一周以后，第二年年轻人也回来了，他神情疲倦，满脸风霜：“酋长，我到达山顶了。我看到高大肃穆的松树林，我看到秃鹰盘旋，那是一个好地方。”“可惜啊!孩子，地不是山顶，那是山腰。不过，也难为你了，你回去吧!”
A week later, the second young man also returned. He looked terribly weary and his face was weather-beaten.“Lord, I’ve been to the mountaintop where I saw groves of tall, solemn pine trees and vultures circling in the air. That’s a real nice place.”“What a pity!” said the tribal chief. “Son, you’ve been halfway up the mountain rather than to its summit. But you had a real tough time. Now you can leave.”
要点：
1，“满面风霜”按“饱经风霜”常用于形容经历过种种的艰难困苦生活的磨练，译为weather-beaten(经历过各种天气)
2，“不过，也难为你了”即“你所经历的已经很难了”译为But you had a real tough time
一个月过去了，大家都开始为第三位年轻人的安危担心，他却一步一蹭，衣不蔽体地回来了。他发枯唇燥，只剩下清炯的眼神：
A month later, everybody began to worry about the safety of the third young man. However, he finally showed up, hobbling along in rags. His hair was off-colored and his lips parched, but his eyes were clear and bright.
要点：
1，“一步一蹭”即“一瘸一拐”译为hobbling，其同义词有hobble
shuffle shamble stagger wobble，都是表“跛行”的意思;rags一般指“破布，抹布，破衣烂衫”此处in rages即“衣不蔽体”
2，“发枯”即“头发失去光泽”译为off-colored
3，“清炯的眼神”即“清亮的眼神”his eyes were clear and bright.
“酋长，我终于到达山顶。但是，我该怎么说呢?那里只有高风悲旋，蓝天四垂。”
“Lord, I succeeded in reaching the summit. Well, what shall I say to you about it? There was nothing there but the wailing highland wind and the blue sky hanging over the land.”
要点：
1，“高风悲旋”= the wailing highland wind，wail意为“哀嚎，痛哭”，这种小词的使用可以大大缩短行文长度，并使文章更加生动，前面的bobble等词，也体现了这点
2，“蓝天四垂”可按“蓝天笼罩大地”，译为the blue sky hanging over the land.
“你难道在那里一无所见吗?难道连蝴蝶也没有一只吗?”
“So you saw nothing at all? Not even a butterfly?”
“是的，酋长，高处一无所有。你所能看到的，只有你自己，只有‘个人’被放在天地间的渺小感，只有想起千古英雄的悲激心情。”
“No, lord, nothing. All you can see is yourself. You feel how insignificant you are in this infinite universe and how sorrowful and agitated you are at the thought of heroes through the ages.”
要点：
1，“只有‘个人’被放在天地间的渺小感”其中“渺小感”这个词不容易译出，因此译者转换说法，将其译为“你会感到自己在无限的宇宙里有多么渺小”即You feel how insignificant you are in this infinite universe下句的“想起千古英雄的悲激心情”也是采取了同样的策略
2，“千古英雄”可按“历代英雄们”理解，译为heroes through the ages.，其中through all / the ages是出镜率比较高的一个词了，可做状语，如Through the ages, Earth mother has nurtured the innumerable generation of descendants with the sweet milk.古往今来，地球妈妈用甘甜的乳汁哺育了无数代子孙。
“孩子，你到的是真的山顶。按照我们的传统，天意要立你做新酋长，祝福你。”
“Son, you’ve reached the real mountaintop. According to our tradition, you’ll undoubtedly be made our new tribal chief. My best wishes to you.”
真英雄何所遇?他遇到的是全身的伤痕，是孤单的长途，以及越来越真切的渺小感。
What makes a real hero? A real hero has cuts and bruises all over his body, he is all alone on a long journey and he feels with increasing sincerity how small he is.
要点：
1，“真英雄何所遇?”即“怎样才能造就一个真英雄呢?”译为What makes a real hero?
2，“他遇到的是全身的伤痕，是孤单的长途，以及越来越真切的渺小感。”中文有时习惯用一个动词带起一串宾语，在我们来看很好理解，但是对于外国人来说就比较抽象了，很难体会到其中的意思，因此翻译时要把“遇到”具体化，即“他遍体鳞伤，孤独地行走在长长的旅途上，并越来越真切地感到自己有多么渺小”，译为A real hero has cuts and bruises all over his body, he is all alone on a long journey and he feels with increasing sincerity how small he is.
