英语四级翻译练习题：孔子

　　孔子(Confucius)是我国古代著名的思想家、教育家，儒家学派(Confucian School)的创始人。相传孔子有弟子三千，贤弟子72人，孔子曾带领部分弟子周游列国14年。在中国五千年的历史上，对华夏民族的性格、气质 (temperament)产生最大影响的人就算是孔子了。他正直、乐观向上、积极进取。他一生都在追求真、善、美，一生都在追求理想的社会。他品格中的优点，几千年来影响着中国人，特别是影响着中国的知识分子。

　　参考翻译:

　　Confucius

　　Confucius is a famous ideologist, educator, and thefounder of Confucian School in ancient China. It'ssaid he has 3,000 disciples, 72 out of whom areexcellent ones, and he has led some disciples to visitvarious states for 14 years. During 5,000 years' history of China, it's Confucius who has exertedthe greatest impact on Chinese nation's characteristic and temperament. He is upright,optimistic, active and enterprising, striving for truthfulness, kindness and beauty, andseeking for an ideal society all his life. The shining points in his characteristics have beeninfluencing the Chinese people, especially the Chinese intellectuals for thousands of years.

　　1.创始人:说思想、学派的创始人或奠基者，可以founder、creator或 originator来表达。

　　2.弟子:译为disciple,当时的弟子多指门徒，而非当今的学生。

　　3.周游列国:可译为visit various states 或者travelaround various states。 孔子生于春秋时期，那时的国家跟现在国家的概念是不一样的，那时的国家更适合译作state，而不是country,如“战国”应译作Warring States。

　　4.积极进取:可译为active and enterprising,其中active意为“积极的”，enterprising意为“有进取心的”。

　　5.真、善、美:应译为truthfulness, kindness, beauty。

　　6.追求:文中两处用到“追求”，可以分别翻译为striving for和seeking for,以增加用词的变化，彰显语言功底。

　英语四级翻译练习题：孟子

　　孟子(Mencius)是战国时期(the Warring States Period )伟大的思想家、教育家。孔子去世100年后，孟子传授并发展了孔子的学说，他的哲学思想与孔子是一脉相承的。孟子认为人性本善，是社会的影响引发了道德的堕落，因此十分重视道德教育。孟子的母亲在他的生命中扮演了重要的角色，她曾三度迁居，只为了帮助她的孩子找到一个合适的成长环境。

　　参考翻译:

　　Mencius

　　Mencius is a great ideologist and educator in theWarring States Period. A hundred years afterConfucius died, Mencius taught and expandedConfucian doctrine. His philosophical thinking hasits origin in Confucius'thoughts. Mencius believes that human nature is essentially good, and itis society's influence that causes the degradation of morality. For that reason, he attachesgreat importance to moral education. Mencius'mother plays an important role in his life. Shemoved home three times only to find an environment that she felt was suitable for the child'supbringing.

　　1.与...一脉相承:可译为 have origin in...或者 originatedfrom...

　　2.发展了孔子的学说:“发展”可翻译为develop或者expand;“孔子的学说” 即Confucian doctrine。

　　3.人性本善:即“人的天性是善良的”，故可译为humannature is essentially good。

　　4.道德的堕落:可译为the degradation of morality,也可简单译为bad moral character。

　　5.重视:有固定的译法:attaches great importance to sth.，也可以用 value。

　　6.扮演了重要的角色:可译为play an important role in...

英语四级翻译练习题：秦始皇

　　赢政(前259年〜前210年)，庄襄王之子，秦朝的开国皇帝。他13岁继承秦王王位，21岁亲理国事。在公元前221年，秦始皇统一了全国，建立了中国历史上第一个中央集权的(centralized )封建国家。秦始皇在位期间统一了文字、货币和度量衡等;他所开创的皇权制度，在中国历史上一直延续了两千多年。然而，秦始皇为了控制人民和加强****统治(autocratic rule), 采取了许多残忍的手段，其中最著名的就是“焚书坑儒”。

　　参考翻译:

　　Qin Shi Huang

　　Ying Zheng (259 B.C.-210 B.C.), the son of KingZhuangxiang, is the first emperor of the QinDynasty. He ascended the throne at 13, and tookover with state affairs himself at 21. In 221 B.C., QinShi Huang unified the country and established the first centralized feudal state in Chinesehistory. Qin Shi Huang unified the Chinese characters in writing, currency, and measures forlength, capacity and weight. The imperial power system set up by him lasted for more than2,000 years in Chinese history. However, in order to control people and strengthen theautocratic rule, Qin Shi Huang took many brutal means. The most famous one is “Fen ShuKeng Ru”，that is to burn books and bury Confucian scholars alive.

　　1.继承:表示皇族“继承”王位，一般用ascend;若使用succeed,后面应有to。

　　2.国事:指国家事务，可译为state affairs。

　　3.度量衡:“度”即“计量长短”，“量”即“计量容积”，“衡”即“计量轻重”，翻译时三者缺一不可，可译为 measures forlength, capacity and weight。

　　4.焚书坑儒:作为一个事件的描述，可直接用汉语拼音表达，然后用英文注释， 故可译为“Fen Shu Keng Ru”，that is, to burn books and bury Confucian scholarsalive。

英语四级翻译练习题：指南针

　　中国是举世公认的发明指南针(compass)的国家。最初的指南针叫做司南(Sinan, a south-pointing ladle )，出现在战国时期。一般在指南针上标有东南西北四个方位，并且还有刻度。北对应零度，刻度随顺时针方向而增加。作为中国古代的四大发明之一，指南针对人们的生活，尤其是航海业的发展，起到了重要的作用。指南针对西方世界也产生了显著的影响，这些国家由此开始了大规模的海外冒险活动。

　　参考翻译:

　　The Compass

　　China is universally acknowledged as the countrywhere the compass was invented. The compass,originally called Sinan, a south-pointing ladle,appeared during the Warring States Period.Generally, the directions of north, east, west and south are shown on the compass, and so arethe angle markings in degrees. North corresponds to zero degree, and the degrees increaseclockwise. As one of the four great inventions of ancient China, the compass played animportant role in people’s life, especially in maritime undertakings. It also had a significantinfluence on the western world, as thereafter those countries began large-scale overseasadventures.

　　1.举世公认的:可译为universally accepted 或 universallyacknowledged。

　　2.并且还有刻度:这里是指刻度也标示在上面，所以可以承接上文，用“so+助动词”的结构来表达。

　　3.顺时针方向:应译为clockwise。其反义词“逆时针方向”为counterclockwise。

　　4.中国古代的四大发明:应译为the four great inventionsof ancient China。四大发明具体表达为 compass、gunpowder(火药)、papermaking technology (造纸术)和 movable-type printing(活字印刷)。

　　5.起到了重要的作用:可译为play an important role/part。

　　6.对…产生…影响:可译为 have a/an...influence/impact on...