七、联系方式

　　联系人：贾洪伟（手机：18600941401），吕红周（手机：13393521012）

　　传真： 0532-7563538

　　地址：山西省大同市南郊区大同大学外国语学院许渊冲翻译与比较文化研究院（037001）

　　大同大学许渊冲翻译与比较文化研究院

   《解放军外国语学院学报》编辑部

  辽宁省翻译学会

　  大连外国语大学翻译学院

　  《语言文化研究》编辑部

附大赛原文：

第二届许渊冲翻译大赛英译汉原文

A Contract in the Context of Semiotics

[1] A contract, basically, is an agreement between two (or more) persons, creating mutual legal obligations between them. In its essence, it is a legally and morally binding promise to do something or refrain from doing something. The “something” is called the subject matter of the contract, which must be legal. It is illegal to contract against good morals or national security, for example.

[2] There is no set (verbal) formula to enter into a contract. Written contracts are as a rule supposed to set out what the parties actually intend, while the intent of orally-made and other informal agreements is, from a legal standpoint, not definitely fixed. Interpretation may there be necessary in order to clarify parties’ intentions. It is the task of the trial judge to make the implicit explicit by inference from the evidence available to him or her (the written and/or oral agreement corroborated by conduct by parties).

[3] The consensual basis of contract, its first formal requirement, implies that parties (called promisor and promise) agree voluntarily and in good faith to enter into a common enterprise involving future actions, thereby yielding some portion of their freedom of behavior in the future. The will of parties is, in law, considered to be manifested in the fact that, to the effect of the contract a definite offer or proposal from one party has been consciously and willingly accepted, without new terms, by the other party. An offer not clearly and explicitly put forth and/or not freely and knowingly accepted makes no contract, --- or better, it makes a defective contract. Thus, if A asks B to promise some future performance, and B makes no answer indicating his (present) willingness to do so at some (future) time, B has made no promise.

[4] To qualify as a valid and legally binding contract, there must be mutuality, or exchange of promises. Under a contract, one party undertakes an obligation, thereby giving the other, to whom the obligation is owed, a claim against him, her, or itself, which consists in the right to have a performance of the terms of the contract. By this token, parties do not share benefits and burdens, but each party has his, her, or its definite privileges and responsibilities arising from the contract.

[5] Contracting parties must further be competent, that is, they must have the proper legal capacity to enter into a contractual agreement. As a case in point, a contract entered into by a minor (or a mentally disabled person) is a defective, hence voidable, transaction. It is not void, and therefore still creates legally binding obligations on a competent party, unless the minor (or mentally disabled person) repudiates it. This may happen in person or through a guardian acting on his or her behalf.