Hi! I'm a Belgian student and I've just taken a French-to-English translation exam. Here's what I wrote. Can you check the English (spelling, grammar, syntax...), please? Thanks :)
You belong to the CIA!
Joe came into our room. It was very early, the sun was barely rising and I was still lying. He threw the newspaper on the bed, saying, “That (expletive) did it.” I read the article and understood. Robert Novak, a journalist, had revealed the fact that I belonged to the CIA. I immediately thought about the network I had set up throughout the years. I thought about my family’s safety. I thought about my career, about this job that I loved and about my efforts to fight chemical, bacteriological and nuclear proliferation. It made me sick. There are quite a few crazy people who think that we are hiding microphones in our teeth and who want to check. But most of all, terrorist groups, for whom the CIA is the enemy, were now aware of my situation. Defining someone from the Agency as a target had suddenly become a piece of cake.
Because my husband, a diplomat, published an article in which he suspected the inexistence of an Iraqi nuclear program, on July 14, 2003, the administration is taking its revenge by revealing in the press the fact that I am a member of the CIA. It was a federal crime. I felt so vulnerable. Our names were on the list of citizens’ telephone numbers. Whoever wanted to find us wouldn’t have any problem to do it. Now, whenever I walked down the street, I felt like “CIA” was written on my forehead.
It was the first time the name of a spy was being revealed by someone at the administration. The Bush administration violated our values, our rights and our Constitution systematically and repeatedly. The damages are huge, the war in Iraq being the biggest one. Moral principles, the United States’ image, its ethics in the world, its credibility: all of those were affected by that administration.
I was still lying. = incomplete because that could mean "telling a lie" and I"m quite sure you intend "lying in bed."
@#$%^&er = means that is unacceptable word to use on Jiskha. (shame on you!) (dommage!)
Sentences 3 & 4 could be combined. Rather than using simple sentences, complex sentences mean your command of the English is "superior."
iraqi should be capitalized = Iraqi
This was so interesting to read! In my humble opinion, you have done a masterful job! KUDOS to you.
Sra (aka Mme)
(Et oui, je parle français)
Thank you so much! :D
You are entirely welcome!
Sra (aka Mme)
You did a great job with the translation! There are just a few minor adjustments that can be made for clarity and grammar. Here is the corrected version:
"You belong to the CIA!"
Joe entered our room. It was very early; the sun was barely rising, and I was still in bed. He threw the newspaper onto the bed, saying, "That (expletive) did it." I read the article and understood. Robert Novak, a journalist, had revealed the fact that I belonged to the CIA. Immediately, I thought about the network I had established over the years. I thought about the safety of my family, my career, the job that I loved, and my efforts to combat chemical, bacteriological, and nuclear proliferation. It made me sick. There are quite a few people who believe we hide microphones in our teeth and are eager to check. But more importantly, terrorist groups, for whom the CIA is the enemy, now knew about my situation. They could easily identify someone from the Agency as a target.
Because my husband, a diplomat, published an article on July 14, 2003, in which he suspected the non-existence of an Iraqi nuclear program, the administration sought revenge by disclosing to the press that I am a member of the CIA. It was a federal crime. I felt incredibly vulnerable. Our names were on the list of citizens' telephone numbers. Anyone who wanted to find us wouldn't encounter any difficulties. Now, whenever I walked down the street, it felt like "CIA" was written on my forehead.
It was the first time that the name of a spy had been revealed by someone in the administration. The Bush administration systematically and repeatedly violated our values, our rights, and our Constitution. The damages are enormous, with the Iraq war being the most significant one. Moral principles, the image of the United States, its ethics in the world, and its credibility were all affected by that administration.
Overall, you did an excellent job, and it's clear that you have a strong command of the French-to-English translation. Keep up the good work!