D) In business English Contracts, there is a special passive pattern, that is, “It is + past participle + that clause＂ which has basically formed a comparatively fixed translation version.
a)It is agreed that Party A shall have no obligation to pay for the insurance premium.
双方同意，甲方不负担保险费。
b)It is essentially stressed that the Buyers are requested to sign and return the duplicate of this Contract within 3 days from the date of receipt. In the event of failure to do this, the Sellers reserve the right to cancel the Contract.
必须强调：买方应于收到本合同之日起3天内签字并退还合同的副本，如买方不这样做，卖方保留取消合同的权利。
1.2 The Passive Structure Remaining Unchanged
Not all passive voice in English is converted into active voice in Chinese. Sometimes, an English passive voice may keep its passive structure in the Chinese version. In Chinese, passive voice is mainly conveyed through the use of words like 由, 被, 把, 给, 将. The following examples are translated in this way.
a)The term for the technology transfer agreement is signed by Party A and the Solely
Foreign-owned Enterprise, and it shall be approved by the approval authority.
技术转让协议的期限由甲方与独资企业签订并经审批机关批准。
b)If other coverage or an additional amount is required, the Buyers must have the consent of the Sellers before shipment, and the additional premium is to be borne by the Buyers.
如买方欲增加其他险别或超过上述保额时须于装船前征得卖方同意，所增加的保险费由买方负担。
Translation Techniques of Adverbial Clauses
In business English contracts, adverbial clauses are frequently applied. Adverbial clauses can be used to talk about time, cause, condition, concession and purpose. Depending on the context, their positions in a sentence can be quite flexible: they can appear either at the beginning of a sentence, or at the end of a sentence, or even in the middle of a sentence. Their positions in a Chinese sentence also vary according to the contexts. The point for attention is how to make the translation conform to Chinese usage when English adverbial clauses are translated into
There are two kinds of adverbial clauses, which often appear in business English contracts, i.e. adverbial clauses of time and adverbial clauses of condition.
2.1 Adverbial clauses of time
Adverbial clauses of time are introduced by when, while, as, before, after, until, etc can be described in terms of “same time＂, “earlier time＂, and “later time.＂
The adverbial clauses of time introduced by when, before and after are widely used in business English contracts. The following will concentrate on how to translate them into Chinese.
A)In Chinese, “ when＂ is usually introduced by 当……时候, etc. Sometimes, an adverbial clause introduced by “when＂ can be regarded as the clause of conditional meaning, which can be translated into Chinese adverbial clauses of condition. In Chinese, we have similar conjunctions like如果, 倘若, etc.For example:
a)When one party to the Joint Venture Company assigns all or part of his investment, the
other party has preemptive right.
如果合资公司一方拟转让其全部或部分出资额，另一方有优先购买权。
B)The conjunction “before＂ is usually translated into “在……之前＂ in Chinese. In business English contracts, sometimes, in order to emphasize the obligation to be fulfilled,
“before＂ may be rendered into Chinese by using “……后, 才能…….＂ For example:
a)The manufacturers shall, before the goods is delivered over, make a precise and comprehensive inspection of the goods with regard to its quality, specifications, performance and quantity, weight, and issue inspection certificates certifying the technical data and conclusion of the inspection.
制造商应对货物的质量、规格、性能和数量、重量进行一丝不苟和全面的检验，出具检验证明书，证实检验的技术数据和结论后，才能发货。
C)The conjunction, “after＂ is often expressed by “在……后＂ in Chinese. In business English contracts, “after＂ is sometimes converted into “……之日起＂ in Chinese for the purpose of preciseness.For exampl：
a)In case the Buyer finds any document incorrect, the Buyer is obliged to cable the Seller indicating the incorrect items. The cable shall be sent within twenty days after the Bank of China, Beijing Branch has received the Seller＇s documents.
买方如发现文件有错误时，应在中国银行北京市分行收到卖方文件之日起20天内电告卖方，并指出错误项目。
2.2 adverbial clauses of condition
In English adverbial clauses of condition are generally introduced by conjunctions such as if, in case, unless, once, and so long as. In Chinese we have similar conjunctions like 如果, 万一, 除非, 一旦, 只要, etc. Moreover, not all adverbial clauses of condition in English need to be presented as adverbial clauses in Chinese. See the following examples:
An unless-clause can denote a real condition as well as an unreal condition. In a clause of real condition, unless can sometimes be replaced by if¼not. In business English contracts, “unless＂ is usually rendered into Chinese by using “除……另有……者外,＂ and “unless＂is often used together with “otherwise.＂
a)Unless the Contract provides otherwise, it is the Buyer＇s legal duty to collect and transport the goods from the Seller＇s premises.
除合同另有规定者外，买方应在卖方的处所提货运输。
b)Unless otherwise arranged, neither party shall have the right to represent the other party.
除另有安排者外，任何一方无权代表另一方。
B)The conjunction, “whereas＂ at whiles connects two independent clauses to form a compound sentence, and we have similar conjunctions like “而＂ in Chinese. In business English contracts, sometimes “whereas＂ is used at the preamble to introduce the background and purpose, denotes taking into consideration the fact, introduces adverbial clauses of condition, and consequently is translated into Chinese by using “鉴于.＂
a)Whereas Party B has the right and desires to transfer the aforesaid know-how to Party A, this Contract shall come into force from the date of execution hereof by Party A and Party
鉴于乙方有权并愿意向甲方转让上述专有技术，本合同自甲方和乙方签署之日生效。
C)We should pay special attention to the particular usage of the conjunction “where＂ in business English contracts; “where＂ introduces the adverbial clauses of condition and means “如果＂, “若＂ in Chinese. This kind of usage is usually found in the legal style, but is seldom adopted in other styles.
a)Where there exists a relationship of administrative subordination between the debtor and the third party, as to the creditor, the interests of the debtor and of the third party shall be consistent.
如果债务人与第三者存在隶属关系，相对债权人而言，债务人与第三者的利益应该是一致的。
参考文献
[1] August, Ray International Business Law: Text, Cases and Readings (third
edition) Beijing: Higher Education Press, 2002.
[2] Barnes, A. James Law for Business Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2000.
［4］胡庚申,王春晖,申云桢.《国际商务合同起草与翻译》.北京：外文出版社，2001.
[5] 译典通