在专利文献中，作者为了显示客观公正而大量地使用被动句，如果在专利翻译时也都在动词前面加上“被”字，中文读起来就非常拗口。在绝大多数情况下，“被”字都属多余，因为地道的汉语很少用它。那么，怎样才能准确灵活的翻译被动句呢？
一、译为主动句
在专利文献中，有些被动语态结构的句子可以直接以为主动语态。
例如，英文句子中的主语仍作译文句子中的主语，或是将它译为汉语的“是”字结构句等。
二、译为被动句
如果要强调被动的动作，英语的被动句也可直接译为汉语的被动句，表达的形式可以有
多种，如增加“被”、“受”、“把”、“让”、“给”、“由”、“经”、“用”、“以”、“靠”、“通过”、“所……”、“予以……”、“得到……”等，将句子译出。
三、it作形式主语的被动句
在专利文献中还有一种常用的被动语态是以it作形式主语的，这类句子在汉语中有约
定俗成的表达方式。如表4—2：
表4—2 it作形式主语句型
|
英语句型 |
汉译 |
|
It is alleged that… |
据称…… |
|
It is announced that… |
据宣布…… |
|
It is asserted that… |
有人声称…… |
|
It is assumed that… |
假设……，假定…… |
|
It is believed that… |
大家相信……，人们相信…… |
|
It is calculated that… |
据计算…… |
|
It is claimed that… |
有人主张……；有人声称…… |
|
It is considered that… |
认为…… |
|
It is declared that… |
据宣布……；有人宣称…… |
|
It is demonstrated that… |
证明…… |
|
It is estimated that… |
估计…… |
|
It is expected that… |
看来……；……是可能发生的 |
|
It is found that… |
发现…… |
|
It is generally agreed that… |
人们通常认为…… |
|
It is generally recognized that… |
一般认为……；普遍认为…… |
|
It is hoped that… |
希望…… |
|
It is hypothesized that… |
假设……；假定…… |
|
It is learned that… |
据说……；据闻…… |
|
It is mentioned that… |
据说…… |
|
It is noticed that… |
有人指出…… |
|
It is predicted that… |
预计…… |
|
英语句型 |
汉译 |
|
It is preferred that… |
最好…… |
|
It is proposed that… |
有人提议…… |
|
It is recommended that… |
建议…… |
|
It is reported that… |
据报道…… |
|
It is said that… |
据说……，有人说…… |
|
It is supposed that… |
据推测……；假定…… |
|
It is thought that… |
有人认为…… |
|
It is understood that… |
不用说……；……是很明白的 |
|
It is universally accepted that… |
普遍认为…… |
|
It is weighted that… |
考虑到……；权衡了…… |
|
It is well known that… |
众所周知…… |
|
It has been arranged that… |
准备……；已经商定…… |
|
It has been decided that… |
已经决定…… |
|
It has been illustrated that… |
据图示……；据说明…… |
|
It has been proved that… |
已经证明…… |
|
It has been shown that… |
有人指出…… |
|
It will be seen from this that… |
由此可知…… |
|
It cannot be denied that… |
不可否认……；……是无可否认的 |
|
It can be seen that… |
可见…… |
|
It must be admitted that… |
必须承认…… |
|
It must be stressed that… |
必须强调…… |
|
It should be pointed that… |
应该指出…… |
还有一些习惯用语，虽然不是被动语态，但也已it作形式主语，以形容词或名词作表语，后接有连词that引导的主语从句。这种结构的句子在用法上和汉译上与被动结构相似，如表4—3
表4—3 it作形式主语后接that引导的主语从句的情形
|
英语句型 |
汉译 |
|
It is advisable that… |
最好…… |
|
It is apparent that… |
显然…… |
|
It is appropriated that… |
……是适当的 |
|
It is the case that… |
情况是这样的…… |
|
It is certain that… |
无疑……；……是肯定的 |
|
It is clear that… |
显然…… |
|
It is conceivable that… |
可以想象…… |
|
It is desirable that… |
需要……；……是需要的 |
|
It is doubtful that… |
值得怀疑…… |
|
It is essential that… |
必须……；……是必不可少的 |
|
It is evident that… |
显然…… |
|
It is important that… |
重要的是……；……是重要的 |
|
It is impossible that… |
……是不可能的 |
|
It is merry that… |
幸而…… |
|
It is natural that… |
……是很自然的 |
|
It is necessary that… |
必须……；有必要…… |
|
It is nice that… |
……是太好了 |
|
It is no good that… |
……是无用的 |
|
It is notable that… |
值得注意的是…… |
|
It is noteworthy that… |
值得注意的是…… |
|
It is no use that… |
……是无用的 |
|
It is obvious that… |
显然…… |
|
It is a pity that… |
可惜…… |
|
It is possible that… |
有可能……；是可能的…… |
|
It is probable that… |
也许…… |
|
It is reasonable that… |
……是合理的 |
|
It is satisfactory that… |
……是令人满意的 |
|
It is true that… |
的确……；……是确实的 |
|
It is very likely that… |
……是很可能的 |
|
It is worth nothing that… |
值得注意的是……；值得考虑的是…… |
另外，有些习惯用语是it后接系动词或不及物动词，再接that引导的从句，如表4—4
表4—4 it后接系动词或不及物动词的情形
|
英语句型 |
汉译 |
|
It happened that |
恰巧……；碰巧…… |
|
It seems that |
看起来……；似乎…… |
|
It turn out that |
结果…… |
我们看到，在翻译专利文献时，即使汉语要用被动句，表达的形式也是多种多样的，不一定非用个“被”字。吕叔湘先生说：“也许有人说，在被动意义的动词前面加个‘被’字让形式和内容一致，免得混淆，岂不更好？这是不懂得语言的经济的话。‘碗打破了’这种说法，几千年来都没有人误会，何以到了我们手上就非加个‘被’字不可呢？” |
中文 
