There are advantages to underground life, too, and something to be said for imaging whole cities, even mankind generally, moving downward, of having the outermost mile of the Earth's crust honeycombed with passage and strue-ture, like a gigantic ant hill.
The chances are that the dwellers of the new caves would see more greenery, under ecologically healthier conditions, than dwellers of surface cities do today.
But a broader and more generous, certainly more philosophical, view is held by those scientists who claim .that the evidence of a war instinct in men is incomplete and misleading, and that man does have within him the power of abolishing war.
It was that population that gave to California a name for getting up astonishing enterprises and rushing them through with a magnificent dash and daring and a recklessness of cost or consequences , which she bears unto this day.
Textile finishes have in general become a "no-no" in today's market place ,thanks to many reasons ,says a represen tative of fiber producer.
一位纤维厂家代表说，由于许多原因，纺织物整理剂在今天的市场上已经到无人的问津的地步。
How much easier, how much more satisfying it is for you who can see to grasp quickly the essential qualities of another person by watching the subtleties of expression, the quiver of a muscle, the flutter of a hand.
After the failure of his last novel, his reputation stands on slippery grounds.
他的上部小说失败之后，声誉一落千丈。(不能译为"站在滑动的场地上了。")
2、有些借喻不能直译
He went west by stage coach and succumbed to the epidemic of gold and silver fever in Nevada's Washoe Region.
误：他乘公共马车到了西部，患了瓦肖地区的金银发烧流行病。
正：他乘公共马车到了西部，卷入了淘金热和淘银热。
The rather arresting spectacle of little old Japan adrift amid beige concrete skyscrapers is the very symbol of the incessant struggle between the kimono and the miniskirt.
I asked whether for him ,the arch anti-communist, this was not bowing down in the House of Rimmon.
句中bowing down in the House of Rimmon 是成语典故，表示表面上与宗教信仰一致，但心里却有不同的政治主张，这是口是心非。Rimmon是大马士革人所崇拜的神。House of Rimmon借指英国的下院。如果将这个典故直译，表达不出原意。"我问道，作为头号反共人物(邱吉尔)，他这样做是否言行不一，口是心非。"
四、习语成语中的误区
英语中有丰富的习语成语，增强了语言的表达能力。其中大部分可以直译，或用汉语中相应的习语套用。
例如：the open door policy开放政策，the cold war 冷战，to fish in troubled waters 混水摸鱼，strike while the iron is hot 趁热打铁，at sixes and sevens 乱七八糟。但是还有一些习语成语必须意译才能表达出其正确含义。
The wedding ,which Heyward still remembered with pride ,was attended by a who's who of Boston Society.
赫华德仍然记得，参加婚礼的人中有波士顿的一位社会名流，这使他感到十分得意。
从上述例句可以看出，有些词在某些场合或结构中具有特殊的意义，例如the last, who's who,有的词用其比喻的意义，如roses and thorns ,有的词在特殊场合与句型中词义发生了递转，如yes,no，有的词义有了引伸或发展。总而言之，一个词的具体意义要依其所处的场合、条件、意识和句型而定，不可捕风捉影。直译与意译各有所长、要用其所长。进行直译时要防止进入误区，在有误区的地方要采用意译，使直译与意译相互补充，只有这样才能取得比较理想的效果。