2008年研究生考試公共英語試題（翻譯部分）

In his autobiography, Darwin himself speaks of his intellectual powers with extraordinary modesty. He points out that he always experienced much difficulty in expressing himself clearly and concisely, but he believes that this very difficulty may have had the compensating advantage of forcing him to think long and intently about every sentence, and thus enabling him to detect errors in reasoning and in his own observations. He disclaimed the possession of any great quickness of apprehension or wit, such as distinguished Huxley. He asserted, also, that his power to follow a long and purely abstract train of thought was very limited, for which reason he felt certain that he never could have succeeded with mathematics. His memory, too, he described as extensive, but hazy. So poor in one sense was it that he never could remember for more than a few days a single date or a line of poetry. On the other hand, he did not accept as well founded the charge made by some of his critics that, while he was a good observer, he had no power of reasoning. This, he thought, could not be true, because the “Origin of Species” is one long argument from the beginning to the end, and has convinced many able men. No one, he submits, could have written it without possessing some power of reasoning. He was willing to assert that “I have a fair share of invention, and of common sense or judgment, such as every fairly successful lawyer or doctor must have, but not, I believe, in any higher degree.” He adds humbly that perhaps he was “superior to the common run of men in noticing things which easily escape attention, and in observing them carefully.”

Writing in the last year of his life, he expressed the opinion that in two or three respects his mind had changed during the preceding twenty or thirty years. Up to the age of thirty or beyond it poetry of many kinds gave him great pleasure. Formerly, too, pictures had given him considerable, and music very great, delight. In 1881, however, he said: “Now for many years I cannot endure to read a line of poetry. I have also almost lost my taste for pictures or music.” Darwin was convinced that the loss of these tastes was not only a loss of happiness, but might possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character.

參考答案及分析：

1. 原文：He believes that this very difficulty may have had the compensating advantage of forcing him to think long and intently about every sentence, and thus enabling him to detect errors in reasoning and in his own observations.

分析：he believes that后面整個是賓語從句，the compensating advantage of后面接了兩個由and連接的并列分詞結構forcing…, and thus enabling…，起補充說明作用。Reasoning在這里的意思是“推理”。

參考譯文：他認為，這種表達上的困難反而是好事，促使他認真反復思考每一個句子，從而得以發現自己在推理和觀點中存在的錯誤。

2. 原文：He asserted, also, that his power to follow a long and purely abstract train of thought was very limited, for which reason he felt certain that he never could have succeeded with mathematics.

分析：在詞匯理解層面上，asserted“斷言”，power“能力”，follow“理解，領悟”，train“系列”，train of thought可譯為“思路”。在結構層面上，he never could have succeeded with mathematics是對過去的虛擬。

參考譯文：他還斷言，自己理解完全抽象的復雜思維的能力非常有限，因此覺得自己要是當初選擇數學的話，毫無疑問永遠不可能取得成功。

3. 原文：On the other hand, he did not accept as well founded the charge made by some of his critics that, while he was a good observer, he had no power of reasoning.

分析：結構上，accept as well founded the charge存在語序倒裝，正常語序是accept the charge as well founded。而that, while he was a good observer, he had no power of reasoning是charge的同位語從句。power of reasoning的意思是“推理能力”。

參考譯文：另一方面，有些人批評說，盡管他善于觀察，但不具備推理能力。他認為這種批評是沒有根據的。

4. 原文：He adds humbly that perhaps he was “superior to the common run of men in noticing things which easily escape attention, and in observing them carefully.”

分析：the common run of“普通的，一般的”。 in noticing… and in observing…是兩個并列結構，與superior to 形成搭配關系，意思是“在某方面比某人強”。

參考譯文：達爾文還謙虛地補充說，“有些東西很容易被人忽視，自己卻能注意到，而且觀察得非常仔細，在這些方面自己也許比一般人強。”

5. 原文：Darwin was convinced that the loss of these tastes was not only a loss of happiness, but might possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character.

分析：character“品性、品質”。 to the moral character與 be injurious形成搭配關系，換言之，be injurious后接了兩個平行結構：to the intellect, and… to the moral character。

參考譯文：達爾文深信，對這些東西喪失興趣，不僅僅會導致喪失幸福，而且可能危害智力，更有可能危害道德品質。

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