1 Lesson 5
Activity 1 Revision
Task 1 Translating the following into Chinese
1. the ancient Chinese philosophers
（中国古代的哲学家们）
2. somewhere unknown （不为人所知的某个地方）
3. a candidate with little chance of success
（一个当选希望极微的后选人）
4. particles moving round their atomic nucleus
（环绕原子核运动的粒子）
5. the decimal system of counting
（十进制计算法）
6. Ribbentrop mounted the gallows in the execution chamber of the
Nuremberg prison.
（里宾特洛甫走上纽伦堡监狱死刑室的绞架。）
Task 2 Translating the following into English
1. 一个要饭的，身材短小，面黄肌瘦，衣衫褴褛，瘸腿，满脸短髭。
(a short, yellow, ragged, lame, unshaven beggar)
2. 为了迷惑别人，他机灵地说些自我挖苦的笑话。
(He was quick to use self-deprecating humor to throw anyone off the scent.)
3. 那个国家的人口正在急速增长。
(The population of that country is growing rapidly.)
4. 她很少说话，只是别人问她的时候才简短地回答。
(She said little, only answering briefly when asked a question.) 2 5. 一辆坐满人的吉普车疾驶而过，溅了我一身水。
(A jeep, full, sped fast, drenching me in spray.)
6. 我们提着一口袋玩具和书籍，在晨曦中穿过了花园。
(Then with a bag of toys and books, we walked across the garden in the
gray light of the dawn.)
Activity 2 Translating Skill: Changing the Part of Speech(1)
Last class, we had a taste of the differences between English and Chinese
on where to put their attributives and adverbials. Now we move on to
introduce a new translation skill, namely, “to change the parts of speech
of some particular words when necessary”.
Because of the differences between English and Chinese, in most of the
cases translation which shows word-for-word correspondence will not
result in a smooth and natural sentence. Sometimes it is necessary to
change the part of speech of a particular word, for example, to translate
a noun as a verb, or to translate a verb as a noun, or to translate a noun
as an adjective, etc.
Task 1 Translating Nouns as Verbs
Go through the following sentences. Some of the nouns are italicized.
First try to translate the sentences as they are, presenting the
italicized nouns as nouns.
1. The 1967 UN document calls for the settlement of the Middle East
conflict on the basis of Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories
and Arab acknowledgement of Israeli’s right to exist.
（1967年联合国文件要求在以色列撤出所占的土地以及阿拉伯承认以色列的生存权利的基础上来解决中东冲突。）
2. The sight and sound of the army jeeps filled the little boy with special
longing.
（看到那些军用吉普车，听到它们隆隆的轰鸣，这个小男孩的心里充满了向往。）
3. A glance through his office window offers a panoramic view of the square
and the park.
（从他的办公室窗口可以一眼看到广场和公园的全景。） 3 4. The news bulletin, although longer than usual, made no mention of the
accident.
（那天的新闻节目虽然比平时长，但没有提到那起事故。）
5. Alloy steels are formed by the addition of one or more of the following
elements: nickel, tungsten, silicon and small amounts of other
alloying elements.
（合金钢由加进下列一种或几种元素制成：镍、钨、硅和少量别的合金元素。）
Mrs. Guide: Now don’t tell me you have sweated. I know it’s quite a
struggle. On the one hand, you want to keep the parts of speech of the
italicized words. On the other hand, you want to produce a smooth Chinese
sentence. It’s almost an impossible task. Ok, now I give you a free hand.
Forget about the parts of speech. Just try to be loyal to the meaning
of the original sentences.
Task 2 Translating Prepositions as Verbs
In fact, not only nouns can be translated as verbs when necessary,
prepositions as well.
Translating the following into Chinese, paying attention to the
italicized prepositions.
1. She opened the door to let him in.
（她打开门，让他进来。）
2. She skimmed over the lawn, up the path, up the steps, across the veranda,
and into the porch.
（她蹦着跳着越过草坪，跑上小径，跨上台阶，穿过凉台，进了门厅。）
3. When he came back, the computer was still on, which gave him quite a
start.
（他回来的时候，电脑还开着，把他吓了一跳。）
4. Together they drove over the quietly flowing river and through the
lovely old sleeping town.
（他们一起驱车越过静静地流淌着的小河，穿过鼾睡中的可爱的古城。） 4 5. The street runs westward, across a great black bridge, down a hill,
through a noisy market, past a ghetto, until it reaches the river.
（那条街往西伸展，越过一座黑色大桥，爬下一道山冈，穿过一处嘈杂的街市，又经过一片贫民窟，一直到了江边。）
Read the text (P44-48)
Task 3 Translating Verbs as Nouns
The above two tasks may have left you the impression that we translate
a lot of words as verbs. Well, you’ll find out below that verbs can’t
keep their forms al the time.
Translating the following into Chinese.
1. Stubbornness has always characterized her way of negotiating.
（固执是她的谈判方式的一贯特点。）
2. He personified the absolute power in their eyes.
（在他们眼里，他就是绝对权威的化身。）
3. Laptop computers are designed to be light enough so that they can be
carried along fairly easily.
（“膝上型电脑”，按其设计，应是足够轻便，便于携带。）
4. A casually-dressed man, who looked and talked like an Arab, left the
hotel around 5 o’clock.
（一个穿着随便、外表和谈吐都像阿拉伯人的男子5点左右离开了酒店。）
5. They signed two agreements that served to warm up the relationship
between their two countries.
（他们签定了两个协定，目的是使两国之间的关系升温。）
Summary: We have practiced translating nouns and prepositions as verbs
and verbs as nouns. Of course, adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions can
also appear in other forms when necessary. In any case, just remember
meaning always has priority over form.
