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Thread: A sentence to translate

  1. #1
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    A sentence to translate

    I have seen a sentence like this from a Russian. I have split the parts which I fail to translate. Would you split them the same way in English?

    Чтобы принять участие в паралимпиаде, нужно быть инвалидом. Причем, нельзя просто так быть каким попало инвалидом.

  2. #2
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    "просто так" here is "without effort / simply".
    "каким попало" is idiom close to "random". bride on wedding throws flower at group of maidens in random manner = "в кого попадёт". "who was hit?" = "в кого попало?". "каким попало" is some kind of reverse - life is "throwing random objects at you".
    So, "(green) you cannot simply be (red) random disabled".

  3. #3
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    one cannot just be whichever invalid.
    Or: it is not enough to be just an invalid.

    But the russian sentence is clumsy. One should at least omit так.

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    Чтобы принять участие в паралимпиаде, нужно быть инвалидом. Причем, нельзя просто так быть каким попало инвалидом.
    You ought to be a physically disabled person to take part in Paralympic Games.
    More to that/what's more (причем), you can't just (просто так) be a person with any kind (каким попало) of disabilities.
    Another month ends. All targets met. All systems working. All customers satisfied. All staff eagerly enthusiastic. All pigs fed and ready to fly.

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