【主题分类】汉译英：地理

【逐句解析】

第一句：“淡水湖”译为freshwater lake;“第三大…仅次于…”译为“the third largest…after…”,多少面积放在句首，作伴随。

第二句：“约有…岛屿”译为houses…islands,动词也可用has; “大小从…到…”译为range in size from…to…。

第三句：“以…而闻名”译为berenowned for …,也可以译为befamous for…; “太湖石”的翻译略难，需了解太湖石为石灰石，它的形成方式比较独特，可译为limestoneformation; 后面用后置定语，说明太湖石的用途。

第四句：“以…闻名”译为be known for…；“捕鱼业”译为fishing industry。

第五句：“极为重要”译为be invaluable to…，也可以译为be important to….或be crucial to…；“做出了重要贡献”译为contributesignificantly to…。

第六句：“是…的基地”译为is home to… 也可译为is the base of…;后面用一个定语举例说明宜兴陶瓷厂生产了世界著名的紫砂壶。

【参考译文】

      Withan area of 2,250 square kilometers, Lake Tai in eastern China is the thirdlargest freshwater lake after Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake. The lake housesabout 90 islands, ranging in size from a few square meters to several squarekilometers. The lake is renowned for its unique limestone formations, which areoften employed to decorate traditional Chinese gardens. The lake is also knownfor its productive fishing industry. Since the late 1970s, Harvesting fish andcrabs has been invaluable to people living along the lake and has contributedsignificantly to the economy of the surrounding area. The lake is home to anextensive ceramics industry, including the Yixing pottery factory, whichproduces the world-renowned Yixing clay teapots.