谎言与线人--新疆报道行

choi

凯瑞, 记者来鸿：谎言与线人—新疆报道行. BBC Chinese, Dec 9, 2014
www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/fooc/2014/12/141209_fooc_xinjiang


, which is translated from

Carrie Gracie, The Twilight World of China's Wild West. BBC, Dec 8, 2014
uyghuramerican.org/article/twilight-world-chinas-wild-west.html

Note:
(a) "Kashgar is the last of the legendary oasis towns on the Chinese side of the ancient silk road. Closer to Baghdad than to Beijing. Next stop Pakistan."
(i) Kashgar air distance (straight) to Beijing is 3436 km/2135 miles, and to Baghdad, Iraq is 2897 km/1800 miles.
(ii) cities along the Silk Road
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cities_along_the_Silk_Road
(map)

(b) "Our flight is late in because it snowed overnight, the temperature dropping to minus 14C and turning the runway to ice."

BBC translation: 航班晚点，因为夜间曾经下雪，气温降到零下14度，跑道结冰。

The translation does not say whether the temperature was C or F.

(c) "And then we tour Kashgar, starting with the night market where smoke is rising over the charcoal barbecues and steam over the vats of rice and mutton entrails. Hawkers sell cubes of fermented yoghurt, and labour over ice cream churns with wooden paddles. But Army warns that spies are everywhere. And I know enough not to ask sensitive questions in public. So I look for the people who can converse in Mandarin and we talk about food and hats.

translation: 然后，我们去浏览喀什，先去热闹的夜市。不过大军警告说，到处都有耳目、线人。我懂，不要在公开场合提敏感问题。所以，我去找那些能说汉语的人，聊帽子、食品。
(i) It is obvious that the translation misses quite a few sentences.
(ii) Earlier the report introduced Army his way: 我们的当地司机和导游叫“大军.”  This time, I read the translation first, and thought there were two men sharing the same name. But English is clear: "Our driver and local guide is called Army." The verb is unambiguous.

(d) "A police officer comes to pay us a late night visit [at our hotel]. He is not on our side. Army has made himself scarce, but not before giving advice on the best positions from which to film some of this. We're getting used to thinking he is on our side. But the problem is he's not. * * * How do we find out? It's a long and involved story"

translation: 一位警察晚上来看我们，他不是我们这一边儿的。大军已经走了，不过走之前告诉我们拍摄这些场面的最佳地点。我们习惯性地认为，他是我们这一边儿的。问题是，他并不是我们这一边儿的。 * * * 我们怎么发现的呢？故事既长、也曲折。

(i) scare (adj): "intentionally absent <made himself scarce at inspection time>"
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarce
(ii) involved (adj)
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/involved

(e) "Our Chinese producer felt betrayed and sent him packing. * * * Our new driver is a danger to those inside his vehicle and out. What's more he gets lost on the way to Kashgar airport so we miss our flight back to Beijing."

translation: 我们的汉族制片人觉得自己被骗了，辞掉了大军。 * * * 我们的新司机对车里、车外的人都是一个危险。还有，去喀什机场的路上，他迷了路，我们错过了回北京的航班。

what's more: "used to add something surprising or interesting to what you have just said  <The decorations were absolutely beautiful and what's more, the children had made them themselves>"
dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/british/what-s-more