你需要的或许只是「认真的查一查字典」
这是一篇旧文。
有朋友发来这样一段话，问我该”如何理解“？
“On his person he bore the marks of these perils of the laboratory; but they were little heeded by him, and, when adverted to, always afforded him the occasion of some good-humored pleasantry,” Emmet’s biographer says. “His wardrobe paid dearly for the powerful agents with which it was too heedlessly brought into contact, and not infrequently his attire wore the appearance of the sails of a ship that had just been in action.
你读懂了吗? 碰到这样的句子怎么破?
首先我们主要到这句话的主干是: (On his person) he bore the marks (of these perils of the laboratory) -- 其它的内容都是来展开说明这句话。
我们可以用通过查字典找“替换词”的方法来解决。注意，这篇文章讨论的是如何看懂，理解这个句子，而不是如何翻译。
我们一句一句的来decode。
On his person he bore the marks of these perils of the laboratory;
person，我们都知道是“人”的意思 — a man, woman, or child. 我们把person换成man, 变成了“on his man”，我们发现这种解释其实是行不通的。 这就需要我们重新查一查person这个词的具体用法，尤其是和介词on和his这样词搭配的用法。以柯林斯字典为例, 你会有以下发现：
person, 人品 = real nature
in person, 亲自, 本人
person = body, 例句: The suspect had refused to give any details of his identity and had carried no documents on his person.
因此我们可以判断，on his person指的是on his body。
用同样的方法查bear; mark; perils
带有某种标记或特征；If something bears a particular mark or characteristic, it has that mark or characteristic.
第一句话就变成了:
On his body he bore the marks of these dangers of the laboratory.
词都变成了我们熟悉的词，这次有没有稍微理解了一些? 或者还是一头雾水: 什么是“这些实验室的危险的污迹”？ 看不懂就也没关系，后面还有一些补充信息。
我们继续看：
but they were little heeded by him, and, when adverted to, always afforded him the occasion of some good-humored pleasantry,” Emmet’s biographer says.
第一句中说的重点是the marks, 这句话里的they指的还是the marks. 我们注意到这句话中有一个插入的成分“when adverted to”，我们先把它舍去，这句话就变成了.
but the marks (of these dangers of the laboratory) were little heeded by him and always afforded him the occasion of some good humored pleasantry.
查一下单词:
heeded=pay attention to
afford = offer; provide
occasion = a time / opportunity
pleasantry = casual remarks
这句话就变成了:
but the marks (of these dangers of the laboratory) were little paid attention by him and always provided him the opportunity of some good humored casual remarks.
看到这里信息多了一些，大概是说：他很少注意这些(由实验中的危险带来的)污迹；这些标记为他提供了一些(发表、回应)幽默随意的评论的机会。
别忘了之前的插入语: when adverted to, 查一下字典你会发现advert=heed=turn one’s attention — 和前面的”were little heeded by”结构相同，但是意思相反,这样的处理也产生了省略的现象, 我们现在把这句话补完整:
but the marks (of these dangers of the laboratory) were little paid attention by him, and, when (the marks were) turned attention (by him), always provided him the opportunity of some good humored casual remarks.
大概是说：他很少注意这些(由实验中的问题带来的)污迹；当他注意到的时候，这些标记为他提供了一些(发表、回应)幽默随意的评论的机会。
我们接着往下看.
“His wardrobe paid dearly for the powerful agents with which it was too heedlessly brought into contact
我们先把这句话的修饰部分括起来。
His wardrobe paid (dearly) for the (powerful) agents (with which it was too heedlessly brought into contact).
“他的服装支付了代理人”? 听上去是说不通的。 我们来查字典, 你会发现:
pay for: 付出代价；受到惩罚
agent: 化学剂 = chemical
这句话就变成了: (因为）化学药剂，他的服装付出了代价。
补上其他的修饰元素:
dearly: 沉重的
agents后面的一长串都是用来修饰agents的，it指的是his wardrobe; heedlessly=carelessly; bring into contact with是习惯搭配的动词词组，重新看一下这个句子:
His wardrobe paid dearly for the powerful chemicals. His wardrobe was too carelessly brought into contact with the powerful chemicals.
我们把目前的成果展示一下:
“On his body he bore the marks of these problems of the laboratory; but the marks (of these great dangers of the laboratory) were little paid attention by him, and, when (the marks were) turned attention (by him), always provided him the opportunity of some good humored casual remarks” Emmet’s biographer says. His wardrobe paid dearly for the powerful chemicals. His wardrobe was too carelessly brought into contact with the powerful chemicals.
我们不需要翻译，我们把这段英文中的信息整理一下，分解这段话中的几个propositions:
他的身上有因为做实验产生的污迹。
他不注意这些污迹，即使是注意了，也只是幽默的回应。
他的衣服因为化学品而付出代价。
我们可以推测出这样的结论:
他是一个不修边幅的人，在实验室里做实验的时候经常弄的衣服上、身上沾上化学剂。但是他对此不在乎，就是爱实验，停不下来。
理解到这里就可以了，具体的意思我们需要更多的信息: 为什么要写这段? 为了说明什么?
看懂了这种「查单词」找替换词的方法吗? 基本的判断能力和语法是要有的。剩下最后一句话，你自己来试一试吧 -- 你需要的或许只是「认真的查一查字典」, 理解是一回事，翻译是艺术。