What is the main point of the passage?
Translators are sometimes described as traitors, because every translation loses something of the original. Yet without translation most readers would never meet foreign literature. The difficulty lies less in words than in what words carry: humour, rhythm and cultural references rarely travel intact. A literal translation may be accurate and still sound lifeless, while a free translation may read well but depart from the author's meaning. Machine translation has improved quickly and handles simple texts well, but it still struggles with irony and with texts whose meaning depends on context. Many translators therefore see the tools as assistants for routine work, leaving to human judgement the choices that shape the voice of a book.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Translation is hard
- Step 1: The passage explains why translation is hard and where machines fall short. Step 2. It ends with the role of human judgement. Answer: translation is difficult because meaning goes beyond words. Why not the others: these contradict the passage.
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