his own observations. He disclaimed the possession of any great quickness of apprehension or wit, such as distinguished Huxley. (47) He asserted, also, that his power to follow a long and purely abstract train of thought was very limited, for which reason he felt certain that he never could have succeeded with mathematics. His memory, too, he described as extensive, but hazy. So poor in one sense was it that he never could remember for more than a few days a single date or a line of poetry. (48) On the other hand, he did not accept as well founded the charge made by some of his critics that, while he was a good observer, he had no power of reasoning. This, he thought, could not be true, because the “Origin of Species” is one long argument from the beginning to the end, and has convinced many able men. No one, he submits, could have written it without possessing some power of reasoning. He was willing to assert that “I have a fair share of invention, and of common sense or judgment, such as every fairly successful lawyer or doctor must have, but not, I believe, in any higher degree.” (49) He adds humbly that perhaps he was “superior to the common run of men in noticing things which easily escape attention, and in observing them carefully.”

　　Writing in the last year of his life, he expressed the opinion that in two or three respects his mind had changed during the preceding twenty or thirty years. Up to the age of thirty or beyond it poetry of many kinds gave him great pleasure. Formerly, too, pictures had given him considerable, and music very great, delight. In 1881, however, he said: “Now for many years I cannot endure to read a line of poetry. I have also almost lost my taste for pictures or music.” (50) Darwin was convinced that the loss of these tastes was not only a loss of happiness, but might possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character.

　　真題解析

　　46. He believes / that (this very )difficulty may have had the compensating advantage (of forcing him to think long and intently about every sentence, // and thus enabling him to detect errors in reasoning and in his own observations.)

　　句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析

　　(1)本句是一個(gè)主從復(fù)合句，含有一個(gè)that引導(dǎo)的賓語(yǔ)從句;其主干是he believes that (difficulty may have had the advantage).

　　(2)賓語(yǔ)從句“that this very…his own observations”含有of引導(dǎo)的兩個(gè)后置定語(yǔ)“of forcing him to…his own observations”;由于是分詞短語(yǔ)作定語(yǔ)，且太長(zhǎng)，翻譯時(shí)要找到與主句的邏輯關(guān)系，翻譯成非定語(yǔ)成分。

　　詞語(yǔ)用法解釋

　　(1)very

　　adj. 表示“真正的，真實(shí)的，恰好的”等等。

　　adv. 表示“很，甚，及其，非常，完全”等。例如：The very idea of cheating people again is distasteful to him.(他一想到還要欺騙人就感到很不是滋味。)

　　表示加強(qiáng)語(yǔ)氣，意思是“就是，正是”，原文正是此種用法。

　　(2)compensate

　　vi.&vt. 表示“補(bǔ)償，賠償，酬報(bào)”等。如：to compensate sb. for (為……向某人賠償)，Nothing can compensate the young mother for the loss of her favrourite daughter.(年輕的媽媽喪失了自己心愛(ài)的女兒是任何東西也彌補(bǔ)不了的。)本句是其現(xiàn)在分詞作定語(yǔ)，譯成“彌補(bǔ)的，補(bǔ)償?shù)?rdquo;。

　　(3)advantage

　　n.表示“優(yōu)勢(shì)，有利條件，利益，便利”等等。如：Many women think this is an advantage for men. (許多婦女認(rèn)為這是男人的優(yōu)越之處。)This hall combines the advantages of the ball room and of a meeting place.(這個(gè)大廳既可作舞廳,又可作會(huì)場(chǎng)。)

　　常用短語(yǔ)：take advantage of (利用，欺騙)，at an advantage (有利地)，be of advantage to (對(duì)……有利)，gain an advantage over/of (勝過(guò), 優(yōu)于)。

　　(4)enable 見(jiàn)2009年49題解釋。

　　(5)detect

　　vt.表示“發(fā)現(xiàn)，察覺(jué)，注意到”。例：The dentist could detect no sign of decay in her teeth.(牙醫(yī)在她的牙齒上找不到蛀蝕的跡象。)表示“偵察出，查明(常與in連用)”。例如：He was detected in the act of stealing.(他在偷竊時(shí)被當(dāng)場(chǎng)發(fā)覺(jué)。)此處是“查明，發(fā)現(xiàn)”的意思。

　　(6)reason

　　n.表示“理由, 原因, 動(dòng)機(jī), 理智, 前提”等。如：There are reasons for this great interest in the ideas, feelings, and actions of youth.(對(duì)年輕人的思想、感情和行動(dòng)發(fā)生這樣巨大的興趣, 自有它的道理。)

　　vt.表示“說(shuō)服, 推論, 辯論”。如：reason with sb. for/against sth. (因贊成/反對(duì)……同某人講道理/辯論)。

　　vi.表示“推論, 勸說(shuō), 思考”。如：to reason a person out of fear(勸人別害怕)。

　　常用短語(yǔ)：it stands to reason (合乎道理)，with reason (有理由，合乎情理)。例如：He thinks, with reason, that I don’t like him.(他有理由認(rèn)為我不喜歡他。)

　　本句可譯成“推理”。

　　參考譯文

　　他(達(dá)爾文)認(rèn)為，正是這種困難起了彌補(bǔ)作用，使他長(zhǎng)時(shí)間專(zhuān)注地思考每個(gè)句子，從而能在推理和親自觀察中發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的錯(cuò)誤。

　　47. He asserted, // also, that his power to follow a long and purely abstract train of thought was very limited, / for which reason he felt certain // that he never could have succeeded with mathematics.

　　句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析

　　(1)本句是一個(gè)復(fù)雜的主從復(fù)合句，包括兩個(gè)that引導(dǎo)的賓語(yǔ)從句、一個(gè)for引導(dǎo)的原因狀語(yǔ)從句，主句的主干是he asserted that (his power was very limited).

　　(2)主句所含的賓語(yǔ)從句中，主干是his power was very limited; to follow a long and purely abstract train of thought是不定式作后置定語(yǔ)，由于太長(zhǎng)，可以處理成非定語(yǔ)成分。

　　(3)原因狀語(yǔ)從句中所含的賓語(yǔ)從句是he never could have succeeded with mathematics，由于太長(zhǎng)，將其放在賓補(bǔ)certain之后。

　　詞語(yǔ)用法解釋

　　(1)assert

　　v.表示“宣稱(chēng), 斷言, 聲明;維護(hù), 堅(jiān)持”等。如：assert one’s rights (維護(hù)自己的權(quán)利)，assert sth. to be true(斷言某事是真實(shí)的)，assert national independence (維護(hù)民族獨(dú)立)。 本句中可譯為“認(rèn)為，斷言”。

　　(2)train

　　n.表示“列車(chē), 行列, 后果, 順序”等。如：a train of events (一連串的事件)。

　　v.表示“(常與to連用)培養(yǎng)，教導(dǎo)，訓(xùn)練”。如：Mr. Hart has trained his daughter for years. (哈特先生已訓(xùn)練自己女兒多年。)

　　本句中可譯為“一連串的”。

　　(3)limit

　　n.表示“界限, 限度, 限制”。例如：There is a limit to the amount of money I can afford. (我能付得起的錢(qián)數(shù)是有限的。)

　　vt.表示“減少，限制, 限定(常與to搭配)”。例如：My mother limits the amount of food that I eat. (我母親限制我的飯量。)

　　(4)follow

　　v.表示“跟隨, 追隨,追求;理解; 遵循”等等。如：I didn’t follow his line of reasoning. (我不明白他的推理方法。)We shall follow closely the latest advance of the subject in the world. (我們將密切注意世界上這一課題的比較新進(jìn)展。)

　　常用短語(yǔ)：as follows (如下)。

　　此處可譯為“理解”。

　　參考譯文

　　他還認(rèn)為，在深入理解冗長(zhǎng)且完全抽象的一系列觀點(diǎn)方面，自己的能力非常有限;因此，他曾深信自己在數(shù)學(xué)方面本來(lái)就不該獲得成功。

　　48. (On the other hand), he did not accept as well founded the charge (made by some of his critics)/ that, while he was a good observer,// he had no power of reasoning.

　　句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析

　　(1)本句是一個(gè)復(fù)雜的由as well連接的并列句，其中還含有一個(gè)帶讓步狀語(yǔ)從句的同位語(yǔ)從句，主句的主干是he did not accept as well founded the charge.

　　(2)while he was a good observer, he had no power or reasoning是一個(gè)讓步狀語(yǔ)從句，也是the charge的同位語(yǔ)，需要單獨(dú)翻譯，再重復(fù)同位語(yǔ)的先行詞。

　　(3)根據(jù)漢語(yǔ)邏輯關(guān)系，先譯同位語(yǔ)從句，再譯主句，并對(duì)其他成分作出適當(dāng)調(diào)整。

　　詞語(yǔ)用法解釋

　　(1)as well 表示“也，又，同樣”，連接并列成分，此處連接didn’t accept和founded兩個(gè)否定謂語(yǔ)。

　　(2)found

　　v.表示“建立，創(chuàng)立;(與on, upon連用)建立在……基礎(chǔ)上;以……為根據(jù)”等等。例如：a story founded on fact (以事實(shí)為根據(jù)的故事)。在本句中的founded表示“以……為根據(jù)的，有根據(jù)的”，但因?yàn)橛蒩s well連接，都是didn’t的否定內(nèi)容，所以要譯為“沒(méi)有根據(jù)的”，這是理解和翻譯本句話的關(guān)鍵。

　　(3)charge

　　n.表示“電荷; 費(fèi)用; 主管, 掌管;充電, 充氣, 裝料”等等。如：The charge carries a possible sentence of three years.(這項(xiàng)控告可能要判三年徒刑。)

　　v.表示“裝滿(mǎn);控訴(與with搭配), 責(zé)令, 告誡, 指示, 加罪于; 沖鋒; 收費(fèi)”等等。如：He was charged with stealing a car.(他被指控偷了一輛汽車(chē)。)

　　常用短語(yǔ)：in charge of (負(fù)責(zé))，charge sb. with sth. (控告某人某事)。

　　本句可譯為“批評(píng)，指責(zé)”。

　　參考譯文

　　另一方面，一些批評(píng)家指責(zé)說(shuō)，盡管他善于觀察，但卻不能推理，他對(duì)此既不接受且認(rèn)為毫無(wú)根據(jù)。