【问】 (1)Gauss was able to show by a theoretical analysis that the field arose within the solidearth...(北大《英语》(三)，P.101)
 [原译]高斯通过理论分析能够证明场是在地球实体内产生的……(教参)
 (2) After years of difficulty，Whittle was，however，able to build his first engine.(清华大学《英语教程》(三)，P.163)
 [原译]经过几年的艰苦努力，怀特终于能够制造出他的第一台发动机。(教参)
 (3) Many of the materials listed above as examples of organic compounds were once be-lieved to be products of living organisms——and so were called organic. Following muchlaboratory experimentation，however，chemists were able to demonstrate that certainproducts，which had previously been considered the results of vital or living processes，could be produced in the laboratory.
 [原译]上面作为有机化合物的例子列举的许多物质，曾一度被认为是有生命的生物的产物，所以称作有机的。然而，在进行了许多实验室实验以后，化学家们能够证明，以前认为是生命过程产物的某些物品，却是可以在实验室制造出来的。(《科技英语的理解与翻译》P.20)
 根据我的汉语语感我觉得上列诸译文中打着重号的部分有点不对味儿。但毛病出在什么地方呢?我又说不出来。
 【答】 be able to用作一般现在时和一般将来时，通常可译作“能”、”能够”、“有能力”等等。例如：
 1. Is the electronic computer able to think?
 电子计算机能够思维吗?
 2. After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.
 学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。
 但是，当be able to用作一般过去时时，则常常不是单纯地表示过去的“能力”、“潜力”或“可能性”，而是把“能力”和“成功”(“完成”)这两层意思结合起来，而且强调的往往是后者。因此，was/were able to和could，在意义上是有区别的。例如，I could pass the examination.，只是说“我曾有能力通过考试。”，而不是说“我成功地通过了考试”。另一方面，I was able to passthe examination.(相当于I succeeded in passing the examination.)，则表示确实通过了考试(Iactually passed.)。由此可见，把was/were able to一律译成“能够”，是不尽妥当的。例(1)、
 (2)、(3)中的was/were able to + infinitive，似可以分别译作“……(终于)证明了”、“……终于制造出了”、“……证明了……”。
 下列译文存在着类似的毛病：
 (4) The men of our family waded down through our flooded meadows with boathooks，inthe hope of being able to grapple a corner of the raft and pull it out of the current to-wards our bank. We still think it a miracle that they were able to do so. (New ConceptEnglish，Book3，P. 136)
 [原译]我家的男人们带着船钩涉水穿过水淹草地，希望能钩着木筏的一角，使它摆脱洪水的急流，靠上我们的河岸。他们能这样做，至今我们仍然认为这是一个奇迹。(中译本)
 [试译]……他们居然成功地做到了这一点，我们至今仍然认为是一个奇迹。
 请做下面的英语试题：
 1. Humans living in the Pleistocene epoch survived in part they able to forminto .(TOEFL， 87. 10)
 2. He confessed that he was look at the lawyer becoming angry. (TOEFL，75. 2)
 3. Biologists are predicting that able to genes and heredity.(TOEFL，76. 6)
 请翻译下列句子：
 1. In this way，he was able to solve the mystery. (NCE 2，L. 53)
 2. Tazieff was able to set up his camp very close to the volcano while it was erupting vio-lently. (NCE 2，L. 67)