20180124
风筝The Kite
古时在中国风筝也称作“鸢(hawk ) ”。
In ancient time, kites were also called “Yuan (a hawk)” in China.
春秋战国时期(the Spring and Autumn Period ),东周哲人墨子(Mo-tse)曾“费时三年,以木制木鸢,飞升天空”,但这只木鸢只飞了一天就坏了。
In the Spring and Autumn Period, Mo-tse, a philosopher in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty spent three years making a wooden glede that could fly in the sky, but it broke down only in one day.
墨子制造的这只“木鸢”就是世上最早的风筝, 已有2400多年的历史。
That wooden glede Mo-tse made has a history of over two thousand and four hundred years, which was claimed to be the first kite in the world.
唐代时,风筝传入朝鲜、日本及其他周边国家。
In Tang Dynasty, kites were introduced to Korea, Japan and other surrounding countries.
十三世纪末,风筝的故事首次被意大利探险家马可·波罗带到欧洲,至此,中国风筝便逐渐开始传到世界各地。
Stories of kites were first brought to Europe by Marco Polo, an Italian adventurer, towards the end of the 13th century. Since then, the Chinese kite was gradually introduced to the whole world.
翻译讲解
1.鸢:鸢指老鹰。根据短文表达语义,翻译时“鸢”也可以汉语拼音为译文, 即:yuan。
2.费时三年,以木制木鸢,飞升天空:三个短句的语义比较简单,但都缺少主语,且主语有所不同,翻译时需增补其主语以保证句子成分完整,即“(墨子)费时三年,以木制木鸢,(风筝)飞升天空”。同时,按照英语语言结构特点把零散的短句翻译成有逻辑关系的从句。
3.周边国家:可译为neighboring countries 或者surrounding countries。
4.探险家马可·波罗:探险家可译为explorer或者adventurer;注意类似马可·波罗等人名平时要多加积累,防止写错。