2018年考研英语翻译模拟练习题（4）

　　1. It is possible to make specific complementary DNA’s (cDNA’s)that can serve as molecular probes to seek out the messenger RNA’ s (mRNA’ s) of the peptide hormones. If brain cells are making the hormones，the cells will contain these Mrna’S. If the products the brain cells make resemble the hormones but are not identical to them，then the cDNA’s should still bind to these mRNA’s，but should not bind as tightly as they would to mRNA’s for the true hormones. (4)

　　科学家可以制造出特异的(specific)互补DNA’s(cDNA’s)，以此作为分子探子(molecular probe)，探觅出肽激素的信使 RNA’s(mRNA’s)。如果大脑正在制造着肽激素，则细胞就会含有这些信使 RNA’s.假若细胞所制造的产品类似于肽激素但并非与这些肽激素全然相同，那么，互补cDNA’s应仍然和这些信使mDNA’s粘结的程度。含有这些mRNA’s的脑细胞然后就可以被分离开来，研究者可对其信使RNA’s进行解码，以确定它们的蛋白质产品究竟是什么，并确定这些蛋白质产品在何种程度上类似于真正的肽激素。

　　难句类型：易混词

　　解释：与其他的难句不同的是，心上的英文不止一句。笔者之所以在本句中不设标志和翻译，是因为这三句话从结构和意思上来说并不难。然而很少有人能够真正的一次把这段话读清楚，原因在于两个容易混淆的单词cDNA’s和mRNA’s在文中交替出现，而且相互作用;再加上 brain cell和 hormones 从中捣乱，更难读清楚原文的意思。原文的主要意思如下：可以用 cDNA’s 来探测 mRNA’s。如果脑细胞产生了荷尔蒙，则其中必有 mRNA’s 意味着可用 cDNA 探测荷尔蒙。如果脑细胞制造的不是真荷尔蒙，则可以用cDNA’s与其中的mRNA’s附着的情况来确定此荷尔蒙的真假。

　　意群训练：It is possible to make specific complementary DNA’s (cDNA’s)that can serve as molecular probes to seek out the messenger RNA’ s (mRNA’ s) of the peptide hormones. If brain cells are making the hormones， the cells will contain these Mrna’S. If the products the brain cells make resemble the hormones but are not identical to them，then the cDNA’s should still bind to these mRNA’s，but should not bind as tightly as they would to mRNA’s for the true hormones.

　2. The molecular approach to detecting peptide hormones using cDNA probes should also be much faster than the immunological method because it can take years of tedious purifications to isolate peptide hormones and then develop antiserums to them. (4)

　　采用cDNA探子来测定肽激素的这一分子生物学方法同时也应该比免疫学的方法速度来得快，因为对于免疫的方法来说，需耗费好几年枯燥的提纯进程，方能将肽素分离了出来，然后再培养出针对它们的抗血清。

　　难句类型：复杂修饰、易混指代

　　解释：主语后的修饰成分同样隔开了主语和谓语，但本句的难度主要在 because 从句中。按照一般的习惯，作为从句主语的it应该指主句的主语，但本句的主句是一个比较结构，A should be faster than B because it…,此处it也可以指 B。但是因为这种指代不符合和我们以前所形成的习惯，所以阅读现场不得不边读边根据句意来判断，这就增加了阅读理解的难度。

　　现场阅读时，类似antiserums的这种专有名词不必理会，仅需从词头anti推出这是一个反p荷尔蒙的东西即可。

　　意群训练：The molecular approach to detecting peptide hormones using cDNA probes should also be much faster than the immunological method because it can take years of tedious purifications to isolate peptide hormones and then develop antiserums to them.

　　3. Nevertheless, researchers of the Pleistocene epoch have developed all sorts of more or less fanciful model schemes of how they would have arranged the Ice Age had they been in charge of events.(3+)

　　然而，研究 P 时代的研究者发展除了各种各样的或多或少有些奇怪思想的模型系统，用来显示如果由他们来决定地质事件的话他们将会如何安排冰川纪。

　　难句类型：复杂修饰、倒装、修辞

　　解释：句末的由how引导的名词性从句中包括了双重的倒装，正常的语序本来是： If they had been in charge of events, they would have arranged the Ice Age in certain model schemes。本句中由于arrange的方式被提前，就造成了arrange的动作

　　执行者也要提前，前面的if they had been 则必须后置;这样一来又造成了if被省略，成had they been的倒装结构。另外，作者为了表达其对于这些研究者的模型的负态度，并炫耀其幽默感，在本句中使用了虚拟语气，并使用了fanciful这个词以表示这些研究的不负责任、异想天开的幼童心理。

　　意群训练：Nevertheless, researchers of the Pleistocene epoch have developed all sorts of more or less fanciful model schemes of how they would have arranged the Ice Age had they been in charge of events.

　　4. This succession was based primarily on a series of deposits and events not directly related to

　　glacial and interglacial periods，rather than on the more usual modern method of studying biological remains found in interglacial beds themselves interstratified within glacial deposits. (4)

　　这一序列演替(succession)所依据的，主要是一系列与冰川期和间冰期并不直接相关的地质沉积物和地质事件，而不是依据更为普遍的现代方法，去研究间冰层(interglacial bed)中所发现的生物残留物，而这些间冰层本身又在冰川沉积物发生间层化(interstatified)。

　　难句类型：复杂修饰、省略、易淆指代

　　解释：句子中的rather than 之后省略了与前面重复的being based,直接加上了介词on。Modern method后面的部分都是修饰method 的。其中的remains既可以作动词也可以作名词，此处是名词的用法，biological remains 指的是类似于动物化石之类的遗迹。读到这里我们看到了句子的难点，themselves既可以指前面离得很远的modern method(当然，在语法上来讲单复数不一致)，也可以指前面离得较远的biological remains，亦可以指紧挨着的interglacial beds，到底是指代哪一个，只有通过理解句意，才能确定在此处指biological remains。

　　意群训练：This succession was based primarily on a series of deposits and events not directly related to glacial and interglacial periods，rather than on the more usual modern method of studying biological remains found in interglacial beds themselves interstratified within glacial deposits.

　　5. There have been attempts to explain these taboos in terms of inappropriate social relationships either between those who are involved and those who are not simultaneously involved in the satisfaction of a bodily need，or between those already satiated and those who appear to be shamelessly gorging.(5)

　　人们试图对这些禁忌作出解释，所依据的要么是那些正置身于某一身体需要满足的人与那些并置身于某一身体需要之满足的人之间的，要么是那些早已酒足饭饱的人与那些正在不知羞耻地狼吞虎咽失之间的不相称的社会关系。

　　难句类型：复杂修饰、省略

　　解释：前面的主架构 There have been attempts to explain these taboos 很简单，从 in terms of inappropriate social relationships开始句子变难，ralationship后面跟着一个一直延续到句末的长长的修饰成分，其中有两个固定搭配，either…or…和between…and…，不但如此，原文把这两个搭配又套在一起，变成了either between…and…,or between…and…;再加上每一个between…and之后都是those who这样的结构，就愈发令人眼花缭乱了。

　　意群训练：There have been attempts to explain these taboos in terms of inappropriate social relationships eitherbetween those who are involved and those who are not simultaneously involved in thesatisfaction of a bodily need，or between those already satiated and those who appear to be shamelessly gorging.