日益严重的土地荒漠化不仅导致了生态环境恶化，还降低了资源的质量和数量……

大家觉得“日益严重的土地荒漠化”该怎么翻译呢？

“日益严重的”可以用一个单词翻译，即growing，rising，increasing。

如外刊中这句：Further research needs to be done to better understand the implications of technology on growing youth unemployment and how technology can be harnessed in youth education. 有必要进一步研究，更好地了解技术对日益严重的青年失业问题的影响，了解如何在青年教育方面利用技术。

还比如外刊和报告中我看到的一些：rising xenophobia日益严重的仇外心理；in an age of rising air pollution在空气污染日益严重的时代；Crime is a growing problem. 犯罪是一个日益严重的问题；Address the increasing economic and social divides at home解决国内日益严重的经济社会分化问题；an accelerating health crisis一场日益严重的健康危机。

还比如un上这句：oil extraction on health and livelihoods as well as of growing desertification in the North and its related effects on the health.

所以，这句“日益严重的土地荒漠化”可以翻译为：

Growing desertification，也可以翻译为：Desertification, a growing issue/problem/crisis/threat，还可以翻译为：The growing issue/problem/crisis of desertification。

“日益严重的”也可以翻译为increasingly serious，一般修饰issue或problem。如柯林斯词典中这句：Crime is an increasingly serious problem in modern society. 还比如华盛顿邮报中这句：The group branded human excrement an “increasingly serious problem,” adding it was also concerned about the volume of litter being left behind by visitors.

所以“日益严重的土地荒漠化”也可以翻译为The increasingly serious issue/problem of desertification.

因此：日益严重的土地荒漠化不仅导致了生态环境恶化，还降低了资源的质量和数量……

翻译为：

Growing desertification/Desertification, a growing issue/problem/crisis/threat//The growing issue/problem/crisis of desertification leads/contributes to ecological deterioration/degradation//deterioration of the eco-environment/the ecological environment and reduces the quality and quantity of resources.

讲到“日益严重的”的几种翻译，我想给大家说下简明英语，虽然increasingly serious在un等报告和国内报告中也有，但是外刊中使用频率高的是growing，这说明了英语发展的一种趋势，即简明英语，言简意赅而又准确才是我们应该努力学习和追求的。

在《通过翻译学英语》这本书中，作者也对简明英语作了简单的一句话概括，即能用短语的地方尽量不用从句，能用单词的地方尽量不用短语。

举例来说，He behaved in a polite manner.这句话就可以简单改为He behaved politely. 再比如说，The girl, who is wearing a red skirt, is my little sister. 可以改为The girl wearing a red skirt is my little sister.

我们再看看书中这个例句：

汉语：在一个中国式的家里，厨房不过是一个煮东西的地方；但在许多西方式的家里，厨房不但是煮饭和吃饭的地方，还是一个家人或朋友们聚会的地方。（选自李学平《通过翻译学英语》实例38）

不好译文：In a Chinese house, the kitchen is only a place for cooking things; but in many Western houses, the kitchen is not only a place where people cook meals and eat them but also a place where the family members or friends usually meet each other.

较好译文：In a Chinese house, the kitchen is nothing more than a place for cooking; but in many Western houses, the kitchen is not only where people cook and eat but also where the family members or friends usually come together.

很明显，作者删去了一些多余的名词，还把be sth+定语从句改为了表语从句。