GRAMMAR
1 1 knew
2 were
/ was
3 didn’t
phone
4 took
5 went
6 hadn’t
forgotten
2 1 must
2 can’t
3 can’t
4 couldn’t
5 sure
to
6 unlikely
7 will
definitely
8 probably
3 1 are you
2 have
I heard
3 No
sooner had
4 do
you realize
5 will
I believe
6 have
I felt
Vocabulary
4 1 giggle
2 broke
3 slam
4 tick
5 heavy-going
6 hoot
7 sniff
8 hard
up
5 1 implausible
2 quirky
3 vast
4 breadwinner
5 envy
6 nickname
6 1 donation
2 value
3 sense
4 commute
5 small
6 tongue
Pronunciation
7 1 whistle, savings
2 sob
3 debt,
approached
8 1 overly
2 witty
3 beyond
4 exchange
5 instalment
Reading and Writing
Reading
1 B
2 C
3 B
4 A
5 B
6 B
7 A
8 C
9 B
10 A
LOST IN TRANSLATION?
There’s a well-known story in the world of
literary translators about the translator who was thrilled to see his work
appear at great length in an article in a prestigious magazine. He had
translated a number of novels by a little-known Scandinavian novelist, who he
believed had been neglected and not received the attention or praise he
deserved. He had dedicated much of his working life to trying to get this
novelist some recognition. (1)
The article agreed with his
assessment of the novelist’s work and illustrated its view of his worth by
quoting long passages from the translations.
But something was missing. The translator
searched in vain for a mention of his name. It didn’t appear anywhere. The
translator’s joy at the coverage of his favourite author was considerably
spoilt by this. (2) He felt that he himself should have
had some recognition in the article. The implication was that the
translations had just appeared from nowhere, or even perhaps that the novelist
had done them himself. It was
as if the translator did not exist, and all the efforts he had made had never happened.
This incident raises a fundamental question
about the status and function of the literary translator. Most people would
agree that it was wrong of the magazine to omit any mention of the translator.
However, (3) it is also true that readers themselves
operate in exactly the same way, and for them it is also as if the translator
didn’t exist. When people read a translation of a novel, they want to feel they
are reading what the novelist, and not someone else, wrote. They don’t
want to be reminded that they are not reading, and would not be able to read,
the original novel as created by the novelist. (4) The
translator has fulfilled a necessary function for them, but they do not wish to
know who the translator was or pay any attention to what they have done.
But to what extent do translators manage to
stay faithful to what a novelist wrote, not just in terms of the actual meaning
but in terms of subtleties of style, nuances of meaning, the true flavour of
the original work? If you look at different translations of the same novel,
you’ll find any number of variations in how the same things from the original
have been translated. So translators play a very important role, not just in
allowing us access to works of literature we would not otherwise be able to
read, but also in affecting our experience of reading those works and our
understanding of what the novelist was trying to convey in his original prose. (5) A single phrase, sentence or image could be translated
in several different ways and the translation provided by one translator may be
wholly different from that of another. The reader cannot question this; (6) readers are simply the receivers of what the
translator does. So even though we might wish for direct contact with
the novelist, we depend on the translator.
In this global age, translators have become
even more important. (7)
More and more works of fiction
are being translated into more and more languages. Readers are now able to
experience and understand other cultures more than ever through the reading of
translated novels. The works of more and more novelists are now
accessible to people in other parts of the world. This applies not only to new
novels but also to fresh translations of old classics. The adventurous reader
can now enjoy novels from many eras and many cultures that previously they
would not have been able to.
And central to this is (8) the translator, working
heroically to come up with the translation that captures exactly what is in the
original work, and often poorly paid. Although readers may be happy for
them to remain obscure, perhaps they should be getting the recognition they
deserve.
Listening
1 1 D
2 F
3 A
4 B
5 H
2 1 military signals
2 people’s
homes
3 stimulating
4 in-house
orchestra
5 elevator
music
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