Passing on Beauty of Words
Famous American poet Robert Frost once said, “Poetry is what gets lost in translation.” A well-known Chinese translator, Xu Yuanchong, has tried his best to pass on the beauty of ancient Chinese poetry all his life.
Xu has just turned 100 years old. On April 1, China Translation and Publishing House published a series of books about his life and career to pay respects to him.
Since 1978, Xu has published more than 100 translated novels, anthologies(选集) and plays in Chinese, English and French. Especially, he translated Chinese poems into English and French. He is also the first Asian winner of the “Aurora Borealis Prize” for Outstanding Translation of Fiction Literature.
Xu is known to be very strict in his work. He has given his mind to “translating beautifully”. For him, English is a “scientific” language that requires correctness, while Chinese is an “artistic” language that includes a wider range of content. Following this, Xu keeps his translations correct and beautiful.
Through Xu’s translations, historic Chinese wisdom has made an influence on Western societies and the world at large.
For example, when former US president Barack Obama tried to begin a reform(改革), some officers were against at first. But after reading the poem titled Fishing in Snow(《江雪》) translated by Xu, one officer was so impressed with the fisherman’s independent, non-conformist(不墨守成规的) thinking that he chose to support Obama, noted NewsChina.
Having made such great achievements, the 100-year-old is still hard-working. He lives alone in an old house near Peking University. Every day he translates about 1,000 words, working till 3 to 4 a.m., sleeping about 3 hours and getting up at 6 a.m. to continue.
1. Who is Xu Yuanchong?2. How old is Xu Yuanchong?
3. How many translated novels, anthologies and plays has Xu published since 1978?
4. Which poem translated by Xu impressed the American officer?
5. What does Xu Yuanchong’s translation mean to China?
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Though he has only two published works, Lu Yao (1949- 1992) is one of the most famous Chinese writers of the 20th century.
What makes Lu famous even today? His stories focus on every common young person in the great transformation (转型期) of Chinese society," said Li Jingze, vice chairman of the China Writers Association.
In his book Life, we read about the hard life of a young man named Gao Jialin. Graduating from high school in the 1980s, Gao is ambitious (雄心壮志的) and wants to work hard in the city for a better life. However, he loses his job and finally has to return to his hometown because of poor and powerless identity (身份).
His story mirrors the real lives of many young people at the time. “When I first read Life during my college years, I was moved to tears. It was so exciting that I found my own life story in his,” said Chinese writer Ge Fei.
Lu's works not only describe the fates (命运) of young people but also the heartbeat of the time.
The story in Ordinary World happens from early 1975 to 1985 and tries to reflect the huge historical changes of life in the city and countryside in China.
In this book, Lu tells the story of two brothers - Sun Shaoping and Sun Shao' an -following their dreams. He presents what he saw during that period of time: the conflict between the new ideas of city life and the traditional views of village life as society developed.
“In the past 40 years, millions of Chinese people have had new experiences, emotions,dreams and pains amid great changes. They are deep in people 's hearts and Lu Yao wrote it out,"Li Jingze said. It's believed his works inspire many to walk ahead and provide a sense of meaning to their lives.
1. Why is Lu Yao still famous today?2. How did Ge Fei feel when be first read Life?
3. In the book Life, did Gao Jialin end up living in the city?
4. Which book is related to two brothers fighting for dreams?
5. What do people think Lu Yao's works provide for readers?
【推荐2】Long ago, there lived a group of pigeons(鸽子) in the forest. Among them was a wise old pigeon. Every pigeon looked up to the wise old pigeon.
One day, while searching for food, they saw rice spread on the ground. All pigeons, at once decided to fly down and eat the rice. But the wise pigeon thought, “How could so much rice be found in this thick forest?” He tried to stop all other pigeons but he failed.
When all pigeons finished eating the rice and tried to fly back, they were unable to move their feet as they got stuck in a net. Soon, bird catcher saw pigeons trapped(陷入困境). He shouted, “Ah! So many pigeons, I will put them in cages and sell them in the market.”
Nothing could help pigeons to get free from the net. They all cried, “What should we do now?” They looked at the wise old pigeon and said, “Please save us.” The wise pigeon advised, “Stop pulling the net in your own direction. Instead, try to fly up together and carry the net with you.” All pigeons listened to him and started to pull together and in no time started to fly away together.
Then the wise old pigeon said, “Unity(团结一致) has great strength to protect you from harm. It’s your act of unity that saved your lives today.”
1. What did pigeons decide to do when they saw rice spread on the ground? (不超过10个词)2. Why were pigeons unable to move their feet? (不超过10个词)
3. What does the story tell us? (不超过15个词)
【推荐3】A great writer—Ba Jin
Do you know Ba Jin, one of the most famous writers? The 101-year-old famous writer passed away in Shanghai on October 17th, 2005 after a six-year battle(斗争) with disease. Millions of Chinese were deeply sad. People in Shanghai and Chengdu gathered to mourn(哀悼) for the great writer.
Ba Jin was born in a rich family in 1904 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. He helped the poor when he was a child. He wrote a lot of novels in his life, such asSunriseatSea(《海上日出》),TheLoveTrilogy(《爱情三部曲》), andTheTorrentTrilogy(《激流三部曲》):TheFamily,Spring,Autumn. Many people like reading his great works and love the old man. Because he is not only a great writer, but also an honest old man. We should remember the great man forever in our hearts.
根据短文内容,回答下列问题。
1. How old was Ba Jin when he passed away?
2. When and where did Ba Jin pass away?
3. When and where was Ba Jin born?
4. What are the three novels inTheTorrentTrilogy?
5. Why do many people like reading Ba Jin's great works and love the old man?
【推荐1】You know about Snow White. You’ve heard of Hansel and Gretel. But have you heard of Jacob and Wilhelm? Thanks to them, you have these tales（故事）to read.
Jacob and Wilhelm came from Germany. Jacob was born（出生）in 1785. Wilhelm was born the next year. They were brothers and also best friends. They lived and worked together for most of their lives.
In 1798, the two brothers moved to the town of Kassel. There they finished school. Then they found jobs in a library. Both of them loved old stories. In their free time, they collected（收集）old tales and songs.
Jacob and Wilhelm collected tales from everyone they knew for several years. Marie Muller was a nanny（保姆）. She told them the tales of Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, and Sleeping Beauty. One day the two brothers met Frau Viehmann. She came to their house many times. She told them more than 20 tales. Cinderella was one of them.
In 1812, the two brothers’ first book of fairy tales came out. They had meant the stories for grown-ups（大人）. They were surprised when children loved them, too. The brothers wanted to find more tales. This time it was much easier. People started to bring stories to them. Their next book of tales came out in 1814. Their last book of fairy tales came out in 1857.
阅读短文，根据内容，回答下列问题。
1. Who was older, Jacob or Wilhelm?
2. Where did Jacob and Wilhelm work after they finished school?
3. Who did Jacob and Wilhelm collect the tale of Sleeping Beauty from?
4. Was Jacob and Wilhelm’s first book of fairy tales for children?
5. When did Jacob and Wilhelm’s last book of fairy tales come out?
【推荐2】Once Goethe, the great German poet, was walking in a park. He was thinking about something when he noticed he came to a very, very narrow road. Just at that time, a young man came towards him from the other end of the road. It was too narrow for both of them to pass through at the same time. They stopped and looked at each other for a while. Then the young man said rudely, “I never make way for a fool.” But Goethe smiled and said, “I always do.” Then he turned back quickly and walked towards the end of the road.
1. Where was Goethe walking?2. Who came towards Goethe from the other end of the road?
3. Was the road too narrow for both of them to pass through at the same time?
4. Did the young man make way for Goethe?
5. Who turned back quickly and walked towards the end of the road?
Yu Guangzhong was a great Chinese poet known for the nostalgia（乡愁）that he described in his poems, Now, it’s time for us to express our nostalgia for this great writer. The famous poet passed away in 2017. He was born in 1928 in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. Yu studied in Sichuan Province when he was young. At the age of 20, he published his first poem.
Later, Yu and his family moved to Taiwan, China, He lived and worked there until he passed away. Nostalgia is Yu’s masterpiece（杰作）in which he expressed his homesickness（思乡之情）for the Chinese mainland when he was in Taiwan. Now, let’s read the poem Nostalgia.
 | Nostalgia When I was young, Nostalgia was a tiny, tiny stamp, Me on this side, Mother on the other side. When I grew up, Nostalgia was a narrow boat ticket, Me on this side, Bride on the other side. But later on, Nostalgia was a low, low grave, Me on the outside, Mother on the inside. And at present, Nostalgia becomes a shallow strait, Me on this side, Mainland on the other side. |
He was born in
2. When did Yu publish his first poem?
When he was
3. What is the name of Yu’s masterpiece according to the passage?
It is
4. What can we learn from the poem Nostalgia?
Yu Guangzhong
5. What new word(s). phrase(s) or sentence (s) can you learn from the poem Nostalgia?
I can learn ①
