“德才兼備”及其反面

秋千影

“著力培養選拔黨和人民需要的好干部”一文在討論“怎樣是好干部”這一問題時，指出好干部的標準就是德才兼備（good officials should be of moral integrity and professional competence），與此同時，一針見血地指出了干部中出現的個別問題，英文版很好地再現了原文的雷霆萬鈞之勢。

試看這段英文：

Withthe “nice guy” mentality currently prevailing among some officials， it has become common place that many officials dare not criticize errors or take on responsibilities， or are unwilling to do so. Some officialskeep on good terms with everybody at the expense of principles，for they are afraid of offending people and losing votes， holding a belief in the vulgar philosophy of “more flowers and fewer thorns.”They mind nothing but their business and will do nothing unless their personal interests are affected，being satisfied with muddling along and accomplishing nothing at all. Some officials are not fulfilling their duties properly. They sidestep difficult problems and matters of public concern， argue and pass the buck， and tackle their responsibilities in a perfunctory manner，with their delay turning small problems into big ones and big problems into dreadful troubles.Some officials are smooth characters who handle matters in an overly “clever” manner，pick easy jobs and posts while shirking hard ones， think of nothing but self-preservation in the face of challenges， rush to claim credit for success， and evade responsibility when and problem crops up. What is more frightening is thatsome of these officials are popular， even getting on well in official circles，gaining more than others while contributing less. How can the cause of the Party and the people proceed if there are a lot of “nice guys，” people of “smooth character，” those who always pass the buck to others，” or those who waver like “weeds atop the wall”？ These problems are extremely dangerous， and major efforts must be made to solve them.

這段譯文里，很多習語譯得比較精彩，比如：

1. 好人主義 “nice guy” mentality

【評】不必逢“主義”必-ism。

2. 搞無原則的一團和氣 keep on good terms with everybody at the expense of principles

【評】抽象名詞一旦具體化，便簡易許多。

3. 信奉多栽花、少栽刺的庸俗哲學 holding a belief in the vulgar philosophy of “more flowers and fewer thorns”

【評】字字有著落，譯文工整。

4. 滿足于做得過且過的太平官 being satisfied with muddling along and accomplishing nothing at all

【評】原來“太平官”是可以不翻的，通過變譯獲得等效。

5. 推諉扯皮、敷衍塞責argue and pass the buck， and tackle their responsi-bilities in a perfunctory manner

【評】常見漢語習語，宜學習掌握其英文。

6. 有的為人圓滑世故，處事精明透頂。Some officials are smooth characters who handle matters in an overly “clever” manner.

【評】這里英文如果用sophisticated就有美化之嫌，故用帶引號的clever，巧遞諷刺。

7. 有些還混得左右逢源甚至如魚得水。Some of these officials are popular， even getting on well in official circles.

【評】因為全文講干部問題，所以，譯文中明晰原意，使用了in the official circles一語。

此外，該文還述及“帶病提拔”、違規提拔、形式主義、官僚主義、享樂主義和奢靡之風等語，讀者諸君在閱讀中可曾留意它們的英文表述？