【CATTI 真题】2021年(下)三笔 | 飞机调座

• 原文

[1] Some airlines have advised passengers not to lean back in economy class, which has triggered off a debate. Some think that airlines should lock their economy seats from reclining permanently and should immediately stop using the phrase “sit back, relax and enjoy the flight”. That’s an invitation to lean back all the way. But others think that it is the God-given right of passengers to recline. If you click around the internet for a while, you will find that this debate is far from settled.

[2] There are several arguments against reclining. First, reclining your airline seat is unacceptable because we’re literally out of space. There’s no space to recline. Airlines are trying to squeeze more passengers on a plane to make more money. Before airlinederegulation, many economy class seats had a generous 36 inches of “pitch”, a rough measure of legroom. Today, some seats have as little as 28 inches.

[3] Second, it is a moral issue. If you recline your airplane seat, you’ll probably end up in someone’s lap. A frequent air traveler says, “what do you do if the person in front of you reclines all the way? What if you turn around to discover that a 6-foot-4 passenger seated behind you? Do you eat your meal in your lap while the tray table cuts into your stomach or do you recline as well and crush the legs of the person behind you?” Another traveler says, “seat reclining is one of the most irritating, inconvenient, self-indulgent habits.” You’ll invade another passenger’s personal space, which might lead to an unfriendly confrontation. So it is rude to recline, and it is wrong. Most folks would rather sacrifice the 2 inches of reclining backward not to have someone sitting in their lap for the distance of a flight “I wish all airlines would eliminate the recline function,” says a retired Air Force inspector.

[4] But if there is no room to recline your airplane seat, and it’s wrong, why do so many airlines still allow it? Because if they didn’t, it would be an admission that they no longer care about your comfort. Airlines are stackingyou into a plane like cargo. Furthermore, the airline industry loves the seat reclining argument because it divides us. 

[5] And while we’re arguing about 2 inches of personal space, they are busy collecting more money from passengers and slowly removing even more room. Whether you think reclining your airline seat is wrong or not, let’s agree on one thing: Greedy airlines got us to this point. Fighting over the scraps of space won’t fix it. If we ever needed thoughtful government regulation, maybe it is now.

[6] Reclining an airline seat is still allowed on most flights. Here’s how to deal with someone who leans into your airspace. Ask them to lean forward. Timing and tone are important here. The moment someone leans back, gently tap the person on the shoulder and politely ask them if it would be possible not to recline their seat, or get a flight attendant involved. Some leaners are clever and wait for you to go to the restroom before leaning. Then they feign sleep, which makes you reluctant to bother them. You can always ask a flight attendant for help.

Part 1翻译笔记

[1] Some airlines have advised passengers not to lean back in economy class, which has triggered off a debate. Some think that airlines should lock their economy seats from reclining permanently and should immediately stop using the phrase “sit back, relax and enjoy the flight”. That’s an invitation to lean back all the way. But others think that it is the God-given right of passengers to recline. If you click around the internet for a while, you will find that this debate is far from settled.

[2] There are several arguments against reclining. First, reclining your airline seat is unacceptable because we’re literally out of space. There’s no space to recline. Airlines are trying to squeeze more passengers on a plane to make more money. Before airline deregulation, many economy class seats had a generous 36 inches of “pitch”, a rough measure of legroom. Today, some seats have as little as 28 inches.

l翻译解析

[1] 

1，Some airlines have advised passengers not to lean back in economy class, which has triggered off a debate.

这里的lean back指把座椅‘往后仰、靠、倾斜’，结合现实很好懂，中文说法也比较多样，只要意思对，读者能看懂都行。Debate一般我们在文章中看到都是指‘争论’，虽没有吵架（argument）那么严重，但双方观点明显是相反的，各自据理力争，注意不要写中性的‘讨论’。Which指代前面整句话，最简单无脑的说法就是‘这’，或者可以根据语境补充一点，‘这一问题、这一做法、这一现象’等。但其实中文可以「意合」，你不用把每个结构说那么完整，逗号断开，直接往下说就行了。或者还有一种处理，表达由A导致了、带来了、引发了B，带有一点因果逻辑的，可以用‘由此’来衔接。

2，Some think that airlines should lock their economy seats from reclining permanently and should immediately stop using the phrase “sit back, relax and enjoy the flight”. That’s an invitation to lean back all the way. 

这里sit back本意的确是‘舒服地坐好’（to sit on sth, usually a chair, in a relaxed position），但这里不建议直译，前后句接不上，要考虑上下文的「逻辑衔接」。为什么说That’s an invitation to lean back all the way呢，其实就是作者的故意调侃或讽刺，你看都有个‘back’嘛，大家自然会误解成往‘后’躺，但现实中大家往后倒并不是因为真的误解了，就是为了自己舒服。当然了，如果抛开词组本身的含义，把这两个词各自拆开看，确实会有这种解读的可能。

你不是说让我躺好休息嘛，那我不得可劲躺‘到底’，怎么舒服怎么来。这里的all the way不是‘一路’，而是取另一个含义，等于completely，完全地、彻底地。当然，这都是Some持有的一种观点，上述这种说辞（the phrase）有这种误解的可能，所以别再说了，本质还是支持不要往后仰。注意，lean back all the way只是一种理论上的程度（可能性），真实的情况，肯定不能彻底躺下，实际能调节的角度也非常有限。原文中后面还有一句：But it’s a cruel joke. On two airlines – Delta and Spirit – you can’t fully recline. 注意Invitation在这里也不是‘邀请’，而是表示‘鼓励’，如：Leaving the doors unlocked is an open invitation to burglars. 出门不上锁无异于开门揖盗。

3，But others think that it is the God-given right of passengers to recline. 

这里的God-given right就是天赋人权，强调‘天生的、与生俱来的’，完全不容反驳的感觉，意思差不多都行，或者就直译说‘上帝赋予的’。其实这个词用得还是非常重的，语气比较夸张，所以翻译上也不要直接忽略，直接变成‘乘客的权利’了。

4，If you click around the internet for a while, you will find that this debate is far from settled.

这里前半句就用你的大白话说，不要字字对应，太绕。far from settled这里的settle也不是‘解决’，要注意动宾搭配呀，争论怎么解决？能解决的是什么？其实就是吵架还没吵完，谁也没说服谁，还在说呢，简单理解为end就可以了。

[2] 

1，There are several arguments against reclining. 

这里的argument也是常见词呀，是‘理由、论据’（His argument was that public spending must be reduced. 他的论点是公共开支必须减缩），不是‘观点’，怎么可能是有‘几种观点’？这里against已经点明了，就是‘反对’这一种观点，你这属于基本的逻辑根本不看啊，就闭着眼睛写呗。There are句型也不要说“有几个理由……”，而是先说事情，“反对……的理由如下/有以下几点，反对……有几个原因”。

2，First, reclining your airline seat is unacceptable because we’re literallyout of space. There’s no space to recline. 

第一个原因是，没有空间给你往后靠。这里的literally也是一种强调词，相当于‘确实、真的’，out of space算是固定概念吧，没有空间了。we’re literally out of space用通俗的话说就是，挤死了，真的已经够挤了，书面一点就是‘确实空间有限’。比如We’re literally starving‘我们要饿死了’。out of 表示‘没有、不足’，不是什么‘超出’。There’s no space to recline这里从意思上来说和前一句是重复的，但是翻译不建议省略，在考试中一般算漏译，所以你再换个说法就好了。

3，Airlines are trying to squeeze more passengers on a plane to make more money. 

这一句本质是解释原因，为什么飞机上空间这么小？但读者不是傻子，你不用解释那么多，直接往下说事就行。这其实算是生活常识，座位安排挤一点，能容得下的人就更多，不就更赚钱了吗？

squeeze more passengers on a plane本质就是out of space的等价解释，可以直译，说法也比较形象，可以用‘塞、挤’这种词。trying to不要看到就只会‘尝试’，这里是说‘正在尝试’吗？其实这个词也经常说‘努力、想办法’等，你得看语境，按照作者的观点，这种行为是不好的，是为了谋利，你可以说‘想方设法’。

4，Before airline deregulation, many economy class seats had a generous 36 inches of “pitch”, a rough measure of legroom. Today, some seats have as little as 28 inches.

Deregulation指‘放松、取消管制’，to remove government rules and controls，相关背景可以搜AI了解。Generous在这里是形容36英寸，就是空间比较‘宽裕，不挤’。a generous 36 inches of “pitch”, a rough measure of legroom这里是容易误解的地方，很多同学误解为‘36英寸的空间足够让一个人放下双腿’，其实这里的a rough measure of legroom是修饰“pitch”的，相当于对这个概念的等价解释，什么叫“pitch”？就是a rough measure of legroom。这个表达的字面意思是‘对腿部空间的粗略衡量’，换个说法就是，这个“pitch”可以粗略衡量腿部空间（二者基本可以等价理解）。

“pitch”就是我们说的座位‘间距’，比如从前一个座位的靠背到后一个座位的靠背。但是legroom呢，就不完全是这个距离，但也几乎是的。有一点很确定，pitch越大，legroom就越大，所以这里就等于换个通俗说法，让读者感同身受，更有代入感，我说 “pitch”还有点抽象，说不定读者还不认识，但是说legroom你一下就明白了，就是有多少空间可以放腿，以前是36英寸，而现在是28英寸（一英寸等于2.54厘米）。

l参考译文

[1] Some airlines have advised passengers not to lean back in economy class, which has triggered off a debate. Some think that airlines should lock their economy seats from reclining permanently and should immediately stop using the phrase “sit back, relax and enjoy the flight”. That’s an invitation to lean back all the way. But others think that it is the God-given right of passengers to recline. If you click around the internet for a while, you will find that this debate is far from settled.

一些航空公司建议经济舱乘客不要向后倾斜椅背，由此引发了一场争论。有人认为，航空公司应该永久锁定经济舱座椅的后仰功能，并立即停用“请向后靠坐/后仰休息，放松身心，祝您飞行愉快”此类用语，这无异于鼓励乘客一仰到底。但也有人认为，向后调座是乘客与生俱来的权利，天经地义。上网搜一下你就会发现，这场争论远未平息。

[2]There are several arguments against reclining. First, reclining your airline seat is unacceptable because we’re literally out of space. There’s no space to recline. Airlines are trying to squeeze more passengers on a plane to make more money. Before airline deregulation, many economy class seats had a generous 36 inches of “pitch”, a rough measure of legroom. Today, some seats have as little as 28 inches.

反对座椅后仰主要有以下几点理由/反对座椅后仰的理由如下。首先，如今机舱真的已经够挤了/真的没有多余空间了/机舱空间已经被压缩到了极限，再把座椅往后倾斜实在不妥，根本没有可以后仰的余地。航空公司为了赚更多钱，都在想方设法往飞机里塞更多乘客/竭力压榨乘客空间。航空业管制解除之前，许多经济舱座椅“间距”宽裕，有足足36英寸，而间距就大体决定了腿部空间的大小。可如今，有些座位间距压缩到了只有28英寸。

Part 2翻译笔记

[3] Second, it is a moral issue. If you recline your airplane seat, you’ll probably end up in someone’s lap. A frequent air traveler says, “what do you do if the person in front of you reclines all the way? What if you turn around to discover that a 6-foot-4 passenger seated behind you? Do you eat your meal in your lap while the tray table cuts into your stomach or do you recline as well and crush the legs of the person behind you?” Another traveler says, “seat reclining is one of the most irritating, inconvenient, self-indulgent habits.” You’ll invade another passenger’s personal space, which might lead to an unfriendly confrontation. So it is rude to recline, and it is wrong. Most folks would rather sacrifice the 2 inches of reclining backward not to have someone sitting in their lap for the distance of a flight “I wish all airlines would eliminate the recline function,” says a retired Air Force inspector.

[4] But if there is no room to recline your airplane seat, and it’s wrong, why do so many airlines still allow it? Because if they didn’t, it would be an admission that they no longer care about your comfort. Airlines are stacking you into a plane like cargo. Furthermore, the airline industry loves the seat reclining argument because it divides us.

l翻译解析

[3] 

1，Second, it is a moral issue. If you recline your airplane seat, you’ll probably end up in someone’s lap. 

end up表达的是‘最终、到头来’，但并不是一定要翻译出这样的汉字，还是摆脱不了字字对应的习惯。其实本质就是，结果是什么，你直接说事就行了，如：Every time they went dancing they ended up in a bad mood. 每次他们去跳舞，都会不欢而散。这里in someone’s lap是一个比较夸张的说法，从现实角度来说，就是压到别人、挤到别人腿了，而不是真的“坐”在了别人腿上。还有说‘躺在怀里’的，我觉得就过于夸张了，还是再强调一下，原文什么字词，你就怎么翻译，不要太发挥想象力。当然了，这里可以说‘坐’这样的表达，本段最后一句也是sitting in their lap，但你可以考虑打上引号。

2，A frequent air traveler says, “what do you do if the person in front of you reclines all the way? What if you turn around to discover that a 6-foot-4 passenger seated behind you? 

all the way前面已经强调过了，不是‘一路、一直’，而是表达程度，所以这里还是说，把椅背放到底，调到最低，彻底放倒。这里的第二个问句虽然没有再重复what do you do，但实际抛出的问题还是一样啊，发生这种情况的话，你怎么做？同时还发现另一情况，又该怎么办呢？中文表达也要补充完整，语气才比较顺。如果只盯着一个个单词看，你是永远见树不见林，看不到作者在说什么的，只顾着翻译单词了。反复强调，我们翻译的是整句话，是整篇文章，想象你是作者，你要表达什么。6-foot-4这里的表达直译就好了，一般会转换成通用单位‘米’，用括号备注。

3，Do you eat your meal in your lap while the tray table cuts into your stomach or do you recline as well and crush the legs of the person behind you?” 

既然说到怎么办，接下来就是作者给你的两个选项，当然前提还是一样，前面的人往后倒了。所以此时你把小桌板放下来肯定会挤到自己，都顶到腹部了，坐过飞机的人都知道在说什么。所以这里的while the tray table cuts into your stomach可以理解为前提，然后是怎么选的问题，是放在腿上将就着吃，还是也往后靠，压别人的腿？（这不就回到本段主题，道德问题了嘛，这就是一种‘道德选择’呀）这是我们理解的意思，同样也是很地道的翻译。通过原文两个do you和or，就能很清晰地看到是谁和谁并列。当然了，这里也可以在or这里断句说，把while的信息只放前半句，营造一种同时发生的窘境，表达重心上稍微有点不一样，本质没啥区别，看你怎么选了。

4，Another traveler says, “seat reclining is one of the most irritating, inconvenient, self-indulgent habits.” 

这里的inconvenient需要把意思说完整了，不是这个行为‘不方便’，意思太模糊了，而是说，打扰到、影响到别人了，给别人造成了不便。one of这里可以说‘之一’，当然我觉得不说也没事，这里就是一种情绪的宣泄，比如‘你这种人最讨厌了’，并不是真的强调‘最’，没有比你更讨厌的了。

5，You’ll invade another passenger’s personal space, which might lead to an unfriendly confrontation. So it is rude to recline, and it is wrong. 

这里也没有什么难度吧，unfriendly confrontation可以顺着直译，‘不友好的、不愉快的冲突/矛盾’。it is rude to recline, and it is wrong这里简单直译也没问题，虽然我经常说不要写‘是……的’这种结构，不过这里还好，问就是一种感觉，你自己体会。类似于我们说‘你这种行为是不对的’，平时会这么讲话，但不太会说‘这朵花是漂亮的、你这个人是美丽的’，你懂吧。凡事都要看情况，别学个什么技巧就只会死记。

6，Most folks would rather sacrifice the 2 inches of reclining backward not to have someone sitting in their lap for the distance of a flight. “I wish all airlines would eliminate the recline function,” says a retired Air Force inspector.

这里的句型结构需要提炼出来，就是‘宁愿……，也不愿……’。have someone sitting in their lap for the distance of a flight这里很多同学把逻辑搞反了，不是自己坐别人腿上，是‘不让别人坐自己腿上’。因为只要存在可以调座的行为，就总会遇到前面的人往后倒，挤到你的情况。这里衔接后面一句话就很清晰，如果都不给调座了，我自己肯定也不舒服，但是我宁愿这样，也不想大家都往后靠，自己也被挤到。这里的 for the distance of a fligh是英语里一个比较口语化的说法，意思相当于for the duration/length of a flight，在整个飞行过程中。

[4] 

1，But if there is no room to recline your airplane seat, and it’s wrong, why do so many airlines still allow it? 

这里就开始总结了，前面说了应该反对座椅后调的两大原因，①根本没有空间给你后仰，②同时这种行为也不道德，那么问题来了，为什么还有这么多航空公司允许大家调座呢？干脆统一禁止不好吗？

2，Because if they didn’t, it would be an admission that they no longer care about your comfort. Airlines are stacking you into a plane like cargo. 

接着解释航空公司不禁止调座的原因，因为一旦禁止了，就等于承认了，它们根本不在乎乘客的舒适度问题，只为赚钱（不能让乘客意识到这一点）。这里稍微注意一下第二句的时态，是说‘当下’的现状是什么，这就是事实，事实就是they no longer care about your comfort，不用承认也是事实。但是它们不能做得太赤裸裸了，本来就挤，如果再不给调座，肯定有人投诉不满意，会把矛头指向航空公司。这里把乘客比作‘货物’也是非常形象讽刺了。

3，Furthermore, the airline industry loves the seat reclining argument because it divides us.

这句看不懂的，建议先把文章看完，所以我一直让大家先至少通读一遍再下笔，不要割裂地看一部分内容。后面内容就很清晰了，我们为这件事吵（开头第一段就说了此事引发争论），航空公司很乐意看到（loves the seat reclining argument），为啥呢，因为完全转移了视线，大家关注的重点，都变成了到底应不应该调整座椅角度，但根本问题在于，是航空公司把座椅间距压缩得太小了，才会存在这个问题的啊，为什么不从源头解决呢。

divides字面意思就是分裂，你可以说‘离间’，也可以用人做主语，比如‘我们就会产生分歧’。我反复强调，用人做主语，思路就简单很多，表达也顺很多，因为不需要用抽象的事情/物体（比如原文it），发出动作，这种表达方式不太符合中文习惯。其实是很简单的知识点，但是一到翻译就想不到，这是问题所在，你得刻意培养这种意识，而不是只会跟着原文it divides us的顺序走。

l参考译文

[3] Second, it is a moral issue. If you recline your airplane seat, you’ll probably end up in someone’s lap. A frequent air traveler says, “what do you do if the person in front of you reclines all the way? What if you turn around to discover that a 6-foot-4 passenger seated behind you? Do you eat your meal in your lap while the tray table cuts into your stomach or do you recline as well and crush the legs of the person behind you?” Another traveler says, “seat reclining is one of the most irritating, inconvenient, self-indulgent habits.” You’ll invade another passenger’s personal space, which might lead to an unfriendly confrontation. So it is rude to recline, and it is wrong. Most folks would rather sacrifice the 2 inches of reclining backward not to have someone sitting in their lap for the distance of a flight “I wish all airlines would eliminate the recline function,” says a retired Air Force inspector.

其次，这关乎道德问题。如果你向后仰，大概率会压到后排乘客的腿。一位经常坐飞机的旅客说：“如果前排乘客把靠背放到最低，你怎么办？而当你一回头，发现身后坐着一位身高6英尺4英寸（约1.93米）的大汉，又该怎么办？当小桌板顶到肚子，你是把饭菜放在腿上凑合着吃，还是也往后靠，压后排乘客的腿？”另一位旅客表示：“放倒座椅是最烦人、最扰人、也最自私的一个恶习。”这样做会侵犯其他乘客的私人空间，很容易引发口角/发生不愉快的冲突。可以说，这种行为既不礼貌，也不应该。大多数人宁愿不要那区区两英寸的后仰空间，也不愿有人在整个飞行期间“坐”在自己腿上。一位退役空军检查官直言：“我希望所有航空公司都能取消后仰功能。”

[4] But if there is no room to recline your airplane seat, and it’s wrong, why do so many airlines still allow it? Because if they didn’t, it would be an admission that they no longer care about your comfort. Airlines are stacking you into a plane like cargo. Furthermore, the airline industry loves the seat reclining argument because it divides us. 

既然飞机座椅没有空间后仰，这种行为又十分不妥，为什么还有这么多航空公司放任不管呢？因为一旦禁止，就等于变相承认它们再也不关心乘客的舒适度问题了。如今，航空公司都像运送货物一样把乘客堆进机舱。此外，航空业也乐意看到乘客为此争吵，这样我们就有了分歧。

Part 3翻译笔记

[5] And while we’re arguing about 2 inches of personal space, they are busy collecting more money from passengers and slowly removing even more room. Whether you think reclining your airline seat is wrong or not, let’s agree on one thing: Greedy airlines got us to this point. Fighting over the scraps of space won’t fix it. If we ever needed thoughtful government regulation, maybe it is now.

[6] Reclining an airline seat is still allowed on most flights. Here’s how to deal with someone who leans into your airspace. Ask them to lean forward. Timing and tone are important here. The moment someone leans back, gently tap the person on the shoulder and politely ask them if it would be possible not to recline their seat, or get a flight attendant involved. Some leaners are clever and wait for you to go to the restroom before leaning. Then they feign sleep, which makes you reluctant to bother them. You can always ask a flight attendant for help.

l翻译解析

[5] 

1，And while we’re arguing about 2 inches of personal space, they are busy collecting more money from passengers and slowly removing even more room. 

这里句子开头的while不是表示‘尽管’，你看原文两个进行时态就知道了呀，肯定是强调两个动作「同时发生」嘛。就在我们争论到底应不应该倾斜座椅的时候，航空公司在干什么事情，这里显然就是作者对公司的批评，把矛头指向了航空公司，它们才是罪魁祸首，我们都被蒙蔽了双眼。

这里的slowly也不要闭着眼睛就写‘缓慢地’，明显就不搭，表意很模糊。这个词本意的确是‘慢’，但要综合整句话来看。航空公司每次就压缩一点点空间，让你感觉不到有什么变化，但是‘慢慢地’，到了一定时候，这个空间就被压缩得足够多了。所以这个词体现的含义是，航空公司悄悄地、暗地里使坏，不知不觉中就压缩了空间。

2，Whether you think reclining your airline seat is wrong or not, let’s agree on one thing: Greedy airlines got us to this point.

这里的let’s agree on one thing也不要只会‘让我们一起……’，在某些语境中可能是这个语气，但是这里不搭啊，你得理解了意思，不看原文，然后用自己的话转述给观众听：不管你属于哪一方阵营（开头的两派观点），有一点是肯定的，关于这一点我们可以、也应该达成共识。这里就是作者在输出观点+赢得读者认可，哪怕有一些原来不明所以的观众，这下也应该醒悟了。用通俗的话说就是，大伙儿心里都明白/不用我多说了吧：就是那些贪婪的航空公司把我们害成这样的。

Greedy airlines got us to this point这里没想到大多数同学都不知道怎么翻译，理解上应该是差不多懂了的，就是为什么会存在这样的现状，乘客为此事争执起来了呢，问题的源头是什么，就是航空公司的贪婪，想赚更多钱。如果你把座椅间距调大一点，人少装一点，每个人都有宽敞舒适的空间，不就没这个争论了吗？这里特别强调一下，你的理解是理解，翻译是要翻译原文，不是让你把自己的理解当作译文。原文是this point，那就直译呀，不需要你解释出来，这个this point的内涵是什么。这里point的用法很常见，指‘现状、局势、阶段’等，简单说就是‘XX造成了如今的局面’，或者也可以把us强调出来。

3，Fighting over the scraps of space won’t fix it. If we ever needed thoughtful government regulation, maybe it is now.

Fighting over the scraps of space这里本质还是一个同义替换，等于开头第一句的arguing about 2 inches of personal space。the scraps of space整个表达的意思就是，这么一丁点空间，这么小的空间，强调两英寸也没多少，但却引发了巨大争执。won’t fix it也就是说，我们再这么争下去毫无意义，能解决问题吗？不能，谁都不服谁，谁都有理。

thoughtful government regulation这里强调一下thoughtful，本意是深思熟虑的，直译也还行，但你不能说‘深思熟虑的政府监管’，监管本身是一个抽象规则/行为，而「深思熟虑的」一般形容‘方案、决定’等，这里可以考虑用政府发出动作。

其实‘政府’本质就是我们说的‘人+动作’这里面的‘人’，不一定就真的只能是人呀，政府、公司、机构、学校等，所代表的都是‘人’，也就是可以发出动作的主体。从理解来说，这里thoughtful指经过认真权衡、理性设计、兼顾各方利益的监管措施，既在一定程度上保护乘客利益，但也不是一刀切不顾航空公司了，各方都要考虑到，笼统来说就是‘合理的、完善的’等，如果要加上单词的本意，可以说‘审慎的’，这个说法比较常见。

[6] 

1，Reclining an airline seat is still allowed on most flights. Here’s how to deal with someone who leans into your airspace. 

最后是作者给出建议，基于‘当前’现状，大部分航空公司仍然允许调座，这也就意味着，你大概率会遇到这种情形，所以作者很贴心地给你支些招。这里可以稍微强调下时态细节，什么时候需要强调出来，就看原文内容是不是强调‘目前’的情况是什么，这个细节是体现在时态中的，不一定有字词对应。

Here’s how to deal with someone who leans into your airspace.这句其实很简单，但有些译文实在太复杂，逻辑很绕，也不知道断句。给建议的说法就很多样了，理论上合理都行，最简单清晰的万能结构就是：如果……，（你）可以……，这是偏动态的描写，当然也可以说静态的：如果……，下面是几点建议/对策如下。总的来说，都有一个‘如果’的假设前提。这怎么能不会说话了呢？其实关于定语从句的修饰，如何断句、如何组句，我讲过好几次了，大部分时候都可以用‘如果’来组句，因为这就是表达一种假设情况嘛。你在读到的时候，把如果带进去，看看是不是这么一回事。当然这里并不是非要说‘如果’，你能用别的说法把意思表达清楚了也行，但我估计你只会写得很乱，不如记住现成的译文更省事。

2，Ask them to lean forward. Timing and tone are important here. The moment someone leans back, gently tap the person on the shoulder and politely ask them if it would be possible not to recline their seat, or get a flight attendant involved. 

接下来就是具体的建议了，注意中文的断句，你得按照中文节奏来，而不是和英文一样，有时候会很奇怪。lean forward可以表达出‘前’，但这里不是‘往前倾斜’，那个座椅，最多也就是坐直的状态啊，所以是在往后倒的基础上往前一点，不过我觉得说‘坐直’会更直白清晰一点。Timing对应的就是The moment，所以这个表达需要突出一下，强调那‘一瞬间’，你看他刚要往后倒的时候，就要说了，别等到对方已经完全躺下来了，再说就迟了。注意这里or的断句，是gently tap……and politely ask……，和get a flight attendant involved并列，你可以先自己和对方好好说，如果说不通，还可以找空乘出面解决。

3，Some leaners are clever and wait for you to go to the restroom before leaning. Then they feign sleep, which makes you reluctant to bother them. You can always ask a flight attendant for help.

这里的clever明显是负面情感的‘聪明’，有同学说的‘耍小聪明’就比较到位，也就是我们说的‘精明、鸡贼’的感觉，我相信大家的方言里都有形容这种概念的词。Reluctant也是需要根据语境调整说法，注意搭配的词，不是上来就是‘不愿意’，这哪里是愿不愿意的问题啊，你把自己带入进去场景就好了，那不就是‘不好、不好意思打扰了’，怕吵了别人。这个词可以表示hesitate，做一件事之前比较犹豫的状态，心里很想叫醒对方，但良心又有点过不去。You can always ask a flight attendant for help.这里和前一句的语气衔接是，当发生……的时候，你可以……，只是作者省掉了这个概念，你可以说‘此时’。

Leaners稍微强调一下，大部分同学都弱化掉了，直接说‘有些人很精明’，其实从理解上来说没有问题，但是翻译上可能就差了点意思，稍微显得有点平淡，丢掉了原文的修辞手法，你可以理解为是‘标签化’。作者没有用“passengers who recline their seats”，而是直接把 lean（后仰/倚靠）变成了一个名词leaner（后仰者/调椅背的人），这就好比在排队语境下，不叫“不守规矩的乘客”，而直接叫“插队党”。所以作者创造leaner这个词，带有强烈的调侃、讽刺和对立色彩，把这群人归为一个专门的帮派，中文一般可以说‘XX党、XX派’。

l参考译文

[5] And while we’re arguing about 2 inches of personal space, they are busy collecting more money from passengers and slowly removing even more room. Whether you think reclining your airline seat is wrong or not, let’s agree on one thing: Greedy airlines got us to this point. Fighting over the scraps of space won’t fix it. If we ever needed thoughtful government regulation, maybe it is now.

当我们还在为两英寸的私人空间争得不可开交时，航空公司正忙着从乘客身上搜刮更多钱财，并悄悄/暗中压缩更多空间。无论你认为后仰是对是错，至少有一点是肯定的/我们应该达成共识：是贪婪的航空公司把我们逼到了这一步。为了那巴掌大的空间互撕/互不相让，根本无济于事。如果说我们何时需要政府出台审慎合理的监管措施，那大概就是现在。

[6] Reclining an airline seat is still allowed on most flights. Here’s how to deal with someone who leans into your airspace. Ask them to lean forward. Timing and tone are important here. The moment someone leans back, gently tap the person on the shoulder and politely ask them if it would be possible not to recline their seat, or get a flight attendant involved. Some leaners are clever and wait for you to go to the restroom before leaning. Then they feign sleep, which makes you reluctant to bother them. You can always ask a flight attendant for help.

目前，大多数航班仍允许放倒座椅。如果有人入侵你的“领空”，可以尝试如下对策：请对方坐直，注意时机和语气至关重要——对方一向后放倒座椅，你就轻拍对方肩膀，礼貌询问是否可以不往后靠，或请求空乘介入。有些“后仰族”很精明，会趁你去洗手间时把椅背调低，然后装睡，让你不好意思打扰他们。此时，你可以随时向空乘寻求帮助。

l双语全文

[1] Some airlines have advised passengers not to lean back in economy class, which has triggered off a debate. Some think that airlines should lock their economy seats from reclining permanently and should immediately stop using the phrase “sit back, relax and enjoy the flight”. That’s an invitation to lean back all the way. But others think that it is the God-given right of passengers to recline. If you click around the internet for a while, you will find that this debate is far from settled.

一些航空公司建议经济舱乘客不要向后倾斜椅背，由此引发了一场争论。有人认为，航空公司应该永久锁定经济舱座椅的后仰功能，并立即停用“请向后靠坐/后仰休息，放松身心，祝您飞行愉快”此类用语，这无异于鼓励乘客一仰到底。但也有人认为，向后调座是乘客与生俱来的权利，天经地义。上网搜一下你就会发现，这场争论远未平息。

[2] There are several arguments against reclining. First, reclining your airline seat is unacceptable because we’re literally out of space. There’s no space to recline. Airlines are trying to squeeze more passengers on a plane to make more money. Before airline deregulation, many economy class seats had a generous 36 inches of “pitch”, a rough measure of legroom. Today, some seats have as little as 28 inches.

反对座椅后仰主要有以下几点理由/反对座椅后仰的理由如下。首先，如今机舱真的已经够挤了/真的没有多余空间了/机舱空间已经被压缩到了极限，再把座椅往后倾斜实在不妥，根本没有可以后仰的余地。航空公司为了赚更多钱，都在想方设法往飞机里塞更多乘客/竭力压榨乘客空间。航空业管制解除之前，许多经济舱座椅“间距”宽裕，有足足36英寸，而间距就大体决定了腿部空间的大小。可如今，有些座位间距压缩到了只有28英寸。

[3] Second, it is a moral issue. If you recline your airplane seat, you’ll probably end up in someone’s lap. A frequent air traveler says, “what do you do if the person in front of you reclines all the way? What if you turn around to discover that a 6-foot-4 passenger seated behind you? Do you eat your meal in your lap while the tray table cuts into your stomach or do you recline as well and crush the legs of the person behind you?” Another traveler says, “seat reclining is one of the most irritating, inconvenient, self-indulgent habits.” You’ll invade another passenger’s personal space, which might lead to an unfriendly confrontation. So it is rude to recline, and it is wrong. Most folks would rather sacrifice the 2 inches of reclining backward not to have someone sitting in their lap for the distance of a flight “I wish all airlines would eliminate the recline function,” says a retired Air Force inspector.

其次，这关乎道德问题。如果你向后仰，大概率会压到后排乘客的腿。一位经常坐飞机的旅客说：“如果前排乘客把靠背放到最低，你怎么办？而当你一回头，发现身后坐着一位身高6英尺4英寸（约1.93米）的大汉，又该怎么办？当小桌板顶到肚子，你是把饭菜放在腿上凑合着吃，还是也往后靠，压后排乘客的腿？”另一位旅客表示：“放倒座椅是最烦人、最扰人、也最自私的一个恶习。”这样做会侵犯其他乘客的私人空间，很容易引发口角/发生不愉快的冲突。可以说，这种行为既不礼貌，也不应该。大多数人宁愿不要那区区两英寸的后仰空间，也不愿有人在整个飞行期间“坐”在自己腿上。一位退役空军检查官直言：“我希望所有航空公司都能取消后仰功能。”

[4] But if there is no room to recline your airplane seat, and it’s wrong, why do so many airlines still allow it? Because if they didn’t, it would be an admission that they no longer care about your comfort. Airlines are stacking you into a plane like cargo. Furthermore, the airline industry loves the seat reclining argument because it divides us. 

既然飞机座椅没有空间后仰，这种行为又十分不妥，为什么还有这么多航空公司放任不管呢？因为一旦禁止，就等于变相承认它们再也不关心乘客的舒适度问题了。如今，航空公司都像运送货物一样把乘客堆进机舱。此外，航空业也乐意看到乘客为此争吵，这样我们就有了分歧。

[5] And while we’re arguing about 2 inches of personal space, they are busy collecting more money from passengers and slowly removing even more room. Whether you think reclining your airline seat is wrong or not, let’s agree on one thing: Greedy airlines got us to this point. Fighting over the scraps of space won’t fix it. If we ever needed thoughtful government regulation, maybe it is now.

当我们还在为两英寸的私人空间争得不可开交时，航空公司正忙着从乘客身上搜刮更多钱财，并悄悄/暗中压缩更多空间。无论你认为后仰是对是错，至少有一点是肯定的/我们应该达成共识：是贪婪的航空公司把我们逼到了这一步。为了那巴掌大的空间互撕/互不相让，根本无济于事。如果说我们何时需要政府出台审慎合理的监管措施，那大概就是现在。

[6] Reclining an airline seat is still allowed on most flights. Here’s how to deal with someone who leans into your airspace. Ask them to lean forward. Timing and tone are important here. The moment someone leans back, gently tap the person on the shoulder and politely ask them if it would be possible not to recline their seat, or get a flight attendant involved. Some leaners are clever and wait for you to go to the restroom before leaning. Then they feign sleep, which makes you reluctant to bother them. You can always ask a flight attendant for help.

目前，大多数航班仍允许放倒座椅。如果有人入侵你的“领空”，可以尝试如下对策：请对方坐直，注意时机和语气至关重要——对方一向后放倒座椅，你就轻拍对方肩膀，礼貌询问是否可以不往后靠，或请求空乘介入。有些“后仰族”很精明，会趁你去洗手间时把椅背调低，然后装睡，让你不好意思打扰他们。此时，你可以随时向空乘寻求帮助。