Quick translation from 本次列车终点

[MengJiaSheng]

Well I have to translate this story by 王安忆 and there is a paragraph that is quite hard so it would be great if you could help me out. I dont need help with the whole paragraph, just the marked 2 sentences. Just thought that it would be easier with context:

陈信仍然是笑笑。他心不在焉的，眼睛看着窗外急速掠过的田野。那是被细心分割成一小块一小块，绣花似的织上庄稼的田野。一片黄，一片青，一片绿，河边边上，还缀着一个紫色的三角形。土地的利用率真高，并且划分得那么精致细巧。看惯北方一望无际辽阔的沃土的眼睛，会觉得有点狭窄和拥挤，可也不得不承认，这里的一切像是水洗过似的清新、秀丽。这就是江南，这就是上海的郊外。哦，上海！

I dont really get the first one at all with the 似的织 and i dont know what I need the 眼睛 in the second one for or how to translate it.

Thanks a lot

[renzhe]

Don't take my suggestions too seriously, but this is my attempt:

"It was a field carefully cut up into small pieces, as if there were embroidery weaved onto it (the field)."

"(seeing through the) eyes used to the vast fertile land of the north (stretching) as far as the eye can see, (one) might feel it to be narrow and crowded, but (they) would also have to admit that everything here was clean and beautiful, as if it were freshly rinsed by water."

You might wish to translate it without the eyes, it's a stylistic device here, basically. My translation is quite dry. Probably wrong too

[imron]

first one at all with the 似的织

I think you've split the sentence incorrectly. 似的 is a word by itself that means "like/as if/seem"

绣花似的 is therefore "like embroidery". Likewise, 织上 should be treated as one unit.

[ktszsan]

Here is my attempt:

1. 那是被细心分割成一小块一小块，绣花似的织上庄稼的田野。

"The smaller pieces are carefully divided as if the crops are embroidered onto the field."

I would avoid the redundancy of the more literal translation which would say "... the crops are embroidery weaved onto ..."

绣花似的 should be read together (like embroidery) and 织上 (weaved onto) together.

2. 看惯北方一望无际辽阔的沃土的眼睛，会觉得有点狭窄和拥挤，

可也不得不承认，这里的一切像是水洗过似的清新、秀丽。

"From the viewpoint of someone who is used to looking at the vastness of fertile land in the north, it will feel a bit narrow and crowded. But it cannot be denied (or "But I must also admit that" if you don't mind the person "I" in there, which technically is not), everything here is fresh and beautiful as if it has been washed thoroughly by clear water."

I simply skipped the literal translation of "eyes" as the underlying message really is "viewpoint".

[buanryoh]

那是被细心分割成一小块一小块，绣花似的织上庄稼的田野

The open fields were meticulously divided - as though it was an embroidery - into small lots of crops.

or maybe:

It was as if I was looking at an embroidery - rows of neatly divided crops stiched together one after another.

[buanryoh]

看惯北方一望无际辽阔的沃土的眼睛，

To someone who was accustomed to gazing over the boundless fertile fields of the North, ...