People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
Ferhat ABBAS University of Setif
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Department of Translation and Interpreting

First Exam in English/Arabic Translation
3rd Year, Groups: 1, 2, and 7.
Academic Year 2007-2008

In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise and thanks are due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon His Messenger Muhammad, his family and companions.


Questions:
1- Did you translate 10 columns from a newspaper, or their equivalent from a book, as homework, in the current semester? (4 points)
2- Give the title of the bilingual (English/Arabic) novel which you have read and summarized?
(4points)
3- Translate into Arabic the following English text (in 22 lines), especially the 60 underlined words? (12 points)

The gag

Once, I visited on foot, with my brother, a hacienda. We passed by a gabled habitation like a jacal; it was a haberdashery. We were taken aback by the haberdasher. He looked like an Iberian caballero. His face was hidden under a hat, dark sunglasses, and a long beard. He was wearing strange habiliments, consisting of; eardrops, a jabot, a gadroon with a good facing, a gabardine, and a jackboot.
He said: “I’m habile in medicinal plants and tree leaves. Here are Abaca, Dahlia, Jaborandi, daffodil, jaboticaba, and jacaranda. They’re excellent in treatments of earache, earlap, and eardrum aches, so your earshot will get power better than the power of an earphone. They’re used also for treatment of hack, natural face-lifting, and gagging poisoned food. This ice bag is for facial treatment. Each plant costs 1000 AD only. He dabbed on my brother’s shoulder and said: “I see that you’re suffering from earache these days, so try these ten cabbage palm leaves, and you’ll be healed sooner. The cost is 10000 AD”. He took a dagger and hacked off many leaves and added gabbly: “I spent my babyhood in Alhambra. My baccalaureate was from Granada, and my B.A. was from London. My jobs were; cabinetmaker in the cabinetwork, a cabin boy, a cabby, then a hack critic, but my daily earnings were been very low. Daddy warned me from entering cabarets or becoming a dacoit. Because of my abatable debts the judge issued against me a habeas corpus. I was very abashed when someone abated them. Please forget the Babcock test, and don't think that I'm a fabulist. I’m not asking you a gage. Don't pay me, but just give me the earnest money. You can pay the rest after seeing the result of the treatment.
My brother took the leaves and gave him 5000 AD. The man took the money and handed them over to me, then, to my astonishment, he took off the hat, the sunglasses, and the false beard! He laughed loudly!! He was my best friend and neighbour 3abdalmajeed!!!

Written in English by:

Alhambrason

(Jamal al-Ahmar al-Khazrajy)

Allah helps him who helps himself