翻译中的选词问题，永远都是最基本的问题之一，需 要时刻注意。汉英翻译选词的角度是多种的，但是主 要集中在语汇的广义、狭义、具体意义、抽象意义、 意义的含糊与确切等词义方面，也体现在词义搭配、 语义色彩、语体、语气因素、语言的时代性或语篇等 方面。例如原文中的“动土”一词，可以说是一个广 义词，译文1以plough the land与此对应,译文2、译 文3分别以dig the ground 和dig up the plot与此对 应。根据Longman词典, plough 作为动词的第一个 义项是to break up or turn over (land) with a plough以犁耕地。如： [1] Farmers plough (their fields) in autumn or spring农夫于秋天或春天耕地。




在汉语中，使用“父亲”“母亲”这样的称呼 似乎显得书面语或正式些；而“爸爸”“妈妈” 倾向于口语化。“爹爹”虽早期为方言，但是 现在也基本上为普通人接受。港台人受英语发 音的影响，以“爹地”对应Daddy,以“妈咪” 对应Mummy。

英语中对父母的称呼也主要为4套词语，它们 是：father/mother; papa/mama; dad/mum; daddy/mummy 。（在美国英语中， mom/momma/mommy。）除father/mother 和papa/mama外,其它两套对父母的称呼语都 带有infml非正式语体或口语体，to or by children被小孩使用或对小孩使用。当然， father/mother有时也是可以被用于非正式或 口语之中的。

原文“我们屋后有半亩隙地”一句，是汉语中 普遍使用的一个变式句。这种变式句可以用 CVS来表示。其中V为系动词，以表示“存在” 意义的“有”或“是”字为代表，其中“有” 字是最单纯地表示存在的动词；当然，也还有 一些其它实义动词可以充当，如：坐、立、去、 走、插、挂、吊、悬、住、栽等。

主语S在V之后，V之前的C为主语补语，以表 示地点的“名词+方位词”结构或“介词+名 词+方位词”结构为多。原文“我们屋后”为 “名词+方位词”结构，也可以表达为“在我 们屋后”这样一个“介词+名词+方位词”结 构，语义相同。汉语的这种CVS变式句与英语 从There+be句式变化而来的CVS变式句极为 相似。



[1] He said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”（前置的引述分句） [2] “As far as you are personally concerned,” remarked Holmes, “I do not see that you have nay grievance against this extraordinary league.”（ 中置的引述分 句） [3] “What shall we do now?” whispered Sir Henry. （ 后置的引述分句）

妈妈说：“今晚我们可以做一个收获节，也请你们爹 爹来尝尝我们底新花生，如何?”我们都答应了。 译文1 Mother said, "How about giving a party this evening to celebrate the harvest and invite your Daddy to have a taste of our newlyharvested peanuts?" We all agreed. 译文2 "Let us have a party tonight to celebrate , " Mother suggested, "and ask Dad to come for a taste of our fresh peanuts. What do you say?" We all agreed, of course. 译文3 Mother said, "Let' s have a harvest festival tonight and invite your father to taste our fresh peanuts. " We all agreed.


[1] On the wall were two slogans.墙上有两 条标语。 [2] In the garden is a dog.花园里有一只狗。。 句[1][2]都可以标识为CVS，它们都是从 There+be句式变化而来，----其中动词除be之 外，还可以用appear, belong, come, enter, exist, flash, follow, happen, lie, live, occur, reach, remain, ride, seem, shine, stand等。


原文“如何”是表达一个建议，译文1以how about这 样一个句式比译文2 的let us及译文３的let’s更符合原 文商量的口吻。同时， “如何”所涉及的内容应该是 前面两个并列分句，而译文１却以"How about giving … and invite your Daddy to …?"这样一个不对 称的语法形式来对译，译文的语法形式本身并没有失 误，问题在于这种不对称的语法形式并没有表达原文 所存在的那种语义，因为与“如何”相对应的应该是 "How about giving … and inviting your daddy to …?" 这样一个how about+v-ing and v-ing形式结构，才能 够使译文达到语法形式与语义的一致性，即表达原文 的并列语义。因此建议译文修改为： My mom said, "How about having a party this evening to celebrate the harvest and inviting your dad to taste our newly-harvested peanuts?" We all agreed.


例如： [1] Her hair’s going grey. 她的头发变灰白色 了。 [2] The milk went sour. 牛奶变酸了。 [3] He’ gone blind. 他变瞎了。




Hale Waihona Puke 我们几姊弟和几个小丫头都很喜欢—买种的买种，动 土的动土，灌园的灌园；过不了几个月，居然收获了! 译文1 That exhilarated us children and our servant girls as well, and soon we started buying seeds, ploughing the land and watering the plants . We gathered in a good harvest just after a couple of months! 译文2 At that my brother, sister and I were all delighted and so were the young housemaids . Some went to buy seeds, some dug the ground and others watered it and, in a couple of months, we had a harvest! 译文3 We children and the little maidservants were all delighted. Some of us bought seeds, some dug up the plot and others watered it. In just a few months we had a harvest.


原文“荒芜”一语，译文１为lie waste，译 文２为go to waste，译文３为go wild。 lie的意思是：to remain unused, unwanted, unknown,etc.未使用；不要；不为人知道； 另外， go作为系动词其意思是to become变 成；使变成。作为系动词，无论是lie还是 go， 其后面的结构应该是形容词，而不是介词 to+ 形容词结构。

母亲说，“让它荒芜着怪可惜，既然你们那么爱吃花 生，就辟来做花生园罢。” 译文1 Mother said, "It's a pity to let it lie waste. Since you all like to eat peanuts so much, why not have them planted here." 译文2 "It' s a pity to let it go to waste like that," Mother said, "Since you all enjoy eating peanuts, let us open it up and make it a peanut garden." 译文3 "It would be a pity to let it go wild." said Mother. "I suggest that since you are all so fond of peanuts you should grow some there."

而dig的释义是to break up and move (earth) 挖（土）；掘（土）；刨（土）。可见 plough与 dig是一对近义词，但是这两个词的 区别在于：plough的重点是用“犁”耕地， 而dig是一般意义或广义上“挖地”。所以我 认为，由于原文“动土”也是一般意义上的 “挖土”，所以还是选用dig up the land为妥。