Not long ago,with the country entering a recession and Japan at its pre-bubble peak , the U.S. workforce was derided as poorly educated and one of primary causes of the poor U.S. economic performance.
原句是由“with复合结构+主句”构成,原句中的被动句是“the U.S. workforce was derided”即“美国劳动力被嘲笑”,这样的表达方式符合汉语的习惯,因此可以直接保留被动的语态。
加上泛称
Attempts have been made to curb this tendency,for example,by trying to incorporate some measure of quality as well as quantity into the assessment of an applicant's papers.
【为了控制这一趋势,人们做了许多努力,比方说,将质量和数量等标准纳入申请论文的考核中。】
本句中的被动语态构成是“Attempts have been made”即“努力被做”,但显然这样的翻译表达是不符合汉语的习惯的,而“努力”的施事者显而易见是“人们”,所以此处翻译时需加上泛称,给动作以主体,即“人们做了很多努力”。
译成动宾结构
All that I ask is that alternatives be offered instead of putting all of us on the road to calculus.
【我所要求的是提供替代方案,而不是让我们所有人都走向通往微积分的道路。】
本句的被动语态是“alternatives be offered”即“替代品被提供”,但在汉语表达中,“替代品被提供”的说法是生硬不通顺的,且“提供”这个动作的实行者也尚不清楚,因此考虑翻译成“提供替代品”这种动宾结构更符合汉语无主句的表达习惯。