English Interpreting Comprehensive Ability (Level 2)

Author: Wang Lidi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: This book is specifically designed for the Comprehensive Test of the National Translation Professional Qualification (Level) Second-Level Interpretation Examination. The purpose of the Comprehensive Test is to assess whether candidates' English proficiency and operational skills meet the requirements for professional interpretation. The Comprehensive Test consists of four sections: Short Passage Judgment, Short Passage Selection, Medium Passage Selection, and Long Passage Abstraction. Candidates must complete these sections through listening. Obviously, to perform well, strong listening skills are essential, which is determined by the characteristics of interpretation. Of course, listening and other skills complement each other and cannot be entirely separated. Imagine that without rich vocabulary and grammar knowledge, without fluent expression skills, and without strong reading and writing abilities, it would be nearly impossible to excel in interpretation. Therefore, the training and exercises in this book are both targeted and comprehensive, covering aspects of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The language materials used in this book are primarily sourced from authoritative publications, magazines, newspapers, books, and publications of international organizations in English-speaking countries. The content is authentic and vivid, the language is natural and fluent, the wording is concise and precise, and the requirements for students' language skills are also very high. This aligns with the requirements of the Second-Level Professional Interpretation Examination. To do translation well, one needs to possess multifaceted knowledge. This book provides reading materials on topics such as politics, economics, science and technology, law, energy, and society within a limited space, aiming to broaden students' knowledge horizons and related language knowledge. However, the world is vast and complex, and language is also an open system with rich creativity. Any effort can only achieve a drop in the ocean. Students should strive to generalize and infer from the partial to the whole to achieve better learning outcomes.
To excel in translation, apart from relying on broad knowledge, students must systematically understand and master the rules of two languages, especially the foreign language. When it comes to language knowledge, people immediately think of vocabulary and grammar. Of course, these are the basic elements of language and are indispensable. However, language expression is not simply a pile of these elements. The core of language expression is "meaning," and the function of language lies in expressing ideas, in classifying and describing subjective and objective things. The ability of human language to achieve this is partly due to its creativity and openness, and partly due to its systematic nature. Without these two aspects, language expression cannot be realized. Based on the above considerations, the organization and writing of the practice materials in this book neither follow the order of grammatical structures nor adopt a content classification method. Instead, they refer to the concepts of Systemic Functional Linguistics and are divided according to the functional system of language expression, while also taking into account the characteristics of interpretation and the Comprehensive Test.
According to this system, the book is divided into 12 units, each highlighting a specific function and task. The themes of these 12 units are: Behavioral Things, Ideological Consciousness, Relational Judgment, Time, Place, and Manner, Causal Relationships, Negation, Numerical Expression, Modality and Intention, Paraphrasing, Exchange, Text, and Abstraction. This thematic classification can be seen from the content, and the questions in each unit are also designed to provide hints. When we speak, we do not consciously think about whether this sentence is intended to express my behavior, my thoughts, or something else. However, as long as we use language, we rely on the inherent characteristics of language to express our meaning. In a certain sense, the functional classification system of language provides us with a "roadmap" to master the rules of language use, which differs from the grammatical and knowledge classification of language.
The main body of the book consists of 12 units, each basically divided into four parts. The first part is listening practice, consisting of two sets. The first set is 10 true-or-false judgment questions, where candidates must make judgments after listening to each recording. The second set is 10 multiple-choice questions, where candidates must select the correct answer after listening to each recording. The second part is reading, with articles ranging from 600 to 900 words in length, covering topics such as international politics, economics, trade, law, society, and science and technology. Before each reading passage, there is an English introduction to help students grasp the key points. Annotations are provided for difficult parts, along with a vocabulary summary. The third part is Q&A, which helps students practice speaking. Candidates can listen to the recording first and then answer the questions, or read the passage first and then answer the questions. The fourth part is writing practice, requiring candidates to write a short essay of 200 to 250 words summarizing the content of the passage. Like the above exercises, candidates can try to "listen" to the passage first, take notes on the key points, and then write the essay. Alternatively, they can read the passage first, understand it, and then write a short essay. The latter method is simpler and easier to achieve.
The first part of the 11th unit consists of listening practice composed of several sets, with each passage approximately 200–250 words long, accompanied by 5 multiple-choice questions for each listening passage. The 12th unit's practice consists of two longer articles, each about 500 words, requiring candidates to write a short essay after listening to each. The remaining parts of the 11th and 12th units are the same as the previous units, with reading and Q&A sections and exercises.
In addition to the 12 units of passages and exercises, this book also includes 5 sets of full-simulation tests for candidates to refer to and practice, preparing them thoroughly for the exam.