Section Ⅰ English-Chinese Translation
Part A Compulsory Translation
1. There was, last week, a glimmer of hope in the world food crisis. Expecting a bumper harvest, Ukraine relaxed restrictions on exports. Overnight, global wheat prices fell by 10 percent.
By contrast, traders in Bangkok quote rice prices around $1,000 a ton, up from $460 two months ago.
Such is the volatility of today’s markets. We do not know how high food prices might go, nor how far they could fall. But one thing is certain: We have gone from an era of plenty to one of scarcity. Experts agree that food prices are not likely to return to the levels the world had grown accustomed to any time soon.
Imagine the situation of those living on less than $1 a day—the “bottom billion,” the poorest of the world’s poor. Most live in Africa, and many might typically spend two-thirds of their income on food.
In Liberia last week, I heard how people have stopped purchasing imported rice by the bag. Instead, they increasingly buy it by the cup, because that’s all they can afford.
Traveling through West Africa, I found good reason for optimism. In Burkina Faso, I saw a government working to import drought resistant seeds and better manage scarce water supplies, helped by nations like Brazil. In Ivory Coast, we saw a women’s cooperative running a chicken farm set up with UN funds. The project generated income—and food—for villagers in ways that can easily be replicated.
Elsewhere, I saw yet another women’s group slowly expanding their local agricultural production, with UN help. Soon they will replace World Food Program rice with their own home-grown produce, sufficient to cover the needs of their school feeding program.
These are home-grown, grass-roots solutions for grass-roots problems—precisely the kind of solutions that Africa needs.
正确答案:
上周,世界粮食危机出现了一线转机。乌克兰预期粮食丰收,因而放宽了粮食出口限制。一夜之间,全球小麦价格下挫10%。
相比之下,曼谷大米报价为每吨1000美元左右,相比两个月前每吨460美元的价格有了大幅上涨。
这就是当今市场剧烈波动的真实写照。我们无从知晓价格的涨跌幅度,但是有一点可以肯定,那就是:我们已经告别了富足时代,转而进入了匮乏时代。专家们一致认为,短期内粮价不太可能恢复到正常水平。
现在全球“最底层的10亿人”每天生活费不足1美元,是世界上最贫苦的人群,我们不妨设身处地想想他们现在的处境如何。这个群体中大部分人生活在非洲,对于他们当中的许多人而言,食品开支往往要占到收入的2/3。
我听说上周利比里亚的民众不再拿袋子去购买进口大米,更多的人是拿着杯子去买米,因为他们的钱只够买一杯米。
走访西非国家后,我发现我们仍有理由保持乐观。在布基纳法索,当地政府积极进口抗旱粮种,同时在巴西等国家的帮助下改善对宝贵水资源的管理。在科特迪瓦,一个女性合作社在联合国基金的扶持下开办了一家养鸡场,为当地村民创收又增产,这种模式也很易于推广。
在其他国家和地区,有的妇女团体在联合国的帮助下逐步扩大当地农业生产规模。用不了多久,她们就可以生产出足够多的大米来满足当地学校供餐的需要,届时世界粮食署也将终止在当地的粮援工作。
对于基层问题总可以找到因地制宜的解决方案,对非洲而言尤其如此。
Part B Choice of Two Translations
Topic 1
1. For a decade, metallurgists studying the hulk of the Titanic have argued that the storied ocean liner went down quickly after hitting an iceberg because the ship’s builder used substandard rivets that popped their heads and let tons of icy seawater rush in. More than 1,500 people died.
Now a team of scientists has moved into deeper waters, uncovering evidence in the builder’s own archives of a deadly mix of great ambition and use of low-quality iron that doomed the ship, which sank 96 years ago Tuesday.
The scientists found that the ship’s builder, Harland and Wolff, in Belfast, struggled for years to obtain adequate supplies of rivets and riveters to build the world’s three biggest ships at once: the Titanic and two sisters, Olympic and Britannic.
Each required three million rivets, and shortages peaked during Titanic’s construction.
“The board was in crisis mode,” said Jennifer Hooper McCarty, a member of the team that studied the company’s archive and other evidence. “It was constant stress. Every meeting it was, ‘There’s problems with the rivets, and we need to hire more people.’”
The team collected other clues from 48 Titanic rivets, using modern tests, computer simulations, comparisons to century-old metals and careful documentation of what engineers and shipbuilders of the era considered state of the art.
The scientists say the troubles began when the colossal plans forced Harland and Wolff to reach beyond its usual suppliers of rivet iron and include smaller forges, as disclosed in company and British government papers. Small forges tended to have less skill and experience.
Adding to the threat, the company, in buying iron for Titanic’s rivets, ordered No. 3 bar, known as “best,” not No. 4, known as “best-best,” the scientists found. They also discovered that shipbuilders of the day typically used No. 4 iron for anchors, chains and rivets.
So the liner, whose name was meant to be synonymous with opulence, in at least one instance relied on cheap materials.
The scientists argue that better rivets would have probably kept the Titanic afloat long enough for rescuers to have arrived before the icy plunge, saving hundreds of lives.
正确答案:
过去十年一直研究“泰坦尼克”船体的冶金学家认为,这艘著名的远洋邮轮在撞上冰山后之所以会迅速沉没,是因为当时的造船商使用了劣质铆钉,在撞上冰山后铆钉头开始崩脱,(致使钢板开裂,)冰冷刺骨的海水大量倒灌入船体,最终造成1500人殒命。
一组科学家进行了深度调查研究,他们从造船厂的档案记录中发现了相关证据。据档案记载,造船厂一方面要建造豪华巨轮,另一方面却使用劣质铁铆钉,为海难埋下了祸根,最终导致“泰坦尼克”号在96年前的那个周二沉入海底。
科学家们研究发现,位于贝尔法斯特的哈兰德与沃尔夫(Harland and Wolff)造船厂当时决心要同时建造3艘当时世界上最大的超级邮轮,分别命名为“泰坦尼克”号、“奥林匹克”号和“不列颠”号。但是,多年来,该造船厂却一直苦于无法获得足够的铆钉及铆工。
每艘巨轮都需要300万个铆钉,特别是在建造“泰坦尼克”号的过程中,铆钉短缺情况尤为严重。
“造船厂董事会很有危机感”,负责调查的一位科学家珍妮弗·胡柏·麦卡锡说,“当时造船厂运转持续吃紧。每次董事会开会都是同样的问题,‘铆钉供应不上,铆工人手不够’”。
该调查小组通过从“泰坦尼克”号上取下的48个铆钉收集了其他相关线索。调查人员运用现代测试手段,进行计算机模拟实验,按照100年前的金属成分标准重新制造铆钉进行比对,并仔细查阅了当时工程师和造船厂眼里“最先进”的标准是什么。
调查人员发现,正如哈兰德与沃尔夫造船厂和英国政府部门相关档案文件所披露的那样,建造巨轮工程浩大,该造船厂除了从原来的正规铆钉铁供应商那里进货外,还不得不从小型锻造工厂订货,而这些小厂的员工一般都缺乏相关技能和经验。
调查人员还发现,在购买造船用铆钉铁的工程中,该造船厂以次充好,没有购买“最佳”的四号铁,而是购买“较佳”的三号铁,这也是一大隐患。调查发现,当时造船厂建造锚、链、铆钉时通常都使用四号铁。
调查显示,建造寓意“富足”的“泰坦尼克”号时至少在这方面采用了劣质材料。
调查人员称,当时如果选用了优质铆钉,或许“泰坦尼克”号就不会如此迅速下沉,救援人员就能及时赶到,数百人也许就能幸免于难。
Topic 2
缺
Section Ⅱ Chinese-English Translation
Part A Compulsory Translation
1. “中国制造”模式遭遇发展瓶颈,这种模式必须要改进和提高。一些外国人认为,“中国制造”大约就是质量低下的代名词。不可否认,少数产品的确存在质量问题,让大多数价廉质优的产品代其受罪。
质量是产品的生命线。随着外国市场的夸大,中国企业也意识到质量的重要性。因此一场旨在提高质量,提供优良服务的运动正在兴起。
在传统的制造业中,中国企业通过技术创新和质量管理,为国际市场提供高质量的产品。在新兴的信息产业,中国企业以高科技为师,增强和外国企业的交流与合作,提高产品质量。
近几年来,中国政府通过立法和社会监督保证产品质量,创造全社会重视产品问题的环境。
正确答案:
“Made in China” practice must be remodeled and upgraded as an emerging bottleneck is getting in the way. Some foreign critics equate “Made in China” with low quality. There is no denying that some products made in China are of poor quality, but they have turned out to be a fly in the ointment, as the majority are affordable and of assured quality./There is no denying that the minority of Made-in-China products are of poor quality, but the majority are quality and affordable.
Quality is the lifeline of products. As things are blown out of

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