高中三年级 · 阅读系列
Lesson 55 · The Letter We Could Not Translate
文体：找不到对应词的信 · 朗读音轨 55
先听一遍
听听合作班级如何帮助我们理解一个无法直译的词。
展开英文短文，再悬停查词
Our partner class sent a letter about a local festival. One sentence contained a word for the feeling of returning to a familiar place after being away for years. The dictionary offered “nostalgia,” but the students said their word also included a promise to care for that place in the future.
We could not find one English or Japanese word that carried every part. Instead of choosing a neat equivalent, we kept the original word in our reply and described a scene where it might be used. We asked whether our example captured the feeling, and the partner class corrected one detail: the emotion was not always happy.
The correction changed our next draft. We included the possibility of sadness beside belonging. Our reply became longer, but it was more faithful to what the students had shared. We also explained a Japanese word that caused us a similar difficulty.
The letter was not a puzzle with one missing answer. It was an invitation to keep speaking until the limits of a translation became visible and useful.
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
合作班级寄来一封介绍当地节日的信。一句话里有个词，指多年离开后回到熟悉地方的感受。词典给出“怀旧”，但学生们说，它还包含未来会照顾这片地方的承诺。
我们找不到一个英语或日语词把所有意思装进去，便没有硬选一个整齐的对等词。回信中，我们保留原词，描述可能使用它的场景，并问例子是否抓住了那种感觉。对方纠正了一处：这种情绪并不总是快乐的。
这一更正改变了下一稿。我们把悲伤的可能与归属感一起写进去。回信更长，却更忠实于他们所分享的意思。我们还介绍了一个同样让人难以翻译的日语词。
这封信不是一道只有一个缺失答案的谜题。它邀请我们继续交谈，直到翻译的局限清楚可见，并能帮助彼此理解。
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。
- partner class
- 合作班级；寄来节日信。
- familiar
- 熟悉的；多年后返回的地方。
- nostalgia
- 怀旧；词典译法不够全面。
- promise
- 承诺；愿意未来照顾故乡。
- equivalent
- 对等词；找不到完全相同的。
- captured
- 抓住；例子是否表达感受。
- emotion
- 情绪；并非永远快乐。
- belonging
- 归属感；与悲伤可能并存。
- faithful
- 忠实的；修改后更贴近原意。
- invitation
- 邀请；继续对话而非猜谜。
背景知识
词典的单词对应不足以传达情绪中的承诺与悲伤；双方通过举例和修正来理解。