平行文本是指与原文内容相关的文本。查找平行文本可以从宏观人手，也可以从微观词汇人手。比如这篇文章，讲的是形象设计、服装、造型、色彩、饰品，不妨根据这些关键词的英文image design, clothing/ garments, style, color, accessories等，用谷歌搜索。经过搜索你会发现维基百科有个词条，叫fashion design，可以查看。该词条里面有一些词汇可以借鉴。同时，词条的内容也提醒我们:本篇文章的image design实际上是指personal image design，再查personal image design，会发现有不少从事个人形象设计的公司用的就是这个说法。比如，在http:// www. personalimagedesign. co. uk/中，就可以发现一些相关表述:

Hi and welcome to my website.

My name is Olga and I'm an image consultant who specializes in visual appearances for men and women of all ages. An image consultant counsels individuals and corporate clients on appearance, behavior and communication skills. As | always say... 'the way you look is my business!

从这些平行文本里面，还可以顺藤摸瓜，找到更多的平行文本。比如，用image consultant、colour analysis and make-up等可以继续搜索。如果觉得找到平行文本关联性不大，就换个思路，用别的关键词查找。找不到与整篇文章关联的文本，可以针对具体的段落来查找，比如，找A-shape, H-shape, Y-shape（shape也是通过阅读平行文本得到的启发）可发现：

MyShape breaks body shapes into seven categories: Shape M, Shape Y, Shape S, Shape H, Shape A, Shape P and Shape E. Once you've figured out which body shape you are, you can then decide to shop on the MyShape site that is full of great fashion at all price points.

运气好的话，平行文本能够解决大多数知识和术语问题。阅读平行文本的另一个好处，是获得相关文本的行文特点，培养语感。但平行文本不会解决所有问题，总会有一些词语在平行文本中查不到，这时就需要针对词汇做些搜索。比如，可以把英文关键词，如garment, fashion, apparel, glossary, terminology等放在一起， 搜索英文术语;也可以用“服装”、“词汇”、“术语”、“亮片”等结合起来搜索中国人整理的汉英对照词汇；还可把中英文结合起来搜索。比如，用“garment亮片”搜索，会发现“亮片”的说法是rhinestone或sequin等等。这时不要急于使用rhinestone或sequin，要在英英词典或英语平行文本中检验这两个词是否正确或常用。经查英英词典，sequin的解释是a small shining disk or spangle used for ornamentation, as on women's clothing and accessories or on theatrical costumes. Rhinestone的解释是Rhinestones are shiny, glass jewels that are used in cheap jewellery and to decorate clothes.从英文解释来看，前者是“片”、后者是“珠”，好像有区别。用“sequin Wikipedia”搜一下，发现有一篇文章，里面写道:

Sequins are disk-shaped beads used for decorative purposes. They are available in a wide variety of colors and geometrical shapes. Sequins are commonly used on clothing, jewelry, bags and other accessories....

从这里的解释可以肯定，使用sequin不会错，而且还有别的说法。

有时，在查找单词的时候，会发现意想不到的线索。比如，查“廓形”的说法，发现百度百科有一篇标题为“廓形”的词条，其中提到：克莉斯汀·迪奥曾在50年代推出一系列字母造型时装，分别用A、H、Y等英文大写字母来比拟他作品的廓形。

顺藤摸瓜，查到“克莉斯汀·迪奥”的英文说法Christian Dior，再查找这个人的简历，看到：

In the 11 years before his death, Dior dictated European style. Each of his collections had a theme - the classic suit, the ballerina skirt and the H, A and Y lines that ruled the early 1950's.

再利用这些关键词去核实：

Figure 4-15. Between 1954 and 1955, Dior introduced his alphabet lines: the H Line, the A line, and the Y Line. The H Line was characterized by the controversial Tudor bodice and dropped waistline of the middy. The triangular A Line of 1955 was a huge success and has remained a constant silhouette of fashion ever since. The Y Line did not translate as easlity into American ready-to-wear versions. Basically it was a slender body with a top-heavy Y look. Some versions were inverted , with a slender top teading to a Y bottom profile.

现在发现，前面推测和查证的A-shape Y-shape等说法并不正宗。到此为止，我们找到了各种造型的祖宗，可以确信无疑地说：A字造型就是A Line.

从以上例子可以看出，查找平行文本和调查研究需要花费大量时间，是对译者耐心和责任心的考验，有时需要一点点运气。

查找平行文本，虽然耗费时间，但可以提高质量，从长远来看，还可以提高效率。这次通过调查研究解决了一些问题，下次再遇到的时候就不用花那么大的力气。译员的背景知识和翻译能力，就是这样一点一滴积累起来的。只有在这样的基础上，才可以提高效率。