以上这些表示不定数量的形式在科技英语中用得很多, 翻译时应按汉语表示概数的方式表达。试看以下各例。
a) Development costs have been estimated at approximately 100 million dollars.
据估算,研制经费大约为一亿美元。
b) One-handed numbers were used by the people who lived in Italy over two thousand years ago.
单手计数法是两千多年前生活在意大利的人使用的。
c) It is estimated that the human eye can distinguish more than 10 million different shades of colours.
据估计,人类的眼睛能分辨出一千多万种不同的色调。
d) The half life of isotopes may vary from a fraction of a secmd to millions of years.
同位素的半衰期可由几分之一秒到数百万年。
e) In the sky there are millions of stars like the sun.
太空空有千百万个象太阳那样的恒星。
f) These bones tell us that many thousands of years ago the world was inhabited by certain mammels.
这些骨头表明,在多少万年前,地球上就有过哺乳动物。
责任编辑:admin