英语题库
汉译英
If you are fully prepared, your working holiday abroad can be one of the most rewarding experiences you can ever have. Here are some tips. First, you need to choose your destination wisely by browsing relevant websites. Then fill out the necessary paperwork, apply for a visa and book your flight as early as possible. Try to learn some new job skills prior to your departure, which can give you more employment options abroad and help you save up enough money for travel. Within weeks of arriving in a foreign country, people often feel stressed out or kind of confused, so be prepared for the emotional stress. Make friends with local people instead of taking the adventure solo. And whenever possible, go on sightseeing excursions and capture the places you visit in words or pictures. Last, always follow your heart and do what you truly want to do.
In your neighborhood there may be some wealthy families who live in big houses and ride in SUVs. While some people in the neighborhood don't care a bit about that, others may feel like not only keeping up with them, but outdoing them, for that matter. You might think a little envy can motivate you to work harder and strive for a better life. But if you hold onto the idea of keeping up with the Joneses, you are chasing the wind. What lies ahead is disappointment, not contentment, because if you buy on credit, you'll ultimately find yourself deeply in debt/run into debt that you cannot pay/repay even if you work 90 hours a week.
To be a grandparent is a big deal in China. Chinese grandparents are widely known for their devotion to the responsibilities of taking care of the third generation. This, however, is a primary cause of the conflict between parents and their adult children, for there exist apparent differences in aspects like lifestyle and parenting approaches between the two generations. You can expect parents to help you manage your household and take on childcare duties, thus relieving you of your burden as a parent, but you must know, very often, you have to leave your own parenting ideas behind. Meanwhile, the adult child simply can't take the kindness of his/her parents for granted. As your parents helped you out when you struggled to balance family and career, you are certainly expected to repay their kindness by taking care of them when they get old.
Working from the interviews with 300 young people aged 18 to 29 in cities around the nation over five years, Professor Arnett proposed a new life stage he calls "emerging adulthood." He describes it as the time from the end of adolescence to the young-adult holding a stable job, getting married and taking the responsibilities of parenthood. He identified several features typical of emerging adulthood, such as identity explorations, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between, and a sense of possibilities. Arnett's research shows that emerging adults want a lot out of life — a job that is fascinating and personally fulfilling and a lasting relationship with a partner.
I am a race car designer. In recent years I have been greatly interested in constructing a race car with artificial intelligence. In my imagination, the race car I'm going to invent will collect raw data through video cameras and sensors. It will have strong data processing abilities. It can adjust to the environment, deciding when to accelerate or slow down in a flexible manner. You know, race car drivers always rely on intuition when selecting strategies, but intuition may fail if the person is tense. Artificial intelligence never feels tense, so it is safer. Once I've tackled the challenging problems in design, I will build a new race car and take it to a tournament. I hope it will top all opponents and become a champion.
英译汉
Prior to leaving, I was not in a good place. (Para. 2)
Before leaving Australia, I had gone through a very difficult period and was low in spirits.
出发前，我的境况不好。
I had suffered a lot of personal blows and felt emotionally stretched. (Para. 2)
I had gone through many unfortunate events and felt stressed.
个人生活上经受了许多打击，精神压力很大。
…and for once I didn’t hate it. (Para. 5)
…and unlike in the past, this time I actually enjoyed socializing.
而这次我一点都不讨厌社交了。
I loved that they accepted me for my socially awkward self. (Para. 5)
I loved that my colleagues accepted me although I was not good at socializing.
让我感到欣慰的是他们接纳了不善社交的我。
For the first nine months I worked two jobs. (Para. 6)
For the first nine months I did two jobs.
前9个月里我干了两份活。
Here “work” is used as a transitive verb.
e.g. She has to work multiple jobs to support her family.
为养家糊口她打好几份工。
My heart and my head are constantly torn between what they want in the future. (Para. 13)
I found it difficult to choose between two different paths for my future.
至于我的生活将来怎么过，我的情感和我的理智往往处在冲突之中。
Oh, and I kind of want a dog. Now that’s nesting. (Para. 14)
Oh, and I’d like to keep a dog, which shows I really do want to settle down.
我还想养一条狗。这样就更有家的感觉了。
Unit 2 Language Focus
I’d love to say that need vanished when the last episode of that comic strip ran, but alas, it seems to have only gotten worse. (Para. 2)
I would like to say that need disappeared when the comic strip came to an end, but it seems that things have turned from bad to worse instead.
我多么想说，随着最后一集连环漫画的结束，这一心态也不复存在了。可是，唉，情况似乎变得更糟。
Prior to the late 1880s, most of us were so busy trying to make a living that we didn’t care what the Joneses were doing, nor did we know, for that matter. (Para. 4)
Before the late 1880s, most of us were busy trying to make a living. We didn’t care what the Joneses were doing, and we didn’t know either.
19世纪80年代末以前，我们多数人都在忙于生计，既不关心、也不知道邻居们在做些什么。
And much of that assessment was, and still is, based on a perceived lack of things we’re told we should want or have. (Para. 4)
And much of that evaluation was, and still is, based on a feeling that we are short of things we ought to have because of the messages from the mass media.
从过去直至现今，很大程度上这种认识源自一种缺失感，即感觉上与别人相比，缺少了一些该要或该有的东西。
Because ultimately, you decide if you’re going to buy into this idea that you’re not good enough. (Para. 7)
Because in the end, you determine whether you’re going to accept the notion that you’re not good enough.
因为最终是否接受你还不够好这一想法，由你自己说了算。
So it’s time to take some pressure off yourself and stop trying to keep up
with the Joneses — or anyone else for that matter. (Para. 8)
So it’s time to rid yourself of the pressure/free yourself from the pressure and stop trying to keep up with the Joneses. Nor should you try to keep up with anyone else.
所以，现在你该卸去你身上的压力了，不要再跟邻居攀比，也不要跟其他任何人攀比。
If you can’t put a cap on it, you’re chasing the wind. (Para. 9)
If you can’t put a limit on what you desire, you are undertaking a meaningless task that will lead you nowhere.
如果你不能设定一个上限，你便是在追风。
Think of the moments you look back on as your fondest memories. Would you trade those for a pile of cash? (Para. 9)
Think of the moments you look back on as your warmest memories. Would you exchange them for a pile of cash?
想一想回顾起来是最美好的记忆。你愿意拿它们去换一堆钱吗？
Unit 3 Language Focus
The cooking, the cleaning and the childcare were all amazing bonuses that I don’t dare complain about… (Para. 4)
The cooking, the cleaning and the childcare were an unexpected huge help that I cannot think of complaining about...
她做饭、打扫、带孩子，这一切都是期望之外的，我不敢有任何怨言。
At times, this level of generosity made me look over my shoulder waiting for the other shoe to drop. (Para. 5)
At times this level of generosity made me very uneasy and I was very anxious about what was going to happen next.
有时，这种慷慨大度令我心神不宁，不知道接下来会有什么事。
In my Western eyes, he was falling short of my expectations and wasn’t honouring his role as a father. (Para. 6)
As a Westerner, I found his conduct disappointing, and felt that he was failing to take on his responsibilities as a father.
从我一个西方人看来，他没有做到我所期待的，没有担当起父亲的责任。
…his prioritizing work-related time away from home rather than coming home to be with his daughter. (Para. 6)
…his attaching more importance to work-related time away from home than to being at home to be with his daughter.
他优先考虑外边与工作有关的事务，而不是回家陪伴女儿。
Our fights seemed to get us nowhere, however. (Para. 7)
However, we failed to reach any agreement over the issue in spite of the arguments.
然而我俩的争吵似乎不解决任何问题。
We were clearly two people looking at the same painted wall and each declaring it different colours. (Para. 7)
We were obviously very different in our opinions over the issue.
我们显然就是两个人看着同一面油漆的墙，而说它的颜色不一样。
I felt myself teetering backwards. (Para. 9)
I was totally shocked to hear what I was told, so much so that I felt as if I was thrown off balance.
听了，我气得几乎站立不稳。
…my preference is for greater involvement from her daddy so that my daughter understands a strong parental unit. (Para. 10)
…I prefer my husband to be more involved with his daughter so that she understands a strong parental unit.
我宁愿孩子他爹能多承担一些，这样女儿就会懂得父母是一个紧密相连的整体。
While the men were locked in their own conversation, I vented some of this conflict with the wife. (Para. 14)
While the men were engaged in talking among themselves, I voiced to the wife my complaints about the conflict.
两个男的聊得挺欢，我就对那媳妇吐槽了我和老公的冲突。
After getting away with not changing very many for his daughter, when the time comes to change my mother-in-law’s diapers... (Para. 16)
她儿子逃避责任，没怎么给自己女儿换尿布，等我婆婆需要别人换尿布时……
Note that here “very many” refers to very many diapers. In speaking, “very many” in a negative context is common and acceptable.
e.g. There aren’t very many bees left.
剩下的蜜蜂不多了。
Unit 4 Language Focus
… as they search for work that is personally fulfilling, not just a job but an adventure. (Para. 1)
… as they look for work that can satisfy themselves and be viewed as not only a job, but also an adventure.
他们寻找的是能使自身满足的工作，是一种带有风险的探索，而不单单是一份工作。
Your 18-year-old may head for college with pre-med in mind ... (Para. 3)
Your child may consider majoring in medicine when he/she goes to college at 18 ...
你那18岁的孩子上大学时，想的是念医学预科……
It’s important to them to carve out a space where they can make their own decisions. (Para. 5)
It’s important to the young people to strive to free themselves from adult control in certain areas of their lives where they wish to make their own decisions.
在他们看来，重要的是要开拓能够由自己做决定的空间。
And most are in no particular hurry, although nearly all get there eventually. (Para. 6)
And most often emerging adults are not very anxious to become an adult, though they will certainly grow into adulthood one day, whether they like it or not.
并且，多数人并不特别着急，尽管几乎所有的人最终都要进入成人期。
… something they regard with mixed feelings. (Para. 6)
… something about which they feel uncertain because they see both the good and bad in it.
……而在这一点上他们的心情很矛盾。
Why shouldn’t young people take most of their twenties to try out many possible paths? (Para. 8)
Isn’t it right for twenty-somethings to spend most of their time trying out various possibilities in planning their careers?
这是一句双重否定的疑问句，强调肯定的意义。
But there’s a downside as well. (Para. 10)
But we can also see the disadvantage brought on by this new life stage.
但也有不那么理想的一面。
Sometimes parents are surprised and dismayed to find that the emotional and
financial responsibilities of parenting last for many years longer than they had anticipated. (Para. 10)
Sometimes parents are surprised and alarmed to find that they have to support their children emotionally and financially for more years than they had expected.
有时候，他们的父母亲发现其养育责任无论在情感上还是在经济上都比他们预期的要多持续很多年，这让他们感到吃惊乃至沮丧。
Encourage them and provide support when they seem open to it, but learn when to step back and let them make their way on their own ... (Para. 11)
Encourage them and provide support when they seem willing to accept it, but learn when to leave them alone and let them move forward by themselves ...
要鼓励他们，并在他们看起来愿意接受时，为他们提供援助和支持，但要学会择时放手，让他们走自己的路……
It’s a delicate balance. (Para. 11)
It is a balance that requires great care to achieve.
这是一个微妙的平衡。
Unit 5 Language Focus
… surround empty space to make points of territory. (Para. 1)
... earn points by claiming the empty space surrounded by one’s stones as one’s own territory.
……在棋盘上围地得分。
… it has captured the human imagination for centuries. (Para. 1)
… human beings have been attracted to it for centuries.
……数个世纪以来，它一直令人神往。
Then fell checkers in 1994. (Para. 3)
Then computers beat human beings in checkers in 1994.
1994年，电脑又征服了西洋跳棋。
In other words, machines have topped the best humans at most games held up
as measures of human intellect. But with Go, human grandmasters have
maintained an edge over even the most agile computing systems. (Para. 3)
... machines have beaten the best humans at most games that are highly regarded as challenges to the human intellect. But human grandmasters have managed to play Go better than even the smartest computing systems.
换句话说，机器在大多数被认为是人类智力衡量标准的游戏中已经打败了最好的人类玩家，但在围棋上，人类围棋大师即便是对最敏捷的计算机系统也一直保持着优势。
Traditional AI methods … don’t have a chance in Go. (Para. 4)
There is no hope for traditional AI methods … to win at Go.
传统的人工智能方法……在围棋上击败人的机会渺茫。
Because the methods we’ve used are general-purpose, our hope is that one day they could be extended to help us address some of society’s toughest and most pressing problems ... (Para. 8)
Because the methods we’ve used are not designed for a particular purpose, we hope to find more applications for them to solve society’s hardest and most urgent problems ...
因为我们使用的方法是多用途的，所以我们希望有一天它们能得到拓展，帮助我们解决社会上最艰巨、最迫切的问题……
