自考英语二教材英文翻译第十一课：Text A

Text A Cyberlove

Thanks to the late 20th century technology, Maria of Denmark and Martijin of Holland met on a chatline. For months they#39;ve talked and sent letters to each other with the help of their computers as they found themselves falling head over heels in love. It was then that they decided to meet in the real, not only the virtual, world. It was not easy to arrange as the young man and his lady were separated by 700 very real kilometers, but the date was a success and Maria and Martijn have been living together happily ever since. They#39;ve created a home page to let the world know how they#39;ve found happiness via the Internet and introduce couples who#39;ve met under similar circumstances.

网恋

由于20世纪末的科技进步，丹麦的玛丽亚和荷兰的马汀通过聊天热线相识了.他们彼此心生爱慕，数月以来他们不断通过电脑聊天，互发邮件。最终，他们决定在现实世界中见上一面，而不仅仅是在虚拟的网络世界里相识。不过，这个年轻人和他心仪的女人相隔足足700公里，要见面也并非易事，但是约会最终却非常成功，而且从那之后玛丽亚和马汀一直幸福地生活在一起。他们还建立了自己的主页，告诉全世界的人们他们是如何通过网络找到幸福的，也介绍那些有着和他们类似经历的情侣们。

Throughout history men and women had used a variety of means to find each other. Internet romance, according to some, is a bizarre method, and to others it is a natural way for the 90#39;s to meet potential mates.

有史以来，男人和女人们通过各种各样的方法来找寻自己的另一半。对于有些人来说，网络爱情有些怪诞，但对于90年代后出生的人来说，它是找寻潜在对象的一种自然而然的方法。

Romances formed on the internet follow a characteristic script(剧本). The development of emotional intimacy is a long process, sometimes taking several months. “Love at first byte(字节)“ is rare although there are examples. The initial light exchanges, whether by e-mail or in chat rooms, are generally followed by increasingly self-revealing topics, and then after a while, the two strangers perceive each other as a true friend. Hearts open and an avalanche of e-mail crosses cyberspace carrying literary quality, and electronic messages are even enhanced with verses and virtual gifts (flowers, kisses, animated pictures). Could any heart with romantic inclinations resist? When you reach for the mouse with sweaty palms and butterflies in the stomach to look in the in-box(收件箱)for new mail - there#39;s just no way to(无法做) escape the fact - love has arrived.

网络上发展的爱情通常有一个共同特点：培养亲密感是一个漫长的过程，有时要花上好几个月的时间。尽管也会有一见钟情的事例，但毕竟是少数。不管是通过电子邮件还是聊天室，最初都是简单的交流，然后是越来越多自我表露的话题，再过了一段时间之后.两个陌生的人会把彼此当成真正的朋友。一旦敞开心扉，充满文学素养的电子邮件会如雪崩般的纷至沓来，电子留言也会充满诗意，并带有像鲜花、香吻和动画的虚拟礼物。但凡任何有点浪漫情怀的心如何能够抵挡住这样的攻势?当你手心冒汗，心里七上八下地用鼠标点击收件箱的新邮件时，恐怕这时你就必须承认这个事实了，爱情已经悄然而至。

How does a cyber romance vary from a real life romance? Perhaps one significant difference is that communication plays such a large part. Words that convey feelings have enormous effect. While before a real date we fix our hair and our clothes, on the internet we polish our intellect, imagination and personality. In essence, the sequence is reversed - first we show our inner beauty and only after it had won victory does the veil fall off the physical vehicle of that personality at the time of that first meeting in person.

那么网络爱情和现实生活中的爱情到底有什么不同呢?可能其中一个重要的不同就在于交流占据了很大一部分。表达感情的言语会产生巨大的影响力。在现实的约会之前，我们会梳妆打扮一下，但是在网上约会的时候，我们通常做的是充分展现自身的智慧、想象力和个性。从本质上讲，这和现实中的约会的顺序是相反的：我们先展示了内在美，只有在内在美赢得胜利之后，第一次见面时外在的特点才展露出来。

It is a popular topic in cyberspace to debate whether or not true love can develop merely on an intellectual level(智力方面，精神方面，即“精神恋爱“), without physical attraction or the familiarity of the other#39;s appearance? To put it another way: is the physical appearance of the man or woman play a part in the relationship if, through the exchange of thoughts and feelings, they already fell in love?

在网上，关于在没有外表吸引或在不知晓对方外表的前提下而仅在精神层面上能否产生真正的爱情是一个热议的话题，换一种说法就是：如果通过思想和情感上的交流，男人和女人已经相爱了的话，他们的外表在爱情关系中还起作用么?

Many say it is against the nature of love to be deprived of the sense of sight, the look, the movement, and the body language being present. There are those, of course, who favor Internet relationships claiming that the intensity of the emotional relationship that develops in such a way is superior to the mere stirring of the flesh.

许多人说，没有视觉感受，不能在当场看到对方的表情、举止和身体语言的爱不符合爱的本性。当然，那些支持网络爱情的人会坚称，以这样的方式发展的感情强度要高于因肉体激起的感情。

Whatever the opinion may be on cyber love - it must be said in favor of the internet that it puts people in touch with those who they otherwise would never have met. I would never have suspected that the first person I met by e-mail would be a German chimney sweeper, with whom, after a year of correspondence, albeit not romantic, a common interest still exists.

不管人们对网络爱情的观点如何，关于网络，有一点是应该承认的，那就是网络使那些可能永远不会谋面的人互相结识。我从来没有想到过我通过电子邮件认识的第一个人会是一个德国的烟囱清洁工，在经过一年的书信联系之后，尽管不是很浪漫，但我们之间还是相互感兴趣的。

It is silly to perceive the Net as a demon(恶魔), when we determine how we meet its challenges. While there are those who can use the Net to their advantage extracting useful information, there are those who become addicts losing common sense, hopping from chat room to chat room, writing piles of e-mails full of lies to chosen victims, and whose virtual reality(虚拟实境), the flirtations(调情), become part of their everyday lives, as if a disease. One thing is true - the Net is very addictive. According to the confession of a multiple substance addict, it was easier to give up cocaine than the IRC(short for Internet Relay Chat网上实时聊天).

当我们决心面对网络带来的挑战时，也不用把网络想象成一个妖魔。有些人能使用网络获取有用的信息，而有些人却得了"网瘾”失去理智，在不同的聊天室穿梭，写了成堆的满是谎话的邮件去欺骗那些被他们选为目标的受害者，他们虚拟的现实--在网上调情.成了他们日常生活的一部分，犹如疾病缠身一样。不过，有一点的确是真的，那就是网络会让你着迷。根据一个吸食多种毒品的瘾君子的交代，戒掉可卡因要比戒掉"网瘾”容易些。

In any case, keep your eyes open off-line as well. Turn off the machine and go to a dance or a club, because most women still expect to be courted(求爱) in a real, old-fashioned, and romantic way.

不管怎么样，下线了也要留心，关掉电脑，去跳跳舞，或是参加个俱乐部，因为大部分的女人还是喜欢真实的、传统的、浪漫的追求方式。