《大国速度 百年京张》1（续二）From Steam to HSR—100 Years on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Line (Excerpt)

修建京张铁路，最困难的是从南口到青龙桥这一段。

主要是山势陡峭坡度高，还需要修很长的隧道。2作为总工程师，詹天佑每天骑着毛驴，亲自与工程技术人员去实地进行勘测。无论是骄阳似火，或是狂风大作，还是暴雨如注，他总是身背标杆和测量仪，奔波在崎岖的山间小路上。

The most difficult section was from Nankou to Qinglong Bridge. The main difficulties were the steep gradients and the long tunnels required. As chief engineer， Zhan rode a donkey and went in person every day with engineering staff to survey the sites. In scorching sun， gales and storms， he would traverse the rugged mountain paths， a surveyor’s pole and a gauge on his back.

詹天佑带领工程技术人员，历尽艰险前后勘测了三条线路。

Through all kinds of hardships， Zhan Tianyou led the engineering and technical staff in surveying three routes.

一条是关沟线——这条线路从南口至岔道城，长22公里，经过居庸关、青龙桥、八达岭，尽是悬崖峭壁，坡陡路险，工程量大，且运输量有限3。

Route one was the Guangou Route extending from Nankou to Cha-daocheng over a length of 22 kilometers， crossing the Juyongguan Pass， Qinglong Bridge， and the Badaling Ridge. The precipitous cliffs along the route meant heavy construction work and limited freight capacity on the line.

第二条线路是热河线——从青龙桥绕过八达岭，转向东北方向，经十三陵到延庆。这条线路虽然长出15公里，但坡度较平缓，也无需开凿八达岭那样长的隧道，但要专门修一条运输材料的路，费时费钱。

Route two was the Rehe Route extending from Qinglong Bridge， bypassing Badaling Ridge， turning to the northeast， and passing the Ming Tombs to reach Yanqing. Although this route was 15 kilometers longer， its slopes were relatively gentle and it did not require a tunnel as long as Badaling. But a road designed for transporting materials would have to be built， costing time and money.

第三条路就是现在修成的丰沙线——从西直门往西，绕过石景山，经三家店，到沙城附近出山到张家口。这条线路比较理想4，但山势更加峻峭，坡度小但要修隧道65孔，工程费用较高。

The third route was the Fengsha Route， extending west from Xizhimen to bypass Shijingshan， passing Sanjiadian to reach Zhangjiakou by exiting the mountains near Shacheng. This route had advantages， but the mountains were more precipitous. Though the overall gradient was lower， 65 tunnels were required， pushing up the construction costs.

经过反复比较，最后，詹天佑采用了关沟线路。

After conducting considerable comparative analysis， in the end Zhan Tianyou chose the Guangou Route.

京张铁路穿过崇山峻岭，坡度很大。5按照国际的一般设计方法，铁路每升高1米，就要经过100米的斜坡。为了缩短线路，降低费用，詹天佑设计的线路则是每提高1米，仅需修33米的斜坡。

The Beijing-Zhangjiakou line would traverse precipitous and towering mountains with a steep gradient. According to existing international design standards， each meter of gradient required 100 meters of line. In order to shorten the route and lower the cost， Zhan adopted a method that needed only 33 meters of line for each meter of gradient.

但是，这样一来，坡度大了，火车爬山就更加吃力。怎样使列车这庞然大物顺利开上山，詹天佑整天开动脑筋思索着。

This made the gradient much steeper， making it more difficult for the train to climb. Zhan’s thoughts constantly turned on the question of how to enable the monster to climb the mountains smoothly.

一天晚上，詹天佑苦思冥想列车爬坡的方法6，到了夜深还未休息。他的妻子和女儿陪伴他画图设计。夜深了，屋子里很冷，女儿手指冻得有点僵硬，一不小心，将冰凉的剪刀掉在了地上。詹天佑听见响动，从凝思中惊醒过来7。他看着掉在地上的剪子，突然大声叫道：“有了！有了！”

Late one night， Zhan was restlessly pondering the question. His wife and daughter were by his side as he drew and designed. The room was very cold and the fingers of his daughter were chilled; her grip failed and she inadvertently dropped an icy pair of scissors on the floor. The noise roused Zhan Tianyou from his contemplation. He looked at the scissors on the floor and suddenly yelled out： “Got it！ I’ve got it！”

他的妻子和女儿莫名其妙。詹天佑兴奋地说：“八达岭的铁路可以仿照剪子那样修建，火车一折一返地往上爬，不就可以翻山越岭了吗？”

His wife and daughter had no idea what was going on. Zhan Tianyou said in excitement， “The railway at Badaling can be built like a pair of scissors！ As the train climbs back and forth， won’t it be able to scale the heights？”

后来，青龙桥那段铁路修成了“人”字形（也称“之”字形）线路8，火车一曲一折地轻轻松松爬上了山。当地人把这段铁路称之为“剪子岭”。

Later the section of railway at Qinglong Bridge was built in a zigzag， and the train was able to climb the mountains with ease. Local people there called this section of the line Scissor Mountain.

1本文节选自《大国速度 百年京张》第一章第三节，是展现中国第一代铁路人智慧的精彩篇章。在京张铁路的建设中，南口至青龙桥段尤为艰难，因为这段路程地势陡峭，坡度极大。面对火车车身长、既要爬坡又要转弯的难题，中国铁路之父詹天佑带领团队迎难而上，巧妙地运用了“人”字形设计方案，通过“增加线路长度”来“减小坡度”，使火车能以折返行驶的方式爬坡上山。这不仅缩短了工期，还降低了成本。节选的译文集中体现了中译英时批判性阅读和批判性思考对于精准选词、厘清逻辑和避免冗译的重要性。" 2原文第二段的首句进一步解释了前一段所指出的施工难题，而这也是后文所述的詹天佑创新的原因，两段文字的逻辑关系非常紧密。因此，将两段合译为一能够以更简洁、连贯的方式呈现信息，增加译文叙述的流畅性。

3翻译时，需要运用批判性思维，厘清行文逻辑，从而真正理解原文的深层含义，这在中译英时尤为重要。比如：“悬崖峭壁，坡陡路险，工程量大，且运输量有限”讲述的都是修建关沟线的具体困难，这就构成了断句的依据；另外，“悬崖峭壁”和“坡陡路险”都描绘了地理环境的艰险，这两个短语与“工程量大，且运输量有限”之间实为因果关系。因此，可以the precipitous cliffs作为主语，通过meant外显这种隐含的逻辑关系，并使用along the route来呼应前文，使句子结构更为紧凑，语义更为连贯。" 4原文介绍了三条线路各自的特点，并比较了它们的利弊。因此，“比较理想”一词在语境中意指第三条线路相较于前两条线路的优势，将其意译为had advantages比直译为relatively ideal更为贴切。同理，下文“经过反复比较”的翻译，也采用了类似的策略。

5英语时态就像一块丰富多彩的调色板，能够为故事的叙述增添清晰而生动的色彩。在原文描述的语境中，由于京张铁路当时还未建成，因此不宜使用一般过去时，而应选择过去将来时，以表达当时对一件即将发生之事的预判。" 6根据《大国速度 百年京张》的翻译目的和读者群，译文的风格应倾向于简明易懂的英语，其基本原则之一便是言简意赅，避免冗余和重复。此句中“列车爬坡的方法”显然是指代前句中述及的詹天佑整天开动脑筋思索的难题。因此，翻译时无需再次详细阐述难题的内容，只需简洁地译为the question即可。" 7两处译例体现了无生命主语的妙用。

8“人”字形这一表达自序言开始多次出现，但在此处重复提及并未给作者阐述的观点增加额外价值，因此无需译出，以避免译文冗长拖沓。