The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, came to me. I am fille

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问题     The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, came to me. I am filled with wonder when I consider the immeasurable contrast between the two lives which it connects. It was the third of March, 1887, three months before I was seven years old.
    On the afternoon of that eventful day, I stood on the porch, dumb, expectant. I guessed vaguely from my mother’s signs and from the hurrying to and from in the house that something unusual was about to happen, so I went to the door and waited on the steps. The afternoon sun penetrated the mass of honeysuckle that covered the porch and fell on my upturned face. My fingers lingered almost unconsciously on the familiar leaves and blossoms which had just come forth to greet the sweet southern spring. I did not know what the future held of marvel or surprise for me. Anger and bitterness had preyed upon me continually for weeks and a deep languor had succeeded this passionate struggle.
    Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in, and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line, and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that ship before my education began, only I was without compass or sounding-line, and had no way of knowing how near the harbor was. "Light! Give me light!" was the wordless cry of my soul, and the light of love shone on me in that very hour.

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答案 在我的记忆里,我生命中最重要的一天,是我的老师安妮.曼斯菲尔德.沙利文来到我身边的那天。它所连接的前后两种生活真有天壤之别,每次想到这里,我的心中总是充满了惊奇。那是1887年3月3日,再过3个月我就满7岁了。 那天重要的下午,我呆呆地站在门廊上,满怀期盼。妈妈的手势和房间里来去匆忙的脚步使我隐约感觉到要发生什么不同寻常的事情,于是我来到门边,在台阶上等候。午后的阳光透过覆在门廊上的忍冬藤蔓洒在我仰起的脸上。我的手指下意识地拨弄着迎着南方甜美的早春萌放的叶片和花朵。这些叶子和花我都十分熟悉。当时我并不知道未来的日子会带给我什么奇迹或惊喜。几个星期以来,怨恨之情啃噬着我的心,而这场强烈的情绪挣扎平息下来之后,我又感到深深的倦怠。 你是否有过这样的经历,乘一艘大船行驶在浓雾紧锁的海面上?你被可触摸的白色黑暗所吞没,你的船满载着紧张和焦虑,借助测深的铅锤和绳索在迷雾中摸索着向岸边驶去,而你的心狂跳不止,等待着事情的发生。我接受教育之前的情形正像这艘船,但我甚至没有指南针和探深绳,更无从知道最近的港湾在哪里。“光明,给我光明!”这是我的灵魂发出的无言的呐喊。不过就在我有所期盼的这个时刻,爱的光芒照耀在我的身上。

解析     本篇节选自海伦.凯勒(Helen Keller的)《最重要的一天》(The Most Important Day),描写了主人公等待她生命中一个重要人物出现的种种场景。文章收录在作者的自传《我的人生故事》(The Story of My Life,1902)。海伦.凯勒仅有19个月大的时候,就突然双目失明,双耳失聪,陷入了一个黑暗无声的世界。7岁那年,一位叫安妮.沙利文的家庭护士用一套手语,即以不同方式触摸手的不同部位,开始教小海伦学习语言,了解她所处的世界。海伦战胜了难以想象的困难,最后从莱德克利夫大学毕业,并出版了6本描写她生活和追求的书,成为重要的社会活动家。
immeasurable contrast:这里形容“我”的生活中有无沙利文小姐存在显著的差别,可以套用中文的四字格成语“天壤之别”来翻译。再一次印证翻译的前提是正确的理解,唯有如此才可能译出地道的汉语。
three months before I was seven years old:此分句的理解不难,但下笔需谨慎,将“我7岁前的3个月”转化为符合汉语表达习惯的“再过3个月我就满7岁了”。
eventful:(1)fulI of events(发生许多事情的,多事的,充满大事的);(2)important;momentous(重要的;重大的)。譬如,  “an eventful week(多事的一周)/an eventful decision(重大的决定)”。文中的“eventful”是第二意,点明意义重大的一刻即将到来。
dumb,expectant:英语中经常使用多个形容词作为主语的补足语,搞清原文的语法结构是第一步,接着考虑汉语中是否出现这种表达方式。答案是否定的。遇到这种情况,通常可以将一个形容词翻译成副词修饰谓语动词——呆呆地站在门廊上。
guessed vaguely from…and from…that…was about to happen:动笔前首先把握长句的句子结构。谓语“guessed(猜测)”的宾语是一个从句(that something unusual was about to happen)。猜测的依据是2个(而非3个)“from”引导的介词短语(from my mother’s signs;from the hurrying to and from in the house)。“to and from”是短语,表示“来回地;往返地”。
honeysuckle:忍冬,一种忍冬属的灌木或藤本植物。
lingered…on:逗留,徘徊。这里指“(我的手指)一直下意识地拨弄着叶子和花朵”,以此来释放心中的怨气。
come forth:出来,涌现。文中指“(叶片和花朵的)萌放”。
preyed upon:“prey on(upon)”表示“(食肉动物)捕食(猎物)”。譬如,“Bats prey on insects.(蝙蝠捕食昆虫。)”;词义引申亦作“折磨”。譬如,  “Illness has been preying upon him.(他一直受疾病的困扰。)”。显而易见,原文作者使用的是引申义,  “愤怒与痛苦一直折磨着我”。
…a deep languor had succeeded this passionate struggle:倦怠之情最终战胜了强烈的情绪挣扎,即“我”开始的时候,感到愤怒与痛苦,但数周之后,我的精神世界又回归了平静。理顺思路,就容易翻译了,  “……而这场强烈的情绪挣扎平息下来之后,我又感到深深的倦怠”。
groped her way:摸索着行驶。描写沙利文小姐到来之前,  “我”的生活一片黑暗,不知道路在何方。
plummet and sounding-line:铅锤和测深索,航海时借助的工具。
Light!Give me light!:  “我”的灵魂在呼喊,希望找到生活的方向。此处“light”是抽象名词,表示“光明”。
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