雜志原文:Overcoming Cerebral Palsy to Be a Professional Translator

原文閱讀是英語學習者必不可少的素材，純英文的閱讀材料可以讓閱讀者完全沉浸其中，對提高英語閱讀水平更有益處。

By XU HAN

AT nine oclock every evening in Urumqi， Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， while the remaining rays of daylight are still lingering along the western horizon， Hu Jing and her mother walk around the community hand in hand. They follow the same route they have taken again and gain. When they meet familiar neighbors， they stop and happily greet each other， just like any ordinary family in China.

This is actually a daily outdoor exercise routine that Hu Jing has been following since she started walking independently at the age of 12 years old. In addition to this， her father gives her a one-hour-long therapeutic body massage both in the morning and at night to stimulate her nerves and muscles. These daily routines have helped her feel relaxed and keep good health.

Hu Jing， born in November 1984 in Urumqi， contracted a serious illness when she was just three months old and was then diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy when she was just six months old. The doctor claimed she would not be able to take care of herself when she grew up， nor be able to recognize her parents or even laugh. However， at the age of five， Hu learned Pinyin （a system for romanizing the sounds of the Chinese characters） through a tape player， stood on her feet at the age of 10， walked independently at the age of 12， taught herself English at the age of 16， and learned to be a translator at the age of 19. Unable to control her hands， she used her chin and toes to type， and so far the books and documents she has translated have amounted to millions of words， with six of her translation works being already published. She has been acclaimed as “one of the best translators in Xinjiang.”

In 2005， 21-year-old Hu started her career as a professional translator and began to earn an income. In 2008， she registered a studio called “Yiyuan Cultural Service Center，” starting her own business. In 2011， she won the Excellence award of the Chinese-English translation group at the 23rd Han Suyin Award for Young Translators Contest， which is dubbed as the “Oscar in Chinas translation field.” In 2014， she was honored as “the star of hardworking and self-motivated entrepreneurs”in Xinjiang. In 2016， she obtained a diploma in translation from the Chartered Institute of Linguists and won the Best Candidate award in China. In 2019， she created the WeChat account“PEA Chinese and English bilingual history and cultural talks，” aiming to facilitate cross-cultural communication.

Parents Love： The Launching Pad for Hus Take-off in Life

Cerebral palsy is a disease with motor disorders. Among the children with cerebral palsy， 25 percent enjoy normal cognitive ability， 50 percent have some level of cognitive impairment， and 25 percent are cognitively impaired. If the disorder can be found and treated early on and then receive long-term rehabilitation training， most of the children suffering from the illness can recover to some extent.

Hus parents began teaching and treating her at an early age， exhibiting extraordinary love and patience throughout the process. Hu Jing did not begin speaking until she was three years old， but her father never gave up trying to help her learn to speak. He did everything in his power， buying tapes for her to listen to， showing her pictorial books， and telling her stories whenever he had time. The hard work ultimately paid off when one day the three-year-old finally said “Hello， baby.” Hus mother kept a close eye on each aspect of her daily life， and taught her to walk on her own step by step. “I think Im very lucky to be able to grow up in this family，” Hu said，“My parents understand me. They dont think Im a disabled child， instead， they really believe in me.”

Hus parents laid a good foundation that enabled her to take off in her life. They showed her their perseverance in the face of misfortune， their searching for solutions to problems， and their supporting of each other as a family. All this has gradually influenced Hu Jing in her growing up and pursuit of her life.

Turning Points： A Phone Call and a Letter

In 1994， Hus father borrowed money from his colleagues to purchase a computer from Beijing. His original intention was to help his daughter read and study through the computer since she had difficulties in using her hands. In 2001， Hus family became the first ADSL user among more than 30，000 residents in the local community. When Hus computer got connected to the Internet， she got connected to the world.

Limited by her physical disability and experiencing some social snobberies during her 16 years of life， Hu had became timid， self-abased， and reclusive. So when she accidentally discovered the benefits of the virtual world where she could conceal her identity， the shackles of physical disability that had bound her gradually began to loosen， and she even got up the courage to chat with strangers online. On the Bulletin Board System（BBS） of Hong N Education she communicated with other people freely in English， thus making a large number of friends from both at home and abroad. One of them， David， from Canada， often talked to her and encouraged her.

Before the surgery， Hu spent most of her time reading manuscripts and translating. She worked more than 10 hours a day on average and could translate more than 3，000 words at most every day. In addition， she had to proofread and modify her own translations. Its not easy even for a healthy person to keep up with such a heavy workload， let alone a person in her condition. But she did not allow her circumstances， difficult as they were， to impede her reaching her goals.

On July 5， 2016， Hu underwent posterior surgery for spinal canal expansion and vertebral fixation， in which two titanium rods and 14 titanium screws were implanted in her body. After the operation， her cervical vertebra mobility was severely limited， and it was very difficult for her to turn over the paper books by hand. She could only read ebooks and online material instead.

The Role of Culture in Translation

It has been nearly 20 years since Hu began to learn English， and during all these years she has made a large number of foreign friends. Her feel for the English language seems better than that for the Chinese language. She is quite confident in her English proficiency. “Whether its childrens literature， international politics or natural science， what I see are not words， but pictures. And I want to describe these pictures in another language，” she said.“Translation for me is a journey of my soul； it goes beyond simply the conversion of a language to another， to also embody my feelings.”

When asked if she had any regrets in translation over the years， Hu smiled and said， “Too many！” She thinks she suffers from lack of adequate vocabulary of her primary language as her amount of Chinese reading is insufficient； she often pursues contextual fluency in translation， which easily leads to over expression or under-expression. She is always dissatisfied with her translations， and mulls over them in her mind for a long time. Even after the manuscript has been published and she has got the remuneration for her work， she would not stop thinking until she finds a more appropriate expression. Hu never thinks of translation as hard work. On the contrary， once she gets into her work， she forgets about everything else around her. Hu acknowledges that understanding and expression are the two pillars of translation. A good command of English is conducive to understanding the content in the original language， while a good mastery of Chinese helps to express it in the translation. Neither should be neglected. Although she has systematically learned modern Chinese by correspondence， she has realized that her reading in her native language is insufficient， which has resulted in her limited knowledge about the imagery of Chinese language and limited understanding of Chinese culture. These， she thinks， have decreased the appropriateness and readability of her translations.

Wolfgang Kubin， an acclaimed German Sinologist， translator and poet， once pointed out that the biggest problem facing Chinese translators is not their lack of knowledge about a foreign language， but “their mother tongue，” that is， the Chinese translators level of Chinese is not good enough. In addition to her busy work， Hu is also learning how to translate Chinese classical poems. She believes that understanding Chinese culture will be more conducive to translation.

Hu hopes to let the public know that doing translation for a physically disabled person like her is neither a “tragic fate，” nor an “inspirational life，” but a natural choice of her life. She does not like the “celebrities” who rivet wide attention with their physical defects， but admires and worships Stephen Hawking. When people think of Hawking， the first reaction is “one of the greatest physicists in modern times，” not his“complete paralysis.”

This is also Hus aspiration.

以上雜志原文:Overcoming Cerebral Palsy to Be a Professional Translator的內容，節(jié)選自《chinatoday》雜志！