英汉翻译技巧第七章拆译与缩译

英汉翻译技巧,主编：钟书能教授,第7章 拆译与缩译 Division and Condensation in E-C Translation,一、概述,英语和汉语有一个明显的区别，就是英文句子冗长复杂，汉语句子短小简洁。前者的冗长是因为主句上又枝生出许多从属成分，包括各种从句和短语（分词短语，形容词短语，名词短语，不定式短语）。这种叠床架屋的句型特征使一个英文句子里面往往包含多层意思。 与英文相比，汉语比较短小。即便是很长的句子，也是由多个短句构成。因此，在用汉语翻译英语句子的时候，如果译者选择保留句子的原有结构，试图把所有的意思全部塞进同一个没有逗号隔开的中文句子，译文会显得臃肿，艰涩别扭，而且让译者大伤脑筋。为了避免这个问题，最有效的方法就是拆译。 拆译就是将句子中的某个成分从主句中拆分出来，单独成为一个短句或者整句。第一个好处，就是符合了中文的句子特征。但是，这是否就意味着句子变得简洁了呢？事实上，单纯的拆分只是保证了句子形式上符合中文的表达习惯，而句子仍然存在逻辑混乱，层次不分明的问题。这个问题要归咎于英汉两种语言形合和意合的本质特征。这两个特征在本书第三章做了详细的介绍。,简单地说，作为一种形合的语言，英语的句子主要依靠各种语法手段来实现句子的衔接和语篇的连贯。比如，句子的主干词汇上总是挂着各种从句和短句，就像一串葡萄或者一棵枝繁叶茂的大树，有时葡萄和树叶把树干给遮掩了起来。相反，汉语的句子主要是依靠句子之间无形的逻辑关系来实现文本的连贯。相比之下，汉语句子更像是一节竹子或者一条链子，主干一目了然。如果英文句子的语序没有按照逻辑顺序进行调整，读者就会在各种冗长的解释说明性的从句和短语中迷了路，昏了头，忘记了句子的主干。因此，除了句子成分的拆分之外，往往还伴随着句子中各种成分顺序的调整。,总的来说，拆译包括三个步骤。首先确定要拆分的词语，短语或从句；其次，被拆分的内容往往需要配合增词或者词性转换，这样才能使得原先的词语，短语或者从句成为一个独立的分句；最后，按照句子之间的逻辑关系，比如先因后果，先叙事后评论的顺序重新排列句子。 然而，拆译并非适合所有的情况。这种策略只是针对部分词语、短语和从句。因为它们所承载的意思已经超出了一个汉语短句可以容纳的空间，所以才需要独立门户，寻求更大的空间扩展，以求译文意思清晰明确。 相反，对于有些短语、从句和句群，我们则需要使用缩译，以确保句子尽量精炼。缩译就是把短语紧缩成词语，从句转变成短语，几个句子缩合为一个句子。不过，因为英语主要还是以长句居多，所以两种策略相比之下，前者使用更为频繁。,二、翻译示例,拆译就是在翻译中将英文原句中的词语、短语或者从句拆分出来，处理为独立于主干的分句或者整句。拆译通常要结合增词法，倒装法或转换法，打破原有的句子结构，根据符合中文的逻辑和表达方法，重新安排拆分部分与主句的顺序与关系。这种翻译方法可以使译文意思更加清晰明确，层次更加分明，表达更加符合中文习惯。 拆译一般分为三类，词语的拆译，短语的拆译和从句的拆译。,1.词语的拆译,英文中的许多副词，名词特别是抽象名词，形容词具有强大的表达能力，为了将这些词语丰富的内涵表达出来，需要将这些词语从句子中拆分出来，单独处理为一个句子。,(1) They were understandably reluctant to join the battle.,译文 他们不愿意参战，这是可以理解的。,分析 understandable拆分出来，作为对整句话的评论。,译文 富兰克林罗斯福目光炯炯，含笑倾听，一言不发，然后和其他人 一道，报以热烈的掌声。 分析 bright-eyed拆分出来。另外，主句以外的几个表伴随的介词短语 和分词短语都拆分出来，逐个译为单句，打破了原文在语法形式 上的连接，符合了中文重意合的特点。,(2) Franklin Roosevelt listened with bright-eyed smiling attention, saying nothing, and applauding heartily with the rest.,2. 短语的拆分,与中文句子相比，英文句子偏长。究其原因，除了大量使用从句之外，还包括大量修辞，解释和补充性短语的使用，包括介词短语、名词短语、分词短语、形容词短语。这些短语往往需要拆分为独立的分句或句子。,(2) The two brothers sat at the window a whole day watching for the right man to give the letter to.,译文 这两兄弟在窗口坐了一整天，守候着一个适当的人出现，好把这封信 给他。 分析 原句里面的现在分词引导的短语做伴随状语，实际表示目的，所以拆 分出来作为一个单独的短句。,(1) Nearly everyone knows that story of “the dog that worried the cat that caught the rat that ate the grain that lay in the house that Jack built.”,译文 几乎所有的人都知道这个故事，“杰克盖了房子，房里堆了粮食，老 鼠吃了粮食，猫抓住了老鼠，最后狗咬住了猫。” 分析 如果按照原文本身的多个限定性定语从句的结构，译成“每个人都知 道咬住抓住吃了杰克盖的房子里面堆放的粮食的老鼠的猫的狗的故 事”，句子意思显得不清晰。所以，译者需要抛开原文的形式，理清 逻辑，按照中文的意合方式将这些信息重新拆分组合。,(3) Out of a deep and dreamless sleep he was awakened by the sound of thumping on the door.,译文 他正睡得沉，连梦都没有，突然间，一阵嘭嘭的敲门声，把他唤醒了。 分析 out of a deep and dreamless sleep在句子里面是一个做宾补的短语， 实际上是表示时间。整个句子拆分后，按照事情发展的时间顺序重新 组合。,3.从句的拆分,英文句子有一个特点，就是长。其中一个原因就是大量的复合句，即包含从句的句子。而与之相比，汉语短小。因此，复合句的汉译往往需要将从句从句子中拆分出来, 作为独立的句子或分句处理。,(1) They claimed that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we act.,译文 他们宣称，决定我们行为方式时，环境比以生理为基础的本能更为重要。 分析 宾语从句拆分出来，同时将介词短语in determining how we act拆分出来 做方式状语。,(2) In recent years an interesting fact has been brought to public attention: as education levels, salaries, and the cost of living have increased, more and more people are now having fewer and fewer children to the point where schools in many cities have to close down.,译文 近几年，一个有趣的情况引起人们的注意：随着教育水平、工资 和生活消费的提高，越来越多的人不想多生孩子，已经到了许多 城市的学校不得不关门的地步。 分析 本句中where引导的定语从句是既是陈述人们不愿意多生孩子这一 现状所达到的严重程度，同时也是陈述其所导致的结果，拆分开 来更符合中文句子的表达方式。,(3) I told them how I had served Starbucks coffee to my friends in New York, how enthusiastic they had been.,译文 我告诉他们，我曾经用星巴克咖啡招待过纽约的朋友，尝过的人都赞不绝口。 分析 英文句子中包含两个并列的宾语从句，汉译时，为了使意思更清晰，将这两 个从句从句子中拆分出来, 作为独立的分句处理。一般用特殊疑问代词或副 词引导的宾语从句一般都译为叙述性信息，而不是“我告诉他们我如何 用星巴克的咖啡招待美国的朋友，以及他们如何的兴奋。”,4. 整句的拆译,(1) You compare her with your English women who wolf down three to five meat meals a day; and naturally you find her a sylph.,译文 你们英国女人每天狼吞虎咽吃下三餐到五餐肉食，你们拿她来跟你们相 比，当然会觉得她是个窈窕女子了。 分析 句子将who引导的定语从句拆分出来，按照事情发展的先后顺序重新组 织表达。,(2) Yet, curiously, really violent activity and life-changing events are hidden in bland antiseptic tones that serve to disguise the reality.,译文 然而，让人不解的是，谈及暴力事件和人生大事，人们的语气往往漠 然不屑，仿佛他们对此并不在乎。 分析 这个句子不重新拆开就无法翻译。汉译时，我们首先改被动句结构为 主动句结构。in bland antiseptic tones部分先拆出来，可以重新组织 成people usually use bland antiseptic tones to talk about really violent activity and life-changing events，这样一来就好理解与表达了。,(3) Our time together seemed devoid of the gerrymandered schedules that now pervade my life.,译文 在我和母亲共度的时光里，一切都井然有序，安排好的事情往往 不会随意改动，而我现在的生活却充斥着多变和混乱。 分析 本句是个典型的英语句子，用词抽象。译文为了符合中文用词具 体的特点，将gerrymandered schedules和pervade的内容具体化。,缩译就是为了确保表达的清晰和简洁，汉译有时将某些短语句子译得更加简洁，或者将从句和主句合并，或者将几个独立的句子合并为一个单句。,1. 压缩短语,(1) At the end of the day, the president would have a little bourbon and branch water with one of his principal advisers in the Oval Office.,译文 晚上，总统还会邀请一位主要顾问来椭圆形办公室喝上一杯波旁 威士忌加白水。 分析 at the end of the day译为“晚上”而非“一天结束的时候”。,(2) In mid-June, the public was evenly divided when asked whether it thought Mr. Obamas health plan was a good idea or bad idea.,译文 6月中旬，当被问到奥巴马的医疗计划是好是坏时，公众的回答 基本是各占一半。,分析 a good idea or bad idea译为“是好是坏”。,译文 同时，国内外的社会、政治和经济因素都会对汉语的演变起很大的决 定作用。,分析 both domestic and international译为“国内外”，并与修辞对象合并。,(3) It is also clear that social, political and economic factors, both domestic and international, will play a large role in determining the precise nature of these advances.,2. 复合句压缩为简单句,(1) When deeply absorbed in work, which he often was, he would forget all about eating and sleeping.,译文 他常常聚精会神地工作，这时他就会废寝忘食。,分析 which he often was与第一句合并。,(2) The thief, who was about to escape, was caught by the policemen.,译文 小偷正要逃走时被警察抓住了。 分析 将主语和非限定性定语从句合并。,3. 并列句压缩为简单句,(3) The concern is fueled by rising anxiety over the federal budget deficit, which is reflected in the new poll as well.,译文 对联邦预算赤字的焦虑情绪加重引发的担忧在新民调查中也得到 了反映。 分析 非限定性定语从句与主句合并。,(1) The time was 10:00 p.m., and traffic on the street was light.,译文 晚上十点钟，街上来往的车辆稀少了。 分析 将前半句译为表时间的短语。,(1) The clear heaven overhead was emptied of all its gold. Dusk spread over it, abruptly darkening the Seven Hills.,译文 天宇澄清，余晖尽敛，夜幕降临，罗马七丘顿时昏暗。 分析 成语的使用可以是表达更加精炼，同时也利用了中文的优势。,4. 两个或两个以上的简单句压缩为一个简单句,(2) Constructive criticism should not break friendship. It should breed respect.,译文 建设性的批评不应该损害友谊而应增进尊重。 分析 两句主语一致，可以合并。,(3) Finally, my teacher took me aside. She explained that she had written a narrators part to the play, and asked me to switch roles.,译文 最后，老师把我叫到一旁，向我解释说她为这个话剧另外写了一 个旁白的角色，并让我改当旁白。 分析 两句主语一致，并且都是对同一件事情的描写，可以纳入同一个 句子。,语篇1 A fire broke out in a womens tent at a Kuwaiti wedding party on Saturday killing at least 41 people, Kuwaiti media reported. 科威特媒体报道，星期六在科威特的一个婚礼上，女宾专用的帐篷发生大火，至少41人死亡。 The private al-Rai television channel quoted the head of Kuwaits fire brigade Jassim al-Mansouri as saying 61 people were critically injured. 私人电视台al-Rai援引科威特消防部门负责人贾西姆曼苏里（Jassim al-Mansouri）的话说，大火中61人受重伤。 The state news agency KUNA said 41 bodies had been recovered from the smouldering remains of the tent, in the al-Jahra district west of Kuwait City. 科威特新闻通讯社（KUNA）报道，大火发生在科威特首都科威特城西部的杰赫拉区（al-Jahra），消防队员已经从快要燃尽的帐篷废墟里找到了41具尸体。,5. 结合上下文灵活使用拆译和缩译,“The number of fatalities might increase due to the large number of injuries as result of a stampede that followed the outbreak of the fire at the tent that was packed with people at the wedding,” Mansouri told KUNA. 苏里告诉通讯社：“举行婚礼时，帐篷里挤满了人，所以大火发生后人群造成踩踏，很多人受伤，这会使得大火中死伤的人数增加。” He said authorities were investigating the cause of the blaze. 他说：“当局正在调查这起大火的起因。” Weddings in Kuwait are mostly segregated, with women seated separately from men. Tents are often erected especially for the occasion. 科威特人举行婚礼大多将男女分开，婚礼上通常都会搭起专门的帐篷。(黎妍 译),语篇2 These aspects of her personality I came to know gradually over the coming months. What struck me first were the outward things, her animation and expressiveness. I couldnt tell whether this was something she was born with, or whether the projection of emotion which she had learned as an actress had become second nature. When indignant, her eyes would flash fire, when happy she would laugh unrestrainedly like a child. I quickly changed my preconceived notions about the “inscrutableness” of Orientals. 在接下来的几个月里，我渐渐了解了她的性格。首先让我感到吃惊的是她外在的一些个性。比如说，她很活泼，表现力极强。我说不清这到底是她与生俱来的天性，还是她作为一个演员，感情的流露已经成为了她的第二天性。愤慨的时候，她的眼睛会喷出火花。而快乐的时候，她则会像个孩子一样无拘无束地大笑。我原先认为东方人“神秘莫测”，而这种想法很快改变了。 She had not remarried because she had not found anyone for whom she could care enough and who would respect her independence. 她一直没有找到一个足以让她爱得痴狂，又能尊重她的独立的男人，所以没有再嫁。,Not, at least, till I came along. Our physical attraction was immediate and mutual. But more than that, we shared an identity of interests and found pleasure in each others company. 至少在我出现之前是这样。我们很快被对方的外表所吸引。但更重要的是，我们有着一致的兴趣，并且喜欢跟对方在一起。 We sat in tea gardens amid flowering shrubs and fanciful pavilions and sipped green “Dragon Well” tea and cracked watermelon seeds. We wended through the City God Temple, with its many shops of marvelous handicrafts connected by a zigzag bridge around a lotus pond. 我们坐在茶园儿里面，四周是开着花的灌木丛和精致的小亭子，或是细细品尝龙井茶，或是啪啪地嗑着瓜子儿。我们一起逛城隍庙，莲池上有一座九曲桥，四周有许多铺子，摆满了精致有趣的手工艺品。 And we met in her flat with a few other Chinese friends and talked in low voices, with the radios turned on loud against possible eavesdroppers, about who had just been arrested, or what bookstores had been raided, or whether more revolutionaries had been executed, and what the news from the Liberated Areas was. Sometimes we could pick up Yenan on my short-wave set. 在她的公寓里，我们和几个中国朋友低声地谈话，诸如谁谁已经被抓了，哪家书店被查抄了，是否会有更多的革命者被处决，以及从解放区传来的消息。这个时候，我们会把收音机开得很大，免得别人偷听。有时，我们还用我的短波收音机接收有关延安的新闻。,She had no doubt about our compatibleness, and if our future was unsure, so was the future of everyone in China. Nor did my “foreignness” seem to present any problems. She had got used to my appearance, and recovered from the initial shock of seeing me in a raglan sleeve topcoat on finding, when I took it off, that I had shoulders after all. In fact she had become bemused to such an extent that she thought I was quite nice-looking. No one stared when we appeared in public together, nor did I, for some reason, attract the crowds which often trailed other foreigners, awestruck by their outlandish garb and, by Chinese standards, huge noses. Her family offered no objections whatever. 她很肯定，我们是融洽的。如果说，我们的未来是模糊的，那么所有中国人的未来也是模糊的。我的外国人身份似乎也不是什么问题，她已经从我们初次见面时的震惊中走了出来，并习惯了我的打扮。那个时候，我穿着一件连肩袖外套，脱去外套的时候，她惊讶地发现原来我是长着一对肩膀的。实际上，那个时候她已经迷上我了，甚至她觉得我长得相当帅气。那时候，人们总喜欢追逐围观外国人，他们感到外国人的奇装异服和大鼻子新奇可畏。而我们一起走在外面的时候，却不会有人盯着我们看。而且，不知道出于什么原因，我也不会遭人注目。她的家里人也没有对我们的交往提出任何反对。,Absence of racial or religious prejudice is traditional in China. For two thousand years foreigners had been encouraged to settle in the Middle Kingdom and practice their religions and retain their customs. There was some talk among the rustics that all foreigners had red hair and blue eyes and walked without bending their knees. But those who had actually seen them knew better. None of her compatriots was shocked, though some perhaps wondered why she chose a foreigner when there was so many Chinese around. 中国的传统文化里面少有种族和宗教偏见。两千年来，中国都鼓励外国人定居中原，并允许他们保持自己的信仰和习俗。尽管在那些偏远的农村有这样的说法，说外国人都是红头发蓝眼睛，而且走路都不弯膝盖。但真正见过的人才知道并不是这样。尽管她的同胞有些想不明白，明明周围有那么多的中国男人，她怎么就偏偏选了个外国人，但他们并没有对我们的结合感到震惊。（黎妍 译）,三、英语语篇汉译,What It Takes to Be Great by Geoffrey Colvin 成 功 之 道,Research now shows that the lack of natural talent is irrelevant to great success. The secret? Painful and demanding practice and hard work. 最近研究证明，缺乏天赋并不意味着不能成功。那么秘密是什么？秘密就是困难和艰苦的练习以及努力的工作。,What makes Tiger Woods great? What made Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett the worlds premier investor? We think we know: Each was a natural who came into the world with a gift for doing exactly what he ended up doing. As Buffett told Fortune not long ago, he was “wired at birth to allocate capital.” Its a one-in-a-million thing. Youve got itor you dont. 泰格伍兹成为高尔夫王子的原因是什么？伯克希尔哈撒韦保险兼投资集团的董事长沃伦巴菲特成为世界上最优秀的投资者的原因又是什么？我们认为我们知道答案：他们所从事的事业所需要的天赋是与生俱来的。就在不久前，巴菲特告诉财富杂志，他“生来就擅长利用资本。”而这种情况是百万分之一。你要么具备这种天赋，要么不具备。,Well, folks, its not so simple. For one thing, you do not possess a natural gift for a certain job, because targeted natural gifts dont exist. You are not a born CEO or investor or chess grandmaster. You will achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years. And not just any hard work, but work of a particular type thats demanding and painful. 好了，朋友们，事情远远没有这么简单。你之所以不具备从事某一种工作的天赋，是因为这种目标明确的天赋不存在。你不会生来就是首席执行官、投资者，或者象棋大师。要获得成就，只能通过多年大量的辛勤工作。不仅仅是努力的工作，必须是一种困难而且艰苦的工作。,Buffett, for instance, is famed for his discipline and the hours he spends studying financial statements of potential investment targets. The good news is that your lack of a natural gift is irrelevanttalent has little or nothing to do with greatness. You can make yourself into any number of things, and you can even make yourself great. 举个例子，巴菲特的自律是出了名的，他会花上大量时间研读潜在投资目标的财务报告。令人高兴的一个消息是，如果你缺乏天赋，没有关系。因为天赋和成功的关系非常小，甚至可以说没有。你可以从事任何一种职业，甚至可以使自己出类拔萃。,Scientific experts are producing remarkably consistent findings across a wide array of fields. Understand that talent doesnt mean intelligence, motivation or personality traits. Its an innate ability to do some specific activity especially well. British-based researchers Michael J. Howe, Jane W. Davidson and John A. Sluboda conclude in an extensive study, “The evidence we have surveyed . does not support the notion that excelling is a consequence of possessing innate gifts.” 科学家在很多领域得出了非常一致的结论，这种一致是惊人的。天赋并不等于智慧、动机或者个性品质。天赋是一种与生俱来的把某种事做得很好的能力。几位英国的研究者，麦克J豪（Michael J. Howe）、简W戴维森（Jane W. Davidson）和约翰A斯鲁博达（John A. Sluboda）通过一项广泛的研究得出这样的结论：“我们通过调查找到的证据表明，卓越的成就并不是拥有天赋的结果。”,To see how the researchers could reach such a conclusion, consider the problem they were trying to solve. In virtually every field of endeavor, most people learn quickly at first, then more slowly and then stop developing completely. Yet a few do improve for years and even decades, and go on to greatness. 要想明白这些研究者是如何得出这个结论，我们需要了解他们试图解决的问题。事实上，在每一个学习的领域，大多数人在一开始都学得很快，这种进步渐渐变慢，最后完全停止。然而，仍然有极少数人会在几年甚至几十年的时间里继续提高，直到做出成就。,The irresistible questionthe “fundamental challenge” for researchers in this field, says the most prominent of them, professor K. Anders Ericsson of Florida State Universityis, Why? How are certain people able to go on improving? The answers begin with consistent observations about great performers in many fields. 美国佛罗里达州立大学的K安德斯埃里克森教授是这个领域最杰出的研究者之一。他说，一个不可避免的问题，同时也是研究者们面临的“最根本的挑战”，就是，为什么？有些人如何能够做到不断提高？要找到这个答案，首先要对各个领域的成功人士进行长期的观察。,Scientists worldwide have conducted scores of studies since the 1993 publication of a landmark paper by Ericsson and two colleagues, many focusing on sports, music and chess, in which performance is relatively easy to measure and plot over time. But plenty of additional studies have also examined other fields, including business. 自从爱立信教授和他的两个同事在1993年发表了一篇里程碑式的论文之后，世界各地的科学家就展开了一系列研究。这些研究主要集中在体育、音乐和象棋，因为这些领域的成就比较容易在一段时期内进行衡量并绘制图表。但是，研究者们也在包括商业在内的其他领域做了大量研究。,No substitute for hard work 努力的工作无法替代 The first major conclusion is that nobody is great without work. Its nice to believe that if you find the field where youre naturally gifted, youll be great from day one, but it doesnt happen. Theres no evidence of high-level performance without experience or practice. 第一个重大的结论就是，要取得成功，必须要努力。相信只要找到具有天赋的领域，那么一开始你就会出类拔萃，想起来是不错，但是这是不会发生的。没有证据可以证明，没有经验或者练习就能获得出众的表现。,Reinforcing that no-free-lunch finding is vast evidence that even the most accomplished people need around ten years of hard work before becoming world-class, a pattern so well established researchers call it the ten-year rule. 大量的证据证明即便最厉害的人也需要十年左右的努力才能成为世界级的人物。这进一步证明“没有免费午餐”这一道理。这种情况已经形成了一种模式，研究者把这个模式叫做十年定律。,What about Bobby Fischer, who became a chess grandmaster at 16? Turns out the rule holds: Hed had nine years of intensive study. And as John Horn of the University of Southern California and Hiromi Masunaga of California State University observe, “The ten-year rule represents a very rough estimate, and most researchers regard it as a minimum, not an average.” In many fields (music, literature) elite performers need 20 or 30 years experience before hitting their zenith. 那么如何解释鲍比菲舍儿年仅16岁就成为了象棋大师？事实证明，这个定律仍然成立：成为大师之前，他已经经过九年的集中练习。根据南加里福尼亚大学的约翰霍恩（John Horn）和加里福尼亚州立大学的松永浩美（Hiromi Masunaga）两名教授的观察，“十年定律只是一个非常粗略的估计，大多数研究者认为这只是最低值，并非平均值。”在许多领域，比如音乐和文学，最优秀的人往往需要二十年甚至三十年的经验才能达到顶峰。,So greatness isnt handed to anyone; it requires a lot of hard work. Yet that isnt enough, since many people work hard for decades without approaching greatness or even getting significantly better. Whats missing? 因此，伟大的成就并非唾手可得，这需要大量艰苦的工作。然而，仅仅艰苦的工作还不够。因为许多人努力了几十年，仍然没有取得成就，甚至没有明显的提高。那么是什么缺失了呢？,Practice makes perfect 熟能生巧 The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to what the researchers call “deliberate practice.” Its activity thats explicitly intended to improve performance, that reaches for objectives just beyond ones level of competence, provides feedback on results and involves high levels of repetition. 任何领域里面最优秀的人都是那些花费了大量时间用于研究者所说的“专门训练”的人。这种训练以提高水平为明确目的，旨在超越现有的能力水平，对结果提供反馈，并且包括大量的重复。,For example: Simply hitting a bucket of balls is not deliberate practice, which is why most golfers dont get better. Hitting an eight-iron 300 times with a goal of leaving the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80 percent of the time, continually observing results and making appropriate adjustments, and doing that for hours every daythats deliberate practice. 比如说，简单地击打一桶球算不上专门训练。这也是大多数的高尔夫球员不能提高的原因。专门训练应该是用八号铁（高尔夫球杆型号）击球300次，而且有80%的情况球落在离旗杆20英尺以内的地方。除此之外，一直关注结果，做出适当的调整，每天练习数小时。,Consistency is crucial. As Ericsson notes, “Elite performers in many diverse domains have been found to practice, on the average, roughly the same amount every day, including weekends.” 坚持是至关重要的。正如埃里克森教授所记录的，“一般来说，各个领域里的精英每天花在练习上的时间大致相同，周末也不例外。”,Evidence crosses a remarkable range of fields. In a study of 20-year-old violinists by Ericsson and colleagues, the best group (judged by conservatory teachers) averaged 10,000 hours of deliberate practice over their lives; the next-best averaged 7500 hours; and the next, 5000. Its the same story in surgery, insurance sales, and virtually every sport. More deliberate practice equals better performance. Tons of it equals great performance. 这个结论在相当多的领域都适用。埃里克森教授和他的同事将一群20岁的小提琴家作为研究对象。他们发现，最优秀的一组（由音乐学院的老师评判）一生中花在专门练习上的平均时间为10,000个小时，次优秀的一组平均时间为7500小时，再次的一组为5000小时。外科，保险销售，几乎所有的体育运动都是这种情况。专门练习越多，表现越出色。超大量的练习产生杰出的表现。,The skeptics 持怀疑的人 Not all researchers are totally onboard with the myth-of-talent hypothesis, though their objections go to its edges rather than its center. For one thing, there are the intangibles. Two athletes might work equally hard, but what explains the ability of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to perform at a higher level in the last two minutes of a game? 有些研究者也并不是以天才神话为前提的，尽管他们的异议往往是走向该领域的边缘而非中心。比如，成功还包含一些看不见的因素。两个运动员同样努力，但如何解释新英格兰爱国者的四分卫汤姆布雷迪在比赛的最后两分钟表现更加出色呢？,Researchers also note, for example, child prodigies who could speak, read or play music at an unusually early age. But on investigation those cases generally include highly involved parents. And many prodigies do not go on to greatness in their early field, while great performers include many who showed no special early aptitude. 研究者同时指出，比如，神童能够在相当小的年纪说话、阅读或者弹奏乐器。但是，调查显示，这些情况通常包括父母的参与。许多神童并没有在初期的领域取得出类拔萃的成绩，相反许多出类拔萃的人却并没有在年幼的时候表现出特别的天赋。,Certainly some important traits are partly inherited, such as physical size and particular measures of intelligence, but those influence what a person doesnt do more than what he does; a five-footer will never be an NFL lineman, and a seven-footer will never be an Olympic gymnast. Even those restrictions are less severe than youd expect: Ericsson notes, “Some international chess masters have IQs in the 90s.” The more research thats done, the more solid the deliberate-practice model becomes. 当然有些重要的特征还是部分来自于遗传的，比如身材和智商。但是那些特征往往是限制职业的类型，而不能决定具体的职业。例如，一个五英尺高的人不可能成为美国国家足球联盟的前锋。一个七英尺高的人也绝不可能成为奥