英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0613 - 神翻译再现江湖

 Topic1 Anti-drowning lessonsA primary school in central China's Henan Province has started an 'anti-drowning class' head of their upcoming summer holidays.

Young students are supposed to experience the feeling of suffocation¹ during this lesson.

What is the lesson for?

Topic2 Too Many Wedding ExpoIn recent years, wedding expos have been held frequently in many cities. Some cities have wedding expos four times a year. Between this February and March, 13 wedding expos have been held in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Xi'an, Chengdu, Zhengzhou and Wuhan.

Do we need this many wedding expos?

Topic3 Fire therapyImagine yourself at a spa. Everything looks nice, there's relaxing music and seductive aromas² waft³ towards you while your masseuse sets your back on fire.

Sound extreme? You wouldn't be the first to be taken aback at a form of TCM that has surprised many people online.

What is it?

Topic4 Old MannersEarlier in the week, we talked about the composition topics for this year's gaokao with Beijing's being considered one of the best. It asked students to write about old rules of etiquette⁴, for example, speaking in a gentle voice or greeting elderly people when you see them.

These manners have influenced generations of people in Beijing, but gradually have been forgotten.

What are they rules? Should we keep them?

Topic5 Do Chinese women pursue lighter⁵ skin?

While women in Europe and North America want a tan, in China, women want a clear and bright complexion⁶ with the ideal being skin as white as the egg white of a boiled egg.

Skin whitening masks and brightening lotions⁷ always fill the aisles⁸ of Chinese cosmetic⁹ stores but they're even more apparent in the summer when the sun's darkening power gets stronger.

Why the preference?

Topic6 Shanghai park signwriters flunk¹⁰ English testMany public venues¹¹ in China are kind enough to provide English versions of signs to help the millions of overseas tourists and an increasing number of expats living in the Middle Kingdom.

Well, some of these venues should have been more thoughtful and dedicated¹² in providing the information in English.

Recently a number of English-language signs in Shanghai's Zhongshan Park have been taken down after being described as gibberish by Internet users.

Is there a serious problem of bad English translations in China?

1 suffocation   

n.窒息

参考例句：

• The greatest dangers of pyroclastic avalanches are probably heat and suffocation. 火成碎屑崩落的最大危害可能是炽热和窒息作用。 来自辞典例句
• The room was hot to suffocation. 房间热得闷人。 来自辞典例句

2 aromas   

n.芳香( aroma的名词复数 )；气味；风味；韵味

参考例句：

• Intoxicating earth aromas induced lassitude and ethereal calm. 泥土的醉人的芳香叫人懒洋洋的，感到一种远离尘世的宁静。 来自辞典例句
• Nose and elegant nose with attractive fruity, floral and citrus fruit aromas. 芳香：优雅、馥郁、迷人的柑橘属水果的果香及花的清香。 来自互联网

3 waft   

v.飘浮，飘荡；n.一股；一阵微风；飘荡

参考例句：

• The bubble maker is like a sword that you waft in the air.吹出泡泡的东西就像你在空中挥舞的一把剑。
• When she just about fall over,a waft of fragrance makes her stop.在她差点跌倒时，一股幽香让她停下脚步。

4 etiquette   

n.礼仪，礼节；规矩

参考例句：

• The rules of etiquette are not so strict nowadays.如今的礼仪规则已不那么严格了。
• According to etiquette,you should stand up to meet a guest.按照礼节你应该站起来接待客人。

5 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

6 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

7 lotions   

n.洗液，洗剂，护肤液( lotion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do not use lotions or oils to lubricate the skin. 不要用润肤剂或油类来润滑皮肤。 来自辞典例句
• They were experts at preserving the bodies of the dead by embalming them with special lotions. 他们具有采用特种药物洗剂防止尸体腐烂的专门知识。 来自辞典例句

8 aisles   

n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊

参考例句：

• Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
• They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。

9 cosmetic   

n.化妆品；adj.化妆用的；装门面的；装饰性的

参考例句：

• These changes are purely cosmetic.这些改变纯粹是装饰门面。
• Laughter is the best cosmetic,so grin and wear it!微笑是最好的化妆品，所以请尽情微笑吧！

10 flunk   

v.(考试)不及格(=fail)

参考例句：

• I will flunk him if my student doesn't learn the material in the course.如果我的学生没有掌握课程的内容，我就会让他不及格。
• If you flunk finals,you don't get the chance to do them again.如果你没通过期末考试，就没有机会再考一次了。

11 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

12 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。