翻译概论期中作业
李雨浓
20120845
英译中
原文：
From snail mail to 4G, China celebrates 20 years of
Internet connectivity
Beijing (CNN) -- "Across the Great Wall we can reach every corner of the world," read the header of the first email sent from China back in 1987.
Two Chinese scientists sent it to their German counterparts through an "email node," a rudimentary system used to send emails at that time. Their hyperbole aside, they probably didn't realize that the rare connection could foretell a digital revolution.
That came on April 20, 1994, when geeks at the Institute of High Energy Physics at China's Academy of Sciences built the first cable connection to the World Wide Web via facilities based at Stanford University's Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).
This year marks the 20th anniversary of China's first connection with the Internet -- a technological breakthrough that has had a particularly massive impact on the world's most populous country.
"It's been utterly transformational," said Kaiser Kuo, director of international communications at Baidu, China's largest search engine. "The advent of the Internet has been a great leveler in terms of access to knowledge, to education materials, to goods and services.
"A school teacher in a rural mountain village with just an Internet connection has access to the same teaching material as her counterpart teaching in the best school in Beijing. A consumer in a hinterland country town can buy the very latest in consumer electronics, or books or fashion just the same as someone in Shanghai. And practically anyone anywhere can set up a virtual store to reach a nationwide market."
The boom years
Two decades ago, China's digital starting point was low and slow: only around 2,000 Chinese computers had access to the Internet.
Connection was by telephone lines through a modem. "It was super slow and very expensive," remembered Zhao Wei, a college graduate then and now a top executive of a local Internet company.
By 1996, the first Internet cafes opened in Shanghai and other major cities, enabling more and more people to access the Net even before they bought computers.
The first generation of Internet users quickly emerged when local companies such as Sina, Sohu and Netease opened for business. Internet connectivity has since shifted gears with one technological leap to another, from telephone lines to optic fibers and now wireless. China is advancing to the 4G era, with more and more people using smartphones.
In 2008, China's Internet users reached 298 million, surpassing the United States as the world's biggest Internet population. At the end of last year, that grew to 618 million, about half of China's entire population.
A global player
Internet connectivity is changing the lives, lifestyle and consumer behavior of many ordinary Chinese.
Nowadays, typical urbanites begin their day turning on their computers, tablets and smartphones to check their emails or get on social media platforms. More than half of Chinese Internet users communicate and share information via social networks such as Weibo, QQ and WeChat.
Thanks to the thriving IT industry, hundreds of thousands of people have started private businesses. Some of them have emerged as major players in the global IT industry and are among the richest entrepreneurs in China.
E-commerce offers nearly two million direct jobs and over 13 million indirect ones domestically. China also hosts one of the world's leading e-trade businesses called Alibaba that, based on gross trade, is already bigger than eBay and Amazon combined.
译文：
从蜗牛邮件到4G通信：中国迎来接入互联网的第二十年 CNN记者 北京报道--“越过长城，走向世界。”这句话写在1987年中国发出的第一封电子邮件的开头。这封邮件由两名中国科学家通过当时的电子邮件网络“电邮节点”向他们的德国同行们发
出。并不夸张地说，这两人可能并没有意识到，这种少见的通信技术其实预言了一场数字革命。这件事发生在1994年4月20日，一群中国科学院高能物理研究所的“极客”们，用位于斯坦福大学线性加速器中心的设备，建立了与互联网的第一次有线连接。以此为起点，中国至今已经接入互联网20个年头了。在这段时间里，技术上的突破给这个世界上人口最多的国家带来了巨大的改变与影响。
“这完全是天翻地覆的变化，”郭凯撒，中国最大搜索引擎“百度”的国际关系总监如是说。“互联网的出现极大地便捷了人们对知识、教育资源、商品和服务的获取。”一个拥有网络连接的山村教师，可以获取到和任教于北京最好的学校的同行一样的教学资源。一个内陆农村城镇的消费者可以和上海的人们一样买到最新的消费电子品、图书和潮流单品。而且，任何人在任何地方都完全可以开设一家面向全国市场的虚拟店铺。
怒放的年代
二十年前，中国的数字产业起点低、发展慢：全国范围内大约只有2000台电脑可以接入互联网。当时的网络连接需要通过“猫”，接入电话线路。赵伟，那时的大学毕业生，现在当地一家网络公司的新任高管，还记得当年的网络的样子：“超级慢，非常贵。”
在1996年，第一批网吧开始出现在上海和其他大城市。这使得很多人在拥有自己的电脑之前，接触到了网络。中国的第一代网民在本地网络公司例如新浪、搜狐和网易成立后开始快速地浮现出来。从那时开始，中国的网络连接便一次次地通过技术的飞跃更换着其设备：从电话线到光纤到今天的无线网络。拥有着越来越多的智能手机用户，中国开始迈步走向4G时代。
在2008年，中国的网民数量达到了两亿九千八百万，超过了美国网民数量成为了世界第一。而在去年年末，这个数字达到了中国总人口的一半：六亿一千八百万。
国际选手
网络，改变着许多平凡中国人的日常、生活方式以及消费行为。在今天，大多数中国城市居民清晨睁开眼睛的第一件事都是打开电脑、平板或者手机来收发电子邮件，或者在社交平台上查看朋友们的动向。超过一半的中国网民会在诸如微博、QQ和微信等社交平台上来交流和分享信息。
归功于蓬勃发展的IT产业，数以十万计的人们建立了自己的生意。他们中的一些人成为了国际IT产业的重要参与者，同时也身处中国最富的企业家们的行列之中。电子商务直接创造了接近两百万的岗位，同时间接为超过一千三百万的人提供了饭碗。中国同时拥有全球顶尖的电子商务公司---阿里巴巴。按照营业总量来计算，易趣和亚马逊加起来都无法与之匹敌。
中译英
原文：
繁琐的文化规范
每种文化都有自身的规范，有些关于性别和年龄的规范是潜在的。当不同文化之间的规范互相抵触时，问题就产生了。
几年前，当我乘坐美国联合航空公司的航班（United Airlines）飞越太平洋的时候，我身处文化碰撞的典型场景。这一点都不夸张，一切都静静地发生了，以契诃夫式的讽刺展现出来。飞机飞行到一定的高度，乘务员开始提供饮料和餐食。给我提供服务的是一名年长的女士，我估计她的年龄在65岁以上，但我也可能估计错了。委婉地说，她蹒跚的步态使我联想到退休的老年人。她一开始给我倒饮料，我就想要从座位上跳起来并对她说：“女士，请您坐下来，我给您倒杯饮品吧。”我不得不去压抑这种冲动。我提过这位女士是亚洲人么？如果在中国，孩子们一定会称她为“老奶奶”。在西方，称呼别人时，人们故意叫得年轻一些。称呼女性时，更是如此。中国人花了几十年的时间才适应西方的这一习惯。
文化层面上有如此多的碰撞，我一次只能理清一个。
首先是歧视老年人这一问题。我经常听到有中国乘客抱怨非亚洲航线的飞机乘务员年纪太大了。在中国，飞机乘务员无一例外地年轻、漂亮。但是，日前在西方航线上工作的飞机乘务员大多是中年人。如果一名中国商人多年来一直都乘坐国内航线，当他第一次乘坐美国航空公司的航线、面对那些上了年纪的飞机乘务员，他可能会很吃惊。从实用主义的角度来看，我不认为中国聘用年轻飞机乘务员的这一惯例会持久。最开始的时候，你可以招募年轻人，但是当这批人全部都40岁的时候，你不能把她们全部都解雇了。她们中的一些人可能会被再安排去做行政，但不是所有人。我仍然很好奇，当所有的这些风华正茂的“女服务员”容颜不再的时候，她们何去何从？当今，人们认为“女服务员”一词的政治立场有误，该词已经被汉语中的对等词空姐代替。这个词语实际上更有性别歧视的色彩。因此，当中国人谈及乘坐西方航班的体验时，他们满是怨言，通常称空姐为“空嫂”。对我而言，“空奶”这个词语或许更合适。不仅仅是我有那种感觉。然而，45岁乘务员和65岁的乘务员服务的感觉是截然不同的。在亚洲，主流价值观儒家思想规定，年轻人要听老人家的话。60岁的时候，你就是一家之主、村里的长老了，你等着那些比你年轻的人去服侍你。
有过在美国联合航空公司航班上的那次经历之后，我进行了反思。我可以跟同胞们就乘务员的年龄问题进行辩论。年龄45岁的人有权利做乘务员，那么，如果65岁的男性或者女性能够胜任这份工作的话，他们为什么不能做乘务员呢？如果长相不应该作为选择乘务员的一个因素，那么年龄差异也不应该。从另一个层面看，那位为我提供服务的妇女可能有各种正当的理由去继续工作。难道她不应该因为奉献社会而受到赞扬吗？或许是她微微颤抖的双手使我心慌意乱。但是，不是这样的。即使她的手很稳，我仍然会感到不安。一位跟爷爷、奶奶年纪不相上下的人在飞机过道上行走忙碌、给年轻的乘客提供服务，而飞机可能会遇到气流，完全颠覆了儒家所倡导的尊敬长辈的观念。
因为美国联合航空公司不是中国开的，大部分的乘客不是中国人。我并不想给她带来麻烦，没有把自己的文化焦虑对别人分享。在飞机上，我尽可能地少点东西，在她来服务之前把桌子清理干净。我想要尽最大的努力去减轻她的工作负担。我知道这样做很荒唐，但是，我不由自主。我并没有成长在一个非常传统的家庭里，但是，毫不夸张地讲，飞机上的老年人为我提供服务的情境仍然让我不安。
歧视老人通常跟性别歧视掺杂在一起。如果在美国联合航空公司航班上的乘务员是一名男性，我的想法会有所不同吗？根本不会。回顾1986年，我第一次到海外的时候，我遇到了相似的文化碰撞，但是，那一次的问题很小。加拿大方的东道主带我们一行中国人到餐厅用餐。我小组里的少女们服务我们所有人就餐。东道主问我这位翻译道，中国人是否奉行“女士优先”这一社会规范。我说，没有。中国人奉行“长者优先”这一儒家规范。
成年人因为儿童弱小而帮助他们。年轻人应该服从老者，因为老者自身的阅历使人信服，也因为中国等其他的亚洲国家深受儒家尊老爱幼思想文化的影响。在中国，情况发生了逆转。独生子女是家里的“小皇帝”，他们容易对父母、祖父母颐指气使、呼来喝去的。这不是传闻，是事实。
我想，妇女地位在西方的发展进程也大致如此。传统观念认为，女性是柔弱的受保护对象，骑士精神把那种观念强化成为一种预期。在中国，男性不为女性开门。在中国公交车或地铁上，男女平等得惊人。西方的女权主义者都做了什么呢？女性显然不再被视为弱者了，这是社会进步的进程，还是对女性无礼的另外一种表现呢？
译文：
The Complicated Customs in Cultures
Every culture has its own regulations, in which ones associated with genders and age are latent. When different customs come together in conflicts, troubles come. A few years ago, when I was taking one AUA flight crossing the Pacific, I found myself in a typical culture conflicts situation. Its hyperbole aside, it just happened silently, like a sarcastic drama of Chekhov.
When the plane reached certain height, the stewardesses started to serve food and drinks. I was served by a senior lady who seemed to be in her 60's. Not being rude, her tottering made me think about the retired people. At the moment she started to serve me drinks, I had to hide my impulse to ask her to sit on my seat and be served by me. Did I mention that this lady is an Asian? In China, she will be called granny by the kids. Meanwhile in the west, people intended to call people names younger than they are, especially when it comes to women. It took Chinese to accept this western habit.
Cultures collide too much, so that I can only get one thing straight at a time.
Firstly, the stereotypes of the seniors. I can often hear complaints from Chinese travelers about the stewardesses on the non-Asian flights being too old. In China, flight attendants are all, without exceptions, young and pretty. But most people working in the western flights are in their middle age. If a Chinese merchant took domestic flights all the time, then he may be very surprised by those senior stewardesses on flights of American airlines.
Considering the practicality, I don't think this Chinese custom of hiring young flight attendants will last long. At the beginning, you can hire the young. But when these people get to their 40's, you cannot fire them all. Some of them maybe assigned to administration positions but not all of them. I'm really curious about what will happen to those pretty ladies when they lose their beauty in the future.
Today, people think the word "stewardess" is politically wrong. So, in Chinese it has been replaced by "flight sister", which is actually more sexually discriminated. Therefore, when speaking of the experience taking western flights, Chinese travelers complain a lot, calling those flight sisters as flight aunts. To me, the word flight nanny may be more suitable.
It's not just me holding that thought. But being served by a 45-year- old and a 65-year-old feel totally different. In Asia, according to the mainstream Confucianism values, young people must obey the words of the old. When you are at you 60's, you should be the chief of the family, head of the village. You should enjoy the service of the junior people.
Having experience that AUA flight, I started to reflect on myself. I now can argue with my countrymen on age problem of the stewardesses. If a 45-year-old can be adequate for the job, the why can't a qualified 65-year-old man or woman? If appearance should not be a considered factor in hiring people, nor should age.
On the other side, that woman served me can have many proper reasons to do her job. Shouldn't she be praised for continuing serving the society? Maybe it's her slightly shaking hands that made me nervous. But no, it's not. If her hands were steady, I would still feel uncomfortable. A woman at my grandparents' age worked busily in the aisle, serving young passengers and the plane could confront strong air current. It totally violated the Confucianism teaching of respecting the senior.
Because the AUA is not a Chinese company and most of its passengers are not Chinese, it don't want to trouble them. I didn't share my anxious derived from my culture to the others. On the plane, I just tried to order less services, cleaned my table before she came. I
want to do anything I can to ease her burden. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I just can't help myself. I didn't grew up in a so conventional family. But with no exaggeration, I still felt uncomfortable when a old people served me.
Stereotypes to the senior is often mixed with sexual discrimination. If it was a male attendant serving me, would I feel different? Totally not. In the year of 1986, when I traveled abroad for the first time, I met similar culture collides. But that one was minor. The Canadian hosts took us Chinese crew to dinner. The young girl of our group served all of us. The hosts asked me, the translator that if Chinese followed the social manner of "ladies first" or not. I said no. Chinese followed the Confucianism teaching of "the senior first".
Adults help the kids because they are vulnerable. The young people should follow the senior because their experiences make them trustworthy. Also, China and other Asian countries are deeply influenced but the Confucianism manner of respecting the senior and caring the kids. But in China today, things go oppositely. The only child in the family is the "little emperor". They tend to command their parents and grandparents. It's no rumor. It's the fact.
I think, the progress of western female social positions is similar. Traditionally, women are the weak group to be protected. Chivalry made that thought into the concept rooted in people's mind. In China, male won't open the door for the female. On Chinese buses and metro lines, two genders are surprisingly equal. What did the western feminists do? Women are absolutely not considered as weak any more. But is it a social progress, or another way of being rude to female?