《围城》英译选句 —— 打榧子
原文：鸿渐和辛楣照例说这小孩长得好，养得胖，讨论他像父亲还是像母亲。这些话在父母的耳朵里是听不厌的。鸿渐凑近他脸捺指作声，这是他唯一娱乐孩子的本领。（钱钟书 - 围城 ）
翻译关键词：resemble，捺指作声，本领
译文：
Hung-chien and Hsin-mei dutifully remarked on how nice and well-fed the baby was and discussed whether he resembled his mother or his father. These are the sort of remarks parents never tire of hearing. Hung-chien went up close to its face and snapped his fingers. This was his only skill in amusing a child. (美 Jeanne Kelly, Nathan K.Mao–Fortress Besieged)
翻译笔记：
resemble
resemble并不陌生，但是用的时候必须注意它现在只用作及物动词，后面没有to哦。如：
He resembles his brother.
他像他的兄弟。
resemble each other in appearance or nature在外表或本性方面彼此相像
捺指作声
其实就是我们常说的“打榧子”和“打响指”，我们常把这个动作译为snap。
* snap作不及物动词，fingers snapped，发劈啪声
If I hit upon the right name, her fingers snapped.
如果碰巧我把名字说对了，她的手指便啪地打一个榧子。
* snap作及物动词，snap one’s fingers，捻（手指）发劈啪声
She snapped her fingers to get the child’s attention.
她打榧子叫孩子注意听。
本领
“本领”在口语里也常称为“本事”，常用skill; ability; capability来翻译。如：
本领大highly skilled; very capable
掌握专业本领master the skills needed for one’s occupation
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