从《钱江涌潮》英译文谈旅游英语翻译技法
《钱江涌潮》
The Tidal Bore of the Qiantang River
八月十八潮，On the eighteenth of the eighth lunar month,
壮观天下无The tidal bore of the Qiantang River, Is a grand view second to none on earth.
浙江钱塘江河口的涌潮，自古蔚为天下奇观。
它是大自然赋予的神奇景象。
由于天体引力和地球离心作用，每逢农历初一至初五，十五至三十，天体引潮力特别强，易形成大潮；农历八月十八日的大潮尤为壮观。
而杭州湾喇叭口的地形特殊，海湾水域广阔，但河口狭窄，加之河床泥沙阻挡，易使潮流能量集中，江潮迅速猛涨，流速加快，涌潮现象频频发生。
钱江涌潮，一年四季，周而复始。
全年共有120天的“观潮日”。
The tidal bore located at the mouth of the Qiantang River in Zhejiang affords a magnificent view and constitutes a remarkable natural phenomenon. The bore is at its highest from the first day to the fifth, and from the fifth day to the twentieth every month according to the lunar calendar. At this time, the moon and the sun exert the greatest pull on the ocean at the mouth of the Qiantang River. The bore is at its most spectacular every September on the eighteenth day of the lunar calendar’s eighth month. The river’s special physical features account for this remarkable natural phenomenon. Its outlet to the ocean, Hangzhou Bay, is extremely wide, shaped like a large trumpet. When the sea tide rises, it brings with it a huge amount of water, pushing inland at a great speed. However, the river narrows abruptly at this point. This, together with the river’s sandy bed, prevents the water’s smooth progress. As waves follow one after the other, the tide surges and creates a gigantic wall of tidal water, the so-called “tidal bore”. The tidal bore operates in a cycle; there are only 120 days on which it is good to watch the bore. Moreover, there are two tides per day, the day tide and the night tide.
每天有日、夜两潮，尤以秋潮为最佳。
每当大潮来时，开始远处呈现一条白线，声如闷雷。
数分钟之后，白线向前推移；继而巨浪汹涌澎湃，如万马奔腾，潮声震天动地，真有翻江倒海之势，最高潮差8.93米。
钱塘江涌潮举世无双，其奇、其高可与亚马逊河媲美，被誉为“世界八大奇观”之一。
The tides are greatest in autumn, the most spectacular time to view it. On the September day when the greatest tidal bore first appears, it is shaped like a long, white streak, and one hears a sound like muffled thunder in the distance. A few minutes later, a long, white streak of water chases itself down the river. As the tidal waves travel upstream, the water piles up higher and higher, as though tens of thousands of untamed horses were galloping upstream. The deafening noise inspires awe and admiration. Tidal waves created by the bore are known to have reached 8.93 meters in height. The tidal bore of the Qiantang River is now considered to be one of “the Eight Wonders in the World.” Its unique shape and height have been compare d to those of the Amazon River.
素练横江滚滚来——“一线潮”“A long, white streak rolls in horizontally lie a silk scroll.”
明末以来，随着江河变化，钱塘江涌潮向下推移，海宁的盐官镇成了观潮的最佳胜地。
涌潮每到占鳌塔时，便成一字形，故名“一线潮”。
Because of changes in the watercourse since the end of the Ming Dynasty, the tidal bore has gradually retreated lower down the Qiantang River. Nowadays the town of Yanguan in Haining City affords an excellent spot from which to view the bore. When the tidal waves reach the Haining Pagoda, they appear as a long, white streak. Thus it is called the “Thread Bore”.
漫漫平沙起白虹——“W形潮”“A wall of waves stands abrupt against the horizon.”
涌潮到达眼前时，有万马奔腾之势、雷霆万钧之力，势不可挡，时而形成“V字潮”，时而成“S形潮”，时而形成“W形潮”。
The tidal waves seem to pile on top of another, in a force similar to that created by thousands of wild horses. Here, one hears a muffled roar, as the tidal bore approaches nearer and nearer. It first appears in the shape of a “V”, then as an “S”, and finally, as a “W”; thus it is called “W-shaped Bore”.
卷起沙堆如雪堆——“返头潮”“Wonderful waves roll by, creating enormous clouds of foam.”
潮水猛冲，凸入江中的围堤，形成“卷起沙堆如雪堆”的“返头潮”。
As the waves crash against the river’s bank, they create enormous clouds of silvery foam. Hence the name “Backflow Bore”.
钱江后浪推前浪——“重叠潮”In the Qiantang River the waves behind drive on those ahead.”
涌潮经过长途奔袭，中途受到各种障碍物的阻挡，到达距钱塘江口50多公里的六和塔时，已支离破碎，形成多头、多层、多叠的潮水，给人以“后浪推前浪”之感。
Having traveled a long distance, the tidal bore gradually decreases in power. The tidal bore finally reaches the Six Harmonies Pagoda in Hangzhou, located about 50 km. away from the mouth of the Qiantang River. Here one can see the waves behind driving on those ahead, overlapping each other, so it is called the “Overlapping Bore”. 郭建中[译] 浙江大学英语博士生导师。
