a difficult sentence

[Lu]

I'm translating a description of an antique bronze lamp and am unsure of part of one sentence. The clearest picture I could find is here: http://www.nipic.com/show/1/24/57df085d92c91c59.html. I hope that page loads. A smaller, darker picture is here. Do take a look, it helps a lot in seeing what's going on.
 
The sentence:
鱼身下接灯罩盖，灯罩为弧形屏板，上部插入鱼腹下的开口，下部插入灯盘内，可左右转动开合，任意调节灯光亮度和照明角度。

 

I'm translating into Dutch, but what I'm making of it is roughly:

'The lamp cover, which is a curved bronze plate, has been slided into the opening in the belly of the fish. The lower side of the cover stands in the tray. The tray can be turned to the left or to the right, in order to adjust intensity and direction of the light.'

 

I'm mainly unsure of the last part, about adjusting the tray. Am I reading that correctly? I'm unsure because I don't really understand how turning the tray (and not the cover) would change the intensity or direction of the light.

 

Please ignore that this translation is not very elegant and a bit free, it's fine that it's free as long as the content is correct, and I'll make sure the Dutch is sufficiently elegant. Any help is much appreciated.

 

Edited to include links to pictures.

[Kenny同志]

Can't see the picture.

[Guest realmayo]

http://pic6.nipic.com/20100321/18625_001114523213_2.jpg

doesnt' work any more

[anonymoose]

Where does it say turn the tray? The way I read it is that you stick the top part into the tray, and by turning it (the top part, not the tray), you can adjust the brightness.

 

I can't see the picture either.

[Kenny同志]

The link 麻油 provided led me to this: 'The image cannot be displayed because it contains errors.'

[Lu]

I have no idea what's going wrong with the picture and the link to it. I included a link to another one.
 
The turning of the tray is in the existing English translation. The English translation contains some other mistakes though. I suppose it's from reading 下部插入灯盘内，可左右转动开合 and seeing the latter part of the sentence as referring back to 灯盘 instead of the earlier 灯罩. I'd ignore it as a mistake by the English translator, except that from the pictures it looks like it's actually the tray that can be turned, not necessarily the cover.

[Geiko]

[Kenny同志]

鱼身下接灯罩盖，灯罩为弧形屏板，上部插入鱼腹下的开口，下部插入灯盘内，可左右转动开合，任意调节灯光亮度和照明角度。

 

 

'The lamp cover, which is a curved bronze plate, has been slided into the opening in the belly of the fish. The lower side of the cover stands in the tray. The tray can be turned to the left or to the right, in order to adjust intensity and direction of the light.'

 

句子意思是，撥動燈罩（即前有開口的橢圓形空心柱）開口，可令燈罩板左右移動，開合。不是講燈盤.

 

Note：

我把”轉動“改成了”移動“，”燈罩“後加了個”板“字，這樣妳或許容易理解一些。

 

詳細說一下。這個燈罩，上下均有凹槽，燈罩即嵌在其中，但不甚緊，所以撥動燈罩板，燈罩板就會沿凹槽移動（轉動），當然也可以開合了。

[Lu]

Ah, so more like 'adjust the cover to the left or to the right to open or close it'? That would make sense in that if the opening is smaller, the light is dimmer. Although I still don't really see how it works in the actual lamp, but then I don't have the lamp handy and have never used such a lamp, so that might well be just something I don't know.

[anonymoose]

OK, I think seeing the picture it is obvious now. If you twist the tray, the opening will get wider or narrower.

[Kenny同志]

'adjust the cover to the left or to the right to open or close it'?

 

I think so. Without an opening at the top, I don't see how the lamp would work either.

[Lu]

Wait. So, looking at first, the sentence and second, the picture, do you adjust the tray or the cover? Kenny says the cover and anonymoose says the tray. Personally, from the grammar of the sentence I'd say the cover, but from the picture I'm not sure.

 

The neck and body of the goose are hollow, if that helps in understanding how the lamp works.

[anonymoose]

OK. I'm not sure any more. I don't think this is really a language issue though. It is just a case of not knowing how the lamp works.

 

Given that the tray has a handle, I assume it is movable. But on the other hand, it might just be the cylindrical part between the tray and the fish that is movable.

[Kenny同志]

已經睡下，怕妳急用，起來開電腦（手機上只能看，不能發帖）……

 

妳帖中的"cover"是指燈罩蓋還是燈罩？能轉動的不是燈罩蓋，而是燈罩，即橢圓柱。

 

 

it might just be the cylindrical part between the tray and the fish that is movable.

 

對！

[Lu]

Didn't mean to wake you up... But thanks very much for your reply, thank you also anonymoose. The deadline is today, but since tomorrow is a national holiday and the client is in China, I think I can get away with being a little late.

 

I'll say that the cover (the bent bronze plate between fish and tray) can be turned then. That seems to make the most sense.