3．3. 2　Some Techniques of Translating Long English...

3．3. 2　Some Techniques of Translating Long English Sentences长句翻译的方法

Apart from the above six steps we can generally follow in dealing with long English sentences，there are several commonly used techniques mostly related to the stage of representing the original meaning in the translating process．

3．3. 2. 1　Synchronizing顺译法

Just as its name implies，synchronizing refers to the translation method that follows the order of time，plot and logic for the original English sentences．In other words，when the structural order of the SL sentence is the same as the logical order of an equivalent Chinese sentence，we can translate the SL sentence sequentially，and arrange the Chinese version in the same order as the original sentence．Now analyze the following sentences and finger out how the method goes．

Visual cues from audience members can indicate that a speech is dragging，that the speaker is dwelling on a particular point for too long，or that a particular point requires further explanation．

　听众的眼神可以表明，演说过于拖沓，演说者在某一点上讲得太多，或者在某一点上还需要作进一步的解释。

Comments The main clause of the SL sentence is“Visual cues from audience members can indicate…”The predicate verb has three coordinate objective clauses that are organized in the same order as an equivalent Chinese sentence．So we can translate the original sentence sequentially．

But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people，but also religious beliefs，emotions，and psychology．

　但是艺术历史注意的不仅仅是这些，因为艺术反映的不单是一个民族的政治价值观，而且还有他们的宗教信仰、情感和心理特点。

Comments The SL sentence is a complex sentence containing an adverbial clause of cause．Such a logical order of“result”followed by “cause”is in conformity to that of Chinese language，so the original sentence can be translated sequentially．

One widely held belief is that a sharp fright will end a troublesome bout of hiccups，but many people prefer just waiting for them to go away as this“cure”is often worse than the ailment itself．

　一种普遍为人们接受的观点是，猛然的惊吓会止住一阵讨厌的打嗝，但是许多人宁愿等打嗝自然过去，因为这种“止嗝的方法”往往比打嗝本身更糟。

Comments This sentence can be divided into three meaningful groups : “One widely held belief is that a sharp fright will end a troublesome bout of hiccups” ; “but many people prefer just waiting for them to go away” ; “as this‘cure＇is often worse than the ailment itself” ．There is a strict logical sequence among these groups．Rendering the SL sentence sequentially will make the translation smooth and accurate．

3．3. 2. 2　Reversing倒译法

If the structural order of a long English sentence is just the opposite of that of an equivalent Chinese sentence，the SL sentence should be tackled in a reverse order in translation，i．e．we should start our translation from the back of the original sentence．So the TL sentence will be organized in the opposite order in relation to the SL sentence．Its purpose is to accord with Chinese expression．In practice，reverse-order translation is more frequent than sequential-order translation．

He did not remember his father who died when he was three years old．

　他3岁时父亲就死了，所以记不起父亲的样子。

Can you answer a question which I want to ask and which is puzzling me?

　我有一个问题弄不懂，想请教您，您能回答吗?

And I take heart from the fact that the enemy，which boasts that it can occupy that strategic point in a couple of hours，has not yet been able to take even the outlying regions，because of the stiff resistance that gets in the way．

　吹嘘能在几小时内就占领战略要地的敌人，由于一路受到顽强抵抗，甚至还没占领外围地带。这一事实使我增强了信心。

Comments The above sentences are translated in reversing way in order to be agreeable with Chinese writing features．In the first sentence，the part“He did not remember his father”is translated after the second part．If the second sentence is translated in the synchronizing or sequential-order method into你能回答一个我要问你的而使我弄不清楚的问题吗it is little bit unnatural and hard for us Chinese to read．

It remains to be seen whether the reserves of raw materials would be sufficient to supply world economy which would have grown by 500 percent．

　如果世界经济真的以5倍于现有的速度增长，那么原材料的储备是否能充分满足其需求，尚不得而知。

Comments: In the SL sentence ，“whether the reserves of…by 500 percent”is a subjective clause，and“it”is a formal subject．Such a structure of“It remains to be seen whether…”ensures an end weight of the sentence．But if this sentence is translated sequentially，it is impossible to represent the original meaning conveniently in Chinese．So we should translate the attributive clause“which would have grown by 500 percent…”first and convert it into a Chinese adverbial clause of condition in order to make the rendering fluent．

That our environment had little，if anything，to do with our abilities，characteristics and behavior is central to this theory．

　这种理论的核心是，我们的环境同我们的才能、性格特征和行为即使有什么关系的话，也是微不足道的。

Comments in the SL sentence ，“That our environment had…and behavior”is a subjective clause．If we start translating the sentence from the beginning，the resulting Chinese version will be out of balance—the beginning part of the sentence will be too long while the ending part will be too short．It is preferable to translate the original sentence in a reverse order．

He flew in just the day before from Georgia where he had spent his vacation basking in Caucasian sun after the completion of the construction job he had been engaged on in the South．

　他本来在南方从事一项建筑工程;任务完成后，他就去格鲁吉亚度假，享受高加索的阳光，昨天才坐飞机回来。

Comments In the original sentence ，“where…” introduces an attributive clause followed by a prepositional phrase“after the completion of the construction job…”containing another attributive clause．We have to break up the original construction and translate it chronologically according to Chinese habitual way of narrating an event．So the TL sentence is in a reverse order in comparison with the SL sentence．

3．3. 2. 3　Embedding包孕法

The method embedding is mainly used for English attributive structures，which is translated as Chinese structure “……的……” ．

In 1970，he was placed under house arrest when he refused to use massive force in suppressing worker riots on the seacoast．

　1970年他因拒绝使用大规模武力镇压沿海城市的工人骚乱而被软禁。

Congress has made laws requiring most pressure groups to give information about how much they spend and how they spend it，the amount and sources of funds，membership，and names and salaries of their representatives．

　国会已制定法律，要求大部分压力团体呈报他们花费了多少钱，怎样花的，款项的总额以及来源、成员人数、代表的姓名和薪金等情况。

Comments It is easy for us to learn and master this method，but we should know the point that when an English attributive structure is too long，this method can not be used because it probably results in a tedious and inexpressive Chinese sentence．It is suggested that other methods should be used to cope with it．

3．3. 2. 4　Cutting切分法

Cutting method can be explained by two ways．One is called division，which means that modifiers in a long English sentence often consist of attributives，adverbials，attributive and adverbial clauses etc．If a modifier is too long to deal with，we can divide it into several parts，and then translate them into Chinese clauses．The other is cutting，in which English sentences will be cut into several parts according to sense group，and then add necessary words or phrases before the new sentence in order to keep Chinese complete and fluent．

The idea of ‖a fish being able to generate electricity strong enough to light small bulbs，even to run an electric motor，‖is almost unbelievable．

　鱼能发电，其强度足以点亮小灯泡，甚至能开动马达。‖这种想法简直令人难以置信。

Comments The focus of the sentence is the modifier of the word“idea” ．That is to say，the attributive is too long to be translated easily．If we divide the long attributive into three Chinese clauses，the Chinese version would be natural and smooth．

There are swift flowing rivers，‖slow，sluggish rivers，‖mighty rivers with several mouths，‖rivers that carry vast loads of alluvium to the sea，‖clear，limpid rivers，‖rivers that at some seasons of the year have very much more water than at others．

　有的河水流湍急; ‖有的河流速缓慢; ‖有的河河口有好几处; ‖有的河带着大量冲击土入海; ‖有的河清澈见底; ‖有的河水量在一年中的某些季节较少，而在某些季节却多得很。

Comments The basic structure of the sentence is “there are + compound subjects” ．Here are six subjects that have their own attributives．We can translate them into six parallel clauses in order to make the translation as smooth and expressive as natural Chinese．

Intellectually emancipated at a time when women of good family were not encouraged to do anything more ambitious than dabble in the arts，‖she became the editor of a review entitled Modern Women ‖in which she was bold enough to publish essays by the revolutionaries．

　当时，对有教养人家的女子，至多不过让她们对艺术稍事涉猎，并不鼓励她们做比这更有抱负的事情。‖但她不受旧思想的约束，担任了一家名叫《现代妇女》的杂志的编辑。‖她大胆地在这个刊物上发表革命人士的文章。

Comments: The central part of the sentence is“she became the editor” ．Before and after the essential part，there are several modifiers，which may be divided into three parts to be translated conveniently into Chinese．The first part gives the background information; the second is the essential part of the sentence，and the third gives further explanation．

He visited many places，in all of which he was received with the usual enthusiasm‖which attached his arduous labors．

　他走访了很多地方，常常受到热情的欢迎，这都是他努力的结果。

‖Human beings have distinguished themselves from other animals，‖ and in doing so ensured their survival，‖by the ability to observe and understand their environment ‖and then either to adapt to that environment or to control and adapt it to their own needs．‖

　人类把自己和其他动物区别开来。‖与此同时，人类还具有观察和了解周围环境的能力。‖他们或控制环境，或根据自身的需要改造环境。‖人类就这样一代代地生存下去。

Comments: The last two sentences belong to the second explanation．It is very clear for us to notice that the long sentences are cut into several parts，which are then translated one by one．Here we should pay attention to the aspect that something coherent between parts should be added．The first sentence is cut into two parts，and the pronoun “which”in the second part should be really understood，and then translated into这都是他．The last sentence is cut into four parts，and人类and他们are added after we completely figure out the relationship between the subject and predicate．

3．3. 2. 5 Splitting拆译法

The so-called splitting refers to the method that a certain part，including a word，a phrase or a clause，in a sentence is drawn out．This part can be translated in to a Chinese sentence alone，which can be placed at the end of the entire sentence or in front of it．

It is a NATO matter; any comment on it should appropriatelycome from NATO．

　这是北约组织的事宜，对此事的任何评论应该由北约组织决定，这才是恰当的。

Young men who have reason to fear that they will be killed in battle may justifiably feel bitter in the thought that they have been cheated of the best things that life has to offer．

　如果年轻人由于某种原因认为自己有可能在战斗中死去，想到生活所能提供的最美好的东西自己全部无法享受，觉得受了骗而感到痛苦，这是无可指责的。

An outsider＇s success could even curiously help two parties to get the agreement they want．

　说来奇怪，一个局外人取得的成功竟然能够促使双方达成一项他们希望得到的协议。

Comments: Here are three examples．In the first example，the word “appropriately”is drawn out，translated into这才是恰当的，and then put at the end of the whole sentence．In the second example，the same method is used，and the Chinese version这是无可指责的for“justifiably”is placed at the end of the whole sentence．Although the same method is used in the last sentence，the Chinese version说来奇怪for“curiously”is placed in the front of the whole sentence．

3．3. 2. 6 Recasting重组法

Recasting refers to the method requiring the translator to accurately comprehend and grasp the long sentence，to deconstruct the sentence，and then to adjust and recast it by using his or her own words to appropriately express the information，meaning and core style and features of the original．It is little bit difficult for the translator to master this method，which needs him or her to be acquainted to both languages and to have the ability of rewriting and organizing．

②In practice，③the selected interval thickness is usually a compromise between the need①for a thin interval to maximize the resolution and thick interval to minimize the error．

　①为保证最大分辨率必须选用薄层，为使误差最小却需选用厚层，②实际上③通常选择介于两者之间最佳厚度。

④What the New Yorker would find missing is③what many outsiders find oppressive and distasteful about①New York—its rawness，tension，urgency; its bracing competitiveness;②the rigor (寒战，发冷)of its judgment; and the congested，democratic presence of so many other New Yorkers encased in their own world．

　①纽约的粗犷、紧张，那种急迫感和催人奋进的竞争性，②它的是非观念之严酷无情，纽约市的那种各色人等的熙熙攘攘，兼容并蓄于各自的天地之中的格局，③所有这些都使那些非纽约人感到厌恶和窒息;④而这一切，又是纽约人所眷恋的。

Comments: As the definition of this skill has been mentioned，this skill requires the translator to accurately comprehend the long sentence，to deconstruct it，and then to adjust and recast it．The examples mentioned above are good ones for us to understand the method．Carefully reading and analyzing them，we have clearly noticed that the Chinese versions adapt to our understanding and thinking(the marked numbers can be paid attention to)，the English sentences(the numbers are disordered)，however，are quite different in writing and organizing from Chinese ones．This is because there exist different writing styles and features between the two languages．One more thing we should pay attention to is that the information and meaning of the original have to be maintained when we use this method．

3．3. 2. 7 Inserting插入法

If we have trouble reorganizing the split-up components of the original version when translating long sentences，we can use brackets or dash to insert such items as descriptive attributive，adverbial，and appositive and parenthesis into the TL sentence．Such inserted elements generally supply necessary additional or background information．This technique can make the Chinese version smooth and expressive，and avoid translationese．

When I went to Yan＇an in the summer of 1946，the Anti-Japanese War，and the Second World War of which it was a part，had been over for just a year．

　1946年夏天去延安的时候，抗日战争(抗日战争是第二次世界大战的组成部分)才刚刚结束一年。

Comments The attributive clause in the original sentence“…of which it was a part，”can be separately translated and inserted into the TL sentence by means of a bracket to give additional information．

The second aspect is the application by all members of society from the government official to the ordinary citizen，of the special methods of thought and action that scientists use in their work．

　第二个方面是全体社会成员(从政府官员到普通公民)都使用科学家们在工作中所采用的那种特殊的思考方法和行为方法。

Comments The prepositional phrase“from…to…”can be separately translated and inserted after社会成员in the Chinese version to give further explanation．

The method was largely developed by physicists，chemists and biologists; it was later adopted by people working in such areas as education，psychology and sociology，where the subjects of research were often people．

　这种方法在很大程度上先是由物理学家、化学家和生物学家使用，后来为在教育学、心理学和社会学等领域内(其研究对象是人)工作的研究人员所采纳而发展起来的。

Comments The non-restrictive attributive clause of the original sentence “where the subjects…”is translated as an inserted element and placed behind the noun it modifies to give an explanation．

Of course，we just introduce this method and know that we can have many ways to deal with the explanatory parts in long sentences．As all we know，scholars and experts have different opinions about the inserting method．Some think that the certain parts for the further explanation in such long sentences can be translated in the way that the original goes without using the brackets because it is part of the sentence．If you persist in doing so，the bracketed part will become the translator＇s voice．Others believe that the methods in translation are many-sided and open-ended，and the translator should employ as many methods as he or she can to render the original in order to embody translational artistry．

3．3. 2. 8 Integrating综合法

It often happens in the translation of long sentences that we cannot handle a long English sentence properly by using a single skill only．Under such circumstances，we have to make a comprehensive use of the above skills: Some parts of the SL sentence may be translated in a sequential order; other parts may be rendered in a reverse order．Some elements of the original sentence may be handled by means of division or insertion; others may be dealt with by the use of brackets or dashes．This is called integrating．In this way，we will be able to make a smooth rendering of the original sentence．Look at the following examples．

But without Adolf Hitler，who was possessed of a demoniac personality，a granite will，uncanny instincts，a cold ruthlessness，a remarkable intellect，a soaring imagination and until toward the end，when drunk with power and success，he overreached himself an amazing capacity to size up people and situations，there almost certainly would never have been a Third Reich．

　然而，如果没有阿道夫·希特勒，那就几乎可以肯定不会有第三帝国。因为阿道夫·希特勒有着恶魔般的性格、花岗石般的意志、不可思议的本能、无情的冷酷、杰出的智力、深远的想象力以及对人和局势惊人的判断力。这种判断力和胜利使他冲昏了头脑而自不量力，终于弄巧成拙。

Comments The main clause of the original sentence is“there almost certainly would never have been a Third Reich” ．The prepositional phrase“without Adolf Hitler”is followed by a non-restrictive attributive clause“who…”which contains an adverbial clause“until…”This inserted adverbial clause serves to give supplementary information．So it can be translated and placed at the end of the TL sentence according to the logical relationship within the SL sentence．Other parts of the sentence are in the same logical order as the TL sentence．Therefore there are both sequential-order and inverse-order treatments in the translation of the original sentence．

Energy is the currency of the ecological system and life becomes possible only when food is converted into energy which in turn is used to seek more food to grow，to reproduce and to survive．

　能量是生态系统的货币，只有当食物变为能量，能量再用来获取更多的食物以供生长、繁殖和生存，生命才成为可能。

Comments: The original sentence is a compound sentence made up of two coordinate clauses．The second coordinate clause contains an adverbial clause of time introduced by“only when…”and a nonrestrictive attributive clause．We use inverse-order translation to move ahead the adverbial clause of time，and translate the non-restrictive attributive clause by means of division．

By the middle of the year，he warned，the Soviet Union would overtake the United States in the number of land-based strategic missiles，the result of a massive Soviet effort beginning in the mid 1960s，after the Cuban fiasco，to achieve at least parity and possibly superiority in nuclear weapons．

　他警告说，到本年年中，苏联将在陆上发射的战略导弹的数量上超过美国，因为苏联在古巴事件失败后，从20世纪60年代中期起就大力发展导弹，目的是为了在核武器方面至少达到同美国均等，并力争超过美国。

Comments: The original sentence is a simple sentence containing a parenthesis which can be moved ahead in translation．There is also a nominal phrase expressing consequence，which contains a prepositional adverbial and an infinitive．On the basis of the logical relationship among these sentential constituents，this nominal phrase can be translated as a clause of reason in the Chinese version．