约首（Preamble），也就是合同目录之后，正文第一条之前的引入和说明部分。约首通常分为导言（introduction）、鉴于条款（whereas clause）和过渡条款（transition），主要介绍了合同当事人的信息和合同订立的背景。
英文合同的约首与中文合同的前言具有较大区别，主要体现在鉴于条款和过渡条款上
- 英文合同
英文合同往往不惜笔墨地在这两个条款中描述签订合同的前因后果 - 中文合同
中文合同通常只有导言部分，即使有过渡条款，也只是寥寥数字，一笔带过
中英文合同在导言部分的具体结构方面也存在较大差异。今天，小编主要和大家探讨一下英文合同的约首的翻译。
1. 导言（Introduction）
英文合同的导言结构通常如下：
(1) THIS CONTRACT/AGREEMENT (is) +made/entered into/made and entered into +in (place) +on/as of (date) +by and between+X, +a corporation/company+ duly organized/incorporated + (and existing) under the law of (country/state/state, country) + with/having its legal address/registered office/domicile + at (address) + (“Party A”/hereinafter referred to as party A) + and Y…(“Party B”/hereinafter referred to as party B)”.
(2) THIS CONTRACT/AGREEMENT + is made/entered into/made and entered into + in (place) + on/as of (date)
BETWEEN
X, +a corporation/company+ duly organized/incorporated + (and existing) under the law of (country/state/state, country) + with/having its legal address/registered office/domicile + at (address) + (“Party A”/hereinafter referred to as party A)
AND
Y, +a corporation/company+ duly organized/incorporated + (and existing) under the law of (country/state/state, country) + with/having its legal address/registered office/domicile + at (address) + (“Party B”/hereinafter referred to as party B)
(3) THIS CONTRACT/AGREEMENT is dated (date) and is made
BY:
(i) X, +a corporation/company+ duly organized/incorporated + (and existing) under the law of (country/state/state, country) + with/having its legal address/registered office/domicile + at (address) + (“Party A”/hereinafter referred to as party A);
(ii) Y, +a corporation/company+ duly organized/incorporated + (and existing) under the law of (country/state/state, country) + with/having its legal address/registered office/domicile + at (address) + (“Party B”/hereinafter referred to as party B).
以上三种是比较常见的结构，具体结构还会因为合同起草人的习惯不同而略有差异。但后面两种结构其实是第一种结构的演变，只是改变了信息的排版，因此只要处理好第一种基本结构后，改变排版就可以得到其他两种结构。
尽管导言的行文和结构相对固定，但在翻译时仍要注意对细节的处理，避免信息的缺漏。
例
原文：THIS ENGINE LEASE AGREEMENT (the “Lease”),made as of August 11, 2015, by and between , an international business company incorporated under the laws of Belize having its registered office at ___________(“Party A”), and ____, an international business company incorporated under the laws of Belize having its registered office at _____________ (“Party B”).
参考译文：本引擎租赁合同（以下简称“租赁合同”）于2015年8月11日由公司（以下简称“甲方”）一家依据伯利兹法律注册设立的国际商务公司，注册地址位于和公司（以下简称“乙方”），依据伯利兹法律注册设立的国际商务公司，注册地址位于共同签订。
2. 鉴于条款（Whereas clause）
鉴于条款主要说明了订立合同的背景和目的，陈述了合同各方当事人对事实的共同理解和认可，主要结构如下：
(1)WHEREAS + 陈述句;
WHEREAS + 陈述句;
WHEREAS + 陈述句.
(2) WHEREAS,
(i) 陈述句;
(ii) 陈述句;
(iii) 陈述句.
鉴于条款的翻译十分简单，直接翻译为“鉴于……”即可，如下例：
例
原文：
WHEREAS,the Vendors andthe Purchaser, and the Company entered into an agreement pursuant to which the Vendors agree to sell and the Purchaser agrees to purchase 49% of the issued share capital of the Company (the “Agreement”)；
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Agreement, the Vendors have agreed to give certain indemnities in favor of the Purchaser and the Company as set out in this Deed.
参考译文：
鉴于卖方、买方和公司签订了一份协议（以下简称“协议”），并在协议中约定：卖方同意出售且买方同意购买公司已发行股本的49%；
鉴于根据该协议，卖方同意按照本契约中的约定赔偿买方和公司。
3. 过渡条款（Transition）
过渡条款确定了鉴于条款中的事实，并引入下文条款，起到了承上启下的作用。过渡条款行文结构较为固定，通常为固定表达，具体如下：
(1)NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto covenant and agree as follows:
参考译文：鉴于上述事实及其他业已足额收讫之有效并有价的约因，现各方达成一致并立约如下：
(2)NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the covenants herein, the parties hereto agree as follows:
参考译文：兹以上述各点和契约所载条款为约因，订约各方约定如下：
在实际应用中，很多合同起草人直接用“It is hereby agreed:”表达，简洁明了，这也是对冗长的英文合同条款的更新换代，可译为“特此约定如下：”。
从上文介绍的约首，我们就足以发现，英文合同中不仅采用了很多同义词的连用，如“made and entered into”、“by and between”、“good and valuable”，还对关键词均采用了字体加粗，提醒阅读者注意。这些都显示了英文合同行文谨慎、措辞准确的特点，体现了法律英语的准确性，因此在翻译时也要尽力做到语言表达精炼、准确，避免产生歧义。
