Translation is generally regarded as either an elementary or an overly complex exercise. Too often it is regarded as merely a ma

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问题    Translation is generally regarded as either an elementary or an overly complex exercise. Too often it is regarded as merely a matter of individual preference, hence warranting little general discussion, unless one engages in professional translation, new technology for it, applied linguistics, or the like. Having read recent publications in several fields and talked with colleagues, I beg to differ.
   Before raising the issues, let us agree on the obvious. Decisions on the mode of translation often involve several dimensions. First, the choice of style: should the translation be literal, permissibly free, rendered quite lyrical, given an extended nuance for clarity or emphasis, stretched somewhat to go along with a certain interpretation, and so on? Another aspect is that of cross-cultural perspective: how to indicate something in one culture by a counterpart in another, across the barriers of respective cultural contexts? (E. g. , should the old Chinese elite be called "the gentry" ?) A third and related dimension may appear; how to adjust a translated term to fit a given discipline? (E. g. , can "training" in an earlier translation now read "socialization," in the interest of mid-twentieth century sociology or even political science?) A fourth dimension is whether or not to make a temporal adjustment; e. g. , should a piece in classical Japanese be translated in old English or current English? A fifth dimension is something like the Heisenberg Principle of Uncertainty in physics. When one particular meaning of a word gets pinned down, this imparts other connotations or implications.
   There are yet other dimensions, but enough said. Let us agree that choosing one way to translate does not necessarily imply rejecting others. We know all about that; we ponder over the dimensions; we struggle with the options, and we make hard decisions. But that is not the point!
   How often do we spell out this thinking process, enabling our readers to quickly fathom whither we are headed? Or rather, do we leave them to figure out, if they wish, not only what we do but how we have done it? This falls short of effective communication, not to mention the time wastefully spent retracing one’s footsteps without a map.
   The questions that need to be raised are these: Can we try to encourage more authors who publish considerable amounts of translation to add some brief explanation of their thinking process behind it, either as a whole or on particular passages? Would it be desirable to stress the same in graduate training? Attention to these matters will help.
Which of the following would the author of the text very probably agree to?

选项 A、Translation is a matter of personal preference.
B、In most cases, the matter of translation needs little discussion.
C、Professional translation merits most attention.
D、Applied linguistics can be very useful in translation studies.

答案D

解析 事实细节题。文章第一段提到,翻译通常被认为要么是一种基本的活动,要么就是一项过于复杂的活动。它通常被认为仅仅是个人偏好的问题,除了从事专业翻译、新技术、应用语言学或类似工作的人,很少进行一般性讨论。最后一句指出,I beg to differ(不敢同意),故[A]项和[B]项表述与作者的意思相反,故排除。最后一段提到,最需要注意的是给译文加注等,故[C]项表述不符合作者的观点。第二段从应用语言学的角度来说明五种翻译模式,故[D]项为答案。
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