任你刃上奇功 由我笔走神龙 2023年复旦大学翻译硕士汉译英真题解析

2023年复旦大学翻译硕士MTI

英语翻译基础357

 任你刃上有奇功 由我笔走似神龙

第一题 汉译英 80分

题材选自《鱼翅与花椒》第五章刃上神功

有些句子比较简单，可以单独翻译成句。

有些有难度，难在于术语的使用，还有译文语篇之间的联系。

刀工是中国厨房里的基本功之一, 与火候和味道一样重要。中国古代就把烹任称为“割烹”，意即割切烹调。而今, 所有正式的中国烹饪课仍然会教你各种各样准确的食材切割方法, 部分原因是由于快炒这种烹饪方法的流行。要炒菜，所有的食材都应该切得小小的, 只需稍稍加热就能熟。要是切得太粗, 那下锅一炒, 里面还是生的, 外面就又干又老了；要是切得大小不均，那熟的时间就不一样, 最后的成品就不尽知人意了。像爆炒这种需要快速操作的方法，细细切菜就更为关键。细致的刀工并不只是为了好看的门面，还是一道菜最后能成功的重要因素。

Cutting technique1 is one of the basic skills in the Chinese kitchen, as important as heat and taste. In ancient China, cooking was called "cutting and cooking", which means cutting to cook. Today, you are still taught a variety of precise cutting methods in all formal Chinese cooking classes, duly partly to the popularity of quick-fry cooking. To do that2, all the ingredients should be cut into pieces, then heated a little. If they3 are cut crudely, the inside is still raw, while the outside is dry and old; If the piece size is not even, the cooking time4 of pieces will be different from one another, and it will be unsatisfactory5 finally. Like stir-frying requiring quick cooking steps, it's important to chop carefully. Meticulous cutting not only can make a nice appearance, but it’s an important factor to a successful dish.

这些只是刀工的实用性，更让人着迷的还是其美学方面的意义。高超的刀工能够把你带入享受美食的另一个维度。就想想时蔬炒黄鳝；里面的食材颜色、味道和口感都有所不同，但全部切成长长的细丝；还有宫保鸡丁; 为了配合小颗的花生, 鸡肉和黄瓜也被切成方形的小丁。中国雅致的烹饪文明已延续数千年,而细致的刀工是重要的一部分。据说孔子本人就拒绝吃切得不好的食物, 所谓 “割不正 不食”。时至今日, 对任何立志成为大厨的人来说, “刀工” 都是学习的起点。

These are just the practical aspects of cutting technique, but what is more fascinating lies in its aesthetic significance. You are brought to another dimension to enjoy nice food by excellent cutting technique. Take Fried Eel with Seasonal Vegetables for example, the ingredients used are shredded6, although they are different in color, taste and texture7. And kung pao chicken; To match the small peanuts, chicken and cucumber are also diced8. The refined culinary civilization in China has lasted for thousands of years, and meticulous cutting technique is an important part of it. It is said that Confucius himself refused to have poorly-cut food, which means he won’t have food badly cooked." Even nowadays it is the starting point to learn cutting technique for anyone who aspires to be a chef.

中餐这种精细到极致的刀工，生发出了非常复杂庞大的词汇。大厨们常挂在嘴边的有三种基本刀法, 切、片、斩。考虑到菜刀的角度和切菜的方向，这三种基本方法至少可以有十五般变化，每种都有独特的称呼。

The exquisitely cutting technique in Chinese cooking brings a very complex vocabulary. Chefs often talk about three kinds of basic cutting techniques: cut, slice and chop. Taking into account the angles and directions of cutting, these three basic methods can be turned into at least fifteen variations, which have its own unique names.

译注：

1“刀工”也就是拿刀切菜的技术，可以用cutting technique来表述。

2 that指代前面的quick-fry cooking。英语中多用代词，注意语篇的连贯性。

3 they指代上文的ingredients。

4 “成熟的时间”即“烹饪的时间”。

5这里不能用dissatisfied: adj 不满的;不高兴的 If you are dissatisfied with something, you are not contented or pleased with it，用unsatisfactory较好。

6切丝：shred，这个词除了表示“切成丝”，还可以表示“碎纸”，办公室常用的碎纸机就是shredder。

7口感：texture :the way food or drink tastes or feels in your mouth, for example whether it is rough, smooth, light, heavy, etc.

8切块：dice，dice其实就是大家都很熟悉的筛子，用作动词表示“切成小块”，“宫爆鸡丁”这道菜中的“鸡丁”就是chicken dice。

本文为译者原创，严禁任何形式的商用行为。