课文翻译 课后翻译在最后
从一开始乔治就被所有的日本雇员欣然接受。日方经理通常不信任任何被派去代表美方业主的人但乔治生性随和没有人把他看作是对自己职业的一种威胁。所以他们喜欢就广泛的各类问题征求他的意见包括大洋彼岸他们的合作伙伴的古怪行为。公司上下的工程师们都珍视乔治的专业知识和他友好而技能熟练的帮助他们已养成了一有问题----任何问题就找他帮忙的习惯。办公室里的秘书们都热衷于帮助这个讨人喜欢的单身汉学习日语。
Sooner than anyone expected, the company became a profitable, thriving and growing venture. George's first two-year contract came to an end. By then, he could speak good Japanese, and had picked up Japanese habits. He drank green tea at all hours, ate rice at every meal and had even learned to sit properly on Japanese tatami mats. So when George was offered a second two-year Japanese contract, he accepted at once. Another contract followed, and George's love affair with Japanese culture continued.
谁也没有料到那么快公司就成了一家赢利、兴旺、日益壮大的企业。乔治的第一份两年期合同到期了。这时他已经能讲很好的日语并养成了一些日本人的习惯。他整天喝绿茶顿顿吃米饭甚至学会了正确地坐榻榻米。所以当公司向乔治提出在日本的第二份两年期合同的建议时他立即就接受了。之后又有第三份合同乔治与日本文化的情缘在继续着。
But as George's sixth year in the country was coming to an end, an unexpected difficulty became apparent: The Japanese engineers had surpassed George in their knowledge of the rapidly - changing technology. He had nothing left to teach them.
但是当乔治在这个国家的第6个年头即将结束时一个未曾料到的困难变得显而易见了日本工程师对迅速更新的技术的了解已经超过了乔治。他没有什么剩下的东西可以教他们了。
Was this the end for poor George? Was there nothing more he could offer to the now-mature joint venture he had served so loyally? Would he have to leave the country he had come to love? No! Faced with the threat of an unwilling departure from Japan, George reinvented himself as a "cultural translator".
难道这就是可怜的乔治的结局吗? 他对于这家他曾经如此忠诚地服务过的、现已成熟的合资企业就再也没有什么可以贡献的了吗? 他只得离开他已开始爱上的这个国家吗? 不! 面对着要离开日本的威胁乔治心有不甘于是将自己重新塑造成了一名“文化翻译”。 The idea came to George one day when the Japanese joint-venture president was — again — offended by a message from the American management. As usual in such situations, he stormed into George's office and threw the message in front of him in a fury. And George, as usual, read the message and explained in his calm manner what the Americans had really meant by it, not what it sounded like in the context of Japanese culture.
一天这家合资企业的日方总裁----又一次----被来自美方管理层的一份电文激怒了乔治就是在那一天产生了做一名“文化翻译”这一想法的。像通常碰到类似的情况时一样日方总裁冲进乔治的办公室怒气冲冲地将那份电文扔到了他面前。乔治也同往常一样读了电文然后心平气和地解释了美国人这样说的真正意思而不是在日本文化背景下听上去的那种意思。
Fortunately for everyone, both the Japanese and American sides of the joint venture had heard enough horror stories about cultural conflicts to recognize the value of George's skills, so when he proposed this new position for himself, the idea was quickly approved. The wisdom of this decision was proved again and again over the years.
