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《精譯求精》

此部份是錯誤範例解析。資料來源是由雙語學生郵報出版的《精譯求精》,我們從中挑選出若干有趣議題的例句來做錯誤解析,並公佈在翻譯教學網站,以便大家研讀,學習翻譯技巧。A句代表一般人常翻譯錯誤的句子,而B句則是正確的句子,供讀者參考錯誤句子中需要解釋的關鍵字,均已畫線表示,以便讀者辨認。

 

議題一:出國旅遊

1.  由於現代人生活越來越富裕,出國觀光的機會也相對增加 
A. Because modern people is getting richer and richer, the opportunities to go abroad for sightseeing is comparatively increasing.
B. The increasing affluence of modern life has provided more and more opportunities to travel abroad.
解析:
 (1) Modern people 聽起來像是指區別遠古人類的現代人,與本句要表達的意思大相逕庭,可參考B句做適當修改。 (2) 雖然我們常用’rich’來形容富有,但當’rich’用來形容life時,是指「有意義的、充實的」生活,故此句不可用rich來形容life  (3) Travel abroad即足以表達出國觀光的意思,A句的 for sightseeing實屬多餘。(4) 將中文兩變成一句譯文,精簡許多,並且使用事物名詞片語當主詞,符合英語的慣用表達方式 。
2.出國旅行除了可以增長見聞外,也可以體驗另一種文化。
A. Traveling overseas could not only broaden our scope of knowledge, but also experience the life of another culture.
B. Traveling overseas can not only broaden our scope of knowledge but also provide an opportunity to experience foreign cultures.
解析:
(1) Cancould的用法雖然有時很類似,但其中仍有不同。 Can用在指事情明確可能發生,而could則指某種特定條件下會發生的事。如在本句中,只要出國的遊客願意,便可以增長見聞,並不為任何特定條件所限制。因此本句用can比較適合。(2) A句後半句的主詞仍是traveling overseas,不可用動詞experience 因為traveling overseas本身並不會experience任何事,這是學生常犯主詞動詞不一致的語法錯誤。B句的to experience前面省略了for us
 3. 這些經驗是書本上學不到的。

A.The experiences we get from traveling overseas can not be learned from the books.

B.The knowledge that we gain from traveling abroad cannot be  obtained by reading books.

解析:
A句犯了中英直譯的錯誤。經驗本來就無法從書本中獲 得,只有知識才可從書本中獲得。所以,These experiences can not be learned from the books 是犯了直接以中文字面思考,並逐字翻譯所犯邏輯上的錯誤。
議題二:音樂和英文
1.音樂就像英文一樣,是國際共通的語言。
A. Music, just like English, is an international language.
B. Like English, music is an international language.
解析:
(1) B句停頓次數少,強調出本句主旨「音樂是國際共通的語言」,一氣呵成,較A句更通順明白。  (2) 介詞片語如:like English,經常放在英語句首,以符合其語表達習慣。
2.不管種族、性別、年齡,人們都可藉由音樂互相溝通。

A. Regardless of race, sex and age, people can communicate with each other by music.

B. Irrespective of race, sex, and age, people can communicate through music.

解析:

(1) A句中的communicate已有人與人之間互相溝通的意思在內,不須再加with each other(2) Throughby中文都是「經由」的意思,但用法確有所不同。在這個句子中,through musicby music更合乎英語用法。介係詞有其習慣用法,並無絕對的規則可循。 

3. 它不只是一種娛樂的形式,同時也是一種藝術。
A. It is not only a form of entertainment, but also a kind of art.
B. It is not only a form of entertainment, But a kind of art as well.
解析:
AB兩句皆正確。除了not only…but also用法外,亦可用not only… but…as well
議題三:忙碌不忘休閒
1.在忙碌的現代社會中,每個人都是匆匆忙忙的。
A. Everyone is always in a hurry in modern society.
B. In today’s world, everyone seems to be in a hurry.
解析:
Today’s worldmodern society的意義近似,modern society含有現代文明的正面意義,不全然符合本句的意義。B句中,用seems來表示並非真正的每個人都很匆忙,以避免過於武斷。
2.學生忙著學業、上班族忙著工作、主婦忙著做家事。

A. Students are busy on study, workers are busy on work and  housewives are busy on housekeeping.

B. Students are busy studying, workers are busy working,and housewives are busy doing housekeeping.
解析:
Busy通常後面接現在分詞( 動詞+ ing ),如果要用介係詞,忙著工作要用busy at work,而不是busy on work
3.每個人都太忙了,忙得忽略了休閒的重要性。
A. Everyone is so busy that they ignore the importance of leisure.

B. Everyone is so busy that the importance of leisure time is  often forgotten.

(1) B句中用forget,比ignore正確。Ignore用於指人們認為某是不重要而刻意忽略﹔forget則是人們可能因為過於忙碌或其他某種原因而忽略休閒的重要性。Leisureleisure time都是正確的用法。  (2) that 子句中主詞是they(複數)和整句的主詞everyone(單數)前後不一致。
議題四:台北的交通

1.每到上下班尖峰時間,就會大塞車。

A. There is always traffic jam during rush hours every day.
B. During rush hour, the traffic is especially congested.
解析:
(1) Traffic jamtraffic congestion同指塞車,jam是可數名詞,應用複數。   (2) rush hourhour不須加srush hour即指上下班塞車的整段時間。

2.人們常抱怨塞車影響了人的情緒,更浪費了許多寶貴的時間。

A. People are always complaining that traffic jam not only upsets  us, but also wastes us much treasure time.

B. People are always complaining that traffic jams are not only very annoying but also a waste of our valuable time.

解析:
(1) A句的waste用法錯誤,「浪費我們的時間」英文寫法是waste our time (2) 用形容詞(annoying)及名詞片(a waste of our time) 代替動詞片語,更符合英語慣用法,漢語偏愛用動詞,英語當用名詞及介詞。

3.如果大家都不願遵守交通規則且一味埋怨,改善交通幾無可能。

A. If everyone is reluctant to obey the traffic rules and is always complaining about the bad traffic, it will be impossible to improve

     the traffic in Taipei.

B. If everyone continues to disobey traffic laws and just continues  complaining it will be impossible to improve the current situation.

解析:
(1) A句中連用了三次traffic,為了避免過於重複,可將第三個traffic改成the current situation (2)「交通規則」的英文為traffic lawstraffic codes,而非traffic rulesB句前後用了兩個continue來強調整個句子的氣勢,顯得較A句有力。

 

議題五:青少年犯罪問題
1.最近幾年來,青少年犯罪一直是我們社會中相當嚴重的問題。
A. In the last few years, the criminal offense of youngsters has always  been a quite serious problem in our society.
B. During the last few years, juvenile delinquency has been a  serious problem in our society.
解析:
(1)「青少年犯罪」可用juvenile crimejuvenile delinquency,其中以juvenile delinquency比較常用。 (2)A句的In the last few years指某依特定的時間﹔always則指一持續長久的時間,兩者在表達時間的用法上相互衝突,不能同時放在句子中。Has been就可以表示「一直是」的概念。
2.尤其在青少年吸毒、販毒與暴力犯罪的比例上,有顯著增加的趨勢。

A. Especially, the proportion of juveniles who take drugs, sell drugs and  commit violence has tended to rise obviously.

B. In particular, there has been a marked rise in the number of youths that use and sell drugs and commit acts of violence.
解析:
(1) 本句應以in particular代替especially,因especially通常至於句中,而非句首。  (2) proportion是指部分在全體中的比例,在此並不適用。 (3) commit後面通常接特定的犯罪行為,如:commit murdercommit suicide,因為murdersuicide都是特定的犯罪行為,而violence則泛指一般暴力行為。B句改成acts of violence,指具體的犯罪行為,如此一來就可以用在動詞commit之後。 (4) Has tended to完全是囿於中文「的趨勢」而誤用於此,翻譯時應盡量避免此類直覺式的翻譯。
3.青少年犯罪問題已經對社會治安造成威脅。
A. The problem of the criminal offense of youngsters has already  threatened the law and order of our society.
B. Juvenile delinquency has already become a serious threat  to the safety and order of our society.
解析:
(1)The problem of the criminal offense of youngster的寫法過於冗長,B句的juvenile delinquency明確表達「青少年犯罪問題」。  (2)一旦犯罪,即觸犯法律,所以A句的has already threatened the law寫法不合邏輯。 (3)此外,A句聽起來像青少年犯罪僅在過去對社會造成威脅,以後則沒有,這樣的表達方法不正確,B句的has become才合乎句意,表示過去的狀態以變成現在的狀態,而且還在持續中。
議題六:高中生騎機車上學
1.現在,已有很多學校允許滿十八歲且具機車駕照的高中生騎乘機車上學。

A. Now, many schools allow the senior high school students who are eighteen or older and have the motorcycle licenses to go to           school by motorcycle.

B. Nowadays, many schools allow senior high school students  who are eighteen or older and have licenses to ride motor                       scooters to school.

解析:
(1)Now意指此時此刻的狀況,用在句首時有強調的意味,通常前面會有一段關於過去的敘述,接著用now來表示對比。Nowadays則指目前這一段時間,含意較為廣泛,用於此句較為適合。 (2)嚴格來說,motorcycle指的是大輪胎的重型機車﹔台灣一般人騎的機車叫scootermotor scooter (3) A句的the motorcycle licenses改為licenses,因為是泛指般駕照的通稱,不需加the(4)Allowpermit皆適用於本句,若要細分,permit語氣較強,指獲得某種程度的核准,並暗示學校有予以阻止權利﹔allow則僅是不去阻止的意思。
2.這項政策固然為部分的高中生帶來些許的便利。
A. True, the policy brings some convenient to part of the senior high school students.
B. Although this policy makes it more convenient for some senior high school students to get to school.
解析:
(1)True通常用在強調兩個句子的關聯性,例如:I don’t like eating vegetables. True, they are good for you but I just can’t stand the taste.。本句指示一個單純的敘述,將true置於本句,並不適合。 (2) Convenient是形容詞,brings some convenient犯了英語文法上中英文直譯的錯誤,改成makes it more convenient,才是正確的說法。 (3) Part of the senior high school students也是錯誤用法,其中的part聽起來像是指人身體部位的某部分。想說明並非全部的高中生,只要用一個簡單的some就可以了。
3.但相對地,青少年交通事故也與日俱增。

A. But comparatively, the traffic accidents of youngsters also grow every day.

B. It is necessary to realize that the number of traffic accidents  involving youngsters is growing every day.
解析:
我們將句2、句3Although的句型組合起來,使前後的關聯更清楚明白。 (1)句型It is necessary to realize的功用是在提醒不要忘了事物都有正負兩面。But comparatively此處是錯誤的用法,因為本句並沒有和任何對等的句子做「比較」,若要說明「因為越來越多學生騎機車」和「越來越多交通意外」之間的關係,用Although的句型較理想。 (2)英文沒有the traffic accidents of youngsters的說法。比較好的說法是accidents involving youngsters (3) 形容意外事故頻繁,英文用the number of accidents is growing,是「事故數目」增加﹔A句的accidents grow像是「事故」 本身像生物一樣變多變大,要注意是「事故數目」增加, 而非事故本身增加。
議題七:台灣民眾的飲食習慣
1. 過去十年,台灣民眾的飲食習慣有顯著的改變。
A. In the past decade, the eating habits in Taiwan have changed a lot.
     Over the last ten years, the eating habits of people in Taiwan have changed considerably.
解析:  
In the past decadeOver the last ten years用法相同。只說eating habits不夠明確,須改成B句的the eating habits of people   in Taiwan
2.米與蔬菜不再是民眾的主食﹔吃肉類、魚類、麵食的人越來越多。    
A. Rice and vegetables are no longer the main diet of local peoplemeat, fish and noodles are more popular now.
B. Meat, fish, and noodles are more popular nowadays and  have replaced rice, vegetables, and fruits as the main diet.
解析:  
B句將句子的結構順序對調,使句子讀起來更為通順。Nowadays指一段更為全面性的時間,通常用來和過去的一段時間對比﹔而now則指一短暫的時間,通常指此時此刻而言。
3.飲食習慣的改變造成過胖的人越來越多。
A.The change has resulted in more and more people with obesity.
B.This change in diet has led to a growing obesity problem in Taiwan.
解析:
(1)B句的change in dietA句只用change更清楚明白。 (2) A句的more and more people with obesity過於冗長, B 句的a growing obesity problem不但簡潔,也更為通用。
議題八:關心別人
1. 每個人都渴望別人的關心。
A.  Everyone is thirsty for concerns from people.
B.  Everyone craves concern from others.
解析:
(1)  A句的is thirsty for意思太過強烈,好像非得到不可一樣,crave在這兒較適合。(2)本句的concern是「關懷」之意,是不可數名詞,不能用型。(3)From people語意模糊,用others(別人,他人)other people較為明確。
2.但是,大部分的人卻都吝於關心別人。
A. However, most people are stingy to give concern to others.
B. However, most people are stingy when it comes to showing concern for others.
解析:
Stingy是「吝於」的意思,用法有兩種:第一、stingy後面加上介系詞with,如:He is stingy with money。第二、與too…to…片語連用,如:He is too stingy to give money to charity.。由於上述用法皆不適用於此句,因此B句加上when it comes to做為連接的功用,是此句在不失原意的原則下,又能以另一方式完整表達出來。When it comes to是「關於」的意思。To give concern to othersto show concern for others兩者都可以,但後者較為常用。 
3.久而久之,人與人之間的距離也就越來越疏遠。
A. In the long run, the distance between people is longer and longer.
B. Over the course of time, the emotional distance between people will continue to grow wider and wider.
解析:
(1)In the long runover the course of time用法上下不盡相同。In the long run是「最後、結果」的意思,主要是陳述一件事的結果或成果,如:This business may not be bringing in a lot of money right .(2)B句用emotional distance以避免讀者誤以為這裡談的是際上 的距離。 (3) 形容人與人之間的日漸疏遠的形容詞,用long不妥,wide 才是適當的用字。
議題九:有效的減肥方式
1. 想減肥的人往往藉節食來達成目的。
A. People who want to lower the weight often try to reach their purpose by dieting.
B. People often try to lose weight by going on diets.
解析:
(1)A句的lower the weight似在指一個特定的體重需要減少,而事實上這裡所談論的是一般想減肥的人的體重,減肥最常用的說法就是lose weightreduce weight (2) Dietgo on a diet的差別在於,diet是指為了減肥而節食 ,但是go on a diet還包括因健康原因而改變的飲食習慣。此句主詞為複數,因此diet也用複數型。

2.但是,節食必須要講究正確的方法。
A. However, it is necessary to pay attention to the ways of dieting.
B. When dieting, however, it is essential to do it properly.
解析:
(1) However在這個句子中放在句首與否,影響句子意義甚鉅。However置句首時,是在反駁前述句子﹔放在句中時 ,則具有「警示提醒」的功能。就本句來說,however置於句首時,語意變成雖然很多人利用節食來減肥,但是這是非常不好的,不符合原意﹔however置於句中時,則是在提醒利用節食減肥時應注意正確的方法。   (2) A句的the ways of dieting,也可能包括對身體無益的錯誤方法,所以為求明確起見,最好改成the proper ways of dietingB句因寫作方式不同,以it is essential to do it (dieting) properly表達。essential是「極其重要、不可或缺」的意思。
3. 錯誤的節食可能傷害健康。
A. The wrong way of dieting might damage the health.
B. An improper diet can damage one’s health.
解析:
(1) The wrong way of dieting似乎是指dieting只有正確及錯誤的方法兩種,在這裡講的是適不適合某人的節食方法,B句將其修正為an improper diet。(2)Health是個一般性且不限定的名詞,因此若使用the health時,須伴隨特定主詞一同出現。  (3)雖然canmight都是「可能發生」的意思,但是can使事情發生的機率比might來得大,較符合本句的語意。
議題十:校園暴力問題
1.近幾年來,國內校園暴力頻傳,已對校園安全造成威脅。
A.In recent years, internal campus violence which keeps pouring in has become a threat on campuses.
B. Over the past few years, acts of violence have occurred frequently at Taiwan’s schools and have become a potential threat to the safety of our campuses.
解析:
(1) Over the past few yearsin recent years更有「事物逐漸演變」的意思,所以用over the past few years較佳。  (2)英文中並沒有internal campus violence的說法。InternalA 句中的意思是「在校園內」和中文所想要表達的「國內」意思有所出入。
2. 這些事件顯示我們的教育已出現另一項危機,值得重視。
A. These incidents, which show our education is getting into another crisis, are worth paying attention to.
B. These incidents pose another possible crisis for our education system and are a problem that demands our attention.
解析:
(1)B句為使語氣更為順暢,以and連接兩個獨立子句,避免A句用形容詞子句which show our education is getting into another crisis所造成的語氣停頓。 (2)「某件事出現危機」不能寫成getting into crisis﹔若是以事物為主詞時,須用something becomes a crisissomething develops into a crisis的型式。 (3) A句的are worth paying attention to雖然正確,但語氣稍嫌薄弱,B句的demands our attention語氣較強。
3. 要化解眼前的教育危機,就必須盡快恢復校園的秩序與紀律。
A. In order to solve the educational crisis at present, we must try to  restore order and discipline to campuses as soon as possible.
B. In order to prevent such a crisis from developing, we must try to restore order and discipline to our schools’ campuses as soon as possible.
解析:
由句1、句2可知,「教育危機」正在形成,卻尚未發生,因此B句用prevent such a crisis from developing,語意上更精確。與crisis搭配的動詞可以用defuse「解除」、fend off「避開」等等,但是不能用solve「解決」。
議題十一:看電影

1.每個人看電影的品味都不同。有人喜歡文藝片,有人喜歡動作片。

A.Everyone has different tastes for movies.  Some like literature pictures; others like action pictures.

B.  Everyone has different tastes in movies.  Some like arts  films while others like action films.

解析:

(1) taste後面的介係詞應該用in (2)文藝片的英文為melodramaarts films              

2. 無論是什麼類型的電影,只要是好電影,通常能讓人回味無窮且印象深刻。

A.Whatever type it is, a good movie usually gives its viewers lasting  memories and a deep impression.

B.Whatever genre it is, a good movie usually provides lasting  memories and leaves a deep impression on its viewers.

解析:

(1) 文學或藝術上的風格和種類,通常用genre (2) 留下深刻印象的說法是leave an impression on someone而不是give an impression on someone.

 

3.電影除了能啟發人的思想外,更能真實地反應人生的經驗。

A.    Besides evoking thinking, movies reflect the experiences of life.

B.     Besides evoking thoughts, many movies also reflect real life experiences.

解析:

(1) B句加了many表示並不是每部電影都啟發人心,此處的A句和中文原句都嫌不夠慎密。

(2) 此外,evoke thoughtsreal life experiences才是正確的說法。
議題十二:我最喜歡的運動
1. 運動是使人身體健康的最好方法。
A.   Exercise is the best way to make people be in good health.
B.    Exercise is the best way to get in shape.
解析:

(1) Ato make people be in good health過於累贅,而且用make這個字,好像是在「強迫」你做  某    事。另外,be表示一持續不變的狀態。

(2) exercise只能幫助stay in gook healthimprover our healthto get in shape已含有使人健康的意思,people一字可以省略而不致誤解。
2. 無論是做什麼運動都需要耐心,才能持之以恆。
A.No matter what exercise we do, we need to be patient and persevere.

B.When doing any exercise, one needs to have patience and  perseverance.

解析:

因為12句只是一般性敘述,最好不要用特定的主詞,例如we,可以用one來代替。

3. 我最喜歡的運動是打桌球。
A.   My favorite exercise is playing table tennis.
B.    My favorite way to exercise is by playing table tennis.
解析:
table-tennis是一種sport而非exercise;在英文中,exercise的意思是指如仰臥起坐或伏地挺身之類的活動。所以說成  My favorite way to exercise is by playing table-tennis比較妥當。運動、鍛鍊在中文所指的含義不如英文sportexercise定義來得精確,因此容易混淆。
議題十三:我的嗜好
1. 從小,我的嗜好就是養寵物。
A.     My hobby was raising pets since I was a child.
B.     Ever since I was a child, keeping pets has been a hobby of mine.
解析:
(1) A句的My hobby was……since I was犯了前後時態不配合的錯誤,My hobby was…意指現在已不喜歡這個嗜好了,然而… since I was又隱含了我仍喜歡這個嗜好的意思,前後意思相互矛盾,請參照B句的寫法。此外,B句將翻譯的句子前後重整,使文意更清楚通順。
(2) A句的raising pets應改為keeping petsraise多指飼養動物之後賣掉或宰殺以營利,keep則純粹為了喜愛而飼養。
2. 除了養動物之外,我也喜歡種種綠色植物。
A.   Besides raising pets, I also liked to plant green plants.
B.     Besides keeping pets, I also like to grow plants.
解析:
(1) A句的liked應改為現在式。(2) 種植物的動詞可用grow代替。 plant也可用作動詞,是栽種的意思,例如,plant trees,但是,A句中plant green plants犯了重複累贅的毛病。
3. 從養寵物到種植物,我體驗了自然界中生命的奧秘。  

A.     From raising pets to planting, I learned the mystery of life in the nature.

B.     From both of these hobbies, I have learned much about  the mysteries of nature.

解析:
(1) [From…to…]句型可應用於包含很多事物前後的兩個極端,但本句所談的只有養寵物及種植物兩件事,因此[From…to…]的句型不適用於此。
(2) A句的From keeping pets to planting雖可改成From keeping pets and planting,若將其改成B句的From both of these hobbies,則可避免重複前面三句中提過多次的兩項嗜好。
(3) learned後面須加介係詞about
 (4) nature為抽象名詞,前面不須加定冠詞themystery of life in the nature太過抽象誇張,聽起來好像此人能從養寵物及種花草研究出生命的奧秘。
議題十四:飆車之風不可長
1. 近幾年來,台灣流行著一種「飆車」的風氣。

A.    In recent years, wild motorcycle racing in Taiwan has been so  popular.

B.    In recent years, motorcycle drag racing has become very popular in Taiwan, …

解析:
(1) 此處的飆車宜用drag racing,形容非正式、不太合法的街頭飆車。
(2) A句中wild motorcycle racing的意思容易被誤以為是一個官方認可、正式舉辦的越野比賽。
(3) B句將has been so popular改為has become very popular 是為了強調這個飆車活動最近才開始盛行,而且有 越來越普遍的現象。
2. 但是,飆車的人時常摔斷胳膊跌斷腿,甚或失去性命。   

A.     But the people who race motorcycles often break their arms  and legs, even lost their lives.

B.     Yet, they often break arms and legs as a result, and some even lose their lives.

解析:
(1) Yetbut在本句中同義。 (2) the people who race motorcycles在此是多餘的,以they代替即已明白表示是「飆車的人」。 (3) lost their liveslost應改為現在式lose
3. 為了尋求刺激而輕視生命,未免太愚蠢了。
A.   It is foolish to slight one’s life just for gaining exciting.
B.   It is foolish to risk one’s life just for a cheap thrill.
解析:
(1) slight是忽視、侮辱的意思,risk才是本句的主旨。   (2) A句的exciting是形容詞,如果要用動詞gain,後面要接名詞才對。 (3) a cheap thrill用來形容一種短暫的感官刺激,在此說明冒生命危險來換取是不值得的。
議題十五:喝飲料的習慣
1. 在台灣,茶、汽水和咖啡是我們常喝的飲料。

A.    Tea, soda water, and coffee are the drinks we often drink in Taiwan.

B.     Tea, soda, and coffee are the beverages most commonly preferred by people in Taiwan.

解析:
(1) 「汽水」的英文是soda pop,更簡潔的說法是sodapop,而soda water是指無糖無香料的蘇打水,一般用來調酒或其他綜合飲料。 (2) A句的are the drinks we often drink重複使用同一字,寫法粗糙,請參照B句學習使用不同字彙來潤飾句子。
 

2. 這可能是因為喝茶是中國一項悠久的傳統習俗。

A.    This is probably because drinking tea is a long traditional Chinese custom.

B.    This is probably because drinking tea is an old Chinese tradition.

解析:
(1) traditional…custom兩字的意思在本句中雷同,選擇兩者之一即可。  (2) Tradition本來就具有歷史淵源的意思,如果要強調悠久性,形容詞用old比較恰當。

 

3. 除此之外,茶準備起來也很容易,只要放好茶葉,在灌些熱開水就行了

A.    Furthermore, tea is easy to prepare, as putting some tea  leaves in a cup and pouring in some boiling water will be O.K.

B.     Moreover, tea is easy to prepare, as all that is needed is hot water and tea leaves.

解析:
(1) furthermoremoreover同義  (2) hot water and tea leaves已足以清楚表達應如何泡茶,無須如A句的冗長贅述。
議題十六:看報紙
1. 報紙是一種傳遞知識的重要工具。
A.   Newspaper is an important tool to forward knowledge.

B.    The newspaper can be a very valuable source of knowledge.

解析:
(1) 一般名詞如果是單數通常須在前面加上athe,否則應以複數名詞的型式出現。所以A句的newspaper應改為A newspaperThe newspaperNewspapers(2) B句用can be含有暗示與假設的語氣在內,暗示若能正確閱讀的話,報紙是獲得知識的良好管道。 (3) tool是指字典或年鑑之類的工具書,報紙則屬於閱讀性的書刊,所以,B句以valuable source of knowledge來取代。Important tool to forward knowledge說法不正確,應改為important tool used to forward knowledge
 

2. 一般人看報紙只是為了瞭解現在社會上所發生的事。

A.    General people only read the newspaper so they know what things are going on in the current world.

B.     In general, people just read the paper to keep up-to-date  on current events.

解析:
(1) 英文中並沒有General people這樣的說法。敘述一般性的現象通常用In generalGenerally speaking來說明。 (2) in the current world是中英直譯的錯誤例子,意思容易被錯誤引申為worldformer worldcurrent worldfuture world等。「在社會上所發生的事」即「時事」,英文是current events (3) B句用read the paper to keep up-to-date on current events更精簡表達了本句題意。

3. 看報紙最好各版都瀏覽一番。

A.    The best way to read a newspaper is to glance over every pages.

B.      When reading the newspaper, it is best to skim through it from cover to cover.

解析:
(1) glance是很快地瞥過,但並沒有仔細地閱讀;而skim則是很快地看過且記住重點。  (2) from cover to cover是指從頭至尾的意思。(3) The best way to read a newspaper…when reading the newspaper, it is best to …兩種說法相近,但仍有些微差異。前者指看報紙的方法有很多,但只有其中一種是最好的;後者則指看報紙沒有所謂最好的方法,但是最好能完整瀏覽一遍。後者的說法較接近中文原意。 
議題十七:健康遠勝財富
1. 雖然金錢能買很多的東西,但無法買到健康。
A.    Money can buy many things but it cannot buy health.
B.     Although money can buy many things, it cannot buy health.
解析:
AB兩句都對。一般而言,非生物本身並不會有買東西 這樣的行為,所以就文法而言money can buy many things應該是錯誤的,然而,money這個字是少數非生物名詞中可以使用buy為其動詞的特例。
 

2. 然而,有些人寧願犧牲健康以換取財富。

A.   But, some people prefer to sacrifice their health for money.

B.   And yet, some people are willing to sacrifice health  for wealth.

解析:
(1) ButAnd yet同義,但是And yet置於句首有加強前述句子語氣的功用在內,雖然以and為句首的句子通常應該避免,然在這個句子中,用And yet來連貫,反而使句子的語氣更為順暢。  (2) Willingprefer好,因為prefer在此句中意指人們喜歡犧牲他們的健康以換取財富;willing則指雖然有些人不見得真的願意犧牲健康以換取財富,但他們認為這樣做是值得的。 (3) Health for money沒錯,但是health for wealth不但修辭好還帶押韻。(4) their可有可無,省略它語句更精簡有力。

 

3. 當他們明白無論花再多的錢也買不回健康的時候,已經太晚了。

A.   It is already too late when they realize that no matter how much money  they spend cannot buy back their health.

B.   By the time they realize that no amount of money can buy back their health, it is already too late.

解析:
(1) By the time這個片語常用來強調「為時已晚」,用在本句最適合。
(2) A句的…how much money they spend cannot buy須在cannot buy前面加上they,否則該子句中缺少了主詞。B句把順序改變 一下,表達得更清楚。
議題十八:釣魚樂
1. 童年時,我常在離家不遠的小溪邊釣魚。

A.     In my childhood, I was often fishing in a brook which was not very far from my home.

B.    When I was a child, I used to go fishing at a brook near my house.
解析:
(1) A句的In my childhood不正確,應改成When laws a childDuring my childhood(2) A句的was often fishing在這個句子中也是錯的,當某人從事某種戶外活動時,應用go+現在分詞的句型,因此這裡應改成often went fishingused to go fishing才對,特別是used to go fishing有強調過去經常從事這項活動的意思。 (3) fishing in a brook是指實際站在溪水中釣魚,否則應用fishing at a brook;如果說fishing on a lake則是只坐船在湖面上釣魚,因此請注意介系詞的正確使用方法。 (4) which was not very far from my home有兩個問題<1>太過冗長 near my home簡單明瞭<2>home應該改為house,因為house是指位置確定而有實體的建築物,而home則是個抽象名詞。                  
 

2. 那一段日子真是其樂無窮。

A.    The life during that period was a lot of fun.
B.     Life was a lot of fun back then.
解析:
(1) Alife之前加the是不正確的,除非是說話的人談論別人的生活,the life of someone才須加the,這裡應改為My lifeLife  (2)當談論人一生中的某一段時間時,A句的during that period並不常用,常用的說法是that period of my lifeB句用back then是較簡潔的用法 ,指的就是「那一段日子」。
3. 由於都市化的結果,那條小溪已經不見了。
A.  Due to the urbanization, that brook has disappeared.
B.   Thanks to urbanization, that brook was covered over.
解析:
(1) due tothanks to兩者的最大差別在於thanks to可表達個人正、負兩面的感受,而due to則較為客觀。在這裡thanks todue to來得好的原因是可以表達本句的負面反諷語氣中稍微帶有遺憾的情感。 (2) A句的the是多餘的,因為這裡並沒有特別指出是哪個地方的都市化。  (3) has disappeared並沒有錯,但是B句的was covered over更可強調都市化的結果使得小溪不見了。
議題十九:青少年打工
1. 青少年利用寒暑假打工是很特別的人生經驗。

A.    It is a special life experience for youngster to take a part-time job during the winter and summer vacations.

B.    Working part-time during winter and summer vacation is a  special experience for a young person.

解析:
(1) B句將句子重組之後,更加凸顯了主題「打工」在句中的地位。 (2) A句的youngster應加上不定冠詞a或用複數型。此外,youngster是指小孩或較年幼的國中生,和指青少年的young peopleteenager在年齡上有段差距。 (3) A句的take a part-time job聽起來像是只接受了這個打工機會,並非真正打了工而獲得人生經驗,用working part-time會更清楚明白。 (4) Special life experience中的life是不必要的,因為任何個人所經歷的經驗都是人生的一部分。  
2. 打工不僅可以獲得工作經驗,更可以為自己賺些零用錢。

A.   Taking a part-time job not only can get experiences from working, but also can make some allowances for themselves.

B.   When working part-time, a student can not only gain valuable work experience but also earn an allowance for daily expenditure.

解析:
(1) A句的主詞Taking a part-time job並不是一個會賺錢或想要獲得工作經驗的人物,所以句中以Taking a part-time job做為主詞在語意上不合邏輯,B句改以student做主詞。 (2)「獲得經驗」的動詞應該用gain (3) allowance是指父母親平常給小孩子的零用錢,和自己賺來的     零用錢不一樣。另外,make allowances中的allowance單數和複數意思上也有所不同,make allowances是片語「考慮、斟酌」的意思,單數allowance純粹就是指「零用錢」的意思,獲得零用錢的說法為get an allowance  (4) A句的的for themselves顯得重複累贅。
3. 但是,有很多不實的徵人啟事,常使得青少年誤入歧途。
A.     However, there are many untrue want-ads which makes youngsters  go astray.

B.      However, young people are often led astray by misleading  want ads.

解析:
(1) want-ads本身並不會使學生誤入歧途,A句以want ads為主詞的寫法聽起來像是學生在want ads的威脅逼迫下誤入歧途,改成B句的被動語態可避免此類情形發生。  (2) B句的misleading限指容易給人錯誤印象的事物。
議題二十:外語能力
1. 國中時,我就對學習外語很感興趣。

A.     I was very interested in learning foreign language when I was a  junior high school student.

B.     Since junior high school, I have been very interested in  learning foreign languages.

解析:
 A句所表達的意思是「國中時的我對學習外語很有興趣」,並暗示現在已經沒興趣了。擅用since這個字來表達「從國中開始」since junior high school,接著用現在完成式來表達從國中到現在對外語一直很感興趣。
2. 但要學好一種外語並不容易,需要勤加練習才能熟能生巧。

A.   However, learning well a foreign language is not easy and needs  practicing diligently to reach the goal of practice makes perfect.

B.   However, learning a foreign language well is not easy, and perfection only comes with diligent practice.

解析:
(1) 英文中,如果同時有動詞及受調存在時,此時修飾動詞的副詞通常必須放在動詞及受詞的後面,所以A句的learning well a foreign language要改成learning a foreign language well (2) 諺語practice makes perfect不能當作一種「目標」,perfection才是目標,A句是個典型未經消化重組而將中文生硬地翻譯成英文的例子,B句用perfection only comes with diligent practice簡單又貼切。  (3) A句的to reach the goal of在這個句子中是多餘的,因為learning a foreign language well已說明了目標所在。
3. 有了良好的外語能力,出國旅行也就不會有溝通的障礙了。

A.    With the good ability of foreign language, the barrier of communicating with foreigners would not exist when I travel abroad.

B.    With strong foreign language abilities, I will not be faced  with language barriers when I travel abroad.

解析:
(1) 形容abilityskill的形容詞用goodstrong都可以:ability後面的間接的字要注意使用,例如:He has a strong ability in English,或者是He has the ability to climb(2) 而且,除非這項ability也是他人擁有的,否則不可以用of,例如:He has the reading abilities of a 5-year-old(3) would「有懷疑、不確定」的意思在內,通常用於表達非事實或可能性很小的假設句[if開頭],與本句題意不合,所以在這裡用would是不適合的,B句用will not來取代A句的would not
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