2008年考研英语翻译试题

　　In his autobiography, Darwin himself speaks of his intellectual powers with extraordinary modesty. He points out that he always experienced much difficulty in expressing himself clearly and concisely, but (46) he believes that this very difficulty may have had the compensating advantage of forcing him to think long and intently about every sentence, and thus enabling him to detect errors in reasoning and in his own observations. He disclaimed the possession of any great quickness of apprehension or wit, such as distinguished Huxley. (47) He asserted, also, that his power to follow a long and purely abstract train of thought was very limited, for which reason he felt certain that he never could have succeeded with mathematics. His memory, too, he described as extensive, but hazy. So poor in one sense was it that he never could remember for more than a few days a single date or a line of poetry. (48) On the other hand, he did not accept as well founded the charge made by some of his critics that, while he was a good observer, he had no power of reasoning. This, he thought, could not be true, because the "Origin of Species" is one long argument from the beginning to the end, and has convinced many able men. No one, he submits, could have written it without possessing some power of reasoning. He was willing to assert that "I have a fair share of invention, and of common sense or judgment, such as every fairly　successful lawyer or doctor must have, but not, I believe, in any higher degree." (49) He adds humbly that perhaps he was "superior to the common run of men in noticing things which easily escape　attention, and in observing them carefully."
 

　　Writing in the last year of his life, he expressed the opinion that in two or three respects his mind had changed during the preceding twenty or thirty years. Up to the age of thirty or beyond it poetry of many kinds gave him great pleasure. Formerly, too, pictures had given him considerable, and music very great, delight. In 1881, however, he said: "Now for many years I cannot endure to read a line of poetry. I have also almost lost my taste for pictures or music." (50) Darwin was convinced that the loss of these tastes was not only a loss of happiness, but might possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character.

　　2008年考研英语翻译核心词组学习笔记

　　enable…to… 使…。能够
　　be superior to 优于； be inferior to 劣于
　　succeed with 在方面取得成功
　　well-founded 有说服力的
　　no power of reasoning (丝毫)没有推理能力
　　the common run of men 普通人
　　moral character 道德品质
　　be injurious to 对…有害

　　全文参考翻译

　　在他的自传里，达尔文非常谦虚的谈到了自己的智力水平。他说他总是很难言简意赅的表达自己的想法，但是（46）他相信，正是由于这种困难，他可能会因祸得福。换句话说，他不得不对自己要说的每一句话都深思熟虑，从而发现自己在推理和观察过程中的错误。他不承认自己具有赫胥黎那样敏捷的思维和超群的智力，他还坚持认为自己进行长时间纯抽象思维的能力有限。（47）因此他还认定自己在数学方面也不可能有较大的作为。他还把自己的记忆能力描述为泛而不精，从某种程度上说是糟糕透顶，因为他记个日期或者背句诗词什么的过几天就忘了。（48）另一方面它的批评者指责说，虽然他的观察力很强，但是没有推理能力。达尔文认为这样的说法是缺乏根据的。他之所以认为这样的说法不对是因为《物种起源》从头到尾是一篇饱受争议的文章，而现在已经被很多人所接受。在他看来，如果没有推理能力是无法写出这样的著作的。他乐意表明：“虽然我有一定的创造力、常识和判断力，但任何一个还算成功的律师和医生都具有这些，我并不比他们高明。”（49）他又自谦的说，或许自己“在关注容易被他人忽略的事物，并对其加以详细观察方面优于常人。”

　　在他晚期的著作中，他说在过去的20-30年里，他的想法有了两到三个方面的改变。到30岁或更长的时间里，许多类别的诗歌给他带来极大的乐趣，而在此之前，绘画和音乐也同样带给他乐趣和愉快。然而在1881年，他说：“许多年来，我已无法安然的读哪怕是一行的诗，也丧失了对绘画和音乐的兴趣。”（50）于是他相信，失去这些方面的兴趣不仅意味着失去幸福，而且还可能造成对智力的伤害，甚至是对道德品格的伤害。