六級翻譯練習：長城
長城是世界上最偉大的奇跡之一，1987年被列為聯(lián)合國教科文組織世界文化遺產。1 它宛如一條巨龍， 蜿蜒曲折， 穿越草地、沙漠和高山， 自西向東綿延8,851.8公里（明長城）。2 經(jīng)過兩千多年的滄桑，長城部分城墻已經(jīng)被毀或湮滅。3 但是，由于它建筑雄偉，歷史悠久，長城現(xiàn)今依然是世界上最具吸引力的景點之一。長城始建于春秋戰(zhàn)國時期的燕、趙、秦等國，作為防御工事。秦始皇將各段城墻連接起來，抵御北方部落的侵襲。4 從那時起，長城就成為中華民族的一道豐碑，此后歷朝歷代都在不斷擴建和修繕。5 今天我們看到的長城主要建于明代。長城承載著豐富的中國文化，體現(xiàn)了中國人民的智慧和頑強。長城與黃河、長江一起，成為了中華民族的象征。

參考譯文：
The Great Wall, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1987. Like a giant dragon, the Great Wall winds its way across grasslands, deserts and mountains, stretching approximately 8,851.8 kilometers (the Ming walls) from west to east of China. With a history of more than 2,000 years, some of the sections are now in ruins or have disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance. The Great Wall was originally built in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period as a defensive project by states including Yan, Zhao, and Qin. Emperor Qinshihuang, founder of the first unified empire in Chinese history, succeeded in his effort to have the walls joined together to fend off the invasions from tribes in the north. Since then, the Great Wall has served as a monument of the Chinese nation. It went through constant extensions and repairs in later dynasties. The Great Wall we see today was mostly built during the Ming Dynasty. The Great Wall carries a considerable part of Chinese culture and demonstrates the wisdom and tenacity of the Chinese people. It has become a symbol of the Chinese nation along with the Yellow River and the Yangtze River.

翻譯簡析
1 原文對主語“長城”的說明包含兩個部分，其中前者為次要信息，后者為主要信息。因此在翻譯時沒有將二者譯為并列成分，而是將前者譯為同位語。?
2 本句在結構上與第一句相仿，譯文重點突出長城的“蜿蜒曲折”，譯為句子的核心winds its way，其他內容則譯為狀語。原文的動詞“穿越”譯為介詞across，這種詞類轉換在翻譯中比較常見。
3 “兩千多年的滄?！敝饕搁L城歷史悠久，因而譯作a history of more than 2,000 years。漢語中有些詞意蘊豐富，難以緊扣字面意思譯成英文，翻譯過程中應重點挖掘其背后信息，重在達意，不宜過分追求詞藻，舍本逐末。
4 本句中的“秦始皇”，譯文先用音譯，然后用一個同位語作說明，便于外國讀者理解其背后的文化信息。
5 原文雖是一句，但有兩層意思，所以分譯成兩句。