英語聽力文摘757 關(guān)于計數(shù)的知識

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A new number was discovered by a team of German mathematicians in January of this year. The previously unknown integer lies in the relatively unexplored region between the numbers 88,000,002,999 and 88,000,003,000. This unexpected integer has been provisionally named “S,” for “Surprise,” until the mathematical community has determined its exact location and value.

The existence of undiscovered whole numbers in the space between known integers has long been recognized as a possibility, according to theoretical mathematician and team leader Angela Zifferling at the Institute for Polynomial Advance in Töttingen, Germany.

Crunching Numbers

It is largely because we are only used to counting up to a thousand or so in our everyday lives that we fail to notice the presence of so-called “inter-integral” numbers and other strange phenomena that lie in the incredibly distant regions of the number line.

As Zifferling explains: “It’s as if you only made observations from here to the moon, and concluded that there isn’t anything much in outer space. We really have no idea what may exist in the remoter regions of the number line, because the simple fact is that the area beyond around one hundred billion is still almost completely unexplored.”

If confirmed, the existence of number S would make calculations involving numbers in its region much more difficult, as it will probably be found to be exerting a kind of pressure on the whole numbers on either side of it in order to fit in. Mathematicians refer to this pressure as “integral crowding,” and say that it may increasingly be a problem as we move farther and farther from zero.

mathematician n. 數(shù)學家

integer n. [數(shù)] 整數(shù);整體;完整的事物

theoretical adj. 理論的;理論上的;假設(shè)的;推理的

【被動語態(tài)的處理】

科技用于中被動語態(tài)運用的極其廣泛，恰好與漢語中少用被動語態(tài)的慣用法相反。為了使?jié)h語譯文符合漢語的表達方式，根據(jù)譯文的上下文，一般采用三種譯法。 1) 譯作漢語主動語態(tài);

例如： It should be reflected in the early design phase giving an opportunity to predict new possibilities.

譯為：它應(yīng)體現(xiàn)為在初期設(shè)計階段有預測新的可能性的機會。 就避免了出現(xiàn)類似“它應(yīng)被反映在”這種在漢語中別扭的說法。

1) 譯作漢語被動語態(tài);

這時，漢語譯文中運用“被”、“由”、“受”、“為”、“給”、“予以”、“是…的”等虛詞。

例如，The end-gas knock is determined mainly by the temperature of unburned mixture

譯為：終端氣體爆震主要是由未燃混合氣的溫度決定的。

比起“終端氣體爆震主要是被未燃混合氣的溫度所決定的。”更為精準，簡練，不易引起歧義。

2) 在句型“It is(has been) + past participle + that…”中的被動語態(tài)，漢語譯 文中的主動語態(tài)動詞前增譯“人們”、“有人”、“大家”等主語;或不增譯這些主語，譯作漢語主動語態(tài)。

例如：It is known that liquids can turn into gases under certain conditions.

譯為：大家知道在一定條件下，液體能轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)闅怏w。

比“正如被知道的那樣，液體能轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)闅怏w。”更為自然，易于接受。

綜上所述，翻譯兩部曲中的第二步是“成品”的關(guān)鍵所在。既要有跳出原文束縛的能力，又不能一蹦三丈遠——完全脫離原文內(nèi)容實質(zhì)、憑空創(chuàng)造;也就是說，還得有將譯文“靠”回原文的本領(lǐng)。翻譯之路如此漫漫，還需我們不斷“上下而求索”。

感謝童鞋們的積極參與，大家的翻譯都很棒。贊一個!....有方法的借鑒，努力的練習，及時的總結(jié)，相信大家一定能很快進步!