《經濟學人》一句俏皮英語,對比疫情放開前後,如何翻譯?_風聞
外宣微记-外宣微记官方账号-02-07 08:40

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睡前讀《經濟學人》,偶遇一句俏皮話,談到疫情放開之後春節票房創新高,分享給各位把玩:
(Box-office revenues were not only better than last year, they were also higher than in the year before covid-19.) China’s population, subject until recently tomass screening, is nowmassing at the screens. (Feb. 5**)**

這句英文的俏皮之處在於“mass”與“screen”一詞多義。
第一個“mass”是形容詞,意思是:
having an effect on or involving a large number of people or forming a large amount (《劍橋詞典》)
比如“weapons of mass destruction(大規模殺傷性武器)”。
第一個“screening”是動詞“screen”的名詞形式,意思是:
To test or examine for the presence of disease or infection (《美國傳統詞典》)
“mass screening”就是我們曾經非常熟悉的“大規模核酸篩查”。
第二個“mass”是動詞,意思是:
to come together in large numbers (同上)
第二個“screen”是名詞,意思是“銀幕”,常引申為“cinema(電影院)”之意。
這句俏皮話意思不難理解,但把英文的俏皮譯出來卻不容易。前後兩個“mass”詞義尚在同一範疇,但前後兩個“screen”詞義相差甚遠,似乎很難求得形神兼備的譯法。
諸位是否有佳譯?