一、解說
1. 在舊社會，我們評劇演員常常掙錢不夠吃飯，藝人們大都是拉家帶口的，生活困難。In the old society, pingju players seldom made enough to live on, and so most were saddled with big families their life was hard.
    原句中的“我們”就是指“評劇演員”，而且是泛指，故無須譯出；“player”有復數后就表示泛指。后面譯文中“life”前面相應用“their”，而不用“our”。

2. 演員們唱完戲還要各自找點兒活干，有人拉排子車，有人賣破爛，賣煙卷兒，當小工，拾煙頭是普遍現象。Apart from acting they had to find other work. Often they pulled handcarts, sold junk or cigarettes, hired themselves out as coolies, or collected cigarette stubs.
    “演員們唱完戲”在譯成英語時不要用時間狀語，它并不是指演員們唱完戲后再去找活干，而是指除了唱戲之外還要找活干以貼補家用。
    如果把“……是普遍現象”譯作“...was a common phenomenon”太正式一點。譯文中用“often”恰到好處。

3. 下雨或陰天回戲，不響鑼就不給錢，是那時的規矩。If a performance was cancelled because of bad weather, the rule in those days was: No show, no pay.
    “回戲”就取消演出，“不響鑼”指不演出。

4. 臘月二十三封箱，把“祖師爺”請到前臺去，后臺冷冷清清，演員們就更苦了，要等到年初一開戲了，才能掙到錢。On the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month, when theatres closed and the patron saint of actors was invited to the front stage, leaving the backstage deserted, actors were even worse off, unable to earn any more until the reopening on New Year's Day.
    “臘月二十三”就是農歷二十三。“the patron saint”是守護神的意思。 “leaving the backstage deserted”是現在分詞短語作狀語，表示伴隨狀態。“unable to earn any more until the reopening on New Year's Day”是形容詞短語作主語補足語。“unable to earn any more until the reopening on New Year's Day”采用了反譯法。
    注意全句的譯法：把“臘月二十三”作為一個時間狀語，然后把在這一天做的事情以一個“when”引導的從句給出，主句是“actors were even worse off”。
    從這個句子的英漢對照可以進一步看出，漢語的敘事多靠并列結構（并列分句和并列謂語），各成分之間的順序主要靠時間順序和邏輯順序來展開；而英語可以通過動詞的變化來表達動作發生的先后順序，而且大量使用分詞和從句，靈活性很大。

5. 我家里生活苦，父親做小買賣，媽媽是家庭婦女，弟弟妹妹多；家里最大的是我，才十三歲，就唱戲養家了。My family was hard up, with Father a peddler, Mother a housewife, and so many children to feed. At thirteen, as the eldest child, I acted to help support the family.
    碰到長句時采用分譯法是常用的手段。本譯文把后一分句譯成一個單句很自然。
    前一分句只把“我家里生活苦”處理成一個單句，后面的三個并列成分以一個介詞短語譯出，處理得很成功。介詞“with”用以表示方式、情況、環境或條件（indicating the manner, circumstances or condition in which sth is done or takes place）。

6. 早晨去喊嗓子，我帶著一個小籃拾煤核，為了回家取暖。Each morning when I went out to practice singing in the open air, I took a little basket to scrounge for cinders for our stove.
    雖然漢語里是“為了回家取暖”，而英語應譯成“for our stove”。當英漢不能一一對應時，應靈活處理，根據譯入語的表達習慣而定。
    “scrounge”意為：get (sth) by borrowing or taking it without permission借得或擅取（某物）。
    例：1) She's always scrounging (money) off her brother. 她總找哥哥借錢。
        2) I managed to scrounge the materials to build a shed. 我設法弄點材料搭個棚子。
    “cinder”意為：small piece of partly burnt coal, wood, etc that is no longer burning but may still be hot煤渣，炭渣，爐渣等（不再燃燒但仍可能有余熱）。

7. 拾煤核也要放聰明點兒，常常換換地方，為的不受那些野男孩子的欺負。Even when scrounging for cinders you had to have your wits about you and shift from place to place to avoid those mischievous boys who banded together to collect cinders too.
    原文的后半句與下一句原文合并在一起翻譯了，這樣譯文比較緊湊。主要的含義體現在“mischievous”一詞中，至于如何欺負，下面有具體的描述，這里簡譯不會造成任何理解上的問題。
    “have/keep one's wits about one”意為：be/remain alert and ready to act時刻警惕；隨機應變。
    例：You need to keep your wits about you when you're dealing with a man like that.同那種人打交道得隨機應變。

8. 他們看見女孩拾煤核就搗亂，揪我的小辮，向我身上扔蟲子，嚇得我看見他們就躲。Because when they found me scavenging they made trouble, pulling my plait or throwing insects at me, so that the sight of them frightened me away.
    原文中的“女孩”應是泛指，但譯文將其處理成“me”，是特指，主要是想與下半句吻合。男孩子看見女孩子就要欺負這層意思在上一句已有所體現，所有這里改譯成特指的“我”應該是可以接受的。
    “scavenge”意為：search through waste for items that one can use （指人）在垃圾堆里尋找有用之物。
    例：You can often scavenge nice bits of old furniture from skips. 從廢物堆里往往能撿到一些挺好的舊家具。

9. 封箱回戲，等于演員們封嘴，大家可苦了。When that happened, actors' pay stopped and they were hard put to it.
    “封箱回戲”是上一句的重復，英文應盡量避免重復，故用“When that happened”來表述。“等于演員們封嘴”也是行話，意思就是演員的工資停發了，英文只能用意譯的方式處理。
    “put to it”的意思是“使處于困境”。“they were hard put to it”是被動語態。

10. 各自找生活路子，我們女孩子就做點女孩子能做的活。Each had to fend for himself, and we young actresses did whatever work we could pick up.
    “fend for oneself”意為：take care of or look after oneself; support oneself照顧自己；自謀生計；獨立生活。
    例：It is time you left home and learnt to fend for yourself. 你應該離家自立了。

11. 我同幾個女孩子去東亞毛紡織廠，分線頭、掃地等干點雜活。I went with some other girls to the East Asia Woollen Mill to do odd jobs like unraveling strands of wool or sweeping the floor.
    “當小工”和“干點雜活”在意義上是重復的。譯文已作了取舍。另外，漢語是“分線頭、掃地等干點雜活”，而英文是“to do odd jobs like unraveling strands of wool or sweeping the floor”，注意語序的差別。

12. 這個號碼就是上工的證明。That number showed that we were taken on.
    “take sb on”意為：employ sb; engage sb雇用某人；聘用某人。
    例：She was taken on as a graduate trainee. 她應聘為新畢業的實習生。