3. 抽象名词具体化
(1) The delight of the children at the sight of some dish on the table showed that it was a rarity.第二的英文一看到桌上的某道菜孩子们就笑逐颜开/兴高采烈/喜笑颜开/眉开眼笑，可见这是他们平时难得吃到的东西。
(2) The hotel is a massive effort of stone,wood and concrete.这家旅馆是用石头、木料和混凝土建成的巨大建筑物。
(3) She is a valuable acquisition to the firm.她是这家公司不可多得的人才。
electoral college
(4) Colour schemes, and interior decoration were modern, but still Chine, and much more beautiful than the attempts I had en in 1982 to produce a "Western-type" bar or disco or restauraht in some hotels.色彩的配置，内部的装饰都是现代化的，然而仍具有中国特色，比1982年我看到的有些饭店模仿西方建起来的酒吧、迪斯科舞厅和餐厅可漂亮多了。
(5) Perhaps it was the emotion welling up from the huge welcoming throng, perhaps it was the memories of his youth, but when he spoke to the crowd about his parents, he was near
tears and his voice cracked.或许是看到欢迎他的拥挤人群而感情冲动，或许是由于想起了他年前时的一些事情，他在大庭广众前谈到他双亲时，竟几乎哭了出来，声音也哽塞了。
(6) And I knew that many families today were conscious of abnces. 我明白，许多家庭今天都意识到他们家中有的人已不在人世了。
(7) In 1932, a Pullman pasnger would find only one or two berths occupied, but in the freight cars, humanity was den.1932年火车上卧铺旅客往往发现车厢内只有一两个铺位有人，可是火车上却挤满了人/人满为患。
(8) I think he'd tanked up a good deal at luncheon, and his determination to have my company bordered on violence. 大概是他午饭时喝多了，非让我陪他不可，简直是对我生拉硬拽。
Notes：英语中的抽象名词之所以能译成具体的人或事物，是因为它们本身的用法已经具有抽象和具体两重属性，如句1中的rarity，既可指抽象的the state or quality of being rare,激扬青春梦也可指具体的something uncommon, 作后一种解释时他就成了可数名词，既可加不定冠词
（1~3句），也可成为复数（4~6句）。因此，我们如见抽象名词具有不定冠词或作复数形式，便可视为有具体含义，可按上下文要求译为具体事物。
我们这里讨论的抽象名词分为两类，一类与动作有关或来源于动词，这类名词往往意味着该动作的结果，如例句2中的effort=something made or done as the result of trying; 3句中的acquisiton=something or someone acquired; 4句attempt=result of attempting, esp. unsuccessfully; 5句memory=an example of remembering. 这些词的翻译不能照搬词典解释，需考虑上下文，尤其是它的直接修饰语，如例句3acquisition 要和valuable结合起来，才好译成“不可多得的人才”；例句4attempt要和a western-type bar or disco等词联系起来，才好译为“模仿西方建起来的酒吧、舞厅。。。”，“建起来的”说明酒吧等是result of attempting老友记第七季，“模仿”暗示山鸡与凤凰unsuccessfully，既然人们一看就是“模仿”的，说明它确实不理想。
第二类来源于形容词，例句1.6.7.8均属此类。例句6的abnce给人的感觉应是具体的，例如吃饭时本来是某人的座位现在却空着，此句可能指战时家里有人牺牲了。例句7humanity来自human指human beings generally，是一个多数整体概念，与den连用，给人的感觉是人满为患。例句8的violence结合上下文完全可以想象出是一个具体动作，如
翻译官全文
把bordered onwq是啥意思译成接近于暴力反而使原意模糊了。顺便说一下bordered on acu本来指具体形象，这儿却要抽象化，可见具体与抽象常相互转化。
本次练习这些词语的具体化不是可有可无，而是必须如此才能达到翻译的基本要求——信与达。
Passage 3
“This is the sitting-room,”said Nan. “It’s the most terrible mess. But at least it is human; it’s lived in.” And lived in it clearly was---to an unfamiliar visitor (不常来的访客)like Peter the room appeared like a chart of some crowded group of islands. Deep armchairs and sofas covered in a faded flowered material stood practically(almost) next to each other, and 绛矾where the bewildered（深感意外而弄得有些不知所措的） navigator might hope to pass between them there was always some table or stool to bar his way. Movement was made the more dangerous becau some breakable object was balanced precariously on every available flat surface. There were ud plates and unud plates, half-finished dishes of sandwches, half-empty cups of coffee, ash trays standing days deep in cigarett
e ends; even the family photographs on the mantelpiece emed to be pushing half-finished glass of beer over the edge. It was impossible to sit down, for all possible places were filled with books, wing, opened-out newspapers and in one ca a tabby cat and two pairs of pliers. When at last they cleared some chairs the springs groaned and creaked beneath their weight as they sat down. In the one into which Peter unsuspectingly sank the springs were broken, and he hit the backs of his knees against the wooden frame.
动词 live in:
1. live in the hou where one works
2. the more=all the more;even more
eg. The living room is decorated in pale colors that make it all the more airy.(清新,明快lolong)
He told a lie about it,and that makes his fault all the wor.
对于这件事他说了谎，这使他的错误变得更加严重。
Her husband’s leaving her makes her all the more unhappy at a time when she is actually laid off.
3. tabby cat= a cat with a grey or tawny coat mottled with black虎斑猫
同义词：sleep in
译文;
南恩说：“这里是起居室，乱得实在不成样子/最是凌乱的了，不过至少还好有点人情味，吃饭睡觉工作都在这儿。”这话确实一点没错，可是对彼特这样的稀客来说，这房间如同一张群岛密集的海图。高扶手的安乐椅和罩上褪色印花布套的沙发，几乎是一个挨着一个。困惑的航行者想在其间通过，老要碰到桌子板凳挡路。犹有甚者，任何可以利用的平面都摆满了摇摇晃晃的易碎物品，这就更加使得一举一动都有可能发生危险。到处是盘子，用过的没用过的，盛着没吃完的三明治，还有没喝完的咖啡杯，烟灰缸里则堆满了好几天的烟头/烟灰缸好多天都没清理过了，甚至壁炉台上的家人照片都几乎快把喝得只剩一半的啤酒杯子挤落台面。简直没法落座，凡是可以落座的地方全占满了，不是放着书本就是针线
活儿什么的、摊开的报纸等等，有一处竟是一只雌猫和两把老虎钳。最后他们清理出了几把椅子，可是坐上去弹簧就叽嘎作响，大声呻吟。彼特找了把椅子坐下，不曾想那椅子的弹簧却是断的，膝弯由此重重的碰上了椅子里的木头。
