Translation excercise: advanced beginners or intermediate : "Los otros Heroes"
This text is not a killer
, shorter and no specific "killer" expressions or slang used. A lovely story too. Look for Oscar's and the child's picture here.
For those who don't know: these kind of threads(only for upper intermediate or advanced students) were baptized "killer threads" by somebody, 
Try to translate this text. I favour those translations which may be not so true to the text, but "sound" more English. Everybody welcome
La imagen estremece. La cara extenuada, aterrada, surcada de heridas y empapada en sangre del niño de dos años contrasta con la del bombero, sudorosa, polvorienta y con una inmensa sonrisa. Es la fotografía con la que abría ayer este diario, que mostraba al bombero leonés Óscar Vega llevando en brazos al pequeño haitiano que acababa de rescatar de entre los escombros. Les cuento otra historia similar. Se llama Javier, tiene 16 años y acudió hace unos meses con un grupo de jóvenes a orar frente a una clínica abortista. Hasta ahí todo normal; por ahora no está prohibido rezar en lugares públicos. Al rato se acercó una joven, que tendría apenas un par de años más que él, dispuesta a entrar en el abortorio. Decidido, Javier se aproximó a ella, le sonrió y entablaron una conversación. La chica confesó que tenía cita para abortar, pero que le asaltaban las dudas. Hablaron y hablaron; ella se desahogó. La suya era una historia que contenía todos los ingredientes para hacerla truculenta: inmigrante, sin recursos, abandonada por su novio. Se pueden imaginar. Tras ponerla en contacto con una fundación provida que se comprometió a ayudarla, la joven decidió seguir adelante con su embarazo. Hoy es una madre feliz con un bebé de pocos meses. El que Javier rescató de entre los escombros del aborto. Todavía quedan héroes, como Óscar Vega y Javier. Aunque no siempre aparezcan en las portadas de los periódicos.
23 Answers
The picture makes one shudder. The exhausted face, terrified, scarred and bloody, of the two year old boy next to that of the fireman, sweaty, dusty, and wearing a huge grin. This was yesterday's lead photograph for the newspaper, which showed Leones fireman Oscar Vega, with the young haitian buy that he had just rescued from among the rubble in his arms.
I will tell you another story like this.
He is called Javier. He is sixteen years old, and he came a few months ago with a group of young people to pray in front of an abortion clinic. Over here this is still common, because so far it is not forbidden to pray in public places. After a while, a young woman, perhaps only a couple of years his senior, came towards him on her way into the clinic. Determined, Javier approached her, smiled and struck up a conversation. The girl confessed that she had made an appointment for an abortion, but that she was siezed by doubts. They talked and talked, she poured out her troubles. Hers was a history which had all the ingredients to make it horrifying. An immigrant, with no resources, abandoned by her boyfriend. You can see how it was.
After she was put in touch with a pro-life charity that promised to help her, the young woman decided to go ahead with the pregnancy. Today she is a happy young mother with a baby a few months old. The baby that Javier rescued from among the rubble of the abortion.
There are still heroes like Oscar Vega and Javier. Although they don't always make the front page of the papers.
I really enjoyed this one - when do we get the next one?
Perhaps I should just say that, if everyone knew just how long it took me to do these translations, they might be less impressed - and my brand new copy of Collins Spanish Dictionary is already looking very well-worn. 
Jason, here we go with your attempt:
Imagine??? the contrast between the tired, exhausted blood soaked ----missimg part------two year old and a firefighter who was sweaty, dusty and with a big (or immense) smile. It's the photograph that opened yesterday's paper that showed firefighter Óscar Vega ---missing part-----arriving with a little Haitian boy that he just rescued between (or from) the rubble. Their stories are similar. His name is Javier and he is 16 years old and he came here --sounds like he was in Haiti, not correct--------a month ago with other young people to pray in front of an abortionist clinic. It's normal there; for now it's normal there to pray in public places. -----not exact------At that time a young girl approached not much older than him. She was ready to enter into the abortion clinic. She was determined-----wrong subject--------, Javier approached her, she smiled at him -wrong subject-------and they engaged (started) a conversation. The girl confessed that she had a made an appointment for the abortion, but she had (or was having) some doubts. They talked and talked and she vented. Her's was a story that contained all the ingredients to do it: an immigrant, without resorces, abandoned by her boyfriend. He could imagine. -wrong subject------After he put her in contact with a foundation committed to help---------not exact--------she decided to go forward with the pregnancy. Today, she is a happy mother with a little baby just a few months. That day Javier rescued her from between the rubble of the abortion. Yet, there are heros like Óscar Vega and Javier. Although they are not always appear ----wrong grammar------on the cover of the newspapers.
Bolded parts incorrect or not exact.
Jason, main problem I could see: you often missed the subject.
Not a bad job, but this would need some work to improve
I know this is just a little question and I am not trying to get off topic but you used orar and rezar both meaning to pray. Is there a reason or is it simply exercising the readers vocabulary. (I didn't know about orar meaning to pray, so thanks Heidita). This looks like a good story so far. I will try to post soon.
There are some discussions about orar vs. rezar here which are interesting if you are into word origins.
¿LO ha visto todo el mundo ya? Nadie tiene comentarios?
The image shudders. The exhausted, terrified, marked with injuries and covered with blood face of the two-year-old boy contrasts with that of the fireman, sweaty, dusty and with a wide grin. This is the photograph that opened our newspaper yesterday, showing the Leonese fireman Óscar Vega carrying in his arms the small Haitian who he had just rescued from the rubbles.
I'll tell you a similar story. His name is Javier, he is 16 years old and he arrived a few months ago with a group of teenagers to pray opposite the abortion clinic. So far nothing unusual; it's no longer forbidden to pray in public places. After a while a young woman showed up, scarcely older than he was-not exact------, ready to enter the clinic.
Determined, Javier came closer, he smiled at her and they began talking. The girl confessed that she had an appointment to abort, but she was seized by doubts. They went on and on; she got it off her chest. Her story contained all the elements to make it horrifying: an immigrant, without resources, left by her boyfriend. You can imagine.---great paragraph!!!!!!
After putting her in touch with a charity.........missing name....... that promised to help her, the young woman decided to maintain her pregnancy. Today she is a happy mother with a baby of a few months. The one that Javier rescued from the rubbles of the abortion clinic. There are still heroes, like Oscar Vega and Javier. Though not always do they make the front page news.
Buen trabajo Issa, apenas errores, alguna parte quizás podría mejorar, pero claro, no somos nativos, así que.... Bien pillado todo el contexto.
Welcome to my threads, Rena, try the next killer thread, coming out soon
The image makes you shudder. The drained, terrified face of the boy of two years, furrowed with wounds and drenched in blood contrasts with that of the firefighter's hugely smiling, sweaty, grimy face. This is the photograph that you would have opened in yesterday's daily blog, picturing lion-like firefighter Oscar Vega carrying in his arms the small Haitian boy that he had rescued from the midst of the rubble. There is another similiar story to tell---similar but not exact-------. His name is Javier. He is sixteen years old and for some months had been going--wrong tense-------- to pray in front of an abortion clinic with a group of young people. Until now everything had been pretty uneventful. He had not been---wrong subject----- prohibited to pray in public places. After some time a young woman, only two years older ----not exact-------than him, walked by with the intention of entering the abortion clinic. Determined, Javier approached her, smiled at her, and struck up a conversation. The girl confessed that she had an appointment for an abortion, but that she had been plagued by doubts. They talked and talked: she confided in him. --very nice----An immigrant without rescources and abandoned by her boyfriend, she had a story of hard knocks-----great expression!!-------. You can imagine! He followed up by putting her -----exactly!!-------in contact with a foundation that was committed to providing help for her. The young woman decided to go ahead with the pregnancy. Today, she is a happy mother of a baby a few months old. Javier rescued her from the midst of the rubble of an abortion clinic. Although they are not always on the front page of the newspaper, there are, even now, heros out there just like Oscar Vega and Javier,
The beginning seemed a little off, but then you concentrated on getting it all correct! Muy buen trabajo, Rena, sobre todo siendo tu primera intentona con mis hilos, siempre bastante dificiles..
Ok, after all I am doing it before lunch
The picture makes you shudder. Terrified and exhausted face of a two-year-old boy, furrowed with wounds and covered with blood stands in contrast with the one of firefighter: sweaty, dusty but all smiles. --great--------This is the photograph that opened the daily yesterday presenting a Leonese fire-man, Óscar Vega, holding in his arms a little Haitian, at the end of the rescuing action among rubbles.----perfect----- I would like to share a similar story with you. His name is Javier, 16, who, a couple of months ago, joined a group of youngsters praying in front of an abortion clinic. Nothing extraordinary so far – for the time being you’re free to pray in public places.----------
excellent-------- But then, a young woman, only two years older than he------not exact-------, appeared with a clear ?? intention to enter the clinic. Determined, Javier came up to her, smiled and struck a conversation with her. The girl admitted that she had been appointed to undergo abortion but she got seized by a sudden doubt. They kept on talking, she pouring her heart out to him. No comments needed, to listen to her story was enough to see human squalidness: an immigrant left by her unscrupulous boyfriend. Can you imagine that? -----not exact------Afterwards she decided to contact a foundation that promised to help her. The girl eventually decided to give birth to that child. Today, for few months, she has been a happy mother of a small fry whom Javier saved and got out of the rubbles of abortion. Such heroes do -still-------exist. We may just not see them as they are not lucky enough to appear on front pages, like Oscar Vega and Javier were.
La primera parte fue casi perfect, genial diría yo, pero al final...algún sujeto equivocado, en fin, la última parte...
Pero no sé cómo no te metes en mis killers, ¡tu traducción ha sido excelente!
La imagen estremece
Some people said the image was shaking. Estremecerse, that would be shaking or trembling (yourself), but estremece a alguien. The object (the people, you) is understood.
bombero leonés Óscar Vega
León is a region in Spain, so like a lion was not what we were looking for
Les cuento otra historia similar.
The subject is I, the reporter, I think this should be said in the translation, not "there is a similar story"....
I would have chosen: let me tell you a similar story....
Hasta ahí todo normal; por ahora no está prohibido rezar en lugares públicos.
another difficult sentence.
Up to here, everything normal. So far it is not.....
Al rato se acercó una joven, que tendría apenas un par de años más que él,
This conditional here is not a traditional conditional, but a tense expression doubt, surprise....
a girl who was may be a couple of years older, a girl who was about his age...
Some answered she was two years older, this was not exact.
Tras ponerla en contacto
He was the one who provided the contact.
I found Sheila¡s translation almost perfect, very good job, even though I can only say everybody did a wonderful job on this text, difficult too, even though not a real killer
Haré algún comentario al luego. Buen trabajo , todo el mundo
The picture makes you shudder. Terrified and exhausted face of a two-year-old boy, furrowed with wounds and covered with blood stands in contrast with the one of firefighter: sweaty, dusty but all smiles. This is the photograph that opened the daily yesterday presenting a Leonese fire-man, Óscar Vega, holding in his arms a little Haitian, at the end of the rescuing action among rubbles. I would like to share a similar story with you. His name is Javier, 16, who, a couple of months ago, joined a group of youngsters praying in front of an abortion clinic. Nothing extraordinary so far – for the time being you’re free to pray in public places. But then, a young woman, only two years older than he, appeared with a clear intention to enter the clinic. Determined, Javier came up to her, smiled and struck a conversation with her. The girl admitted that she had been appointed to undergo abortion but she got seized by a sudden doubt. They kept on talking, she pouring her heart out to him. No comments needed, to listen to her story was enough to see human squalidness: an immigrant left by her unscrupulous boyfriend. Can you imagine that? Afterwards she decided to contact a foundation that promised to help her. The girl eventually decided to give birth to that child. Today, for few months, she has been a happy mother of a small fry whom Javier saved and got out of the rubbles of abortion. Such heroes do exist. We may just not see them as they are not lucky enough to appear on front pages, like Oscar Vega and Javier were.
The picture makes one shudder. The exhausted face, terrified, scarred and bloody, of the two year old boy next to that of the fireman, sweaty, dusty, and wearing a huge grin. This was yesterday's lead photograph for the newspaper, which showed Leones fireman Oscar Vega, with the young haitian boy that he had just rescued from among the rubble in his arms.
I will tell you another story like this.
He is called Javier. He is sixteen years old, and he came a few months ago with a group of young people to pray in front of an abortion clinic. Over here this is still common, because so far it is not forbidden to pray in public places. After a while, a young woman, perhaps-----exactly!!!!, nobody got that so far, good job---- only a couple of years his senior, came towards him on her way into the clinic. Determined, Javier approached her, smiled and struck up a conversation. The girl confessed that she had made an appointment for an abortion, but that she was siezed by doubts. They talked and talked, she poured out her troubles. Hers was a history which had all the ingredients to make it horrifying. An immigrant, with no resources, abandoned by her boyfriend. You can see how it was.
After she was put in touch ----by who??-----with a pro-life charity that promised to help her, the young woman decided to go ahead with the pregnancy. Today she is a happy young mother with a baby a few months old. The baby that Javier rescued from among the rubble of the abortion.
There are still heroes like Oscar Vega and Javier. Although they don't always make the front page of the papers.
amazing, Sheila, though unfair, jeje, as you got just chosen for the best attempt on my killers
HOla Carlos, bueno, a ver tu traducción, al menos lo de entender...jeje, aquí tienes ventaja. Si es por practicar traducir, participa en mis killer threads. Muchas expresiones españolas, aparte de muuuucho más complicado para traducir, claro está. Así que en el próximo te ve
The image shakes. ----no es la imagen que tiembla, sino que te hace temblar-------The face exhausted, terrified, furrowed with wounds and blood-soaked toddler -------esto debería ser algo como: the toddler's face--------contrasts with that of --the-------firefighter, sweaty, dusty and with a huge smile. This photography is the one that opened this newspaper yesterday, which showed Oscar Vega Leon --León es una región de España----firefighter carrying in his arms the Haitian kid who ----falta el sujeto, he--------had just rescued from the rubble.
I -----will, o mejor: let me tell you--------tell you another similar story. His name is Javier, he is 16 years old and he attended several months ago with a youth group to pray in front of an abortion clinic. So far so normal----falta el sujeto, so far everything normal------, but for now it is not forbidden to pray in public places. In a bit ---------falta el sujeto---------approached a girl who would just ------tiempo incorrecto y falta el verbo-------a couple of years older than him, ready to enter the abortion place--mejor : clinic---------. Determined, Javier came------went-------- to her, smiled and struck up a conversation.
The girl confessed that she had an appointment to abort, but the doubts that-----no se requiere----- assailed her. They talked and talked, she poured her heart out to him. Theirs----de quién??------ was a story that contained all the ingredients to make -------it--------gruesome: immigrants, destitute, abandoned by her boyfriend. You can imagine.
Tras ponerla en contacto con una fundación provida que se comprometió a ayudarla, la joven decidió seguir adelante con su embarazo. Hoy es una madre feliz con un bebé de pocos meses. El que Javier rescató de entre los escombros del aborto. Todavía quedan héroes, como Óscar Vega y Javier. Aunque no siempre aparezcan en las portadas de los periódicos.
After putting her in contact with a pro-life foundation that pledged to help her, she decided to go ahead with the pregnancy. ------great-------Today ------falta el sujeto-------is a happy mother with a baby of a few months. The ---one, baby--------Javier rescued from the rubble of abortion. There are still heroes, like Oscar and Javier Vega. Although ----falta el sujeto-----not always appear on the front pages of newspapers.
Bueno trabajo, Carlos, pero como ves te falta el sujeto en más de una frase. Tienes el mismo problema que nuestros amigos, pero al revés, a ellos les sobran los sujetos, a ti te faltan, jeje
De todas formas debes recordar, en inglés la máxima es: sujeto +verbo+complemento, si te falta lo de sujeto + verbo...estás perdido, la frase es incorrecta sin remedio.
Izan, I had not seen you for a while and was worried Let's see how you did:
The picture shudders. The terrified face, exhausted, etched by injuries and drenched in the----not only his blood------ two year old boy’s blood contrasts with the face of the fireman, sweaty, dusty and bearing an enormous smile.
It is the photo which I opened the daily exercise with yesterday, that showed the Leones fireman Oscar Vega carrying the tiny Haitian boy in his arms whom he had just rescued from amidst the rubble.
I told ???------why past tense??------you another similar story. His name is Javier; he is 16 years old, and a few months ago he came with a group of youths to pray in front of an abortion clinic. Nothing out of the ordinary there; for the time being-------excellent-------- it’s not prohibited to pray in public places. After a while a young lady came around, who was ----not exact-----only a couple of years older than the boy, ready to enter into the abortion clinic. Determined, Javier approached her; he smiled, and they began talking.
The girl confessed that she had an appointment to get an abortion, but that she was wracked with doubt. They talked and talked; she vented. Hers was a story that contained all the ingredients to make her heart cruel: an immigrant, without resources, abandoned by her boyfriend. You can imagine.----great--------
After putting her in contact with a pro-life foundation --exactly------that was committed to helping her, the young lady decided to continue along with her pregnancy. Today she is a happy mother with a baby that is a few months old that Javier rescued from the devastation of abortion.
There still remain heroes like Oscar Vega and Javier; even though, they don’t always appear on the covers of magazines.----almost exact, I suppose you meant to say newspapers?
Good job, Izan, como me esperaba, claro está. Mira el tiempo ese de "tendría", se discutió en varios hilos.
It is ashame that stories like this don't make the newspaper. Great story and thank you for sharing. Here is my shot: Imagine the contrast between the tired, exhausted blood soaked two year old and a firefighter who was sweaty, dusty and with a big (or immense) smile. It's the photograph that opened yesterday's paper that showed firefighter Óscar Vega arriving with a little Haitian boy that he just rescued between (or from) the rubble. Their stories are similar. His name is Javier and he is 16 years old and he came here a month ago with other young people to pray in front of an abortionist clinic. It's normal there; for now it's normal there to pray in public places. At that time a young girl approached not much older than him. She was ready to enter into the abortion clinic. She was determined, Javier approached her, she smiled at him and they engaged (started) a conversation. The girl confessed that she had a made an appointment for the abortion, but she had (or was having) some doubts. They talked and talked and she vented. Her's was a story that contained all the ingredients to do it: an immigrant, without resorces, abandoned by her boyfriend. He could imagine. After he put her in contact with a foundation committed to help she decided to go forward with the pregnancy. Today, she is a happy mother with a little baby just a few months. That day Javier rescued her from between the rubble of the abortion. Yet, there are heros like Óscar Vega and Javier. Although they are not always appear on the cover of the newspapers.
