批准某市为沿海开放城市的表达
有人把“1987 年国务院批准唐山市为沿海经济开放城市”这个句子翻译成：In 1987，the State Department approved Tangshan city to be a coastal economic open zone.
这里有四个问题：第一，把中国的国务院译成了美国的国务院；第二，approve …to be 这种用法不成立；第三，coastal economic open 这三个形容词的排列不当；第四，zone 这个词在这里不妥。
后来有人对这个句子进行了重新翻译，新的译法是：In 1987，the State Council approved Tangshan being an open city of coastal economy.可是这个译文中仍然存在两个不妥之处：一是 approve … being 的用法也不成立；二是coastal economy 的意思走了样，“沿海经济”仅仅相对“内陆经济”而言，是指具有沿海地区特色的经济，如捕渔业、深海养殖业、造船业、海洋运输业等，这与原文意思不符。
其实，这个句子的翻译方法很多，不下十余种：
In 1987，the State Council approved Tangshan of becoming a coastal city of open economy.（approve …… of becoming这种说法只适合口头表达，不宜作为正式的书面语言）
In 1987，the State Council approved / endorsed the establishment of Tangshan as a coastal city of open economy.
In 1987，the State Council granted approval / endorsement to Tangshan as a coastal city of open economy.
In 1987，the State Council granted Tangshan the status of a coastal city of open economy.
In 1987，the State Council endorsed the upgrading / elevating of Tangshan to the status of a coastal city of open economy.
In 1987，the State Council approved / endorsed the motion / proposal of turning Tangshan into a coastal city of open economy.
In 1987，the State Council designated / established Tangshan as a coastal city of open economy. （designate 这种表达法最为可取，词典中就有类似的例句：The town has been designated（as）a development area.）
如果要突出唐山这个地名，还可以用被动语态的形式：Tangshang was designated（as）a coastal city of open economy by the State Council in 1987.
上面的例子说明，即使是一个比较简单的句子，翻译的方法也是多种多样。在翻译的过程中，也贯穿了多探索、多研究、多查阅的“三多”精神。
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