After all, how habit-forming can a single translation be?

Chinese translation: 说到底，仅凭一次翻译怎能形成习惯呢？

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	After all, how habit-forming can a single translation be?
Chinese translation:	说到底，仅凭一次翻译怎能形成习惯呢？
Entered by:	Mark Xiang

12:56 Sep 12, 2004

English to Chinese translations [PRO]
Poetry & Literature / Narration

English term or phrase: After all, how habit-forming can a single translation be?

It might have ended there; after all, how habit-forming can a single translation be? I soon found out, as other colleagues, researchers in other groups with whom I rarely exchanged a word, heard of the wizard that could transmute one language into another and beat a path to my office asking me to disclose the mysteries of French scientific research. Although pleased to be so popular among my peers, it eventually dawned on me that the service I was providing might be marketable; a simple search of the yellow pages confirmed it. I made a few phone calls, sent out a few—very short—résumés, introduced myself, and waited. The response was not overwhelming, but encouraging nevertheless, insofar as I was working as an engineer at a semiconductor company, and transistors were on the verge of becoming the microcircuits that eventually paved Silicon Valley. The lesson was not lost: language may be the prerequisite, but what they want is specialization.

How habit-forming can a single translation be? 中国话怎说比较恰当？

Wenjer Leuschel (X) KudoZ activity Questions: 367 (3 open) (5 closed without grading) Answers: 4078 Taiwan
Local time: 22:24

说到底，仅凭一次翻译怎能形成习惯呢？

Explanation:
After all, how habit-forming can a single translation be?=after all, how can a single translation be habit-forming?

a single translation=the French translation of the semiconductor research paper(in the previous text)

Selected response from:

Mark Xiang
Local time: 22:24

Grading comment

谢谢大家！
Lesley 说的并没有错，只是中文表达的方式几乎无法做那样的安排，所以我把第一句话译为：当时我可能仅只翻译了那么一篇法文的半导体研究报告，毕竟单单一篇研究报告算是什么翻译习惯呢？
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

5 +1

说到底，仅凭一次翻译怎能形成习惯呢？

Mark Xiang

after all, 说起形成习惯呢,单独做一次翻译能有多大用处?

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