原文：…不过赖祖父之旧情分，户部挂虚名，支领钱粮,…
H：…for his father’s and grandfather’s sake, he was allowed to register at the Ministry and receive regular payments of grain and money,… Y: …but prevailed on his grandfather’s old connections to find him a well-paid sinecure in the board of revenue… 分析：户部，中国古代官署名，为掌管户籍财经的机关，六部之一， 长官为户部尚书，曾称地官、大司徒、计相、大司农等。 这个官职比较大，在清代是从二品。相当于现在的财政部副部长。 So its payment should be well-paid, which is much appropriate.
原文：且家中有百万之富，现领着内帑钱粮，采办杂料。
H：The family was immensely wealthy. As one of the official Court Purveyors they received money from the Privy Purse with which to make purchases for the Imperial Household. Y: For they were millionaires, in receipt of an income from the State Treasury as Purveyors for the Imperial Household
原文：各省中所有的卖买承局、总管、伙计人等，见薛蟠年轻不 谙世事，便趁时拐骗起来，京都中几处生意，渐亦消耗。
H：The managers, clerks, and factors of the family business in its various agencies throughout the provinces had profited from Xue Pan’s youth and ignorance of affairs to feather their own nests at the firm’s expense, and even the family’s enterprises in the capital, of which there were several, had shown a gradual fallingoff.
Y: all the managers and assistants in the Purveyor’s offices of different provinces had taken advantage of his youth and inexperience to start swindling and even the business in the various family shops in the capital was gradually falling off. 分析：不谙世事：一般用来形容一个人对社会上的种种事情没有了解 ,缺乏社会经验
原文：寡母王氏乃现任京营节度使王子腾之妹，与荣国府贾政的 夫人王氏是一母所生的姊妹，今年方四十上下，只有薛蟠 一子。 H：Xue Pan’s widowed mother was a younger half-sister of Wang Zi-teng, at that time Commandant of the Metropolitan Barracks, and younger sister of Lady Wang, the wife of Jia Zheng of the Rong mansion. She was now around fifty and had only the one son. Y: His widowed mother, nee Wang, was the younger sister of Wang Tzu-teng, Commander-in- chief of the Metropolitan Garrision, and the sister of Lady Wang, wife of Chia Cheng of the Jung Mansion. She was about forty years of age and Hsueh Pan was her only son. 分析：1. In H’s translation, he doesn’t translate the “王氏”， so here is a missing. 2. “四十” should be translated into forty.
分析：“京营节度使”是虚构的，是为了显示他的地位。按清制， 掌握京城启闭、宫禁安全的军权的最高长官是步军军统 领，通俗名称是“九门提督”。此即“京营”的“节度使”。 Barracks：兵营，营房，棚屋 Garrison：驻军，卫戍部队，警卫部队
原文：自父亲死后，见哥哥不能依贴母怀，他便不以书字为事, 只留心针黹家计等事，好为母亲分忧解劳。 H : but when he died and her brother proved incapable of offering their mother any comfort, she laid aside her books and devoted herself to needlework and housewifely duties in order to take some of the burden off her mother’s shoulders. Y: However, after her father’s death it was so clear that Hsueh Pan would prove no comfort to their mother that Pao-chai gave up her studies and devoted herself to needlework and the household management, so as to share her mother’s burden and cares. 分析：We can get the idea from the later paragraphs that Pao-chai did not completely give up her study. She still participate the selection. So it is inappropriate to use the phrase “gave up”.
原文：以备选为公主郡主入学陪侍，充为才人赞善之职。
H: Y: the Imperial princesses and the daughters of princes of the blood the princesses
分析：公主：帝王、诸侯之女的称号。周称王姬，战国始称公主。天 子嫁女子于诸侯，必使诸侯同姓者主之，故谓之公主 郡主: 即郡公主。明清均以亲王之女为郡主，郡王女封县主。 the princesses: 公主，王妃，女巨头 the Imperial princesses and the daughters of princes of the blood ：皇帝的公主和有血缘关系的亲王的女儿
ignorance: 无知，愚昧 1. This word is somewhat undue. The inexperience is much better. 2. In the text, it is just said that they cheat Xue Pan, no new business, so this sentence of H’s translation does not focus on the original ，公款 Privy Purse: 王室专用金，国王私用金 State Treasury: 国库，古时收藏钱财的府库
原文：虽也上过学，不过略识几个字，终日惟有斗鸡 走马、游山玩水而已。
H：He had been educated after a fashion, but could barely read and write. He devoted the greater part of time to cock-fighting, horse-racing, and outing to places of scenic interest.
Y: At school he merely learned a few characters, spending all his time on cock-fighting, riding or pleasure trips.
分析：终日: 整天；从早到晚 the greater part of time: 大部分时间 all his time： 所有时间 The context implies us that Xue Pan doesn’t want to learn knowledge at all. So it is more proper to use the Y’s phrase.
原文：寡母王氏乃现任京营节度使王子腾之妹，与荣国府贾政的 夫人王氏是一母所生的姊妹，今年方四十上下，只有薛蟠 一子。 H：Commandant of the Metropolitan Barracks；
Y: Commander-in- chief of the Metropolitan Garrison；
原文：自父亲死后，见哥哥不能依贴母怀，他便不以书字为事，
只留心针黹家计等事，好为母亲分忧解劳。
H : but when he died and her brother proved incapable of offering their mother any comfort, she laid aside her books and devoted herself to needlework and housewifely duties in order to take some of the burden off her mother’s shoulders. Y: However, after her father’s death it was so clear that Hsueh Pan would prove no comfort to their mother that Pao-chai gave up her studies and devoted herself to needlework and the household management, so as to share her mother’s burden and cares. 分析：According to the context, it was after her father’s death that Pao-chai discovered and realized his elder brother’s incapability to look after her mother. It is improper to use the sentence “it was so clear that…would… ”. It is a little bit abrupt.