英语专业历年专八翻译真题及答案.doc

1997 年:English to Chinese Opera is expensive: that much is inevitable. But expensive things are inevitably the province (范围) of the rich unless we abdicate (退位、放弃) society ’s power of choice. We can choose to make opera and other expensive forms of culture, accessible (易接近的,可达到的) to those who cannot individually pay for it. The question is: why should we? No body denies the imperatives (必要的)of food, shelter, defence, health and education. But even ina prehistoric cave, man-kind stretched out a hand ofnot just to eat, drink or fight, but also to draw. The impulse (冲动) towards culture, the desire to express and explore the world through imagination and representation (表述、陈述) is fundamental. In Europe, this desire has found fulfillment (完成、成就) in the masterpieces ofour music, art, literature and theatre. These masterpieces are the touchstones (标准、试金石) for allour efforts; they are the touchstones for the possibilities to which human thought and imagination may aspire (立志、追求目标、渴望) ; they carry the most profound (深厚的、深刻的) messages that can be sent from one human to another. 【参考答案】欣赏歌剧是一种奢侈:你必须为此支付昂贵的票价。然而,享用昂贵的东西并不完全是富人的特权,除非我们放弃社会选择的权利。我们有权利使歌剧和其他昂贵的文化形式面向大众,面向那些个人没有支付能力的人。然而,问题是我们为什么要这么做。没有人会否认食物、居所、防护、健康与教育是不可或缺的。但是,即使在史前的穴居时代,人们伸出手来,也不仅仅是为了吃喝,为了搏杀,而且还有一个目的,那就是动手作画。人们对文化的冲动, 即人们希望通过想象和再现来表现并探索这个世界的愿望,才是最根本的。在欧洲,人们通过音乐、美术、文学和戏剧等方面的不朽作品的创作,实现了这一愿望。这些杰作是衡量人类努力程度的试金石,是检验人类思维和想象潜能的标准,它们有着最深厚的寓意, 并在人们彼此之间传播。 1998 年:I agree to some extent with my imaginary English reader. American literary historians are perhaps prone to view their own national scene too narrowly, mistaking prominence for uniqueness. They do over-phrase their own literature, or certainly its minor figures. And Americans do swing from aggressive over phrase of their literature to an equally unfortunate, imitative deference. But then, the English themselves are somewhat insular in their literary appraisals. Moreover, in fields where they are not pre-eminent — . in painting and music — they too alternate betw