文学作品翻译:辛泊平-《现代人的流行病》英译
疯狂跳槽,一事无成。总想着“天生我材必有用”,总想着“此处不留爷,自有留爷处”,不是踏踏实实做人,扎扎实实做事,而是在哪里呆着都觉得委屈了自己,看什么都不顺眼,做什么都不顺心,这山望着那山高。跳槽成了习惯,甚至成了生活方式。Many of them become frequent job-hoppers upon graduation from college and will hardly make any achievement. They always hold that they were bestowed with genius and would sooner or later find some place to bring their genius into full play. As a result, they would not take a down-to-earth attitude in doing anything but feel wronged no matter what jobs they get. To them, nothing is right or satisfactory, just like the saying goes: “Distant mountains are always greener and taller.” Thus, job-hopping becomes
不怕丢丑,出名至上。人人都想在电视上露一回脸,抢不到这机会的就在网络上晒自己,多难看的相貌、多丢人的事,也敢发布出去。只要能出名,什么都在所不惜。“做秀”一说,也走向了自我的反面,摇身一变,不再羞羞答答,而是风光无限。
In modern peoples’ eyes, disgrace is nothing, whereas, fame is everything. Thus, everyone is overeager to show his face on the TV. He who can’t grasp such an opportunity rushes to “strip” himself online, no matter how ugly he might look, how disgraceful the thing might be, as long as he can fish for fame in return. “Show” swiftly goes to the reverse: no shyness, all showiness.
买房装修给人看,身背包袱日子难。见面说不了三句话,就扯到房子上。没有房的要买房,有了房的想换大的,有的大的还想买第二套。明明自己掏腰包已瘪,可看见新楼盘开张,就浑身热血沸腾,野心横生。装修也相互攀比,你装修成皇宫模样,我就装修成总统套房。但收入就那么多,无奈只好节衣缩食,背负着巨大的精神压力一日挨一日。
They buy houses only for the purpose of showing off, even if they are heavily burdened by mortgage. Housing is the inevitable topic of conversation no matter what you may talk about with them. Those who haven’t bought a flat want to buy one, those who already bought one want to buy a bigger one, and those who already have big ones want to buy a second one. Flat as their wallets are, their blood boils with sudden urges to buy whenever some new building opens for sale. When it comes to interior decoration, they will also strive to score off their neighbors. You make a palace of your flat? Well, I shall make a presidential suite of mine. However, as their salaries are limited, they cannot but save every penny in order to make ends meet. Thus, they drag out a miserable existence under heavy spiritual burden from day to day.