例文三　華羅庚的求學(xué)之路

原文:

華羅庚在十七歲時(shí)便身患傷寒，貧病中臥床半年致使左腿殘廢。也就在此后的幾年中，他全靠自學(xué)讀完了從高中到大學(xué)的八年課程，后來(lái)他學(xué)業(yè)成就卓著，受聘到清華大學(xué)任教，但當(dāng)時(shí)表上填的仍是初中畢業(yè)生。

1936年，華羅庚初到劍橋大學(xué)留學(xué)，著名數(shù)學(xué)家哈代正在美國(guó)旅行，此前他曾看過推薦華羅庚的信和華羅庚的論文，就給另一位數(shù)學(xué)家海爾布倫留了一張便條:“華來(lái)時(shí)，請(qǐng)轉(zhuǎn)告他，他可以用兩年的時(shí)間獲得博士學(xué)位。”通常若要在劍橋大學(xué)獲得博士學(xué)位，至少要三四年甚至更長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間。海爾布倫問華羅庚:“你打算攻讀哪一門課程?我們給你提供幫助?！比A羅庚回答說(shuō):“謝謝你的好意。我只有兩年的研究時(shí)間，自然要多學(xué)點(diǎn)東西，多寫些有意思的文章。念博士不免有些繁文縟節(jié)，太浪費(fèi)時(shí)間了。我不想念博士學(xué)位，我只要求做一個(gè)訪問學(xué)者。我來(lái)劍橋大學(xué)是為了求學(xué)問，不是為了學(xué)位?！?/p>

海爾布倫聞言，不覺大感意外:“東方來(lái)的人，不稀罕劍橋大學(xué)的博士學(xué)位者，你還是第一個(gè)。我們歡迎你這樣的訪問學(xué)者?！?/p>

就在那里的一年當(dāng)中，華羅庚完成了十一篇論文。而這些論文，每一篇都可得到一個(gè)博士學(xué)位。

1979年11月，華羅庚來(lái)到法國(guó)南錫大學(xué)，參加為授予他榮譽(yù)博士學(xué)位而舉行的隆重儀式。從此他才有了比初中畢業(yè)更高的學(xué)銜，這年，他已經(jīng)68歲了。

——梁東元:《傾聽大師們的聲音》

譯文一

Hua Luogeng's Pursuit of Education

Hua Luogeng，Chinese renowned mathematician，began his education the hardest way.When he was 17 years old，he suffered from typhoid.He was confined to bed for half a year.Being very poor and not having got proper treatment for his disease，he became crippled.Not having flinched in the face of tremendous difficulties，he completed the courses from senior high to college by teaching himself.Later on he became a teacher in Qinghua University with only a secondary-school diploma.

In 1936，when Hua Luogeng came to Cambridge University，Hardy，the famous Cambridge mathematician was traveling in America.Before he left England he had received a letter of recommendation for Hua and his research papers.He left a message to Heilbronn，his colleague，which said ，“When Hua comes，please tell him he can get a doctor's degree here in two years.”The usual time to get a doctor's degree in Cambridge was three or four years or even longer.Then when Heilbronn saw Hua，he asked him ，“What subject do you want to study?We'll help you.”Hearing this，Hua said，“I appreciate your kindness，but I'll have only two years of research here.I want to study as much as possible and write meaningful papers.To get a doctor's degree，I would have to get through much red tape，which would take me a lot of time.So I just want to be a visiting scholar instead of getting a doctor's degree，for I came here to seek knowledge，not a degree.”

Very astonished，Heilbronn said ，“You are the first Asian I've ever seen who is not interested in getting a doctor's degree in Cambridge.And we are glad to have a visiting scholar like you.”

In just one year there，Hua Luogeng wrote 11 research papers，and each one of them was good enough for him to have got a doctor's degree.

In November 1979，Hua Luogeng went to attend the ceremony of receiving his honorary doctor's degree conferred by Nancy University in France.Only by then，at the age of 68，he got a degree higher than a secondary-school diploma.

譯文二

The Education of Hua Luogeng

Hua Luogeng，the renowned Chinese mathematician，who grew up in poverty，was 17 years old when he was struck by typhoid，which，after confining him to bed for half a year，left him crippled in the left leg.

He won a teaching position at the prestigious Qinghua University，not on the strength of his formal education，which ended when he finished 3rd year junior high，but on what he had achieved，all by self-teaching，in all the academic courses from senior high school to college.

In 1936，when Hua Luogeng came to Cambridge University，Hardy，the famous mathematician，was traveling in America.Before he left England he had received a letter of recommendation for Hua along with his research papers.He left a message to Heilbronn，his colleague，which said ，“When Hua comes，please tell him he can get his doctor's degree here in two years.”At Cambridge the study for a PhD degree took three or four years，or longer.When Heilbronn saw him，he asked him ，“What is the subject you intend to study?We may help you.”“Thank you for your kindness，”Hua said ，“I have only two years to do research here.I would like to study as much and produce as many useful papers as the two years allow me.I am not here to pursue a doctoral degree.That would cost me too much time going through all the formalities.I'm here just as a visiting scholar，not after a PhD.Study is the sole purpose of my being here.”

Heilbronn was surprised.“You are the first Asian I've ever met who's not interested in getting a doctor's degree from Cambridge，”he said.“A scholar like you is more than welcome here.”

In just one year，Hua Luogeng produced eleven research papers，and each one of them was strong enough to earn him a doctor's degree.

In November 1979，Hua Luogeng was awarded an honorary doctoral degree by Nancy University in France in recognition of his academic position，which was much higher than that of a holder of a junior high diploma.He was then 68.

【分析】上文摘自名人傳記型的報(bào)告文學(xué)，講述了數(shù)學(xué)大師華羅庚一生中最能體現(xiàn)其大師風(fēng)范的片段。文章開頭沒有給華羅庚做介紹，因?yàn)閹资陙?lái)華羅庚的名字在中國(guó)家喻戶曉，但在英譯文中必須加以說(shuō)明:the renowned Chinese mathematician。

1)后來(lái)他學(xué)業(yè)成就卓著，受聘到清華大學(xué)任教——一個(gè)初中畢業(yè)生能夠受聘到清華大學(xué)任教，在西方國(guó)家是不可思議的事，因此在譯文中必須加以說(shuō)明:He won a teaching position at the prestigious Qinghua University，not on the strength of his formal education，which ended when he finished 3rd year junior high，but on what he had achieved，all by self-teaching□

2)有意思的文章——這句話的意思十分模糊，譯文一翻譯為meaningful papers，欠妥，這會(huì)讓人理解為別人寫的文章都是meaningless。譯文二譯成useful papers，很合適，說(shuō)明華羅庚打算寫一些有實(shí)際效益的文章，以解決實(shí)際問題。

3)繁文縟節(jié)——這個(gè)詞在這里并不是指政府部門煩瑣的公事程序，所以譯文一譯成red tape，就是誤譯?！胺蔽目d節(jié)”這里指的是要讀學(xué)位，就必須通過必要的但很麻煩的手續(xù)，如寫論文開題報(bào)告、找導(dǎo)師指導(dǎo)論文、答辯等。因此going through all the formalities是正確的譯法。

4)每一篇都可得到一個(gè)博士學(xué)位——為什么十一篇論文“每一篇都可得到一個(gè)博士學(xué)位”?原文沒說(shuō)明，譯者也無(wú)從知曉，但是，按照常識(shí)，我們可以認(rèn)為華羅庚的論文一定非常strong，意思是firmly established，difficult to destroy。譯文一譯成good enough力度不夠。

5)從此他才有了比初中畢業(yè)更高的學(xué)銜，這年，他已經(jīng)68歲了。——譯文一是Only by then，at the age of 68，he got a degree higher than a secondary-school diploma.譯文二是Hua Luogeng was awarded an honorary doctoral degree by Nancy University in France in recognition of his academic position，which was much higher than that of a holder of a junior high diploma.He was then 68.在原文中，這句話的重點(diǎn)或精彩之處在“華羅庚68歲時(shí)才有了比初中畢業(yè)更高的學(xué)銜”，因此，譯文二另起一句，譯成He was then 68，不但突出了重點(diǎn)，而且使整篇文章更為有力。