通常，英语句子中的某些成分因上下文已提供了充分明确的信息而不必出现，或前面已出现的某些成分，为了避免不必要的重复，可以不再出现而不致引起误解或歧义，这种语言现象就叫做省略。例如：Glad to see you.这是个简单句，主语I和谓语am可以省略。再如：London is on the Themes, and Paris on the Seine.这是一个并列复合句，后半句省略了谓语动词is，因为前面已经出现过，后面不必重复。英译汉时，为了使译文明确达意，符合汉语习惯，要在正确理解原文的基础上，对原文中省略的部分或保留或补全，或对其进行灵活处理。我们看下面例子：

　　1. All that a man has to say or do that can possibly concern mankind, is in some shape or other to tell the story of his love ‐ to sing, and if he is fortunate and keeps alive, he will be forever in love.

　　译文：一个人应该说的或做的，只要关系到人类，那么都是以这样或那样的形式来讲述乃至讴歌自己的爱的故事;而且，如果他是幸运的、有活力的，他将永远是充满爱的。

　　要点：本句是由and连接在一起的并列句。前一个分句的主干是All……is……to tell the story…… ‐ to sing. all后面有两个that引导的定语从句，第一个that从句修饰all，第二个that指代其前的that从句，翻译时可表条件。to sing放在破折号之后，用以加强语气，其后可视为省略了宾语the story of his love, to tell和to sing是并列关系。

　　2. As families move away from their stable community, their friends of many years, their extended family relationships, the informal flow of information is cut off, and with it the confidence that information will be available when needed and will be trustworthy and reliable.

　　译文：随着家庭成员与他们稳定的社区、多年的老友和大家庭的亲属关系相分离，非正式的信息渠道被切断了，而那种在需要时就能得到真实可靠信息的信心也丢失了。

　　要点：本句位并列句，前一个分句带一个As引导的状语从句，状语从句中move away from后为并列平行结构their ……，their……，their……在and后的分句中，the confidence省略了is cut off，it指的是信息被切断的情况。

　　3. It is quite unnerving not to be able to see or to establish contact with the other person, even though we have learnt to have conversations with people we cannot see, as on the telephone.

　　译文：即使我们适应了像打一样在互相看不见的情况下谈话，这种看不见或接触不到对方的谈话也会使人感到很不自在。

　　要点：这是复合句。主句中it是形式主语，真正的主语是不定式短语not to be able to see or to establish contact with the other person.在状语从句中as是连词，意思是“正如…一样”，as后面省去了we have conversations.翻译时采用逆序法，把even though引导的让步状语从句放到句首。unnerving：使人不知所措使人失去自信。

　　4. Actually we know of no type of astronomical body in which the conditions can be favorable to life except planets like our own revolving round a sun.

　　译文：事实上，除了像地球这样围绕太阳旋转的行星以外，我们不知道是否在其他类型的天体上也有适合生命存在的条件。

　　要点：这是复合句。in which引导定语从句，修饰astronomical body.介词except引起的短语作状语。在介词短语like our own后面省略了planet. Revolving为现在分词短语作定语，修饰our own planet.翻译时根据汉语习惯，将状语提前译出。

　　5. The increase in the numbers of married women employed outside the home in the twentieth century had less to do with the mechanization of housework and an increase in leisure time for these women than it did with their own economic necessity and with high marriage rates that shrank the available pool of single women workers.

　　译文：20世纪已婚女性走出家门参加工作人数的增加主要是因为她们自己的经济需要，还与高结婚率使可参加工作的单身女工人数减少有关，而与家务机械化、妇女空闲时间增多关系不大。

　　要点：这是主从复合句。其主句的谓语动词是had less to do with…… than……，意为“主要与…有关，而不是与…有关”，因为句子结构比较清晰，省略了句子的并列部分，如在had less to do with the mechanization of housework and (with)an increase in leisure time省略了with;在……than it did with their own economic necessity and ( it did )with high marriage rates省略了it did.句中that引导的定语从句修饰high marriage rates.翻译时采用融合法，把重要的部分放在句首。

　　6. The European Union is an imperfect creature, with some of its actions based on fine principles of political economy and some on poor ones.

　　译文：欧盟是不完善的机构，它的一些举措是基于正确的政治经济原则之上的，而另一些却远非如此。

　　要点：这是简单句。句中with some of its actions based on fine principles是独立主格结构，作状语。因为与前一部分结构相同，句子后一部分省略了(with)some (of its actions based)on poor ones括号中的词。翻译时采用顺序法，对省略部分也要进行相应省略，以使句子表达简洁。

　　7. To Americans, being on one's own suggests that one is a fully independent and functioning part of the whole capable and willing to make choices.

　　译文：对美国人而言，依靠自己的力量就是指这个人作为整体的一部分是完全独立并能起作用的，他有能力也愿意做出选择。

　　要点：这是复合句，that引导宾语从句，其中capable and willing to make choices可以被看作宾语从句中的并列表语(其前省略了is)。翻译时采用顺序法。

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