In a way, D-Day sums up for us the whole of World War II. It was the frontal clash of two ideas, a collision between the possibi

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问题     In a way, D-Day sums up for us the whole of World War II. It was the frontal clash of two ideas, a collision between the possibility of human freedom and its nullification. Even now, we are still learning what to make of it, still trying to know whether we are dwarfed by the scale of such an effort or whether what happened that day still enlarges us. It certainly enlarges the veterans of Normandy and their friends who died in every zone of that war.
    It’s tempting to politicize the memory of a day so full of personal and national honor, too easy to allude to the wars of our times as if they naturally mirrored World War II. The ironic starkness of the forces that met on the beaches of Normandy makes that temptation all the greater. But beyond the resemblance of young soldiers dying in wars 60 years apartl, there is no analogy, and that is something we must remember today as well. D-Day was the result of broad international accord. By D-Day, Europe had been at war—total war—for nearly five years, at profound cost to its civilian population. American civilians, in turn, had willingly made enormous material sacrifices to sustain the war effort. There was no pretense that ordinary life would go on uninterrupted and no assumption that America could go it alone.

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答案 在某种意义上说,诺曼底登陆是二战全景的缩影。它是两种观念的正面冲突,是自由和奴役之间的生死决战。即便在今天,我们仍然在认识它的意义,仍然在寻找答案,我们到底是因那宏大的战争场景显得矮小了,还是因此而变得高大。毫无疑问,那一天肯定使参与诺曼底登陆的退役军人和他们在各个战区中牺牲的战友们变得高大。 今天我们回忆这一天,很容易将其政治化,因为那一天充满了个人的光荣和国家的荣耀,我们很容易将它和今天的战争联系起来,仿佛我们今天进行的战争自然可以和二战同日而语。在诺曼底海滩上交锋的两股势力象征着壁垒分明的善恶对峙,这就更诱人想做这种联想。但是,60年后正在进行的战争和二战除了年轻的战士正在牺牲之外,并没有任何相似之处。这一点我们今天也必须记住。诺曼底登陆是国际广泛合作的结果。截至登陆日,欧洲早已战火纷飞,五年的战争使得平民生灵涂炭。美国的平民为了支持这场战争,也心甘情愿地做出了巨大的物质牺牲。当时人们已经不能无视战争而一如往常地生活,人们也不能相信美国可以独自行动。

解析 1.D-Day:这个词泛指任何一个进攻日,特指诺曼底登陆那天。鉴于了解本词的国人较少,所以最好还是用中文里比较常用的词汇,可译成“诺曼底登陆日”或“进攻日”等。
2.the frontal clash:正面冲突。
3.between the possibility of human freedom and its nullification:如果译成“人类自由的可能和自由丧失之间”,大家会觉得太过拘泥于原文。在一个细节精准胜过一切的语篇中(如法律文件),也许可以贴近原文,因为文字的流畅不是关键。但在这篇文字中,译者就不必如此斤斤计较,细微的差别可以不顾。所以将“the possibility of human”省略不译。这里语篇的类型是一个关键。
4.what to make of it:make sth.of sth./sb. 是一个成语,表示to have opinions about sth.,即对事物给予评估。根据这个核心意思,译者可以挑选各种符合语境的表达法。
5.we are dwarfed by the scale of such an effort:effort指的是诺曼底登陆,scale指的是登陆的规模,这里指规模很大。那么只要译文中有了“规模大”的意思,放到哪里应该问题不大。
6.veteran:老兵,即“退役军人”。
7.every zone of that war:各个战区。
8.they naturally mirrored World War II:mirror一词的翻译不必抓住“镜子”这个义项,甚至不一定用“反射”、“反映”这类词。mirror:to be very similar to something.可译为“我们今天进行的战争自然可以和二战同日而语”。
9.The ironic starkness of the forces:the forces指的是在诺曼底海滩上相遇的两股势力,也就是以美国为首的一方和希特勒的德国军队。iconic是symbolic的意思,这里指的是美军所象征的正义和德军所代表的邪恶。starkness是clearness的意思。也就是说,这两个势力所象征的正义与邪恶是清清楚楚的,人们不会误解。后面的文字说明,目前的美国政府正是想把自己和正义挂上钩,并认为侯赛因是邪恶的象征,中间没有调和的余地。因此,把当前的战争和二战联想起来便更加诱人。可译作“两股势力象征着壁垒分明的善恶对峙”。
10.60 years apart:60年后。
11.broad international accord:accord:spontaneous or voluntary desire to take a certain action(自愿或主动采取行动的愿望)。本词组可译作“广泛国际合作”。
12.to sustain the war effort:可译作“为了支持这场战争”。
13.There was no pretense:pretense:pretext or excuse;false claim or reason(借口;托词;伪称)。可译为“人们不能……”。
14.America could go it alone:go it alone是指美国当时不能自己单独行事。作者这样说是对布什政府在国际上孤立局面的影射。
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