Structural Objects of Adaptabilityin E-C Translation of Academic ThesisAdaptation Theory thinks that “... using language must consist of the continuous making of linguistic choices, consciously or unconsciously...” (Versehueren, 2000: 55-56) Versehueren points out that the process of making-choice can be comprehended on three linguistic properties -- variability, negotiability and adaptability. Adaptability can be viewed from four perspectives, namely contextual correlates of adaptability, structural objects of adaptability, dynamic adaptability and salience of adaptability process. (Versehueren, 1999: 65-66) This passage will analyze the translation of academic thesis mainly from the perspective of structural objects of adaptability.Structural objects of adaptability means making choices at various layers of linguistic structure including sound, word, syntax, cold, style and chapter. In this thesis, the author will mainly analyze E-C translation of academic thesis from the perspective of structural objects of adaptability.1 Adaptation at the Lexical LevelIn order to achieve better the informative and communicative function of the text, we need to make adaptability in the process of translation. At lexical level, the translator needs to understand correctly the meaning of words combining specific contexts and also convey the meaning in appropriate way of expression.1.1 Transformation of Lexical MeaningTransformation of lexical meaning means the meaning of the word can be transformed into another one, with one as literal meaning in the dictionary and the other one as specific meaning considering specific context. (Yang Man, 2015) In the process of translation, the translator should comprehend the meaning of the word combining the context and choose the most suitable expression to convey the meaning. Adaptation at lexical level conforms to the reading habit of target reader so as to improve reading experience.ST1 Hume interprets our tendency to assign identity through time as a "natural propension,"TT1休谟把我们确定长期身份的倾向解释为一种“自然天性”ST2 pension" to ascribe identity where evidence shows diversity "is so great,"TT2 迹象呈现多样性时，确定身份的“倾向”“极大”Analysis: Common meaning of “assign” in the dictionary is “distribute, attribute”. In the text, we can see a paragraph explaining that people start to investigate question of identity “what makes an individual the same through time despite partial changes” and we “constructs experience to conform to our modes of cognition”. Here we know the “assign identity” means we “determine identity”. For example, we may assign identity to a “dog” saying “this is a dog”, which means we are also determining identity for it. Therefore, the word “assign”is translated as “确定”. So it is the same as the translation of the word “ascribe”. In the dictionary it means “be caused by”or “make sb possess”. In the context, “ascribe” has the same meaning as “assign” so it is translated as “确定” as well. By choosing the best expression of a word, we convey the meaning of the word correctly and improve the reader’s understanding.ST3 the factors that enter into constructing these fictions become a topic of cognitive science, TT3 而构建想象涉及的多种因素成为认知科学的主题。

Analysis: The meaning of “enter in to” in dictionary is “go in”. But if we directly translate the word as “进入”, then the translation will be awkward and hard to understand. So we need to make adaptation. “Enter into” can be understood as “involved”. By making adaptation and translating “enter into” as “涉及”, the reader can better understand the meaning of the sauce text.1.2 Use of Four-character ExpressionsFour-character expression is an indispensible and significant part in Chinese language which can convey the meaning in precise and rhythmic way. There is no similar structure in English and in E-C translation the translator can make adaptation and use four-character expression to improve translation.ST4 In these terms, it should also be possible to reinterpret the rich and illuminating record of thinking about the nature of the soulTT4照这些说法来看，我们也许能够重新诠释以往丰富多彩而启迪人心的灵魂本质思想Analysis: Using four-character expression can enhance beauty and rhythm in E-C translation. In this sentence, at first “rich and illumination”is translated as “丰富而富有启发性”,which seems like translation version and doesn’t conform to characteristics of Chinese essay. Later, the translator polishes the expression and uses four character expression as “丰富多彩而启迪人心”, which conforms to characteristics of Chinese language.1.3 Conversion in Speech of WordOne noticeable difference between English and Chinese is that noun is widely used in Chinese while verb in English, with English more static and Chinese more dynamic（Lian Shu Neng，2010:133）In E-C translation, we can make adaptation by conversing the speech of word and use more verbs in Chinese which conforms to characteristics of Chinese language.ST5 as he thought, "a kind of magical faculty ...[that]... is inexplicable by the utmost efforts of human understanding,''TT5他认为，想象实际上就是“一种神奇的能力.....人类倾尽全力理解也难以解释”Analysis: In this sentence, adjective “inexplicable”are conversed into verb as “难以解释”and noun “utmost efforts of human understanding” is conversed into verb as “倾尽全力”, which makes the translation more dynamic.2. Adaptation at the Syntactic LevelThere are syntactic differences between Chinese and English. In the process of translation we should also be aware of these differences and make adaptations so as to provide natural and smooth target texts.2.1 Conversion from Passive Voice to Active VoicePassive voice is popularly used in English while seldom in Chinese. In E-C translation, it is better to adapt passive voice into active voice.(Zhong Qiao, 2012) By this adaptation, the target text will be more poplular among target readers.原文6：though now divorced of the theological conditions, like resurrection, and from the metaphysical framework of earlier years.译文6：摆脱重生等神学条件或摆脱早期的形而上学框架重新诠释Analysis: Passive voice is popularly used in English while seldom in Chinese. In E-C translation, it is better to adapt passive voice into active voice. “Divorced of” in the sentence is a word with passive significance and can be translated as “摆脱”with active significance which makes the target text more natural.2.2 Division and Restructuring of Long and Complex SentenceLong sentences with clauses are common in English while short sentences are more favored by Chinese.（Chen Cheng, Zeng Jie, 2016）Long and complex sentences are more frequently seen in academic thesis. While translating long sentences, we should divide the sentence into various shorter parts, understand the meaning, restructure various portions and express in the way that conforms to Chinese.ST 7: The "propension" to ascribe identity where evidence shows diversity "is so great," Hume writes, that imagination creates concepts that bind a succession of related objects together, leading us "to imagine something unknown and mysterious, connecting the parts."TT7: 休谟写道，当迹象呈现多样性时，赋予身份的“倾向”“极大”，想象力创造多个概念，把一系列相关物品联系起来、，引导我们“想象未知神秘的事物，连接各个部分”。