CATTI Level 1: English–Chinese written-translation foundations study guide
CATTI Level 1: English–Chinese written-translation foundations · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
This independent study page provides practice for CATTI Level 1: English–Chinese written-translation foundations. Its editorial learning areas include Diplomatic and policy translation; Legal and financial translation; Bilingual revision and quality control; Scientific and technical translation. The questions develop subject knowledge and application through worked reasoning, distinctions between competing answers, and practical scenarios. Study the relevant guide before attempting a mixed set, then explain the evidence or calculation that supports each answer. Topics on this exam: Diplomatic and policy translation, Legal and financial translation, Bilingual revision and quality control, and Scientific and technical translation. The CATTI Level 1: English–Chinese written-translation foundations study guide has 4 sections and about 1,629 words.
01Diplomatic and policy translation
A diplomatic translation communicates a particular institution's statement, not the translator's independent assessment of the policy it describes. Identify the issuer, audience, genre and communicative purpose before choosing a register. A joint statement, a spokesperson's reply and an explanatory public article may use different conventions. Preserve who speaks, what is asserted and how strongly it is qualified.
384 words, about 2 min02Legal and financial fidelity
Legal and financial translation begins with the document's legal system, transaction and defined terms. A word can have an established equivalent without making the surrounding legal effects identical across jurisdictions. Distinguish translation of a supplied clause from advice that the clause is enforceable. A contract's governing law, exceptions and definitions may determine consequences that cannot be inferred from a short isolated phrase.
417 words, about 2 min03Bilingual revision and quality reasoning
Revision is more than correcting spelling in a fluent target text. A sentence can read naturally and still assign an action to the wrong party, omit a qualification or reverse an obligation. Begin by comparing the target with the source proposition by proposition. Distinguish omissions, unjustified additions, mistranslations and terminology problems from target-language grammar or presentation defects.
416 words, about 2 min04Scientific and technical precision
A technical translator must preserve the relationship among objects, processes, measurements and claims. Start by understanding the function of the passage: a research abstract, equipment description, user instruction and regulatory submission impose different communicative demands. Identify the intended readership and the domain meaning of apparently ordinary words. A term such as cell may refer to a battery component or a biological structure, so consistency cannot be achieved by replacing every occurrence with one remembered equivalent.
412 words, about 2 min