Before she began her acting career in Shanghai in 1942, Huang Zongying spent her school days in Tianjin. She still clearly remembers the summer of 1937 when she finished primary school. She took the entrance examination for Nankai Middle School, and on the day the results were announced, she set out, her heart full of hope and excitement, to see if her name was on the list of successful candidates. Just as she was passing Zhongyuan Department Store, she found that martial law had been declared. She crowded into the store along with the other pedestrians taking shelter. She saw tanks rumble by, flying the Japanese flag. The huge treads cut deep into the very bosom of her motherland, leaving in her young heart a wound which would never heal. That was the day Japanese troops occupied Tianjin. After that, the Japanese language became mandatory at school. With tears in her eyes, the teacher, who had spent so much of her time with the students, taught The Last Lesson by Alphonse Daudet.

In 1941 she dropped out of school after just one semester of senior high because her family was unable to pay the tuition fee. Her mother sold the last piece of her jewelry to buy Huang Zongying a train ticket for Shanghai, where she was expected to earn a living on her own. Shanghai was a dazzling world of myriad temptations, yet to her, a young and inexperienced actress, it seemed a place filled with more pitfalls than opportunities. She went back to Tianjin several times to look for a more secure and stable job, but each time she was compelled to return to the stage in order to support herself and her friends. Once traveling between Tianjin and Shanghai, her train became snowbound. She saw Japanese military police lashing her countrymen lying in the snow and spraying water on the refugees who were scrambling to board the train.

Her life passed through a series of successes and failures as she searched for a new path. In the midst of her depression and frustration, the Communist Party stretched out a helping hand to her, and she plunged herself into the cultural movement of the Party. She played a role in The Ballad of Beauties, which marked the turning point in her life.

From 1948 to 1949, she and her husband, Zhao Dan, together with other progressive film-makers, secretly filmed The Crow and the Sparrows in Shanghai, which was still under the strict control of the Kuomintang. The film was a realistic depiction of the last days of the Kuomintang regime and anticipated the birth of the new China.

(Translated by David Moser with reference to "Catch 'Tomorrow'" trans. by Wang Wei, Chinese Translators' Journal, 1989.3)

1． 艺术生涯: 直译是artistic career。黄宗英是表演艺术家，所以这里的“艺术”可以按‘演艺’理解，译成：her acting career。与‘演艺生涯’有关的搭配还有：舞台生涯（stage career），戏剧生涯（theatrical career），银幕生涯（movie/film career）等。
度过了学生时代: “学生时代”这里不宜按student time译，可译成spent her school days；灵活一点，也可译成went to school。
至今她还……记得: 谓词remember 的简单现在时形式已经表达出‘今天’的时间信息，所以不必加To this day。
小学毕业: 在中文里，不论小学、中学、大学，只要合格地学完了学业，都可以叫“毕业”。英文里的graduate，一般指合格地完成了有学位或毕业证（diploma）的学业；在英国，从大学（university）或学院（许多名为college的学校其实是中学）毕业，叫graduate；在美国，graduate指从大学或中学（high school）毕业。不论英国或美国，“小学毕业”都叫finish elementary/primary school。
报考: 即‘报名参加考试’，这里的主要意思是‘参加考试’，因此可不管‘报名’，只译‘考试’take the entrance examination for...。
发榜: 即‘公布考试结果’（the results were announced），“榜”的意思可留到下面“看榜”处译。
兴冲冲: 即‘心里充满希望和激动’（her heart full of hope and excitement）。
看榜: 即‘看自己的名字是不是在榜上’
（to see if her name was on the list of successful candidates）。
刚走到: 这里的意思是‘正当她路过’
（Just as she was passing...）。
中原公司: 这是一家百货公司，因此译成Zhongyuan Department Store 。
遇到了戒严: 意思是‘发现已经宣布戒严’（She found that martial law had been declared.）。
她和行人慌忙躲进商店: 直译是She hastened into the store to take shelter together with the other pedestrians.也可以按‘和其他躲避戒严的行人一起涌入商店’理解，译成She crowded into the store along with the other pedestrians taking shelter.。
插着（旗）: 这里的“插”不能译成plant，而要用fly。
太阳旗: 即日本国旗，the Japanese flag。
隆隆驶过: 与“隆隆”相当的象声词是rumble，再加上by即可表达“隆隆驶过”的意思。
坦克履带的痕迹: 英文译成the treads就可以了。
祖国母亲: 英文的motherland本身就有‘母亲’的意思，所以不必重复翻译“母亲”。
胸膛: chest是中性词，更接近于‘胸部’的意思；bosom特指女性的胸膛，这里更为合适。
不可平复的伤痕: 即‘永远无法愈合的创伤’（a wound which would never heal）。
这以后……天津: 这里可以按‘那一天日军占领了天津’理解，译为That was the day Japanese troops occupied Tianjin.，不须把“以后”和“全面”的意思译出来。
强制推行日语教育: 也就是‘日语成了必须学的课’（the Japanese language became mandatory）。
朝夕相处: 这里的意思是‘相处的时间很长，关系很密切’（had spent so much of her time with the students），不宜把“朝夕”（from morning till night）的意思译出来。
都德的《最后一课》: 都德，Alphonse Daudet （1840~1897）法国小说家，其短篇小说The Last Lesson是一篇宣扬爱国主义，反对异国文化侵略的佳作。

2．上了半年高中: 这里的“半年”实际就是一个学期（semester），可以译成after just one semester of senior high。
交不起学费: unable to pay the tuition fee，这里也可简单译成could no longer afford it，it指senior high school education。
中途辍学: 也就是‘退学’（drop out of school），“中途”的意思已经隐含在drop out of school里了。
妈妈卖掉最后一件首饰，送她……: 从下文看，黄宗英的母亲卖掉首饰，显然是为了给女儿买去上海的火车票。翻译时可以把这一层意思补出来，Her mother sold the last piece of her jewelry to buy Huang Zongying a train ticket for Shanghai.。
自谋生路: earn a living on her own或earn her own bread and butter。
灯红酒绿的花花世界: 意思是‘一个令人眼花缭乱并且有着各种诱惑的世界’（a dazzling world of myriad temptations）。
初上舞台: 这里可以按‘没有经验’理解，译成：inexperienced。
处处都是陷阱: 也就是‘一个充满陷阱的地方’（ a place filled with pitfalls）。考虑到前面说黄宗英去上海是为了找一条生活出路，下面马上接着又说她回到天津，为了增强上下文的连贯，这里可以译成a place filled with more pitfalls than opportunities。
安定: “安定”的英文是stable，但是说职业或工作“安定”，还含有secure的意思。
迫于: 这里实际表示原因或目的，可译成in order to...。
自己和朋友们的生计: 也就是‘养活自己和朋友们’（support herself and her friends）。
往来于京沪道上: 黄宗英其实是通过京沪铁路来往于天津和上海之间，所以可译成travelling between Tianjin and Shanghai。
大雪封道: 即‘火车被大雪困住了’（her train became snowbound）。
她目睹……被鞭打的同胞，日本宪兵……拿水龙浇……: 原文前半句是被动，后半句是主动，可是“鞭打”和“浇”的施动者显然都是日本宪兵，因此这里还是都译成主动句好，She saw Japanese military police lashing her countrymen ... and spraying water on...。
隆冬腊月: 由于前面已说明“大雪封道”，这里再说“隆冬腊月”显得有些多余，可不译。

3．在茫茫的生活大海中浮沉: 这一形象对于英语国家的人来说比较生疏，因此可灵活一些，译成Her life passed through a series of successes and failures/ups and downs.。
生路: 这里也就是‘道路’（path）。
在苦闷和彷徨之中: 意思是‘压抑，沮丧，无出路’，可以译成in the midst of her depression and frustration。
党向她伸出了手: 这里的“党”是共产党，“手”是援助之手，因此译为the Communist Party stretched out a helping hand to her。
党领导的进步文化事业: 这里“进步文化事业”按‘文化运动’ （cultural movement）理解和翻译更明白易懂。
演《丽人行》: play a role in The Ballad of Beauties。
她的生活道路发生了转折: 这一句可以按‘这标志着她生活道路的转折点’理解并可作为上一句的非限制性定语从句处理，译成which marked the turning point in her life.

4.爱人: 中文的“爱人”更多时候是指“丈夫”或“妻子”，不能跟英文的lover 等同。事实上当时黄宗英和赵丹已经是夫妻，所以此处应译成husband。
电影界的进步人士: progressive film-makers或progressive cinema people。
国民党: Kuomintang。
忠实记录了: 由于《乌鸦与麻雀》是故事片而不是记录片，所以这里用depict/depiction比record好。
国民党末日: 这里的“国民党”实际上指的是国民党政权（the Kuomintang regime）。
迎来了新中国的诞生: 原文句子的结构是“她和她的爱人赵丹……以这部……影片……迎来了……”，用“迎来”没有问题；如果英文的句子结构是“The film was a realistic depiction of...and...”，则“迎来”不便于直译，可译成anticipated。