财经报道经常涉及各类经济数据、市场价格及其它有关的统计数字,这些数据之间的比较或参照是财经报道的重要组成部分。因此,比较结构在英文财经报道的句型中占有很大的比例,译者应对此类用法予以注意:
以more/less/higher/lower/narrower/smaller等连接的不对等比较:
The stock is up more than 1%and earlier today hit a fresh record at$644.13.
该股票涨幅达到1%以上,今天早些时候股价创下新高,达到644.13美元。
The market edged lower on Monday,with the VFSE 100 closing down 28 points,or 0.48%,at 5824.37.
周一市场低走,富时100指数收市下降28点,降幅0.48%,报收5824.37点。
以highest/record high/lowest/new low等连接的最高级比较:
September.delivery crude oil rose$1.27 or 1.4%,to settle at$95.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange,the highest price since May 11.
纽约商品交易所九月合约石油期货上涨1.27美元,涨幅1.4%,报收每桶95.60美元,为5月11日以来的最高价。
Facebook shares hit a new low on Thursday,fall— ing 6.3%to$19.87 as more than 271 million shares--or nearly 13%of those outstanding--became eligible for sale.
脸书股票周四创新低,股价跌至19.87美元,跌幅达6.3%,这是由于占流通股总数近13%的2亿7千1百万股票被抛售套现。
以against/opposite/compare/contrast等连接的数据对比:
The EU’S trade surplus WaS 400m euYos,cornpared with a 15.3 bn—euro deficit a year earlier.
与去年153亿的赤字相比,欧盟的贸易顺差为4亿欧元。
The euro WaS at$1.2353.stabilizing after climbing 0.6%overnight against the dollar--the single currency’s first climb in three sessions.
欧元兑美元隔夜汇率上涨0.6个百分点,企稳于1.2353美元——这是欧元汇率三个月来首次上涨。
上述比较结构的适当运用,可对于关键的经济运行数据进行有效表达,使读者获得精确的概念,对经济态势变化了然于胸。而有时财经报道中的数字若过大,专业性过强,不易于读者接受,此时不如化大数据为小数据:
The world arms expenditure last year reached an unprecedented number,altogether 550 billion,that is, about l nli]lion every minute.
From 1965 to last year,the annual cigarette sales volume had increased by 150 percent,reaching 5,750,000 million.That is to say,for over 1,000 millioll Chinese people,everyone consume 600.
上述两例中,报道中最初的数据就是billion(10亿),million(百万)这样的天文数字。如果把这样大的数字信息简单地罗列出来,不仅使报道显得专业性过强,而且过于沉闷,读者恐怕失去耐心。经过适当的简化改写之后,数字单位化小了,原本抽象的天文数字变成了具体的表述,易于读者理解接受。此外,译者在表述经济数据时,应注意使用国际通行的计量单位,如鉴于美元在今天仍充当着国际货币的作用,在提到以人民币为结算单位的数据时,应将其换算成美元:
Yuan positions declined by 24.9 biHion yuan ($3.9 billion)in October,according to data posted on the website of the People’S Bank of China (PBOC),the central bank,on Monday.
对于非专业读者来说,过多的数据引用会使报道显得过于深奥和枯燥,此时不妨使用一些约估性字眼(round figures),如slightly,notable,standing a— bove,the most,more than,nearly等,使报道浅显易懂,增加可读性,同时也为报道留有一定余地,保证了其可信性。