“德才兼备”及其反面

秋千影

“着力培养选拔党和人民需要的好干部”一文在讨论“怎样是好干部”这一问题时，指出好干部的标准就是德才兼备（good officials should be of moral integrity and professional competence），与此同时，一针见血地指出了干部中出现的个别问题，英文版很好地再现了原文的雷霆万钧之势。

试看这段英文：

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.

这段译文里，很多习语译得比较精彩，比如：

1. 好人主义 “nice guy” mentality

【评】不必逢“主义”必-ism。

2. 搞无原则的一团和气 keep on good terms with everybody at the expense of principles

【评】抽象名词一旦具体化，便简易许多。

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

【评】字字有着落，译文工整。

4. 满足于做得过且过的太平官 being satisfied with muddling along and accomplishing nothing at all

【评】原来“太平官”是可以不翻的，通過变译获得等效。

5. 推诿扯皮、敷衍塞责argue and pass the buck， and tackle their responsi-bilities in a perfunctory manner

【评】常见汉语习语，宜学习掌握其英文。

6. 有的为人圆滑世故，处事精明透顶。Some officials are smooth characters who handle matters in an overly “clever” manner.

【评】这里英文如果用sophisticated就有美化之嫌，故用带引号的clever，巧递讽刺。

7. 有些还混得左右逢源甚至如鱼得水。Some of these officials are popular， even getting on well in official circles.

【评】因为全文讲干部问题，所以，译文中明晰原意，使用了in the official circles一语。

此外，该文还述及“带病提拔”、违规提拔、形式主义、官僚主义、享乐主义和奢靡之风等语，读者诸君在阅读中可曾留意它们的英文表述？