《宋氏快译》（英汉对照）（12）：英国“死人”复活？

《宋氏快译》（英汉对照）（12）：英国“死人”复活？


‘Dead' man in UK turns up alive Sat Nov 3, 12:43 AM ET

英国“死人”复活？


LONDON - Police said Friday they had begun an investigation after a woman oversaw the cremation of a body she believed was her son — who turned up alive the next day.

伦敦-
警方称星期五他们开始调查一件离奇的案子，一位妇女亲眼见证一具她相信是自己儿子的尸体火化后，第二天那具尸体居然复活了。

注释：

这句看似简单，但落实到文字上还真是有点麻烦。硬译就是：“警方说，星期五一位妇女亲眼见证一具她相信是自己儿子的尸体 - 第二天又活过来 - 火化后，他们开始调查这件离奇的案子。”其中oversaw的意思其实就是她亲手操办儿子的火化一事。因此这句也不妨这样翻：她亲自为一具她相信是自己儿子的尸体操办火化之后，他在第二天又复活了。但这不是问题的所在，而关键的是，我觉得如果按照原来语序翻译，无论如何摆布，也不通顺。因此我的选择是前后大颠倒，干脆先说警方开始调查，然后再解释具体案件内容。


Greater Manchester Police said the mix-up began when the body of a man in his 30s was discovered in Manchester, northwest England, on Oct. 12. He was identified as Thomas Dennison, 39, by a care worker who knew him.

大曼彻斯特警方说，一位30多岁男子于10月12日在英格兰西北部的曼彻斯特现身后，这件扑朔迷离的怪事就开始了。一位与死者相识的管理员认定他是39岁的托马斯。丹尼森。

注释：

the body of a man in his 30s was discovered，直译：“一位30多岁男子的身体于10月12日在英格兰西北部的曼彻斯特被发现。”何必非用被动语态，“被发现”不就意味着“现身”吗？读一读直译的被动句式，再读一读意译的主动句式，哪个更接近中国人说话的习惯？不言而喻。另外，care worker，负责管理的人员，不妨翻译成“管理员”。


Officials contacted Dennison's mother, Gina Partington, 58, who identified the dead man as her son. The body was released to the family and the funeral took place Tuesday.

官员们已经和丹尼森的母亲，58岁的吉娜。帕廷顿取得联系，她证实那个死去的男子（或那具男尸）就是她的儿子。尸体已经交给他的家人，葬礼已于周二举行。


The next day, Dennison was discovered alive in Nottingham, 80 miles away.

第二天，丹尼森却在80英里之外的诺丁汉被发现还活着。


Partington said the resemblance between the dead man and her son was remarkable.

帕廷顿说死者与其儿子的相似之处十分明显。


"I held his hand and kissed his head. I stayed with him for about 40 minutes and would have sworn he was my son," she was quoted as saying by the Manchester Evening News.

“我握过他的手，亲吻过他的头。我和他在一起待了大约40分钟，我愿发誓他就是我的儿子，”《曼彻斯特晚间新闻》引述了她的说法。

注释：
would have sworn，虚拟句式，本来用于第二、第三人称，但美国人也用于第一人称。本句这样说的意思是，如果有人怀疑死者是她的儿子，或者有人要她发誓，她就会发誓。注意这个说法和平铺直叙的“发誓说”（I swore that he was my son）的区别。


"We held his funeral on Tuesday this week at Southern Cemetery and there were genuine tears, because Tommy is a lovely lad," she said.

“本周二我们在南方公墓为他举行了葬礼，在那儿流的眼泪都是真诚的，因为汤米是个好孩子，”她说。


Police said the incident has been turn over to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

警方说，此案已经移交给警察独立监督委员会。


Police said they believed they knew the identity of the dead man, who had been living on the streets, and were trying to contact his relatives in Ireland.

警方称，他们相信自己掌握死者的身份，因为他们就住在附近这些街区里，他们也在设法与死者在爱尔兰的亲属取得联系。

注释：

who had been living on the streets,请注意，这个定语从句前有个逗号，因此是非限定性定于从句，而且限定的被不少离它最近的the dead man， 而是远隔万水千山的主语they，其实只要看一下定语从句中表示地点的on he streets就会恍然大悟，因为一名死者怎么会住在许多街道streets上呢？