桂林是中國著名的風(fēng)景旅游城市。它位于廣西東北部，面積有2.78萬平方公里，人口500萬。擁有2000多年歷史的桂林還是一個歷史文化名城。自北宋(the Northern Song Dynasty)以來，桂林就已成為廣西的政治、 經(jīng)濟(jì)及文化中心。桂林山水以山青、水秀、洞奇、石美聞名天下;桂林的交通、通訊和住宿都非常便利發(fā)達(dá)。因此每年有成千上萬的國內(nèi)外游客來到桂林旅游。

　　表達(dá)難點(diǎn)

　　1.第2句“它位于......，面積有......，人口......”有3個分句，如果逐字對譯為It is located in..., the area is...，and the population is...則譯文拖沓繁冗。宜將“它位于......”處理為過去分詞短語，作地點(diǎn)狀語，“面積有......”處理為主干，“人口......”處理為介詞短語，表伴隨狀態(tài)，整句譯作Located in..., Guilin covers an area of... with a population of...。

　　2.第3句中“桂林”的定語“擁有2000多年歷史的”較長，可考慮將其處理成定語從句，整句譯為Guilin which has a history of..., is also a...，但翻譯出來的句子稍顯頭重腳輕。故將定語轉(zhuǎn)換為狀語，用介詞短語譯出，表達(dá)為 Guilin is a... city with a history of...。

　　3.翻譯第5句的“桂林山水以山青、水秀、洞奇、石美聞名天下”時，此處的“桂林山水”是指“桂林風(fēng)景”，故翻譯為Guilin scenery，而翻譯整個句子時，可先譯出主干“桂林山水聞名天下”Guilin scenery is famous,再用介詞短語譯出原因狀語“以山青......”，譯為 for its green mountains, clear water, magic holes and beautiful stones。

　　4.最后一句的“有成千上萬的國內(nèi)外游客來到桂林”如譯為There are thousands of tourists from home and abroad come to Guilin，則因?yàn)?there) are和come to兩個動詞都能作謂語而譯文錯誤，故應(yīng)省略 “有”的動作不譯而整句譯為 Thousands of tourists from home and abroad are attracted to...，此處“來到”譯為are attracted to...比come to譯得更精準(zhǔn)、更體現(xiàn)出桂林的魅力。

　　參考譯文

　　Guilin is China's well-known tourist scenic city. Located in the northeast of Guangxi, Guilin covers an area of 27,800 square kilometers with a population of 5 million. Guilin is also a famous historic and cultural city with a history of over 2,000 years. Guilin has been the center of politics, economy and culture of Guangxi since the Northern Song Dynasty. Guilin scenery is famous for its green mountains, clear water, magic holes and beautiful stones. The transportation, communication, and accommodation in Guilin are convenient and well-developed. Therefore, thousands of tourists from home and abroad are attracted to travel here every year.