作者认为该句存在两种可能的理解。一种是Please tell me in case you can help us “如果你能帮助我，请告诉我一下”；另一种是Please tell me whether you can help us“请告诉我，你是否能帮助我们”。笔者认为，这里根本不存在这种情况，因为句子中的逗号明白无误地说明我们只能做出后一种理解。如果这句话出现在口语中，作者谈到的情况倒是完全成立的。
2．After the fall of France, Germany was incomparably
stronger than England on the ground, about equally
matched in the air, and gravely inferior at sea.法国崩溃之后，德国陆军大大超过英国，空军力量旗鼓相当，海军则不幸处于劣势。（第23页）
3．The happiness – the superior advantages of the young
women round about her, gave Rebecca inexpressible pangs
of envy. (W. M. Thackeray: Vanity Fair)利蓓加看见她周围的小姐们那么福气，享受种种权利，说不出的眼红。（第23页）
这句译文把the superior advantages译为“享受种种权利”，不仅与原文有出入，而且从逻辑上也不通，应理解为“拥有种种优越条件”。
4．No one is satisfied with his favoritism in his work.对他在工作中表现的徇私作风谁都感到不满意。（第50页）
据《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》，favoritism指practice of giving unfair advantages
to the people that one likes best（偏爱，偏心，偏袒）。而据《现代汉语词典》（2002年增补本），汉语“徇私”意思是“为了私情而做不合法的事”。虽然两者在“私情”这点上是相同的，但程度却相差悬殊。因此，笔者建议译成“谁都对他在工作中表现出来的偏心做法感到不满”。
5．Her indifference kept all the visitors away from the
exhibition hall.她的冷漠态度把许多参观者挡在展览馆门外。（第50页）
这里可能是作者无意看错，“许多参观者”应改为“全部参观者”。
6．还有点美中不足的地方，早晨给车夫们摆饭的时节，祥子几乎和人打起来。（老舍：《骆驼祥子》，第十四章）Another fly in the ointment was that Xiangzi had nearly
got into a fight that morning when the rickshaw pullers were
having there feast.（第52页）
细心的读者会发现原文的“给车夫摆饭”在译文中变成了“车夫正在吃饭”，意思显然出入太大。而且这里把车夫的早餐译成“feast”显然不恰当。据《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》，“feast”指“盛宴，宴会”（unusually large or elaborate meal），把车夫的早餐翻译成盛宴，似乎有悖情理。
7．然而竟未发现对方在钩心斗角的同时，还做了不少的幕后工作。While each had been trying
to put spokes in the other’s wheels, he had failed to discover
that Li Jigang had surreptitiously done a great deal of work.（第53页）
8．Kunta’s home training had been so strict that, it seemed to
him, his every move drew Binta’s irritated finger-snapping —
if, indeed, he wasn’t grabbled and soundly whipped. (Alex Haley: Roots)昆塔所受到的家教是非常严格的。在他看来，自己的每一个动作都会引起宾塔的怒火，即使不是把他一把抓住，痛抽几鞭。（第87页）
11．What a noble illustration of the tender laws of his favoured
country! – they let the paupers go to sleep!(Charles Dickens)以此说明他那行善的国家的仁慈法律是多么有意义的例证！——他们竟允许穷人睡觉！（第160页）
1．If you dare to play the fox with me, I’ll shoot you at once.你要是敢对我耍滑头，我马上毙了你。//你小子要是敢对我玩猫腻，老娘一枪崩了你。（第55页）
译文中的“老娘”依据原文中的哪一部分译出来的？读者不得而知。
2．The resounding success of the Curacao experiment whetted the
appetites of Florida livestock raisers for screw-worms.库拉索岛上的试验取得的巨大成功引起了佛罗里达州牲畜饲养者的兴趣，他们想以同样的办法消除旋丽蝇幼虫这一祸害。
对照原文和译文，读者可以发现，原文中并没有“他们想以同样的办法消除旋丽蝇幼虫这一祸害”这一内容。碰巧笔者曾经教授过《英汉翻译教程》[2] ，知道该句出自Rachel Carson写的Silent Spring一书，这里漏印了一部分原文，完整的原文应该是The resounding success of the
Curacao experiment whetted the appetites of Florida livestock raisers for
a similar feat that would relieve them of the scourge of screw-worms.（斜体部分为遗漏之处，参见《英汉翻译教程》第274页）
3．Lacking shade or screens, the BEF was exposed to the full fury of the season.“远征军”一无凉棚，二无帘幕，饱尝酷暑之苦。（第117页）
That crippled the court reform.最高法院的改造，就此半途而废。（第117页）仅根据这个句子，无法理解为何把“the court”翻译成“最高法院”。
又如：They bluntly told him that their governments intended to break their covenants.他们直截了当地告诉他，英法两国要弃盟背约了。（第117-118页）凭什么译者把“their governments”译为“英法两国”？读者不得而知。
3．“I can’t make that out,” said Michele. “It’s not like Rivarez
to lose his head at a crisis.” (E. Voynich: The Gadfly)“我可有点想不通，”密凯莱说，“这不像是列瓦雷斯了，在这样的紧急关头会昏了头。”（第55页）
作者把这个例子归入抽象译法显然是不恰当的，因为译文中仍保留了“头”这一形象。
4．If you dare to play the fox with me, I’ll shoot you at once.你要是敢对我耍滑头，我马上毙了你。//你小子要是敢对我玩猫腻，老娘一枪崩了你。（第55页）
5．去年八月那场使七个国家遭受了极大损失的来势凶猛的龙卷风已经引起全球科学家的高度重视。The violent tornado that struck in August last year has aroused
great attention among the scientists throughout the world. Seven
countries suffered a great loss from the tornado.（第91页）
对于作者把这个句子作为转句译法的例子，笔者不敢苟同。事实上，把后面的句子Seven countries suffered a great loss from the tornado处理成定语从句，不仅更符合英语表达习惯，而且结构上更加紧凑，逻辑性更强。建议译为：The violent tornado that caused a great loss to
seven countries in August last year has aroused great attention among
the scientists throughout the world.
6．他像大海捞针一样在茫茫黑夜里寻找金色的梦。He searched for his golden dream in
the pitch dark of the night. It was just like fishing for a
needle in the ocean.（第92页）
对于这句译文，笔者与上面的看法一样，没有必要把一个表示方式的介词短语单独处理成一句，完全可以译成：He searched for his golden dream in the pitch dark of
the night just like fishing for a needle in the ocean.
四、例子本身的翻译技巧和表达问题
1．He went through fire and flood to save his mother.他赴汤蹈火去救他的母亲。（第47页）
译文中“他的”多余，应该省略，这正是作者在“省词译法”一节中讨论的技巧。
2．We should by no means neglect the evaporation of water.我们决不能忽视水的蒸发作用。（第49页）
译文中的“作用”改为“现象”更符合汉语的表达习惯。
3．他新来的女佣人懒得出奇，饭量倒很大，真是一个无用而又累赘东西。His newly
employed servant woman was extremely lazy and ate a lot, no more
than a white elephant.（第51页）
“女佣人”的英语表达应该是“woman servant”，而不是“servant woman”。
4．只是晚上躺在床上的时候，她才感到神志清醒。It was only during the night when
she lies in bed that she feels she has a clear mind.（第59页）
英语译文中存在时态不呼应的问题，应该把“It was”改为“It is”才符合英语表达习惯。
5．He roared, which threatened his enemies away.他的大吼吓走了他的敌人。（第68页）
按照书中介绍的“省词译法”，这里的“他的”是多余的，应该删掉，才更符合汉语表达习惯。
6．From the moment they set foot on the territory of their
motherland, they were warmly received by their compatriots.从他们走上祖国土地的时刻起，他们就受到同胞们热情接待。（第81页）
8．There is now a single accepted pronunciation for the vast
majority of words in ordinary use, deviation from which is
regarded either as a provincialism or as a vulgarism.现今日常社交所用的大多数读音已有了一个公认的统一的标准。不符合这个标准，就被称为方言或俗语了。（第86页）
9．Kunta was so worn out, slumped in his rocking chair, staring
vacantly at the fire, that he didn’t even notice Bell feeling
his forehead and taking off his shoes.昆塔累极了，他颓然倒在他的摇椅中，凝视着火光发呆。他甚至没有感到贝尔用手摸了摸他的前额，并替他脱了鞋。（第87页）
10．Then when Pug first returned to the Grunewald house, the art
museum director who lived next door, a vastly learned little
dark man named Dr. Baltzer, rushed over, dragging a lame leg,
to offer his neighbor a drink and to chat about the imminent
British collapse. (Herman Wouk: The Winds of War)帕格一回到绿林区自己的住宅，隔壁那个美术博物馆馆长马上拖着一条残废的腿跑了来，邀请邻居喝一杯，同时谈起英国迫在眉睫的覆灭。这位馆长名叫巴尔泽博士，学问渊博，身材矮小，肤色黝黑。（第89页）
11．I repair to the enchanted house, where there are lights,
chattering, music, flowers, officers and the eldest Miss
Larkins, a blaze of beauty. (Charles Dickens: David Copperfield) 我现在朝着那家仙宫神宇走去，那儿灯火辉煌、人语嘈杂、乐音悠扬、花草缤纷、军官纷来，还有拉钦斯大小姐，真是仪态万千。（第117页）
1．Paper and ink cut the throats of men, and the sound of a
breath many shake the world.（第156页）这里的many应改为may。
2．There are indeed many comrades in our ranks who have been
led astray by this style of work. Unwilling to carry on
systematic and thorough investigation and study of the
specific conditions inside and outside the country, the
province, country or district, they issue orders on no
other basis than their scanty knowledge and “It must be
so because it seems to me”.（第159页）这句中的country or district应改为county or district。另外，原文的“想当然”译为“It must be so because it seems to me”无论从结构上还是意思上都不恰当，不如译为“fancy”。
3．卜卜卜——机关枪的声音跟着又来。（茅盾：《子夜》）The staccato chatter of a machine-gun was heard again.（第166页）这句的chatter应改为clatter。