英汉翻译教程:理论与实践(北大版)
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4.21 翻译实例

We often speak of“community”, but rarely define what we mean.Community care cannot be a panacea for good therapy unless the community itself is healthy.Many local authorities now employ community workers whose job it is to promote and encourage caring groups within the community; voluntary social service can be as beneficial to the carer as for the cared.More attention needs to be paid to the physical layout of cities to enable ordinary people to have a real sense of identity.The community itself must take more responsibility for its less able members-it must pay more taxes and be more tolerant to those who don't“fit in”.

我们常常谈论“社区”,但是却很少对它作出符合我们想法的界定。除非社区自身是健全的,否则社区的关心就不可能是有效疗法的万应药。现在许多地方当局都雇用了一些社区工作者,他们的任务就是推动并鼓励社区内的爱心小组的工作。义务社会服务无论对关心他人的人还是被关心的人都是有益的。应该更多关注城市四周的自然环境,以便使普通人产生一种真正的认同感。社区本身应该对于弱势群体负起更多的责任 ——应该更劳累些,对于那些不“适应”的人采取更宽容的态度。

Liberty and Equality

Over the past century those on the left in British politics who have struggled for greater equality have never felt that this objective was incompatible with personal liberty; indeed, the assumption has always been that the two aims were complementary.For British reformers equality has always meant equality treatment, of respect for the individual, equality in the sense of an equal chance to develop one's personality and to live a full and free life.For this reason it has never been thought likely that to increase an under-privileged person's chance of a comfortable house, an adequate education, a good job or a satisfactory pension could do anything except increase his freedom to have a satisfactory existence.But this equality of treatment is induced by the intervention of the state, either by central or by local government action, which can involve some loss of liberty.

自由平等

在过去的一世纪,英国政坛中一直为争取更多平等待遇的左翼并没有觉得这个目标与个人自由是矛盾的事,他们真的认为这两个目标是相辅相成的。对于英国改革者来说,“平等”就是待遇平等和对个人的尊重。“平等”的含义就是培养个性以及充分享受自由生活的均等机会。因此从来没有人会认为,为社会地位低下的人提供舒适住房、充分接受教育、找到一份称心的工作或者享受令人满意的养老金的机会,除了使他们更自由地过上称心的日子外还会有什么问题。但是由于国家的干预——央或者地方政府的行为,平等待遇可能使人们失去部分自由。