泰山位列五岳之首,地處山東省的中部,位于濟南、長清、肥城、泰安之間,東西長約200公里,南北寬約50公里。其主峰為玉皇頂,位于泰安市北面,海拔1545米。泰山雄偉壯觀、峻拔突兀 (precipitous),有著許多獨特的自然奇觀及人文景觀。登臨泰山需走九曲十八盤的 (zigzag and tortuous)路程,沿途可盡情飽覽絢麗的風光。登上日觀峰,舉目遠眺,無限風光,攝人心魄。泰山歷來是畫家和詩人的鐘愛的聚集地,泰山的日出與日落更是聞名遐邇。
翻譯點撥
1. 位列五岳之首:譯為ranks first of the five great mountains in China,“位列”譯為rank;雖然原文沒有出現(xiàn)“在中國”之類的限定詞,但是在譯文中應該給出。
2. 其主峰玉皇頂,位于泰安市北面:描述物體方位時可以采用倒裝句,此處譯為“North of Tai'an city stands Mount Tai's main peak”?!拔挥凇边€可以譯成locate或situate。
3. 登臨泰山需走九曲十八盤的路程:此處用以說明登頂泰山的艱難,并非真的九曲十八盤,所以不需要直譯。
4. 登上日觀峰,舉目遠眺,無限風光,攝人心魄:中文多短句,在翻譯時要弄清原文的意思和邏輯結構,將短句合成長句。前兩個短句“登上日觀峰,舉目遠眺”譯成時間狀語;后兩個短句譯成主謂關系的被動句式。“攝人心魄”翻譯成find ourselves carried away,為“動詞+賓語+補語”結構,carry away原意為“使激動,不能自制”。
參考譯文
Mount Tai
Mount Tai ranks first of the five great mountains in China and is situated in central Shandong Province, spanning four cities of Jinan, Changqing, Feicheng, and Tai'an. It stretches about 200 kilometers from east to west in length and about 50 kilometers from north to south in width. North of Tai'an city stands Mount Tai's main peak, Jade Emperor Summit, rising to 1,545 meters above sea level. It has a majestic and precipitous appearance as well as a diverse range of unique natural wonders and cultural landscape. To reach Mount Tai's summit, we will follow the zigzag and tortuous path, along which we can have a good view of the beautiful scenery. When we reach the Riguan Peak and look around in the distance, we will find ourselves carried away by the endless view of scenery. Mount Tai, which has all along been the preferred gathering place for artists and poets, is still more famous for its spectacular sunrise and sunset.
知識小貼士
早在殷商時期(Yin and Shang Periods),我們祖先便已確立了東、南、西、北、中五個方位。太陽初升的東方代表了冬去春來、萬物繁衍昌盛(life's fertility)的景象,是生命之源和希望與吉祥的象征,所以地處東方的泰山一直被視為吉祥(propitious)之地。西周前已有72位君主登臨泰山祭祀。歷代帝王借助泰山的神威鞏固自己的統(tǒng)治,使泰山的神圣地位被抬升到了無以復加(in the extreme)的程度。歷代文化名人紛至泰山進行詩文著述,留下了數(shù)以千計的詩文刻石,他們給泰山留下了豐富的文化遺產。泰山現(xiàn)存古遺址97處,古建筑群22處,為研究中國古代建筑史提供了重要的實物資料。因其極大的旅游價值和文化價值,泰山很早便被聯(lián)合國教科文組織世界遺產委員會列入聯(lián)合國《世界自然與文化遺產名錄》(The World Natural and Cultural Heritage )之中。