【正文】 5) Social Customs and Habits. Both English idioms and Chinese idioms have such features as 1) Fixed Structure。 3) Historical Events and Anecdotes。 ) From the note , the readers understand why “throw up the sponge” is translated into “認(rèn)輸 ” in Chinese without any doubts. Literal Translation plus Liberal Translation Literal translation will decrease the readability of the version sometimes, and liberal translation will often change the faithfulness of English idioms. In order to overe this trouble, we can employ literal translation plus liberal translation. For example: play Cupid ( 扮演丘比特 ， 當(dāng)媒人 ) , aladdin?s cave ( 阿拉丁的寶洞 ， 財(cái)富的源泉 ) , skeleton in the cupboard ( 衣櫥里的骷髏 ， 家丑 ) ,widow?s cruse ( 寡婦的壇子 ， 取之不盡的源泉 ) , pull someone?s chestnuts out of fire ( 為某人火中取栗 ， 替人冒險(xiǎn) ) , to carry coals to Newcastle ( 運(yùn)煤到紐卡斯?fàn)?， 多此一舉 ) , as grave as an owl ( 擺出一副嚴(yán)肅的樣子 ， 板起面孔 ) , hang in the wind ( 注意未定 ) , cast pearls to the swine ( 把珍珠扔在豬面前 ， 對牛彈琴 ) , serve somebody with the same sauce ( 以其人之道 ， 還治其人之身 ) , there are no birds of this year in last year?s nest ( 去年的巢里找不到今年的鳥 ， 事過境遷 ) . 15 Chapter Four Conclusion “Idiom” is “a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words”. It includes phrases, proverbs, literary quotations, colloquialisms and slang expressions. Idiom is a very important part of vocabulary, and every language has its own rich and colorful idioms. Britain and China are no exceptions. English idioms and Chinese idioms have the similarities as well as the differences. They have the same basic moral concepts and value viewpoint. Both English idioms and Chinese idioms have such origins as 1) The Experience of the Common People。 (注： 。 ） Let us examine these three versions。 B：我希望明天比賽時(shí)天氣能保持晴朗，我們只得交叉我們的手指了 。國王意在告訴 Damocles，君王雖身在寶座，但卻惶惶不可終日，殺身之禍隨時(shí)可能降臨 ) Through the note, Chinese readers know who Damocles is, a legend with impending evil or danger, and they understand the situation the famous actress faced vividly. Liberal Translation When there exist dissimilarities or great difference between English idioms and Chinese idioms in the sequence of vocabulary, in grammatical structure, and we cannot find equivalence in Chinese idioms or cannot explain the English in literal translation, we should adopt liberal translation. For instance: The teenagers do not invite Bob to their parties because he is a wet blanket ( A: 青年們不邀請 Bob參加他們的聚會(huì) ， 因?yàn)樗莻€(gè)掃興的人。 (注 ： the sword of Damolcles 這個(gè)典故源于古羅馬哲學(xué)家西塞羅轉(zhuǎn)述的古希臘傳說 ， 希臘一城邦國的國王宴請佞臣 Damocles， 這次宴請實(shí)際為的是給 Damocles 一個(gè)教訓(xùn) ， 因?yàn)樗奶幮麚P(yáng)做國王是多么的容易。 ) As to this version, Chinese readers might be confused, so a note must be added. (注：蘋果派是美國人喜歡的甜食之一，據(jù)說是美國人發(fā)明的，因此這個(gè)短語用來強(qiáng)調(diào)某種東西是真正美國式的。 B：你的計(jì)劃很好，但在委員會(huì)批準(zhǔn)之前，你須預(yù)算出這個(gè)計(jì)劃的開支。 so many English idioms are connected with the sea. For instance: to know the ropes (懂得秘訣 ， 內(nèi)行 ) , to tide over (順利渡過 ) , to clear the decks (準(zhǔn)備戰(zhàn)斗 ) , to sink or swim (好歹 ， 不論成敗 ) ,to go with the stream (隨波逐流 ) , all at sea (無主意 ) . However, China, Since the ancient time , has been a big agricultural country, so many Chinese idioms are related to agriculture, such as “斬草除根 ”， “拔苗助長 ”， “柴多火焰高 ”， and so on. 8 Chapter Three Thranslation of English Idioms From the Perspective of Skopos Theory Skopos Theory Skopos Theory is a significant contribution to the system of functional theories. Skopos is the Greek word for aim or purpose, and was introduced into translation theory in the 1970s by Hans J. Vermeer as a technical term for the purpose of a translation and of the action of translating. Skopos Theory considers translation as a type of transfer where municative verbal and nonverbal signs are transferred from one language into another. Translation is an “intentional, purposeful behavior that takes place in a given situation”. (Nord, 2021: 11).Therefore, the intention and purpose of translators could be taken as another key factor to explain many problems in translation studies. The major work on Skopos Theory is Groundwork for a General Theory of Translation, a book Vermeer coauthored with Reiss in 1984. Reiss and Vermeer aim at a general translation theory for all texts. The basic underlying rules of the theory are： (1) A translation (or TT) is determined by its skopos (2) A TT is an offer of information in a target culture and target language concerning an offer of information in a source culture and source language. (3) A TT does not initiate an offer of information in a clearly reversible way. (4) A TT must be internally coherent. 9 (5) A TT must be coherent with the ST (6) The five rules above stand in hierarchical order, with the skopos rule predominating (Reiss and Vermeer 1984:119) Some explanation is required here. Rule (2) is important in that it relates the ST and TT to their function in their respective linguistic and cultural contexts. The translator is once again, as in the translational action theory, the key player in a process of intercultural munication and production of the translation. The irreversibility in rule (3) indicates that the function of a translation in its target culture is not necessarily the same as in the source culture. Rules (4) and (5) touch on general skopos rules concerning how the success of the action and information transfer is to be judged: The coherence rule (the fourth rule) states that the TT must be interpretable as coherent with the TT receiver39。 2) Abundant Connotation 。 5) Social Customs and Habits。 3) Historical Events and Anecdotes 。 liberal translation iv Contents 摘要 ..................................................................................................................................... ii Abstract ......................