微博@翻硕 翻译天堂 2016-05-15
本期译文硕硕参考了@期待未来RendezVous的译文，在此基础上做了修改，欢迎大家的指正与点评，一起交流共同进步！
U.S. economyslows as GDP grows 0.5% in first quarter
美国经济下滑，第一季度GDP增幅仅0.5%
Chico Harlan
The U.S. economy grew at itsweakest quarterly pace in two years between January and March, new governmentdata showed Thursday. The nation's gross domestic product expanded just 0.5percent as consumers slowed their spending and businesses cut back oninvestments with a severity not seen since the financial crisis.
周四，美国政府发布的最新数据显示，今年美国经济第一季度增幅为两年来最低。由于消费放缓，企业投资缩减，美国GDP增幅仅0.5%，情况自金融危机以来最为严峻。
点评：
小伙伴们交给硕硕的作业中，此段常见问题有：第一句话处理时候不做取舍，例“周三，政府最新数据显示，从一月到三月，美国经济本季度增长为两年来最低。”首先，Thursday是周四，不是周三（不够细致）；其次，句子太琐碎，让读者略感摸不清重点；而且，“一月到三月”用“本季度”代替完全就够了，省译技巧没有掌握好，加重译者负担。Business很多同学直接译为：生意；但是这里说的其实是做生意的主体：企业、商业，较为恰当。
The relatively tepid growthindicates that the economy is being held back by apprehension and caution -even as global chaos diminishes, employers continue hiring and the stock marketrecovers from its early-year turmoil. Most analysts say that the nation faceslittle risk of recession, but the economy is stuck in second gear, providing apicture of contradictions for investors and policymakers.
相对疲软的增势表明，尽管全球动乱已经平息，雇主继续聘请人才，股票市场也从早年的动荡中恢复，但美国经济仍受到了市场担忧情绪与谨慎心态的影响。多数分析师认为，美国经济面临衰退的风险很低，但想要迅速发展也比较困难，这给投资者和政策制定者造成了一种矛盾的局面。
点评：
relatively tepid growth，相对疲软的增势：在表示经济形势良好时，我们一般会说“强劲”；表示经济形势不怎么好，一般用词“疲软”，但并不是说译成其它的不对。
第一句：整体来看，此句逻辑为“尽管/虽然...但是...”，但是小伙伴的作业大多没有理清楚这个简单的逻辑，而是被原文形式禁锢，跳不出来这个框架。例：“相对缓慢的增长说明焦虑和谨慎阻碍了经济发展——即使全球混乱消失，就业率在保证，并且股票市场也从年初的混乱中恢复。”意思都能看懂，但跟原文跟得太紧，读起来却给人“西式中文”的感觉：这是一种被污染的中文，纯洁性很低。P.S.有小伙伴译为：“焦虑不安和谨小慎微仍是笼罩美国经济发展的主旋律”，文字是不是很棒！
第二句中，有小伙伴直接将stuck in second gear译为“被卡在第二个齿轮中”，这并不make any sense。此处stuck in second gear本意是说“开车卡在二档，无法迅速前进”。如果真不知道这个涵义，仔细分析也能想明白，原文想表达的就是就是“虽然衰退风险低，但是快速发展也难”这么一种纠结、矛盾的情况。另外，这种矛盾并不是指投资者和政策制定者之间有矛盾，而是说这样一种局面、状况是矛盾的。
Among those contradictions:Wages are starting to rise, and cheaper gasoline is providing an influx ofcash, but most Americans have cut back on consumption since the middle of lastyear.
在如此矛盾的形势下出现了这样一种局面：虽然工资开始上涨，而且油价的下跌也为市场注入了大量现金流，但自去年下半年起，大多数美国人都开始节俭开支了。
Meanwhile, a dollar that hasweakened slightly in recent months has helped to boost profits for U.S. corporategiants, including airlines and tech companies. But those firms are holding offon investing in the basic goods they need, including computers, machinery andoffices. Nonresidential investment - a gauge of that spending - plunged 5.9percent in the first quarter, the sharpest decline since 2009.
与此同时，美元近几个月的走低也促使包括航空和科技行业在内的企业巨头利润飙升。但是，这些企业却不愿在计算机、机械和办公场所等他们所需的基础商品版块进行投资。此项开支的衡量标尺——非住房固定资产投资，在第一季度出现5.9%的下滑，创自2009年以来的最大跌幅纪录。
In the latest quarter, thetrade deficit was also a slight drag on growth.
上一季度，贸易赤字也拖缓了经济的增速。
Companies are probably trimmingback in response to sluggish global demand. A few could also be pushinginvestments overseas, spurred by the high U.S. corporate taxes. The cutbacks,too, are attributable to massive hemorrhaging in the oil and gas sector, wherelow prices have all but paralyzed investment. Investment in mining fell 86percent in the first quarter, the greatest drop on record, going back to 1958.
为应对全球低迷的需求，各企业都对开支进行了削减。受困于美国的高额企业税收，少数企业也正在推动海外投资。此外，由于价格较低无法带动投资，油气行业也出现了由于企业削减投资而导致的巨额损失。第一季度矿产行业的投资下滑86%，是自1958年以来最大跌幅。
"The business investment is down, andagain, it's this uncertain environment," said Dan North, achief economist at Euler Hermes, a credit insurance company. He said the sameuncertainty is holding back consumers. "They are thinking: Why am I goingto buy a washing machine in this sort of crummy economy?"
信用保险公司裕利安宜的首席经济学家丹·诺斯（Dan North）表示：“现在商业投资出现下滑，究其原因，还是不稳定的环境造成的。”他认为，这样不稳定的局面同样也会促使消费者削减支出。“消费者在想：在经济如此不景气的时期，我为何要去买一台洗衣机？”
After its meeting Wednesday,the Federal Reserve provided a mixed review of the economy, saying in itsstatement that economic activity had slowed despite labor market improvement.Inflation has held below the Fed's 2 percent target for more than three years.
周三的会议结束后，美联储发布了一份经济综合评估。评估报告称，尽管劳动力市场改善，但经济活动却有所放缓。在过去三年，美国经济通胀率一直低于美联储设定的2%的目标。
Mainstream forecasts suggestthat the U.S. economy will speed up as the year goes along - a trend that alsoheld in 2014 and 2015. The International Monetary Fund projected this monththat the U.S. economy would expand by 2.4 percent this year, slightly betterthan the pace of other advanced economies. But that projection has been nudgeddown twice in the past seven months, and some economists said Thursday that thesecond quarter could be dreary.
主流预测认为，美国今年的经济会像2014年和2015年一样，会在接下来逐渐提速回暖。本月，国际货币基金组织预测美国经济今年将增长2.4%，略高于其它发达经济体的增速。但在过去的七个月，这一预测数据已经被下调了两次。本周四，一些经济学家表示，美国经济第二季度的表现可能并不尽如人意。
"There's no naturalpresumption here that you'll get a bounce in the second quarter," saidSteveBlitz, a chief economist at ITG Investment Research. "We might,but it's not a guarantee," because consumers and businesses would bothhave to change their behavior.
ITG投资研究机构的首席经济师史蒂夫·布里兹（Steve Blitz）认为，“做出预测认为美国第二季度经济会有所反弹并非一件理所当然的事”，他说：“也许我们会做类似预测，但这并不是一种保证，因为消费者和企业都必须改变他们的行为。”
Thursday's data, released bythe Commerce Department, is a preliminary reading and will be revised twicemore in the coming months.
商务部周四发布的数据只是一份初步解读，接下来几个月还会进行多次更正。
翻译小结：
² 粗心的问题很严重：比如Thursday译为“周三”，0.5 percent 译为“百分之五”...... 此类最低级错误会立刻打消读者对译文质量的信任。
² “翻译就是再写作；翻译就是做一个好的story teller。”——硕硕在之前推荐的一个LITx视频中就提到了这一点。译者是有自由空间进行结构转换的，最终的目的就如尤金· 奈达所强调，翻译应达到dynamic equivalence，不必太拘泥原文。
² 理解错误很致命。严格的阅卷老师对此类错决不忍，基本只要出现理解错误这一整句就不要想得分了。然而，理解性错误并非不好避免，多读几遍句子，认真分析语法结构，再结合上下文语境，就能很容易地判断自己是否理解正确。
Vocabulary
1. tepid /'tɛpɪd/ adj. 微热的；有点溫热的；不冷不热的
2. apprehension /ˌæprɪ'hɛnʃən/ n. 忧虑；担心；逮捕；理解；领悟
3. gauge /gedʒ/ n.标准尺寸；规格；量规；量表 v.测量
4. hemorrhage /'hɛmərɪdʒ/ n. (尤指大量的)出血;失血vi. 大出血
5.trim back = cut back
6. stuck in second gear: lacking energy and not likely to realizethe potential
