翻译指导：钱钟书经典美文翻译详解(3)
窗子打通了大自然和人的隔膜。
A window helps to pull down the partition between man and nature
“由于有了窗子，人和大自然之间的隔膜才得以打破”，窗子起的是一种促进作用，其本身并不能去“打破”什么，因此用了helps to pull down. partition隔离墙。“隔膜”是解剖学词汇，这里用的是其引申意义，不能按字面译成diaphragm，那样意思就不对了。man and nature：man是指整个人类，所以不用任何冠词；nature则是不可数名词。
把风和太阳逗引进来，使屋子里也关着一部分春天
It leads breezes and sunlight in, and keeps part of the spring in the house
Lead：引导，引领。keep……in the house：使停留在屋里不能外出。
让我们安坐了享受，无需再到外面去找。
It allows one to sit and enjoy the spring in peace, and makes it unnecessary to go looking for it outside
原文是说“安坐”，而实际上“安”的意思也应当能涵盖“享受”，只是从词的节奏上感觉“安坐”和“享受”都是两个字的词，似乎是并列的。译文里译成了 sit……in peace，等于将状语移了一个位。注意这句中几个it的含义，第一个it指代window，第二个it是形式宾语，引出后面的to go……，第三个it是指代the spring.
二、全篇通览：
窗Random Thoughts on the Window
又是春天，窗子可以常开了。春天从窗外进来，人在屋子里坐不住，就从门里出去。不过屋子外的春天太贱了！到处是阳光，不像射破屋里阴深的那样明亮；到处是给太阳晒得懒洋洋的风，不像搅动屋里沉闷的那样有生气。就是鸟语，也似乎琐碎而单薄，需要屋里的寂静来做衬托。我们因此明白，春天是该镶嵌在窗子里看的，好比画配了框子。? It is spring again and the window can be left open as often as one would like. As spring comes in through the windows, so people——unable to bear staying inside any longer——go outdoors. The spring outside, however, is much too cheap, for the sun shines on everything, and so does not seem as bright as that which shoots into the darkness of the house. Outside the sun-slothed breeze blows everywhere, but it is not so lively as that which stirs the gloominess inside the house. Even the chirping of the birds sounds so thin and broken that the quietness of the house is needed to set it off. It seems that spring was always meant to be put behind a windowpane for show, just like a picture in a frame.同时，我们悟到，门和窗有不同的意义。当然，门是造了让人出进的。但是，窗子有时也可作为进出口用，譬如小偷或小说里私约的情人就喜欢爬窗子。所以窗子和门的根本分别，决不仅是有没有人进来出去。若据赏春一事来看，我们不妨这样说：有了门，我们可以出去；有了窗，我们可以不必出去。窗子打通了大自然和人的隔膜，把风和太阳逗引进来，使屋子里也关着一部分春天，让我们安坐了享受，无需再到外面去找。? At the same time it also becomes clear that the door has a different significance from the window. Of course, doors were made for people to pass through; but a window can also sometimes serve as an entrance or as an exit, and is used as such by thieves and by lovers in novels. In fact the fundamental difference between a door and a window has nothing to do with them being either entrances or exits. When it comes to the admiration of spring, it could be put this way: a door makes it possible for one to go out, whereas a window makes it possible for one not to have to. A window helps to pull down the partition between man and nature. It leads breezes and sunlight in, and keeps part of the spring in the house. It allows one to sit and enjoy the spring in peace, and makes it unnecessary to go looking for it outside.