十、一位科幻小说作家
    
    There is no question that science-fiction writers have become more ambitious, stylistically and thematically, in recent years. (46) But this may have less to do with the luring call of academic surroundings than with changing market conditions—a factor that academic critics rarely take into account. Robert Silverberg, a former president of The Science Fiction Writers of America, is one of the most prolific professionals in a field dominated by people who actually write for a living. (Unlike mystery or Western writers, most science-fiction writers cannot expect to cash in on fat movie sales or TV tie-ins.) (47) Still in his late thirties, Silverberg has published more than a hundred books, and he is disarmingly frank about the relationship between the quality of genuine prose and the quality of available outlet. By his own account, he was “an annoyingly verbal young man” from Brooklyn who picked up his first science-fiction book at the age of ten, started writing seriously at the age of thirteen, and at seventeen nearly gave up in despair over his inability to break into the pulp magazines. (48) At his parents’ urging, he enrolled in Columbia University, so that, if worst came to worst, he could always go to the School of Journalism and “get a nice steady job somewhere”. During his sophomore year, he sold his first science-fiction story to a Scottish magazine named Nebula. By the end of his junior year, he had sold a novel and twenty more stories. (49) By the end of his senior year, he was earning two hundred dollars a week writing science fiction, and his parents were reconciled to his pursuit of the literary life. “I became very cynical very quickly,” he says. First I couldn’t sell anything, then I could sell everything. The market played to my worst characteristics. An editor of a schlock magazine would call up to tell me he had a ten-thousand-word hole to fill in his next issue. I’d fill it overnight for a hundred and fifty dollars. I found that rewriting made no difference. (50) I knew I could not possibly write the kinds of things I admired as a reader—Joyce, Kafka, Mann—so I detached myself from my work. I was a phenomenon among my friends in college, a published, selling author. But they always asked, “When are you going to do something serious?” —meaning something that wasn’t science fiction—and I kept telling them, “ When I’m financially secure.”
    
    答案
    
    46.但是这一点与其说是与学术环境具有诱惑力的召唤有关，还不如说是与变化的市场状况有关——一这是一个学术评论家很少考虑的因素。
    
    47.还不到四十多岁，西尔弗伯格就已出版了一百多本书籍，而他对真正散文的质量与应时之作的质量之间的关系十分坦诚，毫无掩饰。
    
    48.在他双亲的敦促下，他报考了哥伦比亚大学，所以即便最糟他也能进入新闻学校，“将来总可以有一份稳定的好工作。”
    
    49.到大四结束的时候，他每星期写科幻小说已经可以赚两百美元了，而他的双亲也接受了他对于文学生涯的追求。
    
    50.我知道我写不出作为读者的我所喜欢的东西，就像乔伊斯、卡夫卡、曼恩的作品，所以我不再那么关注我所写的东西。
    
    总体分析
    
    本文介绍了科幻小说家罗伯特·西尔弗伯格。文章先指出科幻小说的繁荣与市场需求关系紧密，接着通过介绍多产的科幻小说家西尔弗伯格的创作经历予以说明。
    
    本文考查的知识点：后置定语、插入语、比较结构、同位语、上下文中词义的选择，等。
    
    试题精解
    
    46.[精解] 本题考核知识点：比较结构、同位语的翻译。
    
    该句的主干是this may have less to do with... than with...，其中含有一个比较结构less... than...，可译为“与其说…不如说…”。破折号后是名词短语a factor that... 做整个主句的同位语，其中that引导的定语从句做后置定语。由于是同位语，可单独译为一个句子，补译“这”为它的主语。
    
    词汇：luring是lure的现在分词形式，可译为“具有诱惑力的”;factor意为“因素”;take into account意为“考虑”。
    
    47.[精解] 本题考核知识点：词义的选择。
    
    该句是and连接的两个并列分句，其主干是Silverberg has published... , and he is frank about...。
    
    词汇：in one’s thirties意为“在(某人)三十几岁时”，由于本句中有late修饰，如果直译为“三十几岁晚期”不符合汉语表达习惯，应意译为“不到四十多岁”。disarmingly意为“使人消除敌意(或怀疑、怒气等)的”，与frank一起应译为“十分坦诚、直言不讳”。genuine意为“真正的;坦率的，真诚的”。available意为“可获得的，可找到的”，outlet意为“(思想、感情、精力发泄的)出路，表现机会”，available outlet不能直译，而应根据上文对应的genuine prose(真正的散文)意译为“应时之作”。
    
    48.[精解] 本题考核知识点：顺译法。
    
    该句是主从复合句，其主干是he enrolled... so that... he could go to...，翻译时可采用顺译的方法，保持原来句子的顺序。句首介词短语At his parents’ urging作状语。so that引导结果状语从句，其中插入语if worst came to worst做条件状语，应意译为“在最糟糕的情况下”。
    
    词汇：urging为urge的动名词形式，译为“敦促”;
    
    49.[精解] 本题考核知识点：顺译法和分词的翻译。
    
    该句是and连接的并列句，其主干是he was earning... and his parents were...，可采用顺译的方法翻译。前一分句中，分词结构writing science fiction作方式状语，翻译时应置于谓语前面，译为“(通过)写科幻小说”。
    
    词汇：be reconciled to意为“将就，妥协，接受”。
    
    50.[精解] 本题考核知识点：插入语、后置定语的翻译
    
    该句是个主从复合句，其主干是I knew... so I detached...。主从句之间是插入语，列举了几个作家的名字，根据上下文，这些名字实际上指代的是作家的作品，应补译为“乔伊斯、卡夫卡、曼恩的作品”。I knew后是省略了关系代词的宾语从句I could not write...，其中宾语the kind of things后又接有一个定语从句I admired as...，由于定语不长，可直接译为汉语的前置定语。
    
    词汇：detach oneself from sth.意为“挣脱，摆脱，离开”，文中应意译为“不关注我写的东西”。
    
    全文翻译
    
    毫无疑问，近些年在文体和主题上科幻小说作者已经变得更加雄心勃勃了。但是这一点与其说是与学术环境具有诱惑力的召唤有关，还不如说是与变化的市场状况有关——一这是一个学术评论家很少考虑的因素。前美国科幻小说家协会主席罗伯特·西尔弗伯格是在一个以写作为生计的作家为主导的领域中最多产的作家之一。(不像推理作家或西部文学作家，大部分科幻小说作家都不能指望从电影的热销或相关产品的销售中牟利。)还不到四十多岁，西尔弗伯格就已出版了一百多本书籍，而他对真正散文的质量与应时之作的质量之间的关系十分坦诚，毫无掩饰。按照他自己的说法，“他是来自布鲁克林一个令人讨厌的舞文弄墨的年轻人”，他十岁的时候看了第一本科幻小说，十三岁时开始认真地写作，到了十七岁由于对不能进入庸俗杂志领域的绝望而差点放弃写作。在他双亲的敦促下，他报考了哥伦比亚大学，所以即便最糟他也能进入新闻学校，“将来总可以有一份稳定的好工作。”大二时，他将他的第一个科幻故事卖给了一家叫《星云》的苏格兰科幻杂志。到大三结束时，他卖掉了一本小说和二十多个故事。到大四结束的时候，他每星期写科幻小说已经可以赚两百美元了，而他的双亲也接受了他对于文学生涯的追求。“很快我变得非常愤世嫉俗。”他说，我先是什么也卖不出，然后什么都卖得出。市场使我不好的性格展现出来。一个下三滥杂志的编辑会打电话告诉我他下一期杂志中缺一万字的文稿，于是我为了150美元的稿酬连夜赶稿。我发现改写后没有什么不一样。我知道我写不出作为读者的我所喜欢的东西，就像乔伊斯、卡夫卡、曼恩的作品，所以我不再那么关注我所写的东西。在我的大学朋友中，我是一个成功的人，一个已出版了作品和正在销售书籍的作者。但他们总是问：“你什么时候写点严肃的作品?”——指的是科幻小说之外的东西——而我总是说，“当我经济上稳妥了以后。”
    

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