2019年CATTI三级笔译实务练习题：气候变化对家畜的影响

　　Impacts of Climatic Changes on Livestock: A Canadian Perspective

　　There are more than 90,000 livestock operations in Canada, which accounted for more than $17 billion in farm cash receipts in 20001.Despite the economic importance of livestock operations to Canada2, relatively few studies have examined how they could be impacted by climate change. 3

　　Temperature is generally considered to be4 the most important bioclimatic factor for livestock. Warmer temperatures are expected to present both benefits and challenges to livestock operations. Benefits would be particularly evident during winter, when 5 warmer weather lowers feed requirements, increases survival of the young, and reduces energy costs. Challenges would increase during the summer, however, when heat waves can kill animals. For example, large numbers of chicken deaths are commonly reported in the United States during heat waves. 6 Heat stress also adversely affects milk production, meat quality and dairy cow reproduction. In addition, warmer summer temperatures have been shown to suppress appetites in livestock and hence reduce weight gain. For example, a study conducted in Appalachia found that a 5︒C increase in mean summer temperature7 caused a l0% decrease in cow, calf and dairy operations.

　　Provided there is adequate moisture, warmer temperatures and elevated CO2 concentrations are generally expected to increase growth rates in grasslands and pastures. 8 It is estimated that a doubling of9 atmospheric CO2 would increase grassland productivity by an average of 17%, with greater increases projected for colder regions and moisture-limited grassland systems. However, study results tend to vary greatly with location, and changes in species composition may affect the actual impacts10 on livestock grazing. For instance, studies have noted future climate changes, particularly extreme events, may promote the invasion of alien species into grasslands, which could reduce the nutritional quality of the grass.

　　An increase in severe moisture deficits due to drought may require producers to reduce their stock of grazing cattle to preserve their land, as exemplified by the drought of 2001 when many Prairie producers had to cull their herds. For the 2002 season, it was predicted that many pastures would be unable to support any grazing, while others would be reduced to 20-300/o of normal herd capacity.

　　There is relatively little literature available on the impacts of extreme climate events on livestock. Nevertheless, storms, blizzards and droughts are an important concern for livestock operations. In addition to the direct effects on animals, storms may result in power outages that can devastate farms that are heavily dependent upon electricity for daily operations. This was exemplified by" the 1998 ice storm in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec, when the lack of power left many dairy farms unable to use their milking machines. This threatened the health of the cows (due to potential mastitis) and caused significant revenue losses. Milk revenue was also lost through the inability to store the milk at the proper temperature.12 Furthermore, the lack of electricity made it difficult to provide adequate barn ventilation and heating, thereby making the animals more susceptible to illness.

　　词汇

　　1.cash receipts现金收入

　　2.bioclimatic factor生物气候因素

　　3.heat wave/heat stress热浪

　　4.C02 concentration二氧化碳浓度

　　5.grassland/pasture/prairie草原，草地，草场

　　6.grazing放牧

　　7.cull拣选，剔除

　　8.herd capacity放牧能力

　　9.mastitis乳突炎

　　10.revenue收入

　　注释

　　1.本句中which引导的定话从句补充说明加拿大家畜业的收入情况，汉译时不必译为前置定语，可独立译为一句，更符合汉语习惯：加拿大有9万多家家畜企业，2000年现金收入超过170亿美元。

　　2.此处为despite介词词组做状语，汉译时需译成句子。汉译时，一般英语的状语都可译作汉语的一个分句，更符合汉语习惯。此外，英语以名词为胜，经常使用名词、名词词组和介词词组，而汉语则以动词为胜，本句就又是一例。

　　3.表述之前已提到内容时，英语常用代词、助动词、近义词等替代，汉语则常采用重复的手段。这里的they指代之前的Livestock operations，汉译时应将they译为“家畜业”，而不能简单地用“它们”对应。关于替代与重复这一技巧请参见本单元的Skills of Translation.

　　4.科技英语中大量使用被动结构，以使内容更具客观性。然而汉语被动结构使用并不广泛，所以汉译时一般需转为主动，故此句译为：“对家畜而言，气温通常是最为重要的生物气候因素。”

　　5.此句中when引导的定语从句具有状语功能，汉译时可将其译作状语从句，使用关联词“因为”表明上下文关系。下句讲夏季温度上升的风险时，也使用了when，两者情况相似。

　　6. large numbers of chicken deaths are commonly reported in the United States during heat waves本句显然不能机械地译作“在美国热浪时期，大量小鸡死亡通常被报道”，不妨将动词report化作名词，将名词heat waves化为主谓词组，译为“热浪来袭时，美国经常有大批小鸡死亡的报道”，更符合汉语习惯。

　　7.mean summer temperature意为“夏季平均气温”。此处mean的意思为居于两端中间的、平均的，相似例子有，mean moisture(平均湿度)、mean price(财务、证券交易经纪人买进卖出的平均价格)、Greenwich Mean Time(格林尼治时间)等。

　　8.此句又为被动句，翻译技巧同注释4。这里的grasslands和pastures分别为“草场”和“草原”，不能笼统地都译为“草地”。

　　9.a doubling of可译为“翻一番”、“两倍”、“增长一倍”等，这里的英文表达方式很值得借鉴。科技文献中表示倍数、增减等概念的数字较多，并有多种表达方法，翻译时应弄清确切含义，选择合适的表达方法。倍数的译法请参见本单元的Skills of Translation。

　　10.原文中the actual impact on livestock grazing翻译时需根据上下文补充“气候变化”

　　译为“气候变化对家畜放牧的实际影响”，使之完整，前后连贯。

　　11.奉文中多次举例，使用for example，for instance，as exemplified by，be exemplified by等表达方式，汉译一般译作“例如”、“比如”。不妨多积累些表示举例的英语表达方法，在汉译英时即可游刃有余。

　　12.Milk revenue was also lost through the inability to store the milk at the proper temperature本句结果在前，原因在后，汉译时可按“先因后果”的汉语逻辑习惯调整语序，译为：牛奶无法在合适的温度下存放也导致了收入的减少。

　　参考译文

　　气候变化对家畜的影响——加拿大的视角

　　加拿大有9万多家家畜企业，2000年现金收入超过170亿美元。家畜业对加拿大经济举足轻重，但是，有关气候变化对家畜业影响的研究却相对不足。

　　对家畜而言，气温通常是最为重要的生物气候因素。温度较高对家畜业既有益处，也有风险。这种益处在冬季尤为明显，因为温度较高，就会降低家畜饲养要求，提高幼畜存活几率，节约能源成本。然而在夏季，温度上升的风险就会凸现，热浪可能置牲畜于死地。例如，热浪来袭时，美国经常有大批小鸡死亡的报道。热浪对牛奶生产、肉制品质量以及奶牛繁殖也很不利。另外，研究表明，夏季气温较高会抑止家畜的食欲，从而影响其体重增长。

　　如阿巴拉契亚地区的一项研究表明，夏季平均气温上升5摄氏度，会导致奶牛、肉牛和奶制品产业产值减少10%。

　　假设湿度适宜，较高的气温和二氧化碳浓度通常会提高草场和草原的生长率。据估计，大气中二氧化碳浓度翻一番，草场产量就会平均增长17 010，在较冷的地区和湿度较低的草场上增长率更高。然而，研究结果地区差异很大，而物种构成的变化，也会使气候变化对家畜放牧的实际影响有所不同。比如，多项研究指出，未来气候变化，尤其是极端气候情况的出现，会助长外来物种侵入草场，从而降低草的营养价值。

　　干旱引起的湿度亏欠增加，会迫使牧场主减少牲畜存栏数，以保护草场。2001年的干旱就迫使许多草原牧场主大量宰杀病弱牲畜。2002年曾有人预言，许多草原将不再能放牧，而其他草原的正常放牧能力也将下降20-30%。

　　虽然有关极端气候事件对家畜影响的现有文献相对较少，但毫无疑问，暴风雨、暴风雪和干旱是影响家畜业的重要因素。除了对牲畜的直接影响外，暴风雨会导致电力供应中断。

　　那些高度依赖电力的农场的日常运作，将受到严重影响。例如，1998年安大略省东部和魁北克南部遭受暴风雪时，许多产奶场因缺电无法使用挤奶机器，从而威胁奶牛的健康(因为可能导致乳突炎)，并对农户收入造成严重损失。牛奶无法在合适的温度下存放也导致了销售收入的减少。此外，缺电还容易导致谷仓通风不畅，供暖不足，使奶牛易于患病。