2．4 Number Translation数字的翻译
When we translate something，especially the materials concerning trade，we have to come across a lot of numerals．In general，it is easy for translators to deal with English numerals and percentage．You can just copy the digits in your translation．But we should still see that it is very easy for us to make errors in translating them．For example，“Four out of five earned more than 25，000 dollars a year，two out of five earned more than 50，000 dollars a year，3 per cent were Jews，3 per cent black，22 per cent Catholic，and one fifth of 1 per cent were union officials．”The Chinese version for this sentence should be:每5个人当中有4个人的收入每年在25，000美元以上，每5个人当中有2人的收入每年在50，000美元以上。有3%是犹太人，3%是黑人，22%是天主教徒，0．2%是工会官员。This is a very typical English example．There are several numbers in this example．It＇s easy for us to translate the numbers like 25，000，50，000，3 percent，etc．But it＇s a little bit difficult to put one fifth of 1 per cent into Chinese．
The best way to correctly translate numerals is to read the original carefully and to proofread it with great care．Meanwhile，we should notice the different expressions underlying the two languages．Now let us talk about some great concerns that all of us should focus on．