一、旅游文本中典故的翻译

英文旅游文本中的典故不是很多，但有时会涉及所介绍景点的历史故事，这样的历史故事一般可以直译。例如：

例1：

In 2005, the Glacier Express celebrated its 75th anniversary.It all began in the golden years of the 1920s.As a result of the reports by keen Alpine climbers of their adventures, members of high society with a yearning to travel came from all over the world to discover the stark beauty of the Swiss Alps.Previously remote mountain villages like Zermatt and St.Moritz tamed into sophisticated resorts.The powers discovered the potential of adventure tours by rail, and finally, on June 25th, 1930，the Glacier Express made its first trip from St.Moritz to Zermatt.At that time, the trip lasted 11 hours, and passengers travelled in elegant saloon carriages and specially converted passenger trains.

2005年，冰川快车迎来了自己75周年生日的庆典。一切都始于20世纪20年代的黄金时代。当时，对阿尔卑斯登山爱好者冒险行为的报道吸引了世界各地的上流社会成员前来探索瑞士阿尔卑斯山的荒凉之美，于是采尔马特和圣莫里茨等以前偏僻的山村变成了著名的旅游胜地。政府发现了火车探险旅游的潜力，最终，冰川快车于1930年6月25日首次从圣莫里茨开往采尔马特。当时，整个旅程耗时11小时，旅客乘坐的是优雅的特等客车和经特别改装的客车。

例2：

Of course your journey through Scotland may not take you this way，but wherever you go you’re in for a treat.You might linger in the Borders to explore the dignified ruins of once-powerful abbeys or fish for plump salmon in the Tweed.Or follow in the footsteps of Rob Roy and Walter Scott through the Trossachs to soak up the “scenery of a fairy dream”，as Scott described it.Perhaps you will potter around colourful fishing villages in the Kingdom of Fife and tee off on the legendary Old Course in St Andrews.Or venture into Speyside to tickle your tastebuds on the malt whisky trail.If it is drama you are after，you will head for the Highlands, a vast swathe of untamed wilderness fringed by mile upon mile of fretted coastline dotted with islands.

当然，您的苏格兰之旅未必会取行此道，但不管去何方，肯定都会乐在其中。您也许会漫游在英格兰和苏格兰交界地区，探索曾经声威赫赫、如今仍不失威严的寺院废墟，或是在特威德河畔钓取肥美的鲑皇，或是沿罗布·罗伊和司各特当年的足迹，穿越特洛萨克斯河谷、去领略司各特笔下那“梦中的仙境”。您也许会徜徉于法夫郡那多姿多彩的渔村，在富有传奇色彩的圣安德鲁斯老球场上挥上几杆，或是冒险北上去斯佩河酒厂，让扑面而来的威士忌酒香撩拨您的味蕾。如果您探寻的是富有戏剧性的景象，那就去西北高地吧。那是一片广袤而粗犷的原野，四周镶嵌着参差的海岸线，点缀着大大小小的岛屿。

以上两个例子的原文涉及景点的历史或者文学典故，这样的地方均可直译，让中文读者去了解和感受所介绍景点的历史或文化氛围。

中国是有着悠久历史的文明古国，很多地方都有着这样或那样的历史故事或典故，正如孟庆升（2009）指出，“中国的大好河山遍布着历史陈迹。每个景区的一山一石、一草一木都曾演绎过令人着迷的历史故事，像一面面古老的镜子映照出历史的沧桑。每个景区的旅游资料中往往都会出现有关这些历史故事的古代年号、历史名人或典故等。”虽然“每个景区的一山一石、一草一木都曾演绎过令人着迷的历史故事”有些绝对，但是中国毕竟是一个有着五千多年历史的文明古国，所以不少景点有着这样或那样的历史故事并不奇怪，更何况很多地方正是因为其在历史上的地位而被开发成旅游景点的。中译英时遇到这种情况，除复杂难懂的情况外，一般也可以直译。请看下面的例子：

例3：

在四川西部，有一美妙的去处。它背倚岷山主峰雪宝顶，树木苍翠，花香袭人，鸟声婉转，流水潺潺。这就是松潘县的黄龙。相传在中国古代，洪水肆虐，人民苦不堪言。大禹决心治水，但船不能行，有黄龙来为他负舟，于是导水成功。黄龙疲惫，未及回归大海，死于岷山之下，因而其地就称为黄龙。

One of Sichuan’s finest scenic spots is Huanglong, which lies in Songpan County just beneath Xuebao, the main peak of the Minshan Mountains.Here you will enjoy lush green forests, fragrant flowers,bubbling streams, and songbirds.There is a story about the place as follows: Once in ancient China, when great floods threatened the people of central China, Yu the Great was determined to tame the mighty floods by himself.However, water was too inundant for any boat to carry him.Then, a yellow long （pronounced huanglong in Chinese, with the image similar to English “dragon”）appeared to boat him, leading to his success in the fight against the floods.Too exhausted to return to its ocean, the long died at the foot of the Minshan Mountains.And the place was named after it.

例3原文主要讲述了“黄龙”这个名字的来历，其中的传说故事并不晦涩难懂，所以完全可以将这一故事直译。但值得注意的是，由于中文的“龙”与英语的dragon在文化联想意义上是完全不同的，所以笔者将其译为long，这也是很多学者呼吁的。在中国，人们对“龙”隐喻往往是褒义的，所以才有了“望子成龙”和“龙的传人”这样的说法，但在西方，dragon是邪恶的象征。《圣经》中是这样描述的：an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads.His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.（有一条大红龙，七头十角，七头上戴着七个冠冕。它的尾巴拖拉着天上星辰的三分之一，摔在地上。龙就站在那将要生产的妇人面前，等她生产之后，要吞吃她的孩子。）以及Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent（它就在妇人身后，从口中吐出水来，像河一样，要将妇人冲去），甚至causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of man（在人面前，叫火从天降到地上）。虽然很长时间以来，汉语的“龙”被译成了英文“dragon”，英文中的“dragon”被译成了中文的“龙”，但实际上误传了其中的象征意义，没有正确传达出中英两个民族对这一形象的不同认知（彭萍，2009）。

例4：

秦始皇统一六国后，一方面拆毁诸国间的长城，另一方面为防御北边匈奴，又再修筑了横亘万余里的长城，成为我国最早的万里长城。此后的各朝各代都对长城进行了修复和加固。

After unifying all other six states, Emperor Qinshihuang, the first emporer of the Qin Dynasty, while pulling down the walls between the former states, had new walls built in the north to defend the Hun.The walls stretched more than five thousand kilometres, forming the oldest Great Wall.From then on, it was restored and reinforced by successive dynasties.

例4原文阐述了长城的来历，直译之后能增加英语读者的好奇感，所以将之译出。值得注意的是，原文中的“秦始皇”在英文中既保留了音译，又添加了一个同位语作为注释，这样使英文更加清楚。