高中一年级 · 阅读系列
Lesson 49 · The Song We Could Not Translate
文体：翻译与表演故事 · 朗读音轨 49
先听一遍
听听学生怎样处理歌里一个词的双重含义。
展开英文短文，再悬停查词
Our class planned to perform an original song at the festival and show an English explanation for visitors. The chorus used a Japanese word with two meanings. One meaning was about light; the other was about hope. A direct translation kept only one.
We tried to fit both meanings into a short English line, but the rhythm became awkward. A friend suggested that we separate two jobs: keep the song as it was and write a short note explaining the double meaning. Visitors could enjoy the sound first and understand the idea afterward.
We asked the student who had written the song whether our note matched her intention. She changed one phrase because we had made the message sound more certain than she wanted. The final explanation left room for listeners to make their own connection.
Translation was not just replacing Japanese words with English ones. We had to decide what the performance and the note would each carry.
逐句跟读
点击任意一句听 Dicvo 的 Jenny 英语语音；开始连续播放前可选择每句播放次数。同一句的每遍之间、切换到下一句之前，都会留出约一遍句子时长供你跟读。原有整篇朗读仍可在上方播放。
请选择一句开始。
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Our class planned to perform an original song at the festival and show an English explanation for visitors.
-
The chorus used a Japanese word with two meanings.
-
One meaning was about light; the other was about hope.
-
A direct translation kept only one.
-
We tried to fit both meanings into a short English line, but the rhythm became awkward.
-
A friend suggested that we separate two jobs: keep the song as it was and write a short note explaining the double meaning.
-
Visitors could enjoy the sound first and understand the idea afterward.
-
We asked the student who had written the song whether our note matched her intention.
-
She changed one phrase because we had made the message sound more certain than she wanted.
-
The final explanation left room for listeners to make their own connection.
-
Translation was not just replacing Japanese words with English ones.
-
We had to decide what the performance and the note would each carry.
读懂了什么？
读完后，试着用一句话说出本文的主要意思，并从原文找出支持它的一句话。
查看中文译文
班级打算在节庆上表演一首原创歌曲，并为访客提供英文说明。副歌里有个日语词，一层意思与光有关，另一层与希望有关。直接翻译只能保留其中一层。
我们试着在一句简短英文歌词里放进两个意思，节奏却变得别扭。朋友建议把两项任务分开：歌曲保持原样，另写一段短注释，说明双关之处。这样，访客可以先欣赏声音，再理解其中的想法。
我们请写歌的同学核对注释是否符合她的本意。她改了其中一个说法，因为我们把歌曲的意思讲得比她本想表达的更确定。最终说明也留出空间，让听众建立自己的联想。
翻译并非只把日语词换成英语词。我们还得决定，表演和注释各自要承载什么。
本课重点词语
以下是本课重点词语的中文讲解；英文正文中有虚线的单词可悬停查看词义和发音。
- perform
- 表演；班级在节庆演唱歌曲。
- original
- 原创的；歌曲由同学创作。
- chorus
- 副歌；包含双关词的部分。
- direct translation
- 直译；只能保留一层含义。
- rhythm
- 节奏；硬塞两层意思会受影响。
- awkward
- 别扭的；英文歌词不再顺口。
- double meaning
- 双重含义；词语同时关联光与希望。
- intention
- 本意；写歌同学要核对说明。
- certain
- 确定的；注释原先说得太死。
- carry
- 承载；歌曲与注释各自传达内容。
背景知识
原文没有写出具体日语词，只说明它有‘光’与‘希望’两层意义。学生保留歌曲，另加说明，并请作者确认语气，避免把开放的意象解释得过死。