摘要：釋義(paraphrase)是指舍棄原文中的具體形象，直接解釋出原文的意思。在翻譯一些具有鮮明民族色彩的詞語(如成語、典故)時，如果直譯不能使譯入語讀者明白意思，而加注又使譯文太嚕嗦，并且原文重意不重形、重意不重典時，可采用釋義法。它既可使譯文簡潔明了，又不損害對原文信息的傳達。例如： as drunk as a fiddler 酩酊大醉(在古英格蘭，民間小提琴手在公共場合為舞蹈伴奏，人們往往以酒酬謝，因此往往會喝得大醉.后人用此成語時，常常重意不重形與典，因此，不必直譯為 "像小提琴手一樣酩酊大醉"，采用釋義法即可.)
as rich as Croesus 十分富有(Croesus 是公元6世紀小亞細亞呂底亞國王，十分富有.如直譯為 "像科里瑟斯一樣富有"，倒讓讀者十分費解，因為讀者不知 "科里瑟斯"為何許人，并且后人用此詞時，常常意重于典，所以不如釋義為 "十分富有"，簡單明白.)
bring down the house 全場喝彩(不能直譯為 "把房子都弄倒了")
(1) It's not easy to become a member of that club-they want people who have plenty of money to spend， not just every Tom， ***， and Harry.
(8) Early Reagan was a mirror image of early Carter.里根上臺時在做法上跟執政初期的卡特毫無二致。
(a mirror image 如直譯為"鏡子里的形象"，就讓人感到非常別扭，遠不如"毫無二致"自然。)
(9) She scolded her maid and was as cross as two sticks.她罵斥自己的女仆，而且脾氣非常不好。
(如直譯為"像兩根棍子一樣暴躁"，讓人不知所云，并且此處重意不重形，翻譯時只好采用釋義法。)
(10) Up Broadway he turned， and halted at a glittering café， where are gathered together nightly the choicest products of the grapes， the silkworm and the protoplasm.
他拐到百老匯路上，在一家燈火輝煌的飯店前停下來，那里每晚匯集上好的美酒、華麗的衣服和有地位的人物。
(文中the choicest products of the grapes， the silkworm and the protoplasm如直譯為"葡萄、蠶和原生質最精良的產物"，難令讀者明白其意。這里，grape(葡萄)， silkworm(蠶)， protoplasm(原生質)屬于修飾學上的提喻(synecdoche)，用原材料分別指它們的制成品──酒、衣服與人。翻譯時只得舍棄原文形象，直接釋明其意。)
(11) Little in his childhood suggested he would someday become a bridge across Latin and Anglo cultures.
(12) Words are not themselves a reality but only representation of it， and the King's English， like the Anglo-French of the Normans， is a class representation of reality.
