English-Chinese questions focus on students' ability to accurately understand English materials with complex concepts or structures and translate them into Chinese. English-Chinese translation is a unique and common problem in domestic English tests, because foreign English tests, such as TOEFL, GRE and IELTS, do not have and cannot have English-Chinese translation. However, English-Chinese translation is often regarded as one of the contents in domestic English exams. In addition, English-Chinese translation is a subjective question, which has high requirements for candidates' grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension and Chinese expression, which is undoubtedly a great challenge for candidates who are used to doing multiple-choice questions. Judging from previous exams, English-Chinese translation is one of the weak links of candidates.

1. Characteristics of translated articles

Looking at the translation questions in recent years, the length of the translation part of the postgraduate entrance examination is about 400 words, and the vocabulary is basically controlled within the scope stipulated in the examination syllabus, with few new words and difficult words appearing. The test questions have the following characteristics:

(1) From the topic of the article, it is mostly related to politics, economy, culture, education, history, geography, popular science and social life, which is difficult;

Judging from the style of the selected articles, most of them are argumentative, with more explanatory articles, rigorous structure and strong logic;

③ From the specific sentences to be translated, long and difficult sentences (complex sentences, compound sentence, coordinate complex sentences, etc.). ) accounts for the majority, but some sentences are not long, but they contain some incomprehensible structures and vocabulary.

2. Postgraduate entrance examination translation requirements

The explicit requirement of the English syllabus for postgraduate entrance examination is "accurate, complete and fluent translation". In other words, the focus of the translation test is first of all the correct understanding of English sentences, second, the content of the original text cannot be added or deleted at will, and finally the meaning of the original text can be expressed in fluent Chinese. It is not difficult to see that the translation of postgraduate entrance examination does not require candidates to pay attention to literary talent and use gorgeous language, just as writing does not require candidates to have profound thoughts, but only requires ordinary and complete narrative logic. Before the title change in 2002, the translation of postgraduate entrance examination was always an independent part, with a full score of 15, accounting for15% of the total score; After the reform, the translation of postgraduate entrance examination was incorporated into the reading comprehension section, and the score was reduced from the original 15 to 10. This further shows that the focus of translation examination is understanding, and accurate understanding is the key to breaking through English-Chinese translation. Only after understanding can we talk about expression, otherwise it will lead to mistranslation and disorderly translation.

3. Steps to do postgraduate translation

According to the above characteristics, combined with the common problems encountered by the author in marking English papers for postgraduate entrance examination, let's take a concrete look at the problems that should be paid attention to when starting English translation for postgraduate entrance examination. The complete translation process should be like this:

The first is understanding, which is the first. Specifically, it is necessary to read the full text first and understand the meaning expressed in the original text. It mainly includes the following steps:

(1) skim the full text and grasp the article as a whole (scan);

(2) Analyze the part to be translated, find out the sentence structure, first find out the sentence trunk, make clear the meaning of the pronoun it, them, this, that, these, etc., and then analyze whether there are any omissions and how the master-slave relationship is;

(3) Further refine and analyze vocabulary and idioms. To clarify the overall meaning of the sentence and its position in the context.

Secondly, translation is to reproduce the author's meaning in his own words, that is, "expression", which is second. Accurate understanding of the original text is the premise of translation, but correct understanding does not necessarily mean clear expression, which requires high Chinese language ability and some necessary translation means and methods. In the specific operation process, we should also pay attention to the differences between English and Chinese. Simple sentences can be translated literally, but it is really difficult to combine literal translation with free translation. In short, we should try our best to make the translation decent, coherent and smooth, and not blunt.

Finally, in a sense, review is as important as the translation process. Specifically, we should consider the following aspects: ① the accuracy of the translation;

(2) Whether there is any subjective increase or decrease in words;

③ Are there any details, such as numbers, dates, years, etc. Translation error;

(4) Whether there is a typo.

4. Comparison between English and Chinese in the translation of postgraduate entrance examination

To solve the difficult problems in translation, the key step is to understand the differences between English and Chinese. English and Chinese belong to two different language families, and their ways of thinking, writing characteristics and expression habits are quite different. For example, English emphasizes structure, while Chinese emphasizes semantics. There are many long sentences in English and many short sentences in Chinese; There are many pronouns in English and many nouns in Chinese. English is more passive and Chinese is more active; English is more abstract, Chinese is more concrete, and so on. Therefore, in English-Chinese translation, it is often necessary to break the sentence structure of the original text and adjust the structure of the translation to conform to the expression habits of Chinese.

As we know, Chinese sentence structure is used to from face to point, from big to small, from far to near, from heavy to light, from strong to weak; But English expression habits are just the opposite. Therefore, English-Chinese translation requires candidates to adjust sentence structure according to Chinese expression habits to make the translation conform to Chinese expression. Below, the author takes the postgraduate entrance examination as an example to illustrate this point:

(1) Additional social pressure may also appear, because of the problems caused by population explosion or large-scale population movement, which is made relatively easy by modern means of transportation. (2000)

Problems caused by population explosion or large-scale migration (modern means of transportation are relatively easy) will also bring additional pressure to society. This sentence is adjusted according to the expression habit of "because-so" in Chinese. )

(2) Television is one of the means to create and convey these feelings-perhaps before that, it has never played such a big role in connecting different people and countries as in the recent European events. (2005)

Television is one of the means to arouse and convey these feelings-in the recent events in Europe, it has linked different nationalities and countries and played an unprecedented role. In translation, the sentence "never before" is changed from another sentence to the end of the sentence, which is in line with Chinese expression habits. )

Third, writing.

As for writing, we all know that time is very precious and limited in the examination room, which requires candidates to develop a good habit of reasonably planning the writing process when practicing at ordinary times. Everyone's writing habits are different. Some people are used to writing an outline first, some people are used to writing a complete draft first and then copying it on paper, and some people are used to writing it directly on paper. But in any case, we must plan and arrange the time first.

Usually, it takes about 5 minutes to conceive and write an outline before you start writing, and then it takes about 30 minutes to write a composition; For candidates who are used to drafting, they can write the draft in 20 minutes, and then copy it on the test paper in about 10 minutes, and they can make corrections while copying to ensure the cleanliness of the test paper; Finally, there is still about 5 minutes of inspection time, through reading the full text, check for leaks and fill gaps. When writing at ordinary times, you should be strict with yourself and practice according to the requirements of the exam.

1. Check the meaning of the problem

In the examination room, some candidates often worry that there is not enough time. After reading the topic, they began to write, only to find that the middle was off topic. In the process of marking papers, the author found many articles that were off topic. Although the writing is beautiful, it's a pity that he didn't get the score. In order to avoid this situation, candidates should first carefully examine the questions. In the process of examining the questions, two problems need to be solved, namely, distinguishing the questions and trying to figure out the meaning of the questions.

1 distinguish the problem. After you get the question, you should analyze it first. By analyzing the real questions of small compositions over the years, the contents of the test are all applied styles, including personal and official letters, memos, notes, abstracts, notices, reports and so on. , the required number of words is about 100 words. A big composition is nothing more than the following forms: keywords, the first sentence (or topic sentence) of a paragraph, a writing outline, specified situations, charts, cartoons or cartoons. Among these forms, the type of writing outline is the least difficult and can't reflect the difference of candidates' level, so it appears less now; Chart-type questions have appeared in 1997 and 1999, but they are the most difficult, and the candidates scored the lowest, with an average score of less than 9, so the probability of such writing questions is also decreasing. The common exam forms this year are cartoons and cartoons, which belong to argumentative essays, that is, the combination of discussion and explanation. Therefore, candidates should first distinguish different types of questions, have a preliminary concept of what style and method to use in writing, and use different language styles and writing methods to write on this basis. For example, if it is a letter, we must pay attention to the format of the letter and impress the readers with sincere and vivid language; If the topic is argumentative, we should think that we must prove the correctness and rationality of our views with sufficient and appropriate examples in the article.

Try to understand the meaning of the question. According to some vocabulary information or picture information in the topic, determine the topic of the article and limit the writing scope. For example, the title of 1996 is "good health". From the word "health", it can be determined that the theme of this composition should be health, not entertainment or other things; The word "good" in the title can narrow the theme of the composition to physical health. Combined with the outline given, determine the specific writing ideas and scope. For another example, I have often taken comic composition exams in recent years. In 2004, the English composition for postgraduate entrance examination was also a comic composition with the title "The end point is a new starting point". Many candidates find this topic not difficult and familiar, but they don't know how to write and what to write specifically. First of all, we should narrow the topic or narrow the topic. We can combine social problems with personal situations to start the topic. For example, in order to bid for the Olympic Games, we in China have worked hard for more than ten years and looked forward to it for more than ten years. 200 1, we finally realized this long-cherished wish. At this point, we can draw a satisfactory conclusion for the Olympic bid. But at the same time, it is also a new starting point. We must start preparing for the 2008 Olympic Games. Another example is the spring of 2003, when a terrible plague disrupted our normal work and life. This is the SARS that makes people smell pale. Through the concerted efforts of Qi Xin of the whole society for several months, the demon was finally defeated. This is an end, but also a new starting point, a new starting point that requires people to change unhealthy lifestyles, and a new starting point for human beings to maintain ecological balance. We can also start from a small place, for example, one's postgraduate entrance examination is an end point, which is the result of four years' efforts after we enter the university. This is a fork in the road in life, and it is also a new starting point, a new starting point for students to continue their studies or step into society. This will make it easier to write after we narrow down the topic. Similarly, the English composition for the postgraduate entrance examination in 2007 is also a comic composition. From the images of football seen by goalkeepers and shooters from their own positions and angles, we can see that the content of this cartoon is that no matter where you are, you should not feel inferior, and there is no need to "destroy your ambition and make others prestige", that is to say, you should be confident under any circumstances. Regarding the topic of "self-confidence", I believe that all candidates can come up with a lot to write.

2. Careful selection and conception

After distinguishing the types of questions and determining the theme and writing scope of the article, the candidates will begin to conceive the content and steps of writing. In other words, before you start writing on the composition answer sheet, you should think about what the article will involve and the steps to combine these contents. Seeing a topic, many candidates often encounter a blank brain. If this happens, don't worry. The author will introduce two effective methods to overcome this problem.

(1) the storm association method (brain-storm)

To conceive the writing methods and steps, we should first search the materials extensively around the topic, then screen the materials and list a slightly detailed outline. You can use the association method to search for materials, that is, according to the information given in the title, associate as many materials related to this information as possible at the fastest speed, and write all these materials on draft paper, which can be a word, a phrase or a sentence, a proverb or a specific example, and then further screen these materials.

② Self-questioning method

In addition to collecting materials through the Storm Association, candidates can also open their minds by asking themselves questions. When a reporter wants to write a press release, he will answer the following questions in the report:

Who, what, where, when, why and how.

Similarly, candidates can also collect composition materials around these questions, let them look at the same topic from different angles and help them locate themselves. When doing these things, there is no need to arrange a certain order, and there is no need to worry about whether the data is useful. Ask W-H questions as many as possible, and then answer them one by one. When we finish this work, we will decide which materials to keep and which to discard.

Storm association and self-questioning method can help candidates effectively open their minds and collect a lot of relevant materials. The next thing to do is to sort out the basic idea of the article, that is, to frame the outline or outline of the composition. Most of the compositions in CET-4 and CET-6 are outlines, and candidates only need to write according to the given framework. In recent years, most English compositions for postgraduate entrance examination appear in the form of cartoons. Therefore, before writing, candidates must write their own outline to ensure that the composition is clear and closely related to the theme. Doing so can also ensure that candidates try not to stray from the topic.

The so-called outline is a logical and organized overview of the composition. A good outline is our right-hand man in the process of writing, which can help us to determine the theme and structure of the composition, organize our own views in an orderly way and arrange the materials reasonably. When writing an outline, we can use complete sentences or words or phrases. It is more detailed to write an outline with complete sentences, and some topic sentences can be used directly when they are finally written; If you write an outline with words or phrases, it will be faster, more concise and save time and effort.

3. Grading principles and standards of postgraduate entrance examination composition

If candidates want to achieve ideal results in composition, they must understand the scoring principles and standards of English composition for postgraduate entrance examination. Candidates' compositions follow the principle of "overall scoring" in the evaluation process, that is, the examiner scores according to the overall impression of the composition and the effect of expression, rather than deducting points according to the cumulative number of mistakes such as grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation. In the process of marking, the criteria for marking are: language first, structure second and content third. With this standard, we can see whether the candidates express a certain phenomenon clearly. At the same time, there is an impression principle in the marking process. Therefore, candidates must pay attention to neat handwriting, neat paper and clear handwriting when answering questions.

Four. abstract

Each question type has its own characteristics, methods and skills, and the translation and writing of postgraduate English is no exception. The above is a brief introduction to the characteristics and problem-solving methods of these two types of questions. What is important is that candidates need to understand carefully and practice frequently in peacetime.