如何欣赏小说？这当然是仁者见仁的问题。但小说的三要素已成为大家的基本共识，即人物、情节、环境，无论中英小说，无一例外。由于中英语言具有巨大的差异，各自的文学作品自然呈现不同的特点。如果说，中文小说长于情节的设计和铺陈，英语则以心理刻画而取胜。相对来说，中文结构随意、灵活，词汇丰富多彩，英语结构复杂、完整，词汇相对简单。

现以《长日将尽》的几个片段加以说明，并欣赏译者冯涛的译文。《长日将尽》（The Remains of the Day）是2017年诺贝尔文学奖获奖作家石黑一雄（日裔英国小说家）的第三部长篇小说，全篇以主人公的回忆展开和构成，表现手法独特，内容虚虚实实，语言优美，结构精妙，具有强大的感染力。

It seems increasingly likely that I really will undertake the expedition that has been preoccupying my imagination now for some days. An expedition, I should say, which I will undertake alone, in the comfort of Mr Farraday’s Ford; an expedition which, as I foresee it, will take me through much of the finest countryside of England to the West Country, and may keep me away from Darlington Hall for as much as five or six days.

欣赏：英语句子绵长复杂，语体正式，从句、插入语比比皆是，与日常的简明英语风格迥异。欣赏英语小说，要点不在于看作者选用哪几个词（虽然也很重要），而在于作者以什么样的结构和手段组织句子，展示作者的独创性。英语小说的结构之美，既是我们欣赏之首要，也是我们阅读之难点，需要反复揣摩，仔细体会。

译文：看来，这些天来一直在我心头盘桓的那次远行计划越来越像是真的要成行了。我应该说明的是，这是一次叨光法拉戴先生的福特轿车的舒适旅行；一次依我看来将带我穿越英格兰众多最优美的乡村盛景，去往西南诸郡的远行，而且会让我离开达林顿府的时间长达五六天之久。

2

This was not the first time my employer had raised such a question; indeed, it seems to be something which genuinely troubles him. On this occasion, in fact, a reply of sorts did occur to me as I stood up there on the ladder; a reply to the effect that those of our profession, although we did not see a great deal of the country in the sense of touring the countryside and visiting picturesque sites, did actually ‘see’ more of England than most, placed as we were in houses where the greatest ladies and gentlemen of the land gathered. Of course, I could not have expressed this view to Mr Farraday without embarking upon what might have seemed a presumptuous speech. I thus contented myself by saying simply:

‘It has been my privilege to see the best of England over the years, sir, within these very walls.’

欣赏：句子结构非常复杂，描绘出复杂的心理过程，同时展示出英语的结构之美，读者需要静下心来，慢慢体会作者的匠心所在。

译文：这不是我的雇主第一次提出这样一个问题了；看来，这倒确实是让他大为费心的一件事。在这种情况下，当我站在那个梯凳上的时候，我脑子里倒是浮现出了一个回答；大意是：虽然从旅行观光、游览乡村盛景的角度上来说，我们确实对这个国家所知甚少，但是干我们这一行的，对于英格兰的“见识”却实际上比大多数人都更胜一筹，因为我们就身处这个国家名流显贵云集的显赫府第当中。当然了，我在向法拉戴先生表达这一观点的时候，却又不太可能不给人一种自以为是的冒昧感觉。所以我也只能满足于简单地如此答复：

“这些年来，就在这幢府第当中，我已经尽享饱览英格兰的无限精华之特权了，先生。”

3

The fact that my attitude to this same suggestion underwent a change over the following days – indeed, that the notion of a trip to the West Country took an ever-increasing hold on my thoughts – is no doubt substantially attributable to – and why should I hide it? – the arrival of Miss Kenton’s letter, her first in almost seven years if one discounts the Christmas cards.

欣赏：英语喜用插入语，灵活多变，为作者提供了重要的表达手段，但有时会给读者和译者带来不小的困难。如何处理这些插入语，译者有不同的方法，简言之：归化或异化。在越来越开放的当今中国，归化翻译受到一般读者的欢迎，但异化翻译同样占有非常重要的地位。了解异国风情是大多数人阅读翻译作品的初心，他们不仅想知道原文是什么意思，还想知道原文作者采用什么样的形式来表达意思的。在可能的情况下，保留原文的插入语形式和顺序，有利于全面展示原文作者的写作风格和叙述技巧，使得读者多一个角度观察异国文化。当然，是否需要保留或调整插入语，不可一概而论。

译文：而我在接下来的几天里对这一建议的态度之所以发生了改变——的确，前往西南诸郡一游的打算在我的思绪中越来越挥之不去——无疑实质上应该归因于——我又何必隐瞒呢？——肯顿小姐的来信，如果不算圣诞贺卡的话，这是几乎七年来她写给我的第一封信。

4

What had occurred was this. Once the transactions were over – transactions which had taken this house out of the hands of the Darlington family after two centuries – Mr Farraday let it be known that he would not be taking up immediate residence here, but would spend a further four months concluding matters in the United States. In the meantime, however, he was most keen that the staff of his predecessor – a staff of which he had heard high praise – be retained at Darlington Hall.

欣赏：同位语结构在英语中十分普遍，起到详细解释和进一步说明的作用，有时因为句子太长，导致阅读和理解障碍。为了顺畅地阅读英语原作，必须熟悉英语结构，对长句、插入语和同位语等做到语法清晰，剥丝抽茧，进而正确理解并真正欣赏。

译文：具体的情况是这样的。房产交易一旦结束——这次交易使达林顿家族在长达两个世纪之后，失去了对这座府第的所有权——法拉戴先生就知会我们，他不会马上入住这里，而是将再花四个月的时间对美国的事务做一个了结。不过与此同时，他又最殷切地希望前任东家的员工——他已经听说这批雇员具有极佳的声誉——能够继续留任达林顿府。