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Sample translations submitted: 3
French to English: Signe de l'Ogre
Source text - French Le Signe d’Orgre
Par Julien Lefebvre
Le violent orage qui s’était déchaîné toute la soirée de ce 4 Août 1985 avait pris fin depuis près de trente minutes quand deux employés du Consortium National de Construction aperçurent dans la forêt une lumière se déplaçant à grande vitesse. L’un d’eux, Pierrick Bosquet, regarda sa montre. Elle indiquait 3h10. Le cœur de la nuit. D’un même geste, les deux hommes abandonnèrent alors leur poste de surveillance et se dirigèrent vers la grille de la zone de stockage. Dans leur dos, perchés au-dessus des eaux agitées du fleuve, on percevait les silhouettes gigantesques des piles d’un pont en rénovation. D’un pas rapide, les deux gardiens parvinrent à la clôture. Au-delà de la route terreuse du chantier et de quelques champs laissés en jachère, montait le grondement d’un moteur emballé. Bosquet et son collègue, Mornand, échangèrent un regard incrédule. Il ne pouvait y avoir de doute : une voiture approchait d’eux. Eux qui se trouvaient dans un cul de sac sans autre issue qu’un pont suspendu dont la plus grande partie de l’armature avait été chargée la veille au soir sur des camions. Eux qui se trouvaient coincés tout contre une nervure du fleuve. Toute cette situation n’était pas normale et la nuit lui donnait une apparence plus inquiétante encore. Mais les deux hommes n’eurent pas le temps d’entamer une discussion à ce sujet car à quelques centaines de mètres, un puissant véhicule, à présent sorti de la forêt, s’engagea alors sur la portion de route qui menait à la zone de stockage.
Bosquet courut vers le centre de communication. Mornand recula de quelques pas sans quitter l’apparition des yeux. Le « centre de communication » n’était en fait qu’un petit abri de chantier équipé d’un talkie-walkie et de deux lignes téléphoniques qui n’avaient pas encore été raccordées au réseau. Bosquet s’y engouffra et se saisit du talkie. Il y avait urgence : à la vitesse à laquelle fonçait le véhicule, il semblait impossible qu’il ne heurte pas le grillage de protection de la zone.
Translation - English The Mark of The Ogre
Translated by Ryan Freligh
The violent storm that had been raging throughout the night of this august 4th 1985 had ended almost thirty minutes before two workers from the construction consortium caught sight of a fast moving light in the forest. One of them, Pierrick Bosquet, checked his watch. It said 3:10 am, the dead of night. In one move, the two men then abandoned their watch post and headed through the stocking area gate. With the rushing river waters behind them, the giant silhouettes of a bridge in renovation could be seen. With haste, the two guards arrived at the fence. Beyond the site’s treacherous route and a few fallow fields, was the sound of a roaring engine. Bosquet and his colleague, Mornand, looked at each other with a look of incredibility. There was no doubt: a vehicle was approaching them. Here they were: trapped with no escape other than the suspension bridge, with the largest part of its frame having been loaded onto trucks the night before. Here they were: cornered before part of the river. The entire situation was not normal and the night made it seem even more disconcerting. Regardless, the two men did not have time to discuss this ordeal because, a few meters away, was a massive vehicle that had just left the boundaries of the forest and continued onto the part of road that led to the stocking area.
Bosquet ran into the communication center. Mornand took a few steps back without taking his eyes off of the figure. The “Communications Center” was, in reality, only a small shelter equipped with a walkie-talkie and 2 telephone lines that had not yet been connected to the network. Bosquet dove into the shelter and grabbed the walkie. It was an emergency: at the speed that the vehicle was going, it seemed impossible that it did not hit the area’s wire fence. The two men were well warned of petty thieves who would try to nab precision tools or electronic measuring instruments but no one had told them anything about a ferocious light coming from the depths of the darkness threatening to crash into them.
German to English: Regarding Greehouse Gas Emissions General field: Science Detailed field: Agriculture
Source text - German Mehr Treibhausgas-Emissionen als Benzin
Zweifel am Klimavorteil von Biokraftstoffen aus Maisrückständen (10248)
14.05.2014 | von Redaktion Pflanzenforschung.de
Translation - English More Greenhouse Gas Emissions than Gasoline. Doubts regarding Climate Benefits of Biofuels from Corn Residue (10248)
5.14.2014 edited by Pflanzforschung.de
Corn is not only loved during grilling season, it also serves as one of the most important food staples and as a feed crop. However, we only eat the golden-yellow kernels of the cob. After harvesting of the cob, corn husks- the stems and leaves- remain in the field. From this crop residue, new biofuel methods can be manufactured. These are called second generation biofuels, since the formally non-recoverable components of the plant, such as cellulose, are used. However with first generation biofuels, only the edible part of the plant is used, as they contain, for instance, oil or sugar.
Bearers of hope: residual and waste materials.
The use of residual or waste materials (straw, for example) from farming seems to be a sustainable and climate-friendly alternative. This is because no crops are used that could potentially end up on a dinner plate. Furthermore, there is no additional space required for the cultivation of energy crops. Thus there is no competition with the food we eat, so goes the theory.
A new study published in the journal “Nature Climate Change”, now leaves doubts, whether biofuels from corn residue are more climate-friendly than conventional gasoline.
Corn waste is not a suitable resource afterall?
The research team has established that in comparison to conventional gasoline, on average 7 percent more CO2 emissions were released, when corn crop residue was processed into biofuel. This is because the residual carbon contained in the biofuel is oxidized to CO2 more quickly than if the crop residues remain in the field. There they are plowed and slowly decay or slowly mineralize and form humus. In the recent Life Cycle Assessment, these emissions were not adequately taking into account, researchers criticize.
In addition, the organic carbon content in the soil decreases. Normally, crop residues are left in the field in order to protect the soil from erosion and to promote soil quality. If we use the crop residue elsewhere, then the carbon content will decrease in the soil. This affects soil fertility. Until now, Scientists were not able to fully quantify how much carbon in the form of CO2 emissions is lost from the soil after the removal of crop residues. The new study found that an additional 50-70 grams of CO2 escapes per megajoule of biofuel (unit of combustion energy). This rate is constant, regardless of if only a small amount of straw was removed or almost all crop residues. Since fewer residues are removed from the field, more carbon thus remains in the soil, allowing less biofuel to be produced, however.
Corn as far as the eye can see
As a first step, the researchers estimate the CO2 emission based on a model. (Soil Organic Carbon Model). This value is compared with the estimated CO2 emission value from collected data (e.g: yield, temperature) from 12 US States that make up the largest corn growing region of the USA: the so-called Corn Belt. With this, they can validate their model.
The USA and Europe are pushing forward biofuels
Biofuels and especially a sustainable production of biofuels are always coming more into focus. In the USA, bioethanol is produced mainly from corn cobs and the conversion from residues and waste from cellulose to biofuel is not yet commercialized. There are however pilot/demonstration facilities and private companies investing in biorefineries, where residues and waste can be used as raw materials.
Even in the EU, according to Renewable Energy Directive, the use of renewable energies must account for 10 percent in the transport sector by 2020 in each member state, in order to achieve the required climate project goals while still keeping the economy going. To achieve this objective, the policy is mainly based on fuels derived from plant biomass. However, the use of edible plants and parts of plants is intended to be limited to 5 percent, as not to compete with food production. Therefore, the policy strongly steers towards the usage of residual and waste materials.
This is also supported by the Biofuels Quota Act: even today, a growing amount of biofuels has to be mixed with conventional fuel. Residual and waste materials are a preferred source of raw material, as they will be counted twice towards the biofuel quota, under certain conditions.
CO2-Balance not yet satisfactory
The US government wants to push ahead with the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), thus the production of biofuels, amongst other things. According to the US government however, cellulosic ethanol must produce 60 percent less greenhouse gas than gasoline. This is not what was found by the authors of the study regarding biofuels from corn crop residue. To mitigate the increased CO2 emissions and reduce soil carbon content, thus achieving a better short term CO2 balance of biofuels, the authors of the study suggest planting cover crop with carbon-fixated legumes.
Early research is vital
In order to reach the goal of using less petroleum-based fuels in the transport sector, sustainable alternatives must be found quickly. Currently, the policy steers towards the usage of residual and waste materials. If you believe the study’s results, the use of corn residues would be both harmful to the climate as well as the environment, even though they are non-edible and thus it is preferred they be turned into biofuel. Thus it is clear how complex the issue is as well as how important the accompanying research is. This is also to detect and prevent undesirable developments at an early stage. As this study shows, the CO2 balance of biofuels from wastes and residues must be improved.
The study was conducted exemplarily on corn. Whether the results on the plant residues of other grain products, such as wheat, can be transferred, would have to be clarified in further studies, should policy makers take countermeasures there.
Source:
Liska, A.J. et al. (2014): Biofuels from crop residue can reduce soil carbon and increase CO2 emissions. In: Nature Climate Change 4, 398–401, (20. April 2014), doi: 10.1038/nclimate2187.
Dutch to English: Regarding American/Dutch Relations General field: Social Sciences Detailed field: Journalism
Source text - Dutch oud-president Bill Clinton maakte er een fraaie ceremonie van: hij wist het verhaal van Anne Frank en de Jodenvervolging af te zetten tegen de gitzwarte geschiedenis van zijn eigen staat, Arkansas. Dit weekeinde sprak hij bij de ceremonie waar een stekje van de Anne Frankboom werd geplant in de tuin van de Bill Clinton Bibliotheek in de hoofdstad van Arkansas, Little Rock.
Op zijn typisch Clintoniaans: 'Het is verbijsterend hoeveel energie gedurende de hele menselijke geschiedenis is verspild door mensen die een obsessie hebben voor onze verschillen, en hoe kwetsbaar slachtoffers zijn die worden misbruikt door mensen die niets anders nastreven dan macht, geld of beide.'
Zijn speech vormde een waardige afsluiting van een kwestie die Amsterdam acht jaar geleden in zijn greep hield. Buurtbewoners, een actiecomité, boomchirurgen en columnisten vochten elkaar de tent uit over de vraag of de kastanjeboom waar het Achterhuis op uitkeek, een onmisbaar relikwie was in de herinnering aan de Holocaust, of een lastig, ziek geval dat alleen maar in de weg stond. De natuur greep in met een storm die de boom in 2010 velde.
Rassenrellen van 1957
Ronald Leopold, directeur van de Anne Frank Stichting, leidde de komst van Clinton in. Hij refereerde aan de rassenrellen van 1957, toen de blanke gevestigde orde weigerde negen zwarte leerlingen - de 'Little Rock 9' - toe te laten op de middelbare school. 'Net als Annes droom werd ook die van deze leerlingen verstoord door racisme en ongelijkheid.'
Hij sprak namens het Anne Frank Center USA, dat het stekjesproject in 2009 lanceerde. Het Center is een educatieve instelling in New York die, met Annes dagboek als leidraad, voorlichting geeft over intolerantie.
Het stekje was het achtste van de in totaal elf die het Anne Frank Center wist te bemachtigen. Het idee was om op een aantal plekken in de wereld een stekje te planten en zo de herinnering aan Anne Frank levend te houden. In de VS zijn onder meer boompjes geplant bij het Capitool in Washington, het Mensenrechtencentrum in Idaho en het Kindermuseum in Indianapolis. Het laatste van de elf Amerikaanse stekjes komt bij Ground Zero in New York.
Het was een enorme klus om het project van de grond te krijgen, vertelde projectmanager Hilary Stipelman. 'Het werd een loopgravenoorlog met het ministerie van Landbouw, dat simpelweg nee zei.' De Amerikaanse invoerregels zijn superstreng: de invoer van vlees, bloemen en planten is verboden. Om die elf stekjes het land binnen te krijgen heeft het Anne Frank Center moeten lobbyen bij ongeveer ieder parlementslid.
Quarantaine
Uiteindelijk ging het ministerie mopperend door de knieën, maar op één voorwaarde: de jonge boompjes gingen voor drie jaar in quarantaine. 'Af en toe belden we eens om te vragen hoe het met onze boompjes ging. 'Yep, die staan er goed bij,' antwoordden ze dan.'
Wat gebeurt er als de laatste boompjes zijn geplant? 'Einde oefening,' zegt Stipelman. 'Het ministerie is spijkerhard: deze elf boompjes zijn een eenmalige uitzondering.'
Translation - English Former president Bill Clinton has brought the argument regarding the chestnut tree from the garden of Anne Frank’s house to a peaceful end after several years.
Former president Bill Clinton made it into beautiful ceremony: He managed to relate story of Anne Frank and the holocaust to the jetblack history of his own state, Arkansas. This weekend, he spoke at the ceremony where a cutting from the Anne Frank tree was planted in the garden of the Bill Clinton Library in the Arkansas Capital, Little Rock.
In his typical Clintonese: ““It is amazing to look at all human history and realize how much energy has been wasted by people obsessing about our differences and how vulnerable those people are to being taken advantage of by people who just really want power, money or both.”
His speech was a worthy conclusion to a matter that was heavily disputed in Amsterdam 8 years ago. City residents, an action committee, tree cutters, and columnists fought each other to no about whether the chestnut tree on which the house’s hidden annex looked was an indispensable relic in Holocaust memory, or an awkward eyesore that just stood on the way. Nature intervened when a storm felled the tree in 2010.
Race Riots of 1957
Ronald Leopold, director of the Anne Frank Foundation, introduced Clinton. He referred to the race riots of 1957, when white residents refused nine black students - the “Little Rock 9” from going to the high school. “Similar to Anne Frank’s dreams, theirs was also rooted in a history of injustice and inequality.”
He spoke on behalf of the Anne Frank Center USA, which launched the cuttings project in 2009. The center is an educational institution in New York which, with Anne’s diary as a guide, gives information about intolerance. The cutting was the eighth from eleven in total that the Anne Frank Center managed to secure. The idea was to plan a cutting in various locations throughout the world to keep Anne Frank’s memory alive. In the US other trees were planted at the Capitol in Washington, at the Center for Human Rights in Idaho, and at the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis. The remainder of the eleven American cuttings are set to go to Ground Zero in New York.
It was a huge task to get the project off the ground, said project manager Hilary Stipelman. “it was a real battle with the Department of Agriculture, who simply said no.” The American import
regulations extremely strict: importing meat, flowers, and plants is prohibited. In order to get eleven cuttings into the country, the Anne Frank Center had to lobby with almost every member of parliament.
Quarantine
Finally the Department of Agriculture reluctantly allowed the request on one condition: the young tree cuttings go under quarantine for three years. “Once in awhile, we called to ask how the cuttings were doing. “Yes, everything is OK”, they would then answer.”
What happens when the remaining trees are planted? “The project is finished,” Stipelman says. “The Department of Agriculture is ironclad: these eleven tree cuttings are a one time exception.”
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Master's degree - University Wisconsin - Madison
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Years of experience: 13. Registered at ProZ.com: Jun 2013.
French to English (Montclair State University: Certification in Trans)
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I have a true passion for all things language-related. I finished my Masters in German and also hold a BA in French-English Translation. Additionally, I had the opportunity to study at the University of Amsterdam and have since taught college-level Dutch courses. I have translated and proofed a wide variety of German, French, and Dutch texts into English.
My main working genres include commercial texts, journalism, interviews, clerical documents, academic texts, and correspondence.
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