当英语原文中有几个动词,状语修饰的是一个还是几个动词往往容易造成误译。例如:
1.He played a key role in advising the president how to foil the conspiracy mounted
against him in May of 1991 by seven of his own ministers.
[误译]总统于1911年5月粉碎他手下七名部长策划的阴谋时,他的意见起了关键性作用。
[正译]他在建议总统如何粉碎其手下七名部长于1911年5月策划的阴谋方面起了关键性的作用。
[评析]原句中的状语短语in May of 1991前面有played,foil和mounted等好几个动词,但它所修饰的是靠近它的mounted,而不是其他较远的动词。
2.It was a tense meeting, but in typically Arab fashion the men who had been ready to
kill one another in the morning were kissing one another in the evening.
[误译]这是一个气氛紧张的会议,但是那些早上还准备拼个你死我活的冤家,却在晚上以典型的阿拉伯方式相互亲吻了。
[正译]这是一个气氛紧张的会议,但是那些早上还准备拼个你死我活的冤家到了晚上却相互亲吻了,这是典型的阿拉伯风格。
[评析]原句中的状语短语in typically Arab fashion位于but引导的分句之首,它不是修饰谓语动词were kissing,而是修饰整个but引导的句子,译成汉语可放在句末。
3.He finds playing chess an uninteresting game, and only enters them reluctantly because
he knows that at very least he and his friends are better than the others.
[误译]他觉得打牌没有意思,他只是勉强的玩,因为他知道他和他的朋友们最起码要比别人强。
[正译]他觉得打牌没有意思,他极不情愿地玩,只是因为他知道他和他的朋友们最起码要比别人强。
[评析]如果reluctantly是修饰enters,那么only更有理由去修饰enters,因为它更靠近动词enters。但情况不总是如此。像only,merely,simply,probably这些副词有时候放在动词前,但修饰的对象往往是后面的because,if when等从句。
4.Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses one can
sleep better at night,and ,during weekends and on summer evening,one can enjoy the fresh,
clean air of the country.
[误译]即使你在火车上和公共汽车上不得不花很多时间,但在晚上,在周末或夏季的晚上,你可以睡得好,你可以享受到乡村新鲜、无污染的空气。
[正译]就算需要起的早一些,在火车上或公共汽车上多花一些时间晚上总是能睡得好一些,而且在周末和夏天的晚上,还可以尽情呼气乡间新鲜、洁净的空气。
[评析]原文中sleep better at night和during weekends and on summer evening中间的连词and前后都有逗号隔开,说明后两个时间状语是整个并列句中第二个句子的组成部分。原译文完全忽视了这一点。错将at night,weekends和on summer evening全部当作sleep better 的时间状语,使译文背离了原意。
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