地道英文——中文翻译
y is not everything. There's Mastercard & Visa.
钞票不是万能的,有时还需要信用卡.
the neighbor. But don't get caught.
要用心去爱你的邻居,不过不要让她的老公知道
nd every successful man, there is a woman. And behind every unsuccessful man,
there are two.
每个成功男人的背后都有一个女人,每个不成功男人的背后都有两个女人?
y man should marry. After all, happiness is not the only thing in life.
再快乐的单身汉迟早也会结婚,幸福不是永久的嘛.
wise never marry, And when they marry they become otherwise.
聪明人都是未婚的,结婚的人很难再聪明起来.
ess is a relative term. It brings so many relatives.
成功是一个相关名词,他会给你带来很多不相关的亲戚(联系).
r put off the work till tomorrow what you can put off today
不要等明天交不上差再找借口, 今天就要找好.
is photogenic. It needs darkness to develop.
爱情就象照片,需要大量的暗房时间来培养.
地道中文——爆笑英文翻译
1.有他这颗扫帚星,什么事情都办不成。
[误] With a comet like him, nothing can be accomplished.
[正] With a jinx like him, nothing can be accomplished.
注:“扫帚星”是中国人对“慧星”(comet)的俗称,因其后面拖着一条像扫帚一样的长尾巴而得名。在中国古代,“扫帚星”被认为是灾难的'预兆,并被用来比喻不吉利的人或事;祸根:(person or thing that is thought to bring)bad luck(to sb/sth);curse。英语的comet 虽然没有这层含义,但却有一个对应的说法,即jinx。
例:There's a jinx on/Someone's put a jinx on this car: it's always giving me trouble. (这辆汽车上有什么妨人的东西,总给我找麻烦。)
2.萝卜青菜,各有所爱。
[误] Some prefer radish but others prefer cabbage.
[正] Tastes differ。
注:Tastes differ/vary是句英语谚语,除此以外,原句还可翻译成 No dish suits all tastes 或 You can never make everyone happy 等。此外,我们还可以这样说:One man's meat is another man's poison. 总之,应采取意译。
3.老师很喜欢这个嘴甜的小姑娘。
[误] The teacher likes this sweet-mouthed little girl very much.
[正] The teacher likes this honey-lipped little girl very much.
注:中国人喜欢说“嘴甜”,但 honey-lipped 更符合英美人的语言习惯。
4.同学们都很讨厌他,因为他经常拍老师的马屁。
[误] The students all dislike him because he often pats the teacher's ass.
[正] The students all dislike him because he often licks the teacher's boots.
注:以前在欧洲,臣民见到国王与王后往往要亲吻他们的靴子。后来,人们将 lick the boots 引申为“为了某种目的而讨好某人”,它与汉语的“拍马屁”含义一样。在美国英语中,“拍马屁”还有另一种说法,即 polish the apple,源于以前的学生用擦亮的苹果来讨好老师。