（本讲座每周分享英语学习和英汉翻译的独有经验，欢迎关注和分享。）
引言文学翻译贵在“传神”。所谓“传神”，就是把原文的意思表达得非常准确，意境展现得非常逼真、鲜活，让人读后产生一种拍案叫绝的冲动。要实现这一目标，除了具备深厚的语言功底，学习和掌握一定的翻译技巧也是非常有益的。
怎样翻译下面的英语句子？怎样翻译才比较传神？
Jack was finally in his element and performed a decisive field study of that gigantic stone to piece together its volcanic history.
相关段落和背景信息：地质学家杰克·施密特在“阿波罗”17号任务中登上了月球，这让他大开眼界。塞尔南讲述了当时的情景：
Our first stop was a split boulder, about three stories high, that had rolled and bounced down the mountain in a prehistoric avalanche and cracked into several huge segments when it slammed to a rest. Jack was finally in his element and performed a decisive field study of that gigantic stone to piece together its volcanic history, while I huffed my way up a slope and took a set of panoramic photos of him at work.
施密特在月球考察一块大石头（NASA图片）
难点分析和翻译技巧：这个句子并不复杂，这里的关键点在于对in his element的传神展现。
In one's element是习惯用语，美国的Merriam Webster Dictionary给出了如下的释义：
In one's element: in a place or situation where one is comfortable and does well（处于让人感到舒适且能把事情做好的环境中）
Be in one’s element也就是“如鱼得水”的意思。
当然，“如鱼得水”还有另外一种表达方式：take to something like a fish to water; take to something like a duck to water.
在塞尔南的书里，有这样一句话：
I took to university life like a fish to water. (大学生活对我来说如鱼得水)
试译：我们的第一站是一块断裂的大石头，它有三层楼那么高，在一次史前的山体崩塌中滚落下来，落地时摔成了几大块。杰克终于如鱼得水，对这块巨石进行了确定性的实地研究，以完整勾画出它源于火山的历史，我则气喘吁吁地爬上山坡，给他拍了一套工作时的全景照片。
这里的“如鱼得水”就非常传神地展现了原文的意境。
除了翻译技巧的学习，本讲座引用的都是非常地道的英语，反复阅读对提高自身的英语水平也是极有帮助的。
下期预告：怎样翻译下面的英语句子才比较传神？
The Air Force was tweaking NASA’s nose because they believed astronauts should have been better trained, and NASA was returning the favor by implying that military experiments – no matter how interesting – were expendable.
作者简介：从事英汉口译和笔译38年（译审），出版译著6部；全国第一届和第二届“韩素音青年翻译奖”竞赛一等奖获得者；地道英语和传神翻译的倡导者和实践者。最新译著《我的两次月球之旅》由上海交通大学出版社出版；今年年中出版译著——《携火奔月》（上海交通大学出版社）。
重温登月惊险之路
欣赏翻译传神之美
