Lesson 1 The Quest ¹
　　Taking the train, the two friends arrived in Berlin in late October 1922, and went directly² to the address of Chou En-lai. Would this man receive them as fellow countrymen, or would he treat them with cold suspicion and question them cautiously about their past careers as militarists? Chu Teh remembered his age. He was thirty-six, his youth had passed like a screaming eagle, leaving him old and disillusioned.
　　1. 本文作者史沫特莱 （Agnes Smedley, 1890—1950）
　　2. directly = at once

　　When Chou En-lai’s door opened they saw a slender man of more than average height with gleaming eyes and a face so striking that it bordered on the beautiful. Yet it was a manly face, serious and intelligent, and Chu judged him to be in his middle twenties³.
　　Chou was a quiet and thoughtful man, even a little shy as he welcomed his visitors, urged them to be seated and to tell how he could help them.
　　3.in his twenties 可译作 “二十多岁”。

　　Ignoring the chair offered him, Chu Teh stood squarely before this youth more than ten years his junior⁴ and in a level voice told him who he was, what he had done in the past, how he had fled from Yunnan, talked with Sun Yat-sen, been repulsed by Chen Tuhsiu in Shanghai, and had come to Europe to find a new way of life for himself and a new revolutionary road for China.
　　4.more than ten years his junior 是 this youth 的同位语。

　　He wanted to join the Chinese Communist Party group in Berlin, he would study and work hard, he would do anything he was asked to do but⁵ return to his old life, which had turned to ashes beneath his feet.
　　As he talked Chou En-lai stood facing him, his head a little to one side as was his habit⁶, listening intently until the story was told, and then questioning him.
　　5.but = except
　　★ 6.as was his habit，此处as后面可以省略主语 it，意思相当于 which was his habit，或 and that was his habit。

　　When both visitors had told their stories, Chou smiled a little, said he would help them find rooms,⁷ and arrange for them⁸ to join the Berlin Communist group as candidates until their application had been sent to China and an answer received⁹. When the reply came a few months later they were enrolled as full members, but Chu’s membership was kept a secret from outsiders.
　　7.请注意：help后面的动词不定式不加 to。
　　8.请注意 ：arrange for them to...，而不能说arrange them to ...。
　　9.完整的说法应该是an answer had been received。

　　译文：
　　探索
　　他们两个人坐火车于一九二二年十月到达柏林，立即去周恩来的住处。这个人会不会像同胞手足一样接待他们呢？会不会疑虑重重，详细询问他们在军阀时代的经历呢？朱德想起自己的年龄，他已三十六岁，青春像一路鸣叫的鹰，早已一闪而逝，留给他的是衰老和幻灭（his youth had passed like a screaming eagle, leaving him old and disillusioned）。

　　周恩来的房门打开时，他们看到的是一个身材瘦长、比普通人略高一点的人，两眼闪着光辉，面貌很引人注意， 称得上清秀（it bordered on the beautiful）。可是，那是个男子汉的面庞， 严肃而聪颖，朱德看他大概是二十五六岁的年龄。
　　周恩来举止优雅，待人体贴，在招呼他们坐下，询问有何见教的时候（to tell how he could help them），甚至还有些腼腆。
　　朱德顾不得拉过来的椅子，端端正正地站在这个比他年轻十岁的青年面前，用平稳的语调，

　　说明自己的身份和经历（who he was, what he had done in the past）：他怎样逃出云南，怎样会见孙中山，怎样在上海被陈独秀拒绝，怎样为了寻求自己的新的生活方式和中国的新的革命道路而来到欧洲。他要求加入中国共产党在柏林的党组织，他一定会努力学习和工作，只要不再回到旧的生活里去——它已经在他的脚底下化为尘埃了——派他做什么工作都行（he would do anything he was asked to do but return to his old life, which had turned to ashes beneath his feet）。

　　他娓娓而谈，周恩来就站在他面前，习惯地侧着头（as was his habit）， 一直听到朱德把话说完，才提出问题。
　　两位来客把经历说完后，周恩来微笑着说，他可以帮他们找到住的地方，替他们办理加入党在柏林的支部的手续，在入党申请书寄往中国而尚未批准之前，暂作候补党员（join the Berlin Communist group as candidates until their application had been sent to China and an answer received）。过了几个月，回信来了，两人都被吸收为正式党员，但朱德的党籍对外界保持秘密。

　　译学点滴：翻译的标准
　　开始做翻译时，首先想到的一个问题大概就是：翻译的标准是什么？怎样才算好的译文？
　　对我们初学翻译的人来说，我想可以提出两条要求：（一）忠实；（二）通顺。“忠实”主要是指内容。翻译是在理解了别人用某种语言表达的意思之后，把同样的意思用另外一种语言表达出来。也就是说，译者的任务是表达别人的意思，而不是自己进行创作。因此，就要力求准确地表达原作者的意思。“通顺”指的是语言。如果原文是通顺易懂的，那么译文也要尽量做到通顺，易懂。

　　外国人用外国话说外国事，我们不是很容易理解透彻的。也许还有许多生词，需要现查词典。有时所有的生词都查出来了，还是不懂。勉强弄懂了，又怎样翻呢？还是问题。如果做汉译英，要把中国事物用英语写出来，让外国人看懂，做到拼法正确，句子平稳，合乎英语的用法，也不是轻而易举的事。在一定的阶段上，在一定的时间内，能做的事是有限的。如果我们的译文真能做到既忠实又通顺，也就可以说基本上达到了要求。