1.【原文】Environmental activists, religious organizations, public interest groups, professional associations and other scientists and government officials have all raised concerns about GM foods, and criticized agribusiness for pursuing profit without concern for potential hazards, and the government for failing to exercise adequate regulatory oversight.
【译文】环境保护主义者、宗教组织、公共利益团体、专业协会以及科学家和政府官员都越来越关注转基因食品的问题。他们批评农业综合企业不顾转基因食品的潜在危害追逐利益,批评政府没能进行充分的调控。
【解析】原句只有一句,译文分为两句,便于句式的安排,可使句子层次更清楚。第二个分句中“criticize”有两个宾语,一为“agribusiness”,一为“the government”,译文用并列结构解。
2.【原文】Even the Vatican and the Prince of Wales have expressed their opinions.
【译文】就连梵蒂冈和英国王储都表达过他们对转基因食品的意见。
【解析】此处的“Prince of Wales”译为“英国王储”而不是“威尔士亲王”,主要是考虑减少读者的认知障碍。
3.【原文】Monarch caterpillars consume milkweed plants, not corn, but the fear is that if pollen from B.t. corn is blown by the wind onto milkweed plants in neighboring fields, the caterpillars could eat the pollen and perish.
【译文】王蝶幼虫以乳草类植物为食,不是玉米,但人们担心如果苏云金杆菌玉米的花粉被风吹到毗邻田地的乳草属植物上,幼虫就可能因为吃下花粉而死去。
【解析】原文的“consume”意为“吃”或“以……为食”,两种意义都可以选择。原文以非人称名词“fear”做主语,在译文中换成了人称名词“人们”,更符合汉语的表达习惯。
4.【原文】Just as some populations of mosquitoes developed resistance to the now-banned pesticide DDT, many people are concerned that insects will become resistant to B.t. or other crops that have been genetically modified to produce their own pesticides.
【译文】正如有些蚊子对现在已经禁止使用的杀虫剂DDT产生了抗体一样,很多人担心昆虫会对转基因苏云金杆菌玉米或其他作物产生抗体,从而需要人们生产出对付它们的杀虫剂。
【解析】原文是个长句。翻译时应注意其逻辑关系。译文用“正如”“从而”等关联词表示出原文的逻辑关系。此外,DDT英文为Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane(双对氯苯基三氯乙烷),长期以来习惯相承的是直接用英文的缩略语或用音译“滴滴涕”,此处选择用DDT。
5.【原文】Genes are exchanged between plants via pollen.
【译文】基因通过花粉在作物间交换。
【解析】译文要注意“exchange”一词的翻译。因为是“between plants”,所以解为“交换”而不是“转换”更为贴切。
6.【原文】Two ways to ensure that non-target species will not receive introduced genes from GM plants are to create GM plants that are male sterile (do not produce pollen) or to modify the GM plant so that the pollen does not contain the introduced gene.
【译文】保证非目标物种不会从转基因作物上接受导入基因的方法有两种:一是创造出雄性不育(即不产花粉)的转基因作物;二是改造转基因作物以使花粉不含导入基因。(www.daowen.com)
【解析】原文的主谓结构为“Two ways are”,译文把修饰语“to ensure”结构放到前面做定语,后面用“一是”“二是”相承,层次上更为清晰。
7.【原文】Many children in the US and Europe have developed life-threatening allergies to peanuts and other foods.
【译文】美国以及欧洲的许多孩子对花生和其他食物有过敏反应,这甚至会危及生命。
【解析】译文把“life-threatening”作为外位结构处理,单独成句,使译文结构上更为合理,意义更明晰。如果依照原文的结构翻译为“对花生和其他食物有致命的过敏反应”,则译文很难理解。
8.【原文】Labeling of GM foods and food products will acquire new importance.
【译文】从这点来看,把转基因食物和食物产品标示出来就有了一层新的意义。
【解析】依照语境来理解,这里的“labeling”是“做标示”的意思。
9.【原文】This study claimed that there were appreciable differences in the intestines of rats fed GM potatoes and rats fed unmodified potatoes.
【译文】这项研究表明喂食转基因土豆的老鼠和喂食非转基因土豆的老鼠肠道有明显的差异。
【解析】“appreciable”意为“sufficient to be readily perceived or estimated; considerable”,依照上下文,翻译为“明显”。“fed”依照语境,为“喂食”之意,解为“吃”不妥。
10.【原文】It is hoped that in a humanitarian gesture, more companies and non-profits will follow the lead of the Rockefeller Foundation and offer their products at reduced cost to impoverished nations.
【译文】人们希望从人道主义角度考虑,更多的公司和公益机构会以洛克菲勒基金会为榜样,将他们的产品以较低的成本销售给贫穷国家。
【解析】被动结构“It is hoped”转为主动形式“人们希望”。“non-profits”解为“非营利性机构”增加“机构”使其与“公司”对应,也使语义结构完善。
11.【原文】However, this would be financially disastrous for farmers in third world countries who cannot afford to buy seed each year and traditionally set aside a portion of their harvest to plant in the next growing season.
【译文】然而,这种做法对第三世界国家无力每年都购买种子的农民来说是一种经济上的灾难,因为传统上,他们的做法是从收获的粮食中留出种子以备下一个耕种季再种。
【解析】原文讲到了转基因作物对第三世界国家可能带来的经济影响,并把农民们传统的做法解释了一下。译文把后半部分内容用“因为”指出原文两个部分之间潜在的逻辑关系。“a portion of”做了必要的删节。
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