八十一岁结婚
Getting Married at 81
张恨水
Zhang Henshui
| 译文摘自张培基《英译中国散文选二》
金圣叹说过：“人生三十不仕，不当再仕，五十不娶，不当再娶。何则？用非其时也。”这一种说法，可代表中国人一般的普通思想。中国人的事业观，最羡慕“少年得志”，最伤感“大器晚成”。为了这个原因，便是有所成就的人，到了五十以上，便有退休的意思。
Jin Shengtan says, “People over 30 should not become an official, and people over 50 should not get married. Why? Because otherwise they would be doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.” That is representative of the mentality of people at large in China. According to the Chinese outlook on life, it is most enviable “to achieve success in one’s early years” but most sorrowful “to fail to achieve it until one’s old age”. Hence, even a successful man will feel like going to retirement when he is on the wrong side of 50.
要点：
1，“金圣叹说过…”中的“说过”可译为says或said,前者通常指有书面记载的言论
2，“用非其时也”意即“因为时间不对”或“因为那是在错误的时间做错误的事情”译为Because otherwise they would be doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.
3，“少年得志”= to achieve success in one’s early years
“大器晚成”= to fail to achieve it until one’s old age
4，on the wrong side of=…岁以上，过了…岁；之前见过on the right side of 意为“在…岁以下”
综述：本段有文言文成分，理解原文有一定难度。
六十七十的人若还在事业上努力，就有抽身不得的慨叹了。照人生上寿不过八十而言，为私人作一番打算，这种作风好像也有点道理。只是就事业的观点上说，就不对。因为越是有年纪的人，他的学识经验也就越丰富，大事业正需要这种人撑持。而且为人作事，也必须有个自信心。一老就觉得自己不行，那也透着我们生命力不强。
And those who continue to work out of necessity in their sixties or seventies must bemoan their plight. However, considering that men seldom live up to the age of 80, their personal concerns may seem to be impeccable. But, from the standpoint of a worthy cause, they are wrong. Because the older one is, the more knowledgeable and experienced he is and therefore the more indispensable he is to a great cause. Moreover, one should conduct oneself with self-confidence. Calling yourself a good-for-nothing on account of age manifests your lack of vitality.
要点：
1，“就有抽身不得的慨叹了”即“想必会为自己的处境叫苦”或“就会感叹自己的苦境了”译为bemoan their plight
2，“人生上寿不过八十”即“人很少有活过八十岁的” men seldom live up to the age of 80
3，“就事业的观点上说”译为from the standpoint of a worthy cause，其中worthy意为“有意义的，有价值的”
4，“为人作事”采用意译的方法，译为conduct oneself(即为人处世)
5，“一老就觉得自己不行”意即“因为年迈就觉得自己一无是处”译为Calling yourself a good-for-nothing on account of age
综述：在不偏离原文的基础上适当扩充。
整个民族如此，那是我们一种自馁精神，对民族兴衰大有关系。欧美人之成大事业总在晚年，恰与我们的观点相反。最近有两个老人的行为，值得借鉴，正可给我们打一针兴奋剂。第一是美国务卿赫尔，以七十二岁之年，飞莫斯科开那全球注意的三国会议。第二是前英国首相劳合·乔治，八十一岁结婚。这可以证明他们的生命力强，也可以证明他们精神毫不衰老。老了还活泼的干，不必退休去等死，这人生才有意味，才没枉过“吾生也有涯”的岁月。
The same is true of a nation. Self-confidence has a lot to do with its rise and fall. Unlike us Chinese, Westerners usually go in for great undertakings in late life. The recent cases of two Western senior politicians set a good example for us and serve to give us a shot in the arm. One was 72-year-old US secretary of state Cordell Hull, who went to Moscow to attend the 3-power conference in the limelight of the world. The other was former British prime minister Lloyd George, who got married at the age of 81. Their activities afforded proof of their vitality and youthful spirit. The way to live a meaningful life and fully utilize the transient days of one’s life is by continuing to work vigorously in old age rather than retire.
要点：
1，“自馁”即“丧失勇气和信心”，译者并没有将“自馁精神”直接译作losing confidence，而是转换角度，将整句话处理为“信心对民族兴衰有很大关系”。
2，“正可给我们打一针兴奋剂”译为serve to give us a shot in the arm，其中“to give us a shot in the arm”意为“给某人打气（或刺激，鼓励等）”
3，“证明”此处译为afford proof of
4，“老了还活泼的干，不必退休去等死，这人生才有意味，才没枉过“吾生也有涯”的岁月。”可看做是一个“事实+评论”句，按英文的“先评论后事实”的行文顺序进行组织，译为The way to live a meaningful life and fully utilize the transient days of one’s life is by continuing to work vigorously in old age rather than retire.
5，“没枉过‘吾生也有涯’的岁月”意即“没有浪费短暂的一生”从正面译为fully utilize the transient days of one’s life
综述：注意倒数第二点“事实与评论的关系”。
现在我国的事业，多半在四五十岁的中年人手上。中年人干吧，我们的前途还遥远着呢！
Our national cause now rests, for the most part, on the shoulders of our middle-aged men—men in their forties or fifties. Middle-aged fellow countrymen, roll up your sleeves to strive for our distant goal!
要点：
1，“在…手上”=rest on the shoulder of
2,“中年人干吧”译为Middle-aged fellow countrymen, roll up your sleeves，其中roll up your
sleeves意即“大干一场”
综述：本篇篇幅很短，但文学性稍强，尤其是四字词和古文的穿插，译起来需要一番功夫~
声明:本双语文章的中文评析系沪江英语原创内容,转载请注明出处。中文评析仅代表作者个人观点，如有不妥之处，欢迎指正。
