[ii] event: 太突然，上文没交代清楚。
[iii] 由于“国际奥委会主席罗格”不是重要信息，不必在此停顿。可搬到Jacques Rogge 前面，省下两个逗号，句子更流畅。
[iv] Tens of thousands：错译，是“近万”，不是“数万”。这里不必把“万”翻译出来。更重要的是“守候”，而非“近万”，thousands足够“模糊”。而且我认为用 thousands 让句子的节奏更好。
[v] celebrated the news with applause 太沉着镇静了。试想，守在电视机前焦急等候，听到胜利的消息后，反应仅仅是“鼓掌”那么简单吗？这似乎不符合常理。
[vi] 7 months’ efforts devoted by people from all ethnic groups reaped their reward at last：是谁收获成果？是“七个月的努力”，还是“付出七个月努力的人”？可译为 Seven months of hard work by our people of all races was finally rewarded.
[vii] 大多数新加坡的名字不用汉语拼音，通过调查研究，很容易发现“黄思绵”的英文名字是Ng Ser Miang。
[viii] 建议改为During a visit to Hungary last October, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made a special trip…句子比较整齐。
[ix] so as to make it recognizable from the start：不理解什么意思。Recognizable即能“识别”。首先尽量用简单的描述，让读者能读懂你的意思。
[x] “繁重”不是arduous。Arduous 是“艰巨”、“困难重重”的意思，不合适。Busy即可。
[xi] 没必要。
[xii] Singapore will thanks to the game greatly improve its own image：不是英语句子的结构。
[xiii] bring our software muscle into play：比拟不容易。暂时别用。否则文章显得突兀。
[xiv] excellent impression 是最重要的信息，故尽量往句末移。
【注】修改只按原译的框架调整，并没有大动干戈，能保留的都尽量保留。旨在说明在自身能力基础上，尽量把翻译做好。
干净版：
Last night, at 7:13, a long-awaited piece of news finally arrived from the IOC headquarters of IOC in Lausanne Switzerland: Singapore has succeeded in its bid to host the first Youth Olympic Games in 2010.
Nearly ten thousand people assembled at the Padang to watch the live telecast of the outcome of Singapore’s bid. When IOC President Jacques Rogge announced the result, the crowd burst into thunderous cheers, and thousands waiting anxiously before television sets at home cheered and clapped in rejoice.
It was indeed a moment of joy and pride for all of us. Seven months of hard work by our people of all races was finally rewarded. We pride ourselves for winning despite the fierce competition. This was indeed our glory.
We should appreciate the efforts of the bid committee led by Ng Ser Miang as well as the support volunteered by our people from all walks of life. During a visit to Hungary last October, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made a special trip to meet Jacques Rogge in Lausanne to find out the YOG host city requirements and the YOG purpose and spirit. Finally, our national sincerity convinced the IOC that Singapore is capable of hosting an outstanding inaugural YOG.
Busy preparations will begin the moment we became the official YOG host. Preparations must be completed within the next two-and-a-half years to ready ourselves for five thousand young athletes as well as tens of thousands of spectators from all over the world. Besides being a major sports gala, YOG holds significance that goes far beyond sports. As a metropolis in Southeast Asia, Singapore, as well as the Southeast Asia region, will benefit from a better image.
Besides political importance, YOG will bring economic benefits and leave behind a sports legacy. YOG will also strengthen our people’s awareness of the value of sports, cultivate a sports culture, and promote the development of sports in Singapore. It will also be another wonderful opportunity to show the world Singapore‘s vitality, diversified cultures, and harmonious society.
The first YOG holds historical significance. Naturally, as host of the first YOG, Singapore has great responsibility in setting a good example and a high standard. We must ensure that we have both the hardware and software in place so as to leave the world with an excellent impression. This will help promote Singapore’s stellar reputation and allow our global friends to enjoy our graciousness, warmth and friendship.
Snail Shells, Inner Sanctum
Translated by Chow Wan Ee,
Edited by Li Changshuan
Conventional credence considers an idyllic secluded life sublime bliss; but detachment and removal from social intercourse is a lonely enterprise. As few actually live completely withdrawn from society, gratification of a mere handful is no faithful measure of general wellness.
The old saying “A lesser recluse lives in nature; a great recluse dwells amid bustle” is telling. True bliss is not consecrated to hideaways and found not amid dense groves, but exists in a city’s alleys and streets; in an inner sanctum.
When rays of dawn slip through rustic carved windows along an alleyway, casting a slow and stately champagne splendour on immaculately pruned bonsais set in courtyards as fried eggs sizzle forth, the morning air begins to crackle with innocent chirrups of little children, rhythmic revving rumble of car engines starting, affectionate goodbyes between man and wife, and no-frills neighbourly greetings. Busy, but not messy; lively, but not rowdy; mundane, but not vexing.
The green parcel at the end of the alley has not the plush verdure of nature’s wild; but suffused in the surrounding air is a whiff of life absent in the country. Under the faint amber gleam of every street lamp is a bench that narrates a different story: of sweetness and joy, of sorrow and delight; stories that would mingle and melt into one blend and brewed amid the still of the night.
No one knows what pleasant surprise is waiting at the next turn of corner. An unusual and always-crowded eatery? A pub that lives and breathes jazz music? A little coffee joint with wooden bar stools and an atmosphere of languorous leisure? Perhaps sitting outdoors on a timber chair under a parasol chatting with new-found friends over a cup of tea is pleasure.
Things, when shaped and sedimented by time, conciliate into habits, intuitive knowing, and culture.
When neighbours and friends who come by banter about petty matters and all with the same cunning wit, their squinting eyes would sparkle with wicked glints of intuitive knowing; at the dinner table, family members mouths muzzled with food cackling indistinguishable utterances may be a little loud, but no one takes offence.
Alleys may be narrow, but narrowness cannot stall the spread of happiness; yet, as cold concrete jungles emerge, bliss is slowly devoured and taken apart by traffic congestion and polluted air. Homes are bigger and privacy better; and Self is now confined to a solitary enclosure, carefully avoiding infringing the inner world of another, and jealously guarding its own. But during quiet moments of solitude, the once deplored clamour would be dearly missed and fondly reminisced.
Compared to Manhattan high-rises, people prefer the sun-basked ancient streets traversing under the massive red dome of the Duomo of Florence; compared to the nightly resplendence of Lujiazui, people prefer the romp and stomp of children’s play at Wanhangdu Road. As our years wither away, dreams would return to find the sombre calm of old houses, the soft choruses of street vendors, and that little alley that had dowered endearing recollections.
Discernment would reveal, in every corner inhabited by wisps of moss and vines of ivy, genuine poetry and prose that are neither graceful nor spirited, but that offer mundane bliss. Simple and easy bliss.
What is bliss? This may not be a difficult question after all. Bliss is an open book of poetry about common alleys sauntering under city skies.
As urban homes glitter and shimmer under the moon-lit expanse, one wonders how much mundane bliss lies within those “snail shells”, that inner sanctum…
原文：
蜗居在巷陌的寻常幸福
隐逸的生活似乎在传统意识中一直被认为是幸福的至高境界。但这种孤傲遁世同时也是孤独的，纯粹的隐者实属少数，而少数者的满足不能用来解读普世的幸福模样。
有道是小隐隐于野，大隐隐于市。真正的幸福并不隐逸，可以在街市而不是丛林中去寻找。
晨光，透过古色古香的雕花窗棂，给庭院里精致的盆景慢慢地化上一抹金黄的淡妆。那煎鸡蛋的“刺啦”声袅袅升起，空气中开始充斥着稚嫩的童音、汽车启动的节奏、夫妻间甜蜜的道别，还有邻居们简单朴素的问好。巷陌中的这一切，忙碌却不混乱，活泼却不嘈杂，平淡却不厌烦。
巷尾的绿地虽然没有山野的苍翠欲滴，但是空气中弥漫着荒野中所没有的生机。微黄的路灯下，每一张长椅都写着不同的心情，甜蜜与快乐、悲伤与喜悦，交织在一起，在静谧中缓缓发酵。谁也不会知道在下一个转角中会是怎样的惊喜，会是一家风格独特食客不断的小吃店？是一家放着爵士乐的酒吧？还是一家摆着高脚木凳、连空气都闲散的小小咖啡馆？坐在户外撑着遮阳伞的木椅上，和新认识的朋友一边喝茶，一边谈着自己小小的生活，或许也是一种惬意。
一切，被时间打磨，被时间沉淀，终于形成了一种习惯，一种默契，一种文化。
和来家中做客的邻居朋友用同一种腔调巧妙地笑谑着身边的琐事，大家眯起的眼睛都默契地闪着同一种狡黠；和家人一起围在饭桌前，衔满食物的嘴还发着含糊的声音，有些聒噪，但没人厌烦。
小巷虽然狭窄，却拉不住快乐蔓延的速度。随着城市里那些密集而冰冷的高楼大厦拔地而起，在拥堵的车流中，在污浊的空气里，人们的幸福正在一点点地破碎，飘零。大家住得越来越宽敞，越来越私密。自我，也被划进一个单独的空间里，小心地不去触碰别人的心灵，也不容许他人轻易介入。可是，一个人安静下来时会觉得，曾经厌烦的那些嘈杂回想起来很温情很怀念。
比起高楼耸立的曼哈顿，人们更加喜欢佛罗伦萨红色穹顶下被阳光淹没的古老巷道；比起在夜晚光辉璀璨的陆家嘴，人们会更喜欢充满孩子们打闹嬉笑的万航渡路。就算已苍然老去，支撑起梦境的应该是老房子暗灰的安详，吴侬软语的叫卖声，那一方氤氲过温馨和回忆的小弄堂。
如果用一双细腻的眼眸去观照，其实每一片青苔和爬山虎占据的墙角，都是墨绿色的诗篇，不会飘逸，不会豪放，只是那种平淡的幸福，简简单单。
幸福是什么模样，或许并不难回答。幸福就是一本摊开的诗篇，关于在城市的天空下，那些寻常巷陌的诗。
夜幕笼罩，那散落一地的万家灯火中，有多少寻常的幸福正蜗居在巷陌……
《国庆节回家》翻译中的主要问题
北京外国语大学高级翻译学院 李长栓
理解问题
汉语中充满了歧义。单靠语言翻译，无法准确传达实际的含义。必须了解社会现实。圣经看不懂，古文看不懂，就是不懂当时的社会状况。当时的人很清楚什么意思。即使历史清白、地主、landlord这些常见的词，中国的青少年都不一定理解，中国人的理解和外国人的理解也不一样。
原文：
国庆节回家，那个黄河边上的乡村，开小汽车的乡亲开始多见，虽然他们穿衣打扮还没有太多的改变，但当我看到他们开上价值20多万的汽车时，我很是欣喜。
但欣喜似乎很快止于一次街头的聊天，乡亲【几个？】告诉了我这里发生的两件事。首先是旁边村子里一个人被同村的三兄弟杀死在家中，事情起源于土地租赁，因为租金高低的纠纷，欲强租土地【强租一人还是多人的土地，还是三兄弟的土地？】的人找人把不愿意接受租金价位的人打了【打了一人，还是多人，还是打了三兄弟？】，【是地主把雇农打了（旧社会），还是雇农把地主打了（新中国）】还发出狠话【啥是狠话？】，打死也就是几万块钱的事，于是被打的一方三兄弟联合起来，有了这一命案，四个家庭随之破碎。还有一个发生在我们村里，收割玉米的乡亲【是一家，还是几家】欲从邻居家【住所相邻？土地相邻？】地上开车通过【收割前？收割后？为什么开车？收割机？拉庄稼的农用车（奔马、四轮带拖挂）？为什么要从人家地里过？故意找茬？捷径？】，邻居老太太心疼庄稼不许，争吵中躺在自家田头说：要过，就从身上轧过。于是车轰鸣着，轧过老人，陪了几万块私了。
【到底谁不讲道理？】
儿时的乡村，是可以夜不闭户的。【为什么夜不闭户，都不关门？】放学回家，有时家中无人，邻居大婶【是今天一个大婶，明天换个大婶，还是就那一个】总是招呼到他们家，坐在饭桌前，一切都是那么自然。农忙时，家里农活忙碌，邀邻居来帮，【会来帮忙，还是如果来帮忙】只需吃顿简单的饭，聊聊天。【先吃饭，后帮忙；还是先帮忙，后吃饭？】【帮完忙先回家，吃饭时再来，还是不回家，吃完再走；是专门请一次？是为了吃顿饭才帮忙吗？】现在这里，生活的认知和价值观已经发生了很大的改变。我们都知道，国家在大力发展农村经济，我也期待家乡环境的改善【什么环境？】，也相信很快就会有大的变化，但乡村的这些事也让我思考，我们是否应该在文化价值观方面，做出相应的指点和引导呢？【什么意思？怎么指导？】
2009年1月高翻入学试题
表达问题
1. 杀人案中各个人物及其动作如何表达，才不至于引起混乱，如谁是victim; lease, rent, let等动词的双向性。
2. 选择谁是victim，反映译者的立场。
3. 有人用A, B表示两个人，意思虽清楚，不符合语言习惯。
4. it和this。A man was killed by three brothers. It all started from a dispute over rent. [it指代一个名词；this指代上述状况]
5. 区区几万元怎么说？merely a couple of wan (=10,000) yuan; a few wan kuai (10,000 yuan); a couple of ten thousand yuan.
A few dozen thousand yuan 可以，但节奏别扭。比较时可用，如：a few thousand or a few dozen thousand dollars?
Tens of thousands yuan, several tens of thousands yuan.给人以 “多”的感觉，不用
6. Yuan为什么大写？
修改举例
原译：
I went home during the National Day, when I passed by the yellow river, I saw more people driving their cars, though their appearances had not changed much, I was happy when I saw them driving their car that cost more than 200 millions.
改译：
I returned to my hometown during the National Day holiday. In the village on the Yellow River, I saw more and more people driving cars. Although their appearance has not changed much, I was excited to see them own cars that cost over 200,000 yuan (USD30,000).[1]
原译：
However, my happiness ceased when I chatted with the folks and was told that two incidents that happened. The first incident happened in the neighboring village where a person was killed in his home by two bothers from the same village, the story began with the rental of land, due to the rental scuffle, the tenant beat the party whom refused to accept rental offered, the tenant was quoted as saying would kill the person because of the few million dollars involved, the victim then garnered the support from his two brothers and hence the murder, four families were shattered in this incident. The second incident happened in our village. One of our village folks, after harvesting and collecting his corn requested to drive pass the field of his neighbour, the old lady of the neighboring house refused as she treasure her crops in the field, a quarrel started and the old lady said in anger that the neighbour could either drive pass his own field or driver over her dead body. The story ended with the car drove over her!
改译：
However, my excitement disappeared when I learned about two incidents during a chat on the street. The first one happened in the neighbouring village, where a man was killed in his home by three bothers from the same village. The story began with a dispute over the land rents. A local bully wanted lease land from a villager, but the owner was unwilling to accept the low price offered. So the bully hired someone to beat up the owner and threatened that killing him was nothing but a couple of ten thousand yuan. The enraged victim then garnered the support from his two brothers. Hence the murder, and four shattered families. The second incident took place in my own village. One of our village folks needed to drive through the adjacent field to harvest corn. The neighbour, an old granny, refused as that would crush her crops. As the argument escalated into a quarrel, the old lady lay down on the ground[2] and challenged: “If you want to pass, drive over my body!” And so did the driver. The case was settled for a couple of ten thousand yuan.
