加载中…认真严谨季羡林（汉英翻译课练习之四）
(2010-09-14 18:09:28)
标签：
英语翻译文化 |
分类： 译作 |
认真严谨季羡林
The Conscientious and Rigorous Ji Xianlin / Ji Xianlin, a Conscientious and Rigorous Scholar
说起季羡林先生的认真，那是出了名的，有一回我供职的刊物要介绍季老，我打电话询问他的职务，他竟认真地把年龄、籍贯、职务等介绍逐一相告，连挂名的10多种职务亦不例外。
Professor Ji Xianlin had a reputation for being contentious. Once,
for a story/biographical sketch about him to be published in the
magazine I was working for, I telephoned him to ask him about his
current position. To my surprise, he took the matter so seriously
that he told me his age, birthplace/native place, and all the
positions he held, including the ten-odd titular
ones.
他的意思是既然你问，我就要说清，含含糊糊有悖治学之道。
In his opinion, since I had asked him, he must give me a clear answer, for ambiguity runs counter to the way of academic studies.
Or: his point was that …
有一年，我住在北京大学勺园。因为住的时间长，就想起去拜望一下季老。
Some years ago I lived in a compound called Shaoyuan on the campus
of Peking University. Since I had been/had to stay there for quite
a long time, I thought I should pay a visit to Professor
Ji.
既然同在一个校园，路途就不成问题，为防冒失，我先给季老打过电话，随后租辆自行车，5分钟后就来到未名湖畔，揿响了他家的门铃。
As he lived
on the same campus, distance was no problem at all. To avoid
intrusion, I called him first. Then, riding a rented bike, I
arrived at the shore of the Weiming Lake five minutes later and
rang his bell.
季老家住一楼，对面两套房室均是他的。初闻我甚觉惊讶，北京住房如此紧张，他竟住两套居室。
His family
lived on the first floor in two apartments, one opposite the other.
That surprised me at first, given such a shortage of housing in
Beijing.
后来一问才知，季老因为藏书多，家里堆放的书把人挤得几无下脚之地，他还带着日本等国的研究生，经常要在家中辅导（他是国内为数不多的懂梵文、吐火罗文的专家，这种文字，在印度也没有多少人能懂了）。
However, I was soon to learn that his collection of books was so large that there was barely standing room for anyone, and that he frequently tutored his postgraduate students from Japan and other countries at home (he was one of the few Chinese experts on the Tocharian languages and Sanskrit, which is known to a very limited number of people even in India).
Previous assignments
北京大学鉴于季老的成就和国际威望，特别再拨一套住房给他，这在北京大学尚属首例。
Because of/In recognition of/In view of his achievement and international renown, Peking University had made an unprecedented decision to give him an extra apartment
Or: … the university allocated an extra apartment to him, which was unprecedented in its history/making him the first faculty member to have two apartments in Peking University.
季老将我让进东边一间，进门便是一排排书架，简直像个图书室。
He ushered me into a room in the east, and I saw that it was like a library, with one bookshelf after another.
他把沙发上的书籍、信札搬到桌上，我才有落座的地方。
He moved the books and letters from a couch to the desk so that I could be seated. / Not until he had … did I have a place to sit.
他拉家常似的询问我一些情况，谦虚地称自己“老了，写不出什么东西了”。可是他的新著，却是一本连着一本。
Then he struck up a familiar/casual conversation, asking me something about myself and modestly saying that he was too old to write anything (decent), though actually he had published a succession of new works.
说了一会儿，电话铃响，他接完电话，又有人敲门，通知说下午有会。
We had been talking for a while when the phone rang. No sooner had he answered it than someone knocked to inform him that there would be a meeting that afternoon.
季老左右应付，也是忙中有差，他把写给我的题字写在老作家萧乾题字的背面。
In dealing with the distractions he made a mistake, writing his inscription for me on the back of the (paper bearing an) inscription by veteran writer Xiao Qian.
我接过来，觉得为难：这些字日后都要装裱的，现在两个大名人写在一张纸的正反面，我该装裱谁的呢？
When I took it from his hand, I found myself in a dilemma: such inscriptions were to be mounted, but now that I had two eminent men‘s inscriptions on both sides of one/the same piece of paper, which one should I mount?
季老闻言，直怪自己不小心，说：“萧乾题字在先，我应该再补。这样吧，我随后用毛笔写个条幅寄给你，怎么样？”
Hearing my worry, Professor Ji blamed/kept blaming himself for having been so careless. "Xiao Qian wrote his inscription first, so I should write another one," he said, "Let me do it this way: I'll write a scroll with a brush later and send it to you. Is that all right?"
对这句话我不敢抱十分的信心，然而当我回到郑州不久，果然收到季老的来信，随信有毛笔写的题字，是朱熹的诗句：“少年易老学难成，一寸光阴不可轻。”这使我感动不已。
I was not quite sure that he would keep his promise. However, soon after I returned to Zhengzhou, I received his letter, enclosed with which was an inscription of two poetic lines by Zhu Xi [a scholar of the Song Dynasty] written with a brush: "do not waste any moment (cherish every moment), young man/for age is much easier to acquire than learning". I was deeply touched.
附：
偶成
[宋]朱熹
少年易老学难成，
一寸光阴不可轻。
未觉池塘春草梦，
阶前梧叶已秋声。
Lines That Crossed My Mind
Zhu Xi (the Song Dynasty)
Do not waste a single moment, young man,
For age is much easier to acquire than learning.
Hardly has the grass by the pond woken up from its spring dream
When the parasol trees before the steps begin to sing a song of autumn.
The Conscientious and Rigorous Ji Xianlin / Ji Xianlin, a Conscientious and Rigorous Scholar
他的意思是既然你问，我就要说清，含含糊糊有悖治学之道。
In his opinion, since I had asked him, he must give me a clear answer, for ambiguity runs counter to the way of academic studies.
Or: his point was that …
既然同在一个校园，路途就不成问题，为防冒失，我先给季老打过电话，随后租辆自行车，5分钟后就来到未名湖畔，揿响了他家的门铃。
季老家住一楼，对面两套房室均是他的。初闻我甚觉惊讶，北京住房如此紧张，他竟住两套居室。
后来一问才知，季老因为藏书多，家里堆放的书把人挤得几无下脚之地，他还带着日本等国的研究生，经常要在家中辅导（他是国内为数不多的懂梵文、吐火罗文的专家，这种文字，在印度也没有多少人能懂了）。
However, I was soon to learn that his collection of books was so large that there was barely standing room for anyone, and that he frequently tutored his postgraduate students from Japan and other countries at home (he was one of the few Chinese experts on the Tocharian languages and Sanskrit, which is known to a very limited number of people even in India).
Previous assignments
北京大学鉴于季老的成就和国际威望，特别再拨一套住房给他，这在北京大学尚属首例。
Because of/In recognition of/In view of his achievement and international renown, Peking University had made an unprecedented decision to give him an extra apartment
Or: … the university allocated an extra apartment to him, which was unprecedented in its history/making him the first faculty member to have two apartments in Peking University.
季老将我让进东边一间，进门便是一排排书架，简直像个图书室。
He ushered me into a room in the east, and I saw that it was like a library, with one bookshelf after another.
他把沙发上的书籍、信札搬到桌上，我才有落座的地方。
He moved the books and letters from a couch to the desk so that I could be seated. / Not until he had … did I have a place to sit.
他拉家常似的询问我一些情况，谦虚地称自己“老了，写不出什么东西了”。可是他的新著，却是一本连着一本。
Then he struck up a familiar/casual conversation, asking me something about myself and modestly saying that he was too old to write anything (decent), though actually he had published a succession of new works.
说了一会儿，电话铃响，他接完电话，又有人敲门，通知说下午有会。
We had been talking for a while when the phone rang. No sooner had he answered it than someone knocked to inform him that there would be a meeting that afternoon.
季老左右应付，也是忙中有差，他把写给我的题字写在老作家萧乾题字的背面。
In dealing with the distractions he made a mistake, writing his inscription for me on the back of the (paper bearing an) inscription by veteran writer Xiao Qian.
我接过来，觉得为难：这些字日后都要装裱的，现在两个大名人写在一张纸的正反面，我该装裱谁的呢？
When I took it from his hand, I found myself in a dilemma: such inscriptions were to be mounted, but now that I had two eminent men‘s inscriptions on both sides of one/the same piece of paper, which one should I mount?
季老闻言，直怪自己不小心，说：“萧乾题字在先，我应该再补。这样吧，我随后用毛笔写个条幅寄给你，怎么样？”
Hearing my worry, Professor Ji blamed/kept blaming himself for having been so careless. "Xiao Qian wrote his inscription first, so I should write another one," he said, "Let me do it this way: I'll write a scroll with a brush later and send it to you. Is that all right?"
对这句话我不敢抱十分的信心，然而当我回到郑州不久，果然收到季老的来信，随信有毛笔写的题字，是朱熹的诗句：“少年易老学难成，一寸光阴不可轻。”这使我感动不已。
I was not quite sure that he would keep his promise. However, soon after I returned to Zhengzhou, I received his letter, enclosed with which was an inscription of two poetic lines by Zhu Xi [a scholar of the Song Dynasty] written with a brush: "do not waste any moment (cherish every moment), young man/for age is much easier to acquire than learning". I was deeply touched.
附：
偶成
[宋]朱熹
少年易老学难成，
一寸光阴不可轻。
未觉池塘春草梦，
阶前梧叶已秋声。
Lines That Crossed My Mind
Zhu Xi (the Song Dynasty)
Do not waste a single moment, young man,
For age is much easier to acquire than learning.
Hardly has the grass by the pond woken up from its spring dream
When the parasol trees before the steps begin to sing a song of autumn.
喜欢
0
赠金笔