翻译题目

　　在中国人们见面时喜欢问：“你去哪儿?”或“你吃了吗?”大多数时候人们并非真正想知道你要去哪里或吃饭了没有。实际上那只是一种打招呼的方式。与西方的风俗相似，当你与—个陌生人开始交谈时，诸如天气、食物或爱好之类的话题可能是打破坚冰的不错选择。询问私人问题时应当慎重，但是聊些关于家乡、工作方面的话題则通常可以使谈话顺利进行。

　　表达难点

　　1.在第2句中，“你要去哪里或吃饭了没有”作“并非真正想知道”的宾语，可将其处理成一个宾语从句，用陈述句语序表达，译作where you are going to or whether you have eaten or not.

　　2.在第3句中，“实际上”可译为actually或in fact。定语“打招呼的”可处理为后置定语，用不定式短语to greet each other 来表达。

　　3.第4句的主语是“诸如……的话题”，翻译成英语时，以topics作为主语，定语“诸如天气、食物或爱好之类的”用such as……来列举，作补充说明。

　　4. 最后—句中的“询问私人问题时应当慎重”省略了主语，翻译时应补充主语you或one，译为You should be cautious when you ask private questions.“但是聊些关于……则……”如果译成But if you chat with people on topics such as……, it can make the chat go on smoothly则显得冗长拖沓;此处把主语“聊些关于家乡、工作方面的话题”译为名词短语a chat about one's hometown or job则能使译文简洁流畅。

　　参考译文

　　In China, people like to ask "Where are you heading for?" or "Have you eaten yet?" when they meet each other. For most of the time, they do not really want to know where you are going to or whether you have eaten or not. Actually, that is just a way to greet each other. Similar to western customs, when you start talking with a stranger, topics such as weather, food or hobby may be good choices to break the ice. You should be cautious when you ask private questions. But a chat about one's hometown or job can usually go on smoothly.