- 动笔之前，通览全文
动笔之前，先把原文通读一遍，这样才能对原文内容有个整体的了解，也才能把握住原文的特点和风格。一部作品，无论是政治理论性的，还是文艺或科技性的，都有其不同的特点和风格。通读之后，便可根据其不同的特点和风格而采取不同的译法，使内容与形式达到有机的统一。如果即读即译，省去阅读后理解，消化的过程，就不能事先领会原作者的写作意图，就很难确切地表达原文的内涵，也就不可能达到“准确”这一翻译标准。在下面的文字中，作者运用了什么手法，达到了什么效果，不先通读一下，就很难把握。见下例：
Most curious of all, there was quality control whatsoever. No one inspected the final product of the factory. As a result some of the shirts that were put in boxes for shipment were missing one or two buttons, the collar, even a sleeve sometimes!
The working conditions were poor. The tables where the workers sat were very high and uncomfortable. Except for a half hour at lunchtime, there were no breaks in the day to relieve the boring work. There was no music. The walls of the workrooms were a dull gray color. I was amazed that the workers hadn’t gone on strike.
Furthermore, the work flow was irregualar. There was one especially absent-minded young man in the assembly line who sewed on buttons. After a while I recognized him as “Big Jim,” who used to sit behind me in math class in high school. He was very slow and all the shirts were held up at his position. Workers beyond him in line on his shift had to wait with nothing to do; therefore, a great deal of time and efficiency were lost as Big Jim daydreamed while he worked. All week I wondered why he wasn’t fired.
作者运用夸张手法谈论工厂里存在的严重问题，以求达到幽默的效果。谈到的这些问题看似严重，但并不使人产生沉重感，相反，倒令人觉得滑稽可笑。如果不通读原文，就可能把握不住原作者的风格，就可能把那种诙谐，调侃的语气误认为严肃认真的批评，译文和原文就会相差甚远。下面的译文比较准确地再现了原作的风格：
最为奇怪的是，厂里竟然没有任何质量检控。没有人检验工厂生产的成品。结果，有些装箱待运的衬衫不是缺了一两粒纽扣，就是少了衣领，有时甚至还少一只袖子。
工厂的生活条件很差。工作台很高，工人坐在旁边很不舒服，除了吃中午饭的半小时外，全天没有别的休息时间来调剂一下令人厌倦的工作。厂里也不播放音乐。工厂间的墙壁全是一片暗灰色。使我感到惊奇的是，工人们竟然没有罢工。
此外，厂里的生产流程也时断时续。在装配线上有个缝纽扣的年轻人特别心不在焉。没过多久，我便认出了他，原来他就是在中学上数学课时坐在我后面的 “大个子吉姆”。他动作很慢，所有的衬衫一到他这儿就被耽搁下来。装配线上他后面的同班工人只好等在那儿无所事事。就这样，在大个子吉姆一边干活儿一边想入非非的时候，大量的时间便白白流逝了，劳动效率大受损失。整个礼拜我都在纳闷，为什么他没有被解雇。
