[误] With a comet like him, nothing can be accomplished.
[正] With a jinx like him, nothing can be accomplished.
注：“扫帚星”是中国人对“慧星”(comet)的俗称，因其后面象
拖着的一条像扫帚一样的长尾巴而得名。在中国古代，“扫帚星”
被认为是灾难的预兆，并被用来比喻不吉利的人或事;祸根：
(person or thing that is thought to bring)bad luck(to sb/sth);
curse。英语的 comet 虽然没有这层含义，但却有一个对应的说法，
即 jinx。例：There's a jinx on/Someone's put a jinx on this car: it's
always giving me trouble. “这辆汽车上有什么妨人的东西，总给我
找麻烦”。
02.萝卜青菜，各有所爱。
[误] Some prefer radish but others prefer cabbage.
[正] Tastes differ.
注：Tastes differ/vary 是句英语谚语，除此以外，原句还可翻译成：
/No dish suits all tastes.
/ You can never make everyone happy.
/ All things fit not all persons.
/ Every man has his hobbyhorse[liking].
/ Every man[one] to his(own) taste.
/ It is difficult to cater for[to] all tastes.
/ It is hard to suit all tastes.
/ No dish suits all tastes.
/ Some persons like to eat radishes,
others prefer cabbages--people's tastes are various.
/ There is no accounting for tastes.
/ There is no disputing about tastes. 等。《新概念英语》第三册
第23课的标题是：One man's meat is another man's poison.
03.他一向嘴硬，从不认错。
[误] He has always got a hard mouth and never admit a fault.
[正] He never says uncle.
注：say (cry) uncle: to give up or in; to surrender; to admit
defeat. Mainly used by boys, as when fighting。主要是男孩们
打架时的用语，当一方想制服另一方时，就用命令的口气说：
“Say uncle!”这时，有的孩子为了表示不服输，就是不说。
后来，say uncle 就成了“服输”的代名词，而 not say uncle
就相当于“嘴硬”了。
04.老师很喜欢这个嘴甜的小姑娘。
[误] The teacher likes this sweet-mouthed little girl very much.
[正] The teacher likes this honey-lipped little girl very much.
注：中国人喜欢说“嘴甜”，但 honey-lipped 更符合英美人的
语言习惯。
05.同学们都很讨厌他，因为他经常拍老师的马屁。
[误] The student all dislike him because he often pats the
teacher's ass.
[正] The students all dislike him because he often licks
the teacher's boots.
注：以前在欧洲，臣民见到国王与王后往往要葡匐到在，亲吻
他们的靴子。后来，人们将 lick the boots 引申为“为了某种目
的而讨好某人”，它与汉语的“拍马屁”含义一样。在美国英
语中，“拍马屁”还有另一种说法，即 polish the apple，它典
出以前的学生用擦亮的苹果来讨好老师。
06.你听说了吗?迈克把他的女朋友给甩了。
[误] Have you ever heard that Mike broke up with his girlfriend.
[正] Have you ever heard that Mike dumped his girlfriend.
注：break up with sb. 虽然表示“与某人分手了”，但并没说明
是谁先提出来的。而 dump 的原意指“倾倒垃圾”，用在这里则
表示像倒垃圾一样地甩掉。
07.我们要把祖国建设成为社会主义的现代化强国。
[误] We will build our motherland into a socialist modern
powerful country.
[正] We will build our motherland into a modern powerful
socialist country.
注：形容词作为修饰语在汉语和英语中都很常用，但使用的
先后次序却有所不同。在英语中我们一般遵循“靠近原则”，
即越能说明本质属性的修饰词越靠近它所修饰的名词，当从
这一点看不出区别时，就靠词的长短来决定，短的在前，长的
在后。原文中最能说明“国家”本质的定语是“社会主义的”，
所以 socialist 要最靠近它所修饰的中心词。
08.我想要一点白酒。
[误] I'd like a little bit of white wine.
[正] I'd like a little bit of liquor.
注：汉语的“酒”可指任何酒，包括白酒、葡萄酒、啤酒，
甚至米酒;但英语中则要分别用 liquor,wine,beer及 rice
wine表示。所以要注意，英语的wine与汉语的“酒”是有
区别的，它仅指葡萄酒。而且 red wine 是红葡萄酒，white
wine 是白葡萄酒。
09.中华人民共和国主席
[误] Chairman of the People's Republic of China
[正] President of the People's Republic of China
注：以前，我们一直将“主席”翻译为 chairman，例如：
great leader Chairman Mao(伟大领袖毛主席)。其实
“主席”与 chairman 并不等义，chairman 在英语中通常
指会议或某一具体组织的负责人，它的权力和重要性不及
中文的“主席”。这就是为什么1983年，在我国《宪法》
的英译单行本中开始使用 President一词，并沿用至今。
另外，国内仍有不少词典把“班/级长(学校的)”译为
“class monitor”，这是“四人帮”时代的产物，那时的
“班长”是专司监管学生的，所以译作“monitor”。而
“班长”的正确译文应该是“class president”。
10.转战南北
[误] fight south and north
[正] fight north and south
注：在地理方位的表达习惯上，中英文有一定的区别。中国
人习惯于先“东西”后“南北”，而且在涉及“南北”时，
习惯于先说“南”，再说“北”，如：“南征北战”、“南
来北往”等。而英美人与此正好相反，如“江苏在中国的东
南部”英文是 Jiangsu is in the south-east of China, 而“新疆
在中国的西北部”应译为 Xinjiang is in the north-west of China。
