谈高校英语教学中科技英语教学的重要性

谢丽敏

摘 要 在大学英语的学习过程中，许多同学遇到科技英语文章时，感到非常困惑，不知如何分析。本文阐述了科技英语的特点，指导学生如何进行科技英语的阅读与翻译。

关键词 科技英语 词汇 句法结构

中图分类号：H319.3 文献标识码：A

Talking about the Importance of Scientific English

Teaching in College English Teaching

XIE Limin

(Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024)

Abstract Many college students feel confused when reading English for science and technology. The writer gives a detailed analysis of the features of English for science and technology, offering some help for students in reading English for science and technology.

Key words EST; vocabulary; sentence structure

在多年的高校英语教学中，发现学生在阅读翻译科技英语(English for science and technology)方面有很大的欠缺，有的学生反映一遇到科技英语文章就头疼，就想放弃，不知从何下手，有的学生翻译科技英语文章，由于方法不当，出了很大的笑话。之所以出现这种情况，是由于学生对科技英语的特点不了解，缺乏科技英语的相关知识。因此在高校英语教学中，科技英语知识的讲授是非常重要的一环。在当今各种英语考试中，大都会出现一些科技英语文章，或考察学生的阅读理解能力，或考察学生的翻译水平，这就需要学生掌握科技英语的相关知识。学生若想在专业上有较大的发展，需阅读大量国外先进的技术资料，以了解本学科国际新动态，若学生科技英语基础扎实会受益匪浅。“随着我国改革开放和现代化建设的纵深推进、科学技术的高速发展、新兴交叉学科的涌现、人文文化和科学技术之间的相互渗透和融合，我国英语人才教育中单一培养模式暴露的问题越来越明显。”①总之，讲授科技英语知识是高校英语教学不可或缺的一部分。

1 科技英语的词汇

科技英语文章中的词汇有其特定的含义，我们不能把日常生活英语词汇的含义生搬硬套在科技英语文章中，科技英语词汇的含义既和日常生活英语词汇含义有关联，但又不等同于日常生活的词汇含义。比如：

option 选择——备用件；envelope 信封——包络线；pitch 声调——节距；

block街区——滑轮；saddle 车座、鞍——座板；knee膝盖——升降台；

flute长笛——沟槽；stickout 伸出——悬臂；channel海峡、河床——槽钢；

stock 股票——备料；stress 压力——应力；

以上词汇所给出的汉语含义，前面的是日常生活中的含义，后面的是科技英语中

的含义，应加以区别，否则在翻译科技英语文章时译文不准确，甚至出笑话。

随着科技的发展，科技英语中出现大量的新词汇，而新词汇有许多是合成词或缩略词，分析其构词法而掌握其含义，例如。

through贯穿进刀; counterboring镗孔; open-die 开式模具

DNC=distributed numericalcontrol 直接数控

NOS=networkOperatingSystem网络操作系统

LAN=Local Area Networks 局域网

DBMS=Database Management System数据库管理系统

2 科技英语的句式特点

2.1 被动语态

科技英语中出现大量的被动语态，这是因为科技英语要客观地描述事物的规律或过程，与动作发出者无关系，故多用被动语态，例如：

(1).The handles should be gripped as far as possible from the blades.The cutting blades should be held at right angles to the workpiece.The blades stool should bealigned with the cutting line.The shears should not be completely closed in any one cut.

应在离剪刀口尽可能远的地方握紧剪刀把，让剪刀口同工件成直角，同时对准剪切线，不应在一次剪切中把剪刀完全合拢。

(2). Across a wide variety of fields，data are being collected and accumulated at a dramatic pace.There is an urgent need for a new generation of computational theories and tools to assist humans in extracting useful information from the rapidly growing volumes of digital data.Those theories and tools are the subject of the emerging field ofknowledge discovery in database.

跨越多个不同的领域，数据以惊人的速度被收集和积累，这急需新一代的计算理论和工具帮助人们从快速增长的大量数字数据中提取有用的信息，这些理论和工具是正在出现的数据库知识发掘领域中的主题。

(3). The final step of water purification involves testing the water to see how acidic or alkaline it is.The water is then neutralizedby adding certain amounts of alkalis or acids to it. If the water is hard (contains amounts of dissolved calcium or magnesium),this also may be corrected at the plant.

净化水过程的最后步骤是检测水的酸碱度，往水中加入碱或酸进行中和，若水的硬度大（含有溶于水的钙或镁）再做进一步处理。

(4).Nitrogenous componds are formed in several ways. Some nitrogen is removed from the air by certain bacteria and algae in a process called nitrogen fixation. Some is removed from the air by lightening.The sudden burst of electricity causes some nitrogen and oxygen in the air to combine, forming nitrogen oxides.When these nitrogen oxides are dissolved in water, they can combine with other elements to form nitrogenous compounds.

形成氮化合物有以下方式，在某些细菌和水藻的作用下，氮被从空气中分离，即氮的固定。闪电也可分离空气中的氮，闪电可将空气中的氮和氧形成氧化氮，氧化氮溶于水后和其它元素形成氮化合物。

在以上几个例句中，多次出现了被动语态，被动语态排除了主观因素，强调了过程的客观性，因而在科技英语中被动语态是常用结构，但在翻译成汉语时，可根据汉语的表达习惯翻译成汉语的被动句，主动句或无主句。

2.2 科技英语长句子的应用

科技英语中还多出现长句结构，或带有多层从句，或带有较多定语或状语。这是因为科技英语要表达事物内在逻辑关系，而事物之间的联系是复杂的，故科技英语句子结构较复杂，例如：

(1). Activity Based Costing （ABC） is an accounting technique that allows an organization to determine the actual cost associated with each product and service produced by the organization without regard to the organizational structure.

这是一个较长的句子，为了理解其准确含义，我们从句子结构分析入手。本句为一主从复合句，“that”后是一定语从句，而在“cost”和“service”后又分别带有过去分词构成的定语，同时“without”这一介词又引出方式状语，结构分析清楚后，该句的含义就清晰可见了，“基于活动成本法（ABC）是一个会计技术，它让组织决定该组织提供的每个产品和每项服务的实际成本，而无需考虑组织的结构。”

(2).Artificial Intelligence is a relatively young branch of science , new enough that we can still trace the development of the field from its inception in 1956 to the present. About six years ago,when we were planning the handbook of Artificial Intelligence, we thought it would be possible to present AI comprehensively in three volumes.In retrospect, that seems to have been a good guess, although , inevitably, the outline was changed many times to reflect changes in the emphasis and methods of AI.

第一句含有一个“that” 引导的状语从句，第二句”it”是形式宾语，真正的宾语是后面的动词不定式，第三句中“although”引导一让步状语从句。“人工智能是一个年轻的科学分支，这个领域很新，其发展历史可以追溯到1956年。大约六年前，在准备编写人工智能手册时，我们计划用三卷来综合叙述人工智能。现在看来该计划很合理，尽管为了反映人工智能的重点和方法，其大纲不可避免地改变了许多次。

2.3 科技英语中否定句的理解与翻译

为了准确地理解科技英文的含义，需要谨慎处理科技英语中的否定句，特别需要注意三个方面的问题：英文未出现否定词，但原文中暗含否定含义；英文含有否定词，翻译成汉语时未必带有否定词；英文中出现否定词，但否定的内容发生了改变。例如：

(1).The obvious advantage of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) is to organize the computer to make sense from a human perspective, rather than to force users to adapt to the pecularities of computersand software.

图形用户界面的明显优势是组织计算机使它适应人，而不是让人适应计算机和软件的特点。

(2).There is no material but will deform more or less under the action of force.

在压力作用下，任何物体都会或多或少发生变形。

(3).The car didnt break down because the condition of the road is too poor.

汽车不是由于路况差而抛锚的。

在例句(1)中并没有出现明显的否定词，但原句含有否定含义，故翻译成汉语的否定句。例句(2)中出现了否定词 “no”，但根据汉语的表达习惯翻译成肯定句。

例句(3)在英文主句中出现了否定词 “not”, 但根据其逻辑关系，实际否定的是后面从句的内容，故译文将否定词进行了调整。

3 科技英语答题技巧

在考试中遇到科技英语文章时，由于考试一般不允许查字典或其它资料，有的考生就放弃了这类考题，使考试成绩大打折扣。此时考生应运用平时所学的科技英语知识，在不查字典，不参考其它资料的情况下，分析考题，得出准确答案。例如：

The scientific name of koala is Phascolarctos cinereus,from the Greek for “pouched bear” and “ash gray”. The koala lives in trees, specifically some 35 of the more than 600 species of the genus eucalyptus that grow in Australia. The diet of the adult koala is almost exclusively eucalyptus leaves , and since the oils of eucalyptus leaves are toxic to most other mammals,one wonders what adaptions enable the koala to thrive on them. A koalas fur is thick and woolly, its limbs are long and its toes are strongly clawed.On each front foot the two innermost digits can be opposed to the others like two thumbs, as can the innermost digits on each rear foot. It is this articulation, or moveable joint , that makes the koala a good climber.

（1）According to the passage, how many species of eucalyptus does the mature koala feed on?

A. exactly 634 B. approximately 600

C. approximately 40D. less than 20

（2）According to the passage ,which of the following statements is tr

ue about the adult koalas food?

A. It is difficult to obtain.

B. It consists both leaves and barks.

C. It is almost completely restricted to eucalyptus leaves.

D. It varies according to the season.

（3）According to the passage, koalas are able to climb well because o

f______

A. the structure of their feet

B. the sharpness of their claws

C. their fur

D.their weight

在阅读此文时，虽然遇到一些生词，但考生可分析原文得出准确答案。第一题可根据 “some 35 of the more than 600 species of the genus eucalyptus that grow in Australia ”可得出答案为C；第二题可根据 “The diet of the adult koala is almost exclusively eucalyptus leaves ”分析得出答案为C; 第三题可根据 “On each front foot the two innermost digits can be opposed to the others like two thumbs,as can the innermost digits on each rear foot. It is this articulation, or moveable joint , that makes the koala a good climber.”分析得出答案为A.

注释

① 徐锦凤,申娜娜.科技英语阅读教程[M].北京:国防工业出版社,2004.