clean的意思是「乾淨的」。come clean的字面意思是「變得乾淨」,實際上它是「坦白承認,說出一切」的意思。
Mom came out of the doctor's office like everything was fine. Later, I overheard her on the phone talking about going to the hospital. When she realized I'd been listening, she came clean. She admitted that she was going to need heart surgery, and didn't want me to worry.
媽媽從診所出來的時候看起來跟平常沒什麼兩樣。可是後來,我聽到她在電話上說什麼她要去住院。她發現我聽到了,就索性把一切都坦白地告訴了我。她說她需要進行心臟手術,但是不想讓我擔心。
原文:Hang it there, they are coming in any moment.
原譯:把它掛在那兒,他們任何時刻都會來。
俚語常常會造成翻譯中的困難,hang it there 本來是一則美國俚語,現在已成為口語中的一個常用說法(《英漢大詞典》中收錄,但標為「口語」),意思為「堅持一下」,「不要洩氣」,「耐心地等一會兒」,如:
Be prepared for a rough time. And hang it there.
準備好吃苦,堅持下去。
原文中有兩點要注意:(1)這裡的it並不指任何具體的事物,所以原譯的「它」字沒有所指對象;(2)其中的there不能省略,否則Hang it!就是罵人的粗話或咒語,相當於漢語的「該死」、「他媽的」(不過hang it現在又有了一個新的意思,在一定情況下可指「打點滴」,也就是俗話說的「吊鹽水」)。原譯後半句「他們任何時刻都會來」也不符合漢語習慣說法,可以譯為「他們隨時都可能來」。所以全句可譯為:堅持等一會兒,他們隨時都可能來。
hang是一個常用詞,口語中用得很多,可以組成許多習語,翻譯時一定要仔細查詞典,弄清楚其意思,如hang it easy是「慢慢來」、「悠著點兒」的意思(和take it easy, go easy差不多);hang it on則是「故意拖延」的意思;而let it all hang out則是「開懷盡情歡樂」的意思,如:
You've been working hard all day. Go to the party and relax yourself. Let it all hang out.
你苦幹了一天了,去參加聚會放鬆一下,盡情玩兒個痛快。
需要提一下的是,hang有兩個意思(有人認為是兩個詞),一是「絞死」,是規則動詞,過去式和過去分詞為 hanged;二是「掛」、「吊」,是不規則動詞,過去式和過去分詞為hung。
The boy hung his head for shame(男孩難為情地低著頭)中的hung不能換成 hanged。
昨日答案:
George had always held a low opinion of immigrants. One day he was driving to work when a truck hit his car and knocked him unconscious. He awoke to find that he'd been rescued by a woman who'd grown up in Mexico. That's when he came to grips with his prejudice. It was time to face his dislike of people he didn't really know.
喬治一直對移民沒什麼好印象。有一天他開車去上班的路上,一輛卡車撞到了他,把他撞昏了過去。醒來時,他發現,是一名墨西哥裔的婦女救了他。這件事讓喬治開始正視自己的種族歧視心態,不能對不熟悉的人存在任何偏見。
今日小測:
The interrogator had doubts that the suspect would talk. But now that she understands she risks going to jail for many years, she's coming clean. She's confessing everything: how she planned the burglary and got her friends to help her carry it out.
(答案於次日公布)
JLU外語有聲
編輯 | 排版 楊云云
文本素材 | 《翻譯辨誤》陳德彰 & 網絡
圖片 | 網絡 侵刪