經典英語散文賞析

  英語散文的發展歷程十分曲折,散文大家風格多變,兼之中英語言個性殊異,若要成功地把英語散文大家的作品翻譯到中文,既須瞭解英語散文發展的概況,又須注意保證氣韻邏輯通暢,文氣沛然,才能傳神譯出,曲盡其妙,令漢語讀者獲得相同或相近的審美感受。下面小編為大家帶來,歡迎大家閱讀!

  經典英語散文:愛只是一根線

  sometimes i really doubt whether there is love between my parents. every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the high tuition for my brother and me. they don’t act in the romantic ways that i read in books or i see on tv. in their opinion, “i love you” is too luxurious for them to say. sending flowers to each other on valentine’s day is even more out of the question. finally my father has a bad temper. when he’s very tired from the hard work, it is easy for him to lose his temper.

  有時候,我真的懷疑父母之間是否有真愛。他們天天忙於賺錢,為我和弟弟支付學費。他們從未像我在書中讀到,或在電視中看到的那樣互訴衷腸。他們認為“我愛你”太奢侈,很難說出口。更不用說在情人節送花這樣的事了。我父親的脾氣非常壞。經過一天的勞累之後,他經常會發脾氣。

  one day, my mother was sewing a quilt. i silently sat down beside her and looked at her.

  “mom, i have a question to ask you,” i said after a while.

  “what?” she replied, still doing her work.

  “is there love between you and dad?” i asked her in a very low voice.

  一天,母親正在縫被子,我靜靜地坐在她旁邊看著她。

  過了一會,我說:“媽媽,我想問你一個問題。”

  “什麼問題?”她一邊繼續縫著,一邊回答道。

  我低聲地問道:“你和爸爸之間有沒有愛情啊?”

  my mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise in her eyes. she didn’t answer immediately. then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.

  i was very worried because i thought i had hurt her. i was in a great embarrassment and i didn’t know what i should do. but at last i heard my mother say the following words:

  母親突然停下了手中的活,滿眼詫異地抬起頭。她沒有立即作答。然後低下頭,繼續縫被子。

  我擔心傷害了她。我非常尷尬,不知道該怎麼辦。不過,後來我聽見母親說:

  “susan,” she said thoughtfully, “look at this thread. sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. the thread really makes the quilt strong and durable. if life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. it can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there. love is inside.”

  “蘇珊,看看這些線。有時候,你能看得見,但是大多數都隱藏在被子裡。這些線使被子堅固耐用。如果生活就像一床被子,那麼愛就是其中的線。你不可能隨時隨地看到它,但是它卻實實在在地存在著。愛是內在的。”

  經典英語散文:善心可依

  when i was growing up, i was embarrassed to be seen with my father. he was severely crippled and very short, and when we would walk together, his hand on my arm for balance, people would stare. i would inwardly squirm at the unwanted attention. if he ever noticed or was bothered, he never let on.

  it was difficult to coordinate our steps -- his halting, mine impatient -- and because of that, we didn't say much as we went along. but as we started out, he always said, "you set the pace. i will try to adjust to you. "

  our usual walk was to or from the subway, which was how he got to work. he went to work sick, and despite nasty weather. he almost never missed a day, and would make it to the office even if others could not. a matter of pride.

  when snow or ice was on the ground, it was impossible for him to walk, even with help. at such times my sisters or i would pull him through the streets of brooklyn, ny, on a child's sleigh to the subway entrance. once there, he would cling to the handrail until he reached the lower steps that the warmer tunnel air kept ice-free. in manhattan the subway station was the basement of his office building, and he would not have to go outside again until we met him in brooklyn' on his way home.

  when i think of it now, i marvel at how much courage it must have taken for a grown man to subject himself to such indignity and stress. and at how he did it -- without bitterness or complaint .

  he never talked about himself as an object of pity, nor did he show any envy of the more fortunate or able. what he looked for in others was a "good heart", and if he found one, the owner was good enough for him.

  now that i am older, i believe that is a proper standard by which to judge people, even though i still don' t know precisely what a "good heart" is. but i know the times i don't have one myself.

  unable to engage in many activities, my father still tried to participate in some way. when a local sandlot baseball team found itself |without a manager, he kept it going. he was a knowledgeable baseball fan and often took me to ebbets field to see the brooklyn dodgers play. he liked to go to dances and parties, where he could have a good time just sitting and watching.

  on one memorable occasion a fight broke out at a beach party, with everyone punching and shoving. he wasn't content to sit and watch, but he couldn't stand unaided on the soft sand. in frustration he began to shout, "i' ll fight anyone who will tit down with me!"

  nobody did. but the next day people kidded him by saying it was the first time any fighter was urged to take a dive even before the bout began.