大学英语精读5 汉译英

Unit 1

掌握大量的词汇对于达到一门外语的流利程度是至关重要的。一个非官方的但却是经常被引用的有关剑桥初级证书英语考试（Cambridge First Certificate Examination）的数字表明，词汇量少于三千五百词的学生不大有可能在这项考试中成功。最近的研究也表明，其母语为英语的受教育至18岁或18岁以上的人至少认识一万六千个英语词。除非你已经会讲一种像西班牙语或德语这样的语言，要获得大的英语词汇是没有捷径可走的：你就得依靠勤奋和专注。当然，你可以从上下文猜出你阅读中遇到的一些生词的意思，但往往你得查词典才能搞清它们确切意思。一个切实可行的学习新词的方法或许就是大量阅读，最好是读那些你觉得有趣或刺激的故事。反复阅读同一本书常常是很有好处的：你每读一次都会学到不同的生词，而熟悉的背景又有助于将这些新词牢牢地印在你的脑海中。

Mastering a large number of words is essential to achieving fluency in a foreign language. An unofficial, but often quoted, figure for the Cambridge First Certificate examination suggests that students with a vocabulary of less than 3,500 words are unlikely to be successful in the exam. Current research also suggests that native English speakers who have been educated up to 18 years old or beyond know at least 16,000 English words. And unless you already speak a language like Spanish or German, there are no shortcuts to a large vocabulary in English: you just have to rely on diligence and dedication. Of course you can figure out from the context the meanings of some new words you come across in your reading, but more often than not you have to look them up in a dictionary in order to be clear about their accurate meanings. A practicable way to pick up new words is, perhaps, to read a lot, preferably stories that you find interesting or exciting. It often pays to read the same book over and over again: each time you read it you will learn different new words, and the familiar context helps to fix them in your mind.

Unit 2

1) I don’t think it is realistic to turn to him for help. As a matter of fact, he himself

is in need of help.

我认为向他求助是不现实的。事实上，他自己也需要帮助。

2) More and more people are being awakened to the urgent need of combating air

pollution.

越来越多的人正在意识到与空气污染作斗争的迫切需要。

3) There are visible signs that some of the time-honored old traditions and values

are no longer cherished by the young people.

有明显的迹象表明一些古老的传统和价值观念不再被年轻人珍视。

4) Many of us find the notion of a boundless universe hard to grasp.

我们许多人觉得宇宙无限这一概念难以理解。

5) There being so many loopholes in the laws and regulations, it is little wonder

that a handful of speculators got rich overnight.

因为在法律和规章中有许多漏洞（loophole）,一小撮投机倒把者一夜之间暴富就没有什么奇怪了。

6) An unprecedented boom in tourism brought sudden prosperity to the small

border town, which was formerly inhabited by only three hundred people.

旅游事业的空前兴旺使这个以前只住有三百人的边境小镇突然繁荣起来

7) In the light of this information, that country already has the capabilities to make

nuclear weapons.

根据这一信息，该国已经具有制造核武器的能力。

8) Regardless of repeated warnings from his friends, he staked all his money on

high risk ventures.

他不顾朋友们的反复警告，把所有的钱都投向了高风险企业。

Unit 3

如果你着手干一番事业而失败了，不要丧失信心。“我失败了三次”与“我是一个失败者”之间有着天壤之别。只要你对自己不持否定的想法，不把自己与失败等同起来，而是试图从失败中吸取教训，你很可能在未来取得成功。你可曾想到过，那些屡遭失败的人往往是自我形象不佳的牺牲品？他们的失败常常不是由于外部原因而是内部原因。无数的例子证明如果能劝使这些人改变观点并建立起正面的自我形象，他们的表现就会发生奇迹般的变化。成功可能在任何时候到来——三十岁，四十岁，或是在似乎失败了一辈子之后。早年成功固然甜蜜，但晚年的成功往往更有滋味。

If you started on some venture and failed, do not despair/lose heart. There is a world of difference between “I have failed three times” and “I am failure”. So long as you do not hold a negative concept of self or identify with failures but try to learn from them, you stand a good chance to succeed in the future. Does it ever occur to you that those who fail repeatedly are often victims of a poor self-image? Often their failures are due to internal causes rather than external causes. Numerous cases have borne it out that if they can be induced to change their viewpoint and construct a positive self-image, miraculous changes may take place in their performance. Success can come anytime —at thirty, forty or even after a lifetime of apparent failure. Early triumphs may be sweet, but success in later life often tastes even better.

Unit 4

1) Far from being permissive, many parents are putting tremendous pressure on their

children to be exceptional in everything.

许多家长非但不放任，相反却给他们的孩子施加巨大的压力，要他们样样都优秀。

2) Owing to her academic excellence, this Changsha girl has been accepted by

several prestigious, American universities, including Harvard, Yale and MIT.

由于学习成绩出色，这位长沙女孩已被好几所最享盛名的美国大学录取，包括哈佛，耶鲁和麻省理工。

3) Many parents start their children in piano or violin lessons at ever-earlier ages in

hopes that they will become exceptional pianists or violinists.

许多家长越来越早地让子女开始钢琴或小提琴训练，希望他们将来能成为出色的钢琴家或小提琴家。

4) In modern society, clothing styles change yearly. Some are in this year but will be

out the next.

在现代社会，服装款式每年都在翻花样；一些今年流行的，来年就过时了。