(Peterson-More)
Recent Pudney Passages (suggested translations)
Pudney pg. 118, passage 22
Until you
have learned these rules you will not be able to face/tackle/handle a
translation of average difficulty.
I assure you
that you are unlikely to/ it is unlikely that you will pass the annual exam if
you have not studied/ you do not study these exercises thoroughly/carefully.
You should
start/ It’s a good idea to start/ begin (studying) immediately/now/at
once/straight away. As compared to last year’s, / to the one last year, the
examination will be just as difficult. Turn your home/homes //OR: transform
your house into an enormous/huge study/ studies and get to work!
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Pudney pg. 119, passage 24
Pudney pg. 119, passage 24
The large
number of/So many /agents in charge of/responsible for protecting the Pope were
not enough/sufficient to prevent the attack on his life by Alì Agca in St.
Peter’s Sqaure on [that Tuesday] March 13, 1981. If a nun hadn’t grabbed/caught
him by the jacket he wouldn’t have been captured/ he would have escaped.
[…]
Who
organized the attack? What objective were they trying to reach? At the trial Mr.
Agca did not did clarify the matter/ did not provide any clarification. He
didn’t apologize; he didn’t explain anything. On Christmas Day / At Christmas
in 1983 the Pope visited him in prison. It was a historic moment/ An iconic
photograph was taken: the conversation between the would-be assassin and his
attempted victim.
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Pudney pg.
119, passage 25
Despite/ In
spite of the publicity/ widespread attention given to the problem/issue/matter/question,
the birthrate in Italy has been falling/ has fallen so much/so drastically/ so
sharply
OR:
there has
been such a drastic/huge/sharp decline in the birthrate in Italy
as to cause
concern/ raise alarm that in/within a few centuries Italians will become extinct/be
an ‘endangered species.’ […]
In an
interview the Minister for the Family stated/declared/said/claimed that he/she
would encourage young couples/people to have more children by offering (them)
tax breaks/relief on their first/main homes, more jobs for heads of families
and part-time jobs with the same rights as full-time jobs. Moreover, he/she
said he would work to open more nursery schools/pre-schools/ to assist with child
care// to ensure there is child care for working couples. He/she concluded
saying that until Italians are convinced of the gravity of the situation/ OR:
how serious/dire the situation is, Italy will become evermore/ more and more a
country of elderly people/ the elderly.
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Pudney pg. 120,
passage 26
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A ten-year-old
child/boy who fell from a cliff approximately 10 meters high/ who fell
approximately 10 meters from a cliff on Wednesday, August 3, was saved by a
rescue helicopter which/ that had taken off/ took off from a passing/ nearby
aircraft carrier.
Many people
saw/watched/ were present at the rescue and for all of them it was the first
time they had seen/witnessed such an operation/ this type/kind of operation.
[…]
Pudney pg.
125, passage 31
At 11:30pm beneath
the Mururoa atoll/ in the bowels of the Mururoa
atoll, the first nuclear bomb of the Chirac era exploded. A few minutes later
the Defense Minister declared/announced/proclaimed/explained, “we had to
undertake/carry out this experiment. If we had already had the information we
need(ed), we wouldn’t have had to reach/arrive at/get to this point.”
France’s challenge to [the rest of] the world began recently, and the experiments/ and it will continue as long as French officials/ French experts/the French believe that certain foreign nations pose a threat to France’s national security// OR: believe/think there is a threat to [French] national security by some/certain foreign countries. The public response was [much] greater than expected: a million people all over the world held protests/demonstrated/protested [in the streets] on the night of the explosion.
France’s challenge to [the rest of] the world began recently, and the experiments/ and it will continue as long as French officials/ French experts/the French believe that certain foreign nations pose a threat to France’s national security// OR: believe/think there is a threat to [French] national security by some/certain foreign countries. The public response was [much] greater than expected: a million people all over the world held protests/demonstrated/protested [in the streets] on the night of the explosion.
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Pudney pg. 129, passage 35
The majority
of people /Most of the people/ Most of those who arrive in Italy illegally are
looking for jobs/work. They would never have [even] dreamed of leaving their
own countries if they had had a good/decent standard of living there. Yes/Certainly/Of
course, they can/could be accused of risking their lives and not realizing the
danger(s) they face. Who organized their trip/journey//Who organized the trip
for them? Who should be blamed?
A port/maritime
official [apparently] said/confirmed that the authorities who are/were supposed
to patrol/police the territorial waters have found themselves in difficulty/ in
a difficult situation in recent days. It seems that some criminals aboard/on
inflatable rafts have protected/shielded themselves with children [in order] to
avoid capture.
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Pudney pp. 129-130, passage 36
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There is much talk/ Many people talk
about the job crisis, especially/also as regards the arrival of so many
foreigners/ people from abroad/from other countries. They are accused of
stealing/taking jobs from Italians, of working for low
wages/pay/salaries/little money, but some experts reportedly said that the
situation would change when the new jobs law was/had been introduced.
Many young people admit they are not/would
not be willing/ready to work as hard as (the) immigrants and that they don’t
want their jobs/their work to take them far away from home/from their homes/
What can be done to find a proper/an appropriate/ the right balance? This has
been a major problem in recent years, but the authorities claim/say they are
unable to resolve it.
Pudney, pg.
138, Translation Passage 1 (lines 1-11)
The town
council/local administration/authorities has/have finally realized there is a
problem/OR: has finally woken up. On Friday, January 27, the mayor of Milan
discovered/found that / the air in the city is unbreathable/his city’s air was/is
unbreathable. [High/excessive] P/pollution levels that should never have been
reached were registered/recorded/found [both] in the city center/downtown and on
the outskirts. [Indeed, /In fact,] A/a thick, foul-smelling fog had/has spread
over 90% of the territory// OR: 90% of the territory was covered by a thick, foul-smelling
fog.
The
authorities [have] launched an initiative without precedent in Italy, asking
citizens to limit using their cars/ OR: their car use and the heating inside/within
their homes. They even considered/thought of/spoke about closing [the] schools
in the upcoming/next few days.
