「句1」But the master of the house was his mother .She was twice than her son was，they said.

　　[译文]可是这个家是他妈妈说了算。他们说，他连他妈妈的一半都顶不上。

　　[分析]如果译为他是他妈妈的两倍会使人不明白意思。还有一种译法：“他那样的人，两个也比不过他妈妈”。

　　「句2」中国是个文明古国，幅员辽阔，面积达960多万平方公里。

　　[译文]Covering an area of 9.6 million square kilometers and more ，China is a country with ancient civilization.

　　[分析]翻译这句话的关键是：1）突出信息的重心。2）注意避免语言累赘，比如说960多万平方公里就已经表示了幅员辽阔，不需要再译出。

　　段子：

　　然而，所谓过犹不及，包括英国在内的欧洲国家，或许在给国民的医疗福利上的确都做过头了，因此形成了积重难返之势。我们不期望能步上它们的后尘，但总觉得政府还做得不够，还可以在医疗开支预算方面稍微慷慨些。

　　译文：

　　Going beyond the limit is as bad as falling short. European nations， including Britain， have perhaps gone overboard in providing its citizens with free medical care， something which they now find impossible to reverse. We have no wish of seeing China go down the wrong path. But they do often feel that the government has not done enough and can be more generous with its budget for health care.