考研网 发表于 2016-7-28 12:30:27

2016翻译硕士复习资料:英译中国现代散文选(二)

  我的父母之乡
  冰心
  清晓的江头(1),
  白雾茫茫;
  是江南天气(2),
  雨儿来了——
  我只知道有蔚蓝的海,
  却原来还有碧绿的江,
  这是我父母之乡!
  繁星156(3)
  福建福州永远是我的故乡,虽然我不在那里生长,但它是我的父母之乡!
  到今日为止,我这一生中只回去过两次。第一次是一九一一年,是在冬季。从严冷枯黄的北方归来(4),看到展现在我眼前的青山碧水(5),红花绿叶,使我惊讶而欢喜!
  我觉得我的生命的风帆,已从蔚蓝的海,驶进了碧绿的江。这天我们在闽江口从大船下到小船,驶到大桥头,来接我们的伯父堂兄们把我们包围了起来,他们用乡音和我的父母热烈地交谈。我的五岁的大弟弟悄悄地用山东话问我说:“他们怎么都会说福州话?”因为从来在我们姐弟心里,福州话是最难懂难说的!
  这以后的一年多时间里,我们就过起了福州城市的生活。新年、元宵、端午、中秋……岁时节日,吃的玩的都是十分丰富而有趣。特别是灯节,那时我们家住在南后街,那里是灯市的街,元宵前后,“花市灯如昼”,灯影下人流潮涌,那光明绚丽的情景就说不尽了(6)。
  第二次回去,是在一九五六年,也是在冬季。那时还没有鹰厦铁路,我们人大代表团是从江西坐汽车进去的。一路上红土公路,道滑如拭(7),我还没有看见过土铺的公路,维修得这样平整的!这次我不但到了福州,还到了漳州、泉州、厦门、鼓浪屿……那是祖国的南疆了。在厦门前线(8),我还从望远镜里看见了金门岛上的行人和牛,看得很清楚……
  回忆中的情景很多,在此就不一一描写了。总之,我很喜欢我的父母之乡。那边是南国风光,山是青的,水是绿的,小溪流更是清可见底!院里四季都有花开。水果是从枇杷、荔枝、龙眼,一直吃到福桔!对一个孩子说,还有什么比这个更惬意的呢?
  我在故乡走的地方不多,但古迹、侨乡,到处可见,福建华侨,遍于天下(9)。我所到过的亚、非、欧、美各国都见到辛苦创业(10)的福建侨民,握手之余,情溢言表。
  在他们家里、店里,吃着福州菜,喝着茉莉花茶,使我觉得作为一个福建人是四海都有家的。 我的父母之乡是可爱的。有人从故乡来(11),或是有朋友新近到福建去过,我都向他们问起福建的近况。他们说:福建比起二十多年前来,进步得不可辨认了。最近呢,农业科学化了,又在植树造林(12),山岭田地更加郁郁葱葱了。他们都动员我回去看看,我又何尝不想呢(13)?不但我想,在全世界的天涯海角,更不知有多少人在想!我愿和故乡的人,以及普天下的福建侨民,一同在精神和物质文明方面,把故乡建设得更美好(14)!
  The Land of My Ancestors
  Bing Xin
  The River mouth at dawn,
  Behind a white haze of mist,
  ‘Tis southern climes,
  Behold, the rain is coming.
  I have seen the blue sea all along,
  Little aware of this green River,
  O the land of my ancestors!
  --Sparkling Stars, 156
  Fuzhou of Fujian Province will always be my old home. Though I was brought up elsewhere, Fuzhou is nevertheless the land of my ancestors!
  As yet, I have been back to Fuzhou no more than twice in my lifetime. I made the first tripe in the winter of 1911. Returned from the bitter cold North with its drab and dried up vegetation, I was amazed and delighted when greeted by the charming scenery of sapphire mountains and emerald rivers as well as red flowers and green leaves. I felt the sailing boat of my life steering its way into the green River after leaving the blue sea behind. At the Minjiang River, we changed from the big ship to a small boat, which took us to Daqiaotou (Big Bridge), where we were met by Uncle and cousins. They gathered round us and talked warmly with my parents in the local dialect. Thereupon, my 5-year-old younger brother whispered in my ear with a Shandong accent, “How come they can all speak the Fuzhou dialect?” We had both thought that the Fuzhou dialect was indeed most difficult for anyone to learn.
  From then on, we lived an urban life for more than a year in Fuzhou. During such festivals as Lunar New Year, Lantern, Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn, we all celebrated the festivities with plenty of food and fun. Particular mention, however, should be made of the Lantern Festival when Nanhoujie, the street known for its lantern fair and also the street where we lived, became as bright as broad daylight at night with myriads of lanterns and streams of spectators. The splendor and magnificence of the scene is beyond all description.
  I made the second visit in 1956, also in winter. As the Yingtan_Xiamen Railway had not yet been built, the NPC delegation, with myself as a member, had to go from Jiangxi Province by car. The highway from Jiangxi to Fuzhou, paved with red soil, was as smooth as a mirror. It was the most level soil-paved highway I had ever seen. This time I visited not only Fuzhou, but also Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen and Gulangyu—the southern frontiers of our country. At the Xiamen seaside, I could see clearly through a telescope pedestrians and cows on the Quemoy Islands.
  My experiences of this trip, however, are too numerous to be recounted one by one here. Anyway, I deeply love Fuzhou, my ancestral home. Over there we have the typical southern scenery with blue mountains, green waters, limpid books…! There in the courtyard we can always see some kind of flowers in full bloom throughout the year. Fruits ranging from loquats, lichees, longans to tangerines are in plenty. Is there anything more palatable to a little child than these fruits?
  I did not visit all the local attractions in Fuzhou. Everywhere we could find historical relics as well as villages and towns inhabited by relatives of overseas Chinese. Fujianese expatriates are found all over the world. They have mostly started from scratch by the sweat of their brow. When I met some of them on my visits to Asian, African European and American countries, they all expressed warm feeling towards me while shaking my hands. As I ate Fuzhou food and sipped jasmine tea in their homes or shops, I felt that being a Fujianese, I could make myself at home wherever I travelled in the world.
  My ancestral home is so endearing. Whenever I meet somebody hailing from Fuzhou or a friend who has recently been there, I always inquire of them about the present conditions of Fujian. They all tell me that compared with two decades ago, Fujian has made so much progress that it is now almost beyond recognition. Recently I have learned that people there have gone in for scientific farming and afforestation so that green and luxuriant vegetation has appeared on all mountains and fields. People have been advising me to pay another visit to my old home. Yes, I am more than eager to do so. And so are my numerous fellow townsmen in all corners of the world. I hope that together with all the people in my home town as well as all overseas Chinese from Fujian, I can do my bit to make a still better place of my ancestral home, both materially and culturally.
  注释:
  冰心出生后不久就远离故乡福州,以后只回去过两次。她这篇短文写于1982年3月29日,以轻倩的笔调,抒写有关故乡和童年的回忆,并对当时故乡的建设表达了深切的关怀。
  (1)“江头”指闽江入海处,故译the River mouth。
  (2)“江南天气”译为southern climes,其中climes是英语诗歌用语,常用复数,意同climate。
  (3)《繁星》是冰心1923年出版的第一诗集,收小诗凡164首。现将《繁星》译为Sparkling Stars。
  (4)“从严冷枯黄的北方归来”译为Returned from the bitter cold North with its drab and dried up vegetation,其中Returned是不及物动词return的过去分词,在此作形容词。又vegetation是译文中的添加成分,作“草木”、“植被”解。
  (5)“青山碧水”译为sapphire mountains and emerald rivers,其中sapphire和emerald均为实颜色词,原意分别为“蓝宝石”和“绿宝石”。译文用这两个实物词是为增加修辞效果。
  (6)“就说不尽了”意即“就难以形容了”,故译为beyond description,为英语成语。
  (7)“道滑如拭”意即“道路平坦”,译为The highway…was as smooth as a mirror,其中mirror为英语常用有关比喻。
  (8)“在厦门前线”译为At the Xianmen seaside,其中用seaside代替frontline,是为便于国外读者理解。
  (9)“福建华侨,遍于天下”译为Fujianese expatriates are found all over the world,其中expatriates的意思是“移居国外者”、“离乡背井者”。此句也可译为Overseas Chinese from Fujian。
  (10)“辛苦创业”译为have started from scratch by the sweat of their brow,其中to start from scratch和by the sweat of one’s brow均为英语成语,分别作“白手起家”和“靠自己辛勤劳动”解。
  (11)“有人从故乡来”也可译为somebody who has come from Fuzhou,但不如somebody hailing from Fuzhou简洁,其中to hail作“来自”解。
  (12)“农业科学化了,又在植树造林”译为people there have gone in for scientific farming and afforestation,其中to go in for是成语,作“致力于”、“从事于”解,在译文中是添加成分,原文虽无其词,而有其意。
  (13)“我何尝不想呢“译为Yes,I am more than eager to do so,其中more than作very或extremely解。
  (14)“把故乡建设得更美好”译为do my bit to make a still better place of my ancestral home,其中to do one’s bit为成语,作“尽自己一份力量”、“作一份贡献”解,在译文中是添加成分,原文虽无其词,而有其意。
  祖父和灯火管制(1)
  冰心
  一九一一年秋,我们从山东烟台回到福州老家去。在还乡的路上,母亲和父亲一再嘱咐我(2),“回到福州住在大家庭里,不能再像野孩子(3)似的,一切都要小心。对长辈们不能没大没小的。祖父是一家之主,尤其要尊敬……”
  到了福州,在大家庭里住了下来,我觉得我在归途中的担心是多余的。祖父、伯父母、叔父母(4)和堂姐妹兄弟(5),都没有把我当作野孩子,大家也都很亲昵平等,并没有什么“规矩”。我还觉得我们这个大家庭是几个小家庭的很松散的组合(6)。每个小家庭都是各住各个的,各吃各的,各自有自己的亲戚朋友,比如说,我们就各自有自己的“外婆家(7)”!
  就在这一年,也许是第二年吧,福州有了电灯公司。我们这所大房子里也安上了电灯,这在福州也是一件新鲜事,我们这班孩子跟着安装的工人们满房子跑,非常地兴奋欢喜!我记得这电灯是从房顶上吊下来的,每间屋子都有一盏,厅堂上和客室里的五十支光,卧房里的光小一些,厨房里的就更小了。我们这所大房子里至少也五六十盏灯,第一夜亮起来时,真是灯火辉煌,我们孩子们都拍手欢呼!
  但是总电门是安在祖父的屋里的。祖父起得很早也睡得很早(8),每晚九点钟就上床了。他上床之前,就把电闸关上,于是整个大家庭就是黑沉沉的一片!
  我们刚回老家(9),父母亲和他们的兄弟妯娌(10)都有许多别情要叙,我们一班弟兄姐妹,也在一起玩得正起劲(11),都很少在晚九点以前睡的。为了防备(12)这骤然的黑暗,于是每晚在九点以前,每个小家庭都在一两间屋里,点上一盏捻得很暗的煤油灯。一到九点,电灯一下子都灭了,这几盏煤油灯便都捻亮了,大家相视而笑,又都在灯下谈笑玩耍。
  只有在这个时候,我才体会到我们这个大家庭是一个整体,而祖父是一家之主!
  Grandpa and Nightly Blackout
  Bing Xin
  In the autumn of 1911, we returned from Yantai of Shandong Province to our native place Fuzhou. While on the way, my parents warned me again and again, “Since we’ll be living in a big family in Fuzhou, remember always to behave properly and never act like a naughty child. Show respect for your elders, particularly your grandpa, who is head of the family…”
  After settling down in the big family in Fuzhou, however, I found that my previous worries on the way turned out to be unfounded. My grandpa, uncles, aunties and cousins never thought me a naughty child. We treated each other lovingly and equally. There never existed anything like “family rules of good behaviour”. I also found that the big family was a loose community of several smaller ones, which lived and ate separately. They each had their own relatives and friends, for example, their own in-laws.
  That year, or the year after, Fuzhou began to have its own power company and electric lights were to be installed in our big house too. That was something new in our home town. We kids, wild with excitement and joy, ran here and there in the house at the heels of the electricians. Each room, I remember, had an electric lamp hanging from the ceiling. The drawing room had a 50-watt bulb; the bedrooms each a lower-wattage one; the kitchens each an even-lower-wattage one. The whole big house at least had a total of some 60 electric lamps. The first evening when they were turn on, the whole house was suddenly ablaze with lights, we kids clapped with joy.
  The master switch was fixed in grandpa’s room. Grandpa, who kept early hours, would switch off all the lights when he went to bed at 9 o’clock in the evening, thus plunging the whole big house into deep darkness.
  Having just set foot in our old home, we seldom slept before 9 o’clock in the evening. For it was but natural that after the long separation, my parents enjoyed hearty chats about the old days with their brothers and in-laws, and we kids of the younger generation played about together to our heart’s content. Hence, in anticipation of the sudden blackout at 9 o’clock, each small family would get a dimly-lit kerosene lamp ready in a couple of their rooms. No sooner had the big house been blacked out on the hour than we turned up the wicks of all the kerosene lamps. And, looking and smiling at each other, we would continue to chat and play merrily by the light of the kerosene lamps.
  It was then that I realized what a complete whole our big family was, with grandpa as its head.
  注释:
  本文写于1982年7月22日,是冰心回忆故乡和童年的一篇深情佳作。文章娓娓述来,形象地再现了童年时代家乡生活片断。
  (1)“灯火管制”本指战时防空停电,作者用它指每夜定时关灯,有些俏皮。译文结合文章内容增添Nightly一词。在英语中,blackout一词既可指“战时灯火管制”,也可一般的“停电”,译文所指是后者。又blackout也可换用power cut或power failure等。
  (2)“一再地嘱咐我”意即“一再地告诫我”,译为warned me again and again,比enjoined (或exhorted) me again and again通俗。
  (3)“野孩子”不宜按字面直译为wild child。现译为naughty child,其中naughty常用来指孩子“不听话”。
  (4)“伯父母、叔父母”在英语以uncles和aunties两词概括即可。
  (5)“堂姐妹兄弟”在英语以cousins一词概括即可。
  (6)“几个小家庭的很松散的组合”译为a loose community of several smaller ones,其中不妨以community代替combination;community为近代英语所常用。
  (7)“外婆家”指由婚姻而结成的亲戚,如岳父母、妻子的兄弟姐妹等等,现以in-laws一词概括之。
  (8)“起得很早也睡得很早”在英语有现成的表达:kept early hours。如逐字直译为got up early and went to bed early似欠简洁。
  (9)“刚回老家”译为Having set foot in our old home,其中set foot in是成语,作“进入”、“踏上”解。
  (10)“妯娌”指兄弟的妻子,以in-laws表达即可。
  (11)“正起劲”意同“尽情地”,故译to our heart’s content。
  (12)“防备”译为in anticipation of,意即“预计到……(而采取措施)”。
  话说短文
  冰心
  也许是我的精、气、神都江堰市不足吧(1),不但自己写不出长的东西,人读一本刊物时,也总是先挑短的看,不论是小说、散文或是其他的文学形式,最后才看长的。
  我总觉得,凡是为了非倾吐不可而写的作品,都是充满了真情实感的。反之,只是为写作而写作,如(2)上之为应付编辑朋友(3),一之为多拿稿费,这类文章大都是尽量地往长里写,结果是即便的一点点的感情,也被冲洗到水分太多(4)、淡而无味的地步。
  当由一个人物,一桩事迹,一幅画面而发生的真情实感,向你袭来的时候,它就像一根扎到你心尖上(5)的长针,一阵卷到你面前的怒潮,你只能用最真切、最简练的文字,才能描画出你心尖上的那一阵剧痛和你面前的那一霎惊惶!
  我们伟大的祖国,是有写短文的文学传统的(6)。那部包括上下数千年的《古文观止》,“上起东周,下迄明末,共选辑文章220篇”有几篇是长的(7)?如杜牧的《阿房宫赋》,韩愈的《祭十二郎文》(8)等等,哪一篇不是短而充满了真情实感?今人的巴金的《随感录》,不也是一个实例吗(9)?
  A Chat about Short Essays
  Bing Xin
  Perhaps due to my failing energies, not only have I refrained from writing anything long, but also, in reading a magazine, for example, I usually finish its shorter pieces of writing first, be they fiction, prose or any other forms of literature, before going on to the longer ones.
  I always believe that anything written with an irresistible inner urge to unbosom oneself must be full of genuine feelings. On the contrary, if one writes simply for the sake of writing—say, to humour one’s editor friends, or worse still, to earn more remuneration, one will most probably make his writings unnecessarily long until they become, despite what little feeling they may contain, inflated and wishy-washy.
  When true emotions aroused by a person, an event or a scene come upon you like a pin pricking your heart or an angry tide surging threateningly before you, all you can do is use y=the most vivid and succinct language to describe the severe pain in your heart or the momentary feeling of panic caused by the angry tide.
  Our great motherland is known for its literary tradition of short essays. Do you find anything unduely long in A Treasury of Best Ancient Chinese Prose with its 220 essays selected from a period of several thousand years in ancient China from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty down until the end of the Ming Dynasty? Aren’t the essays in it, like Du Mu’s Rhapsody on Epang Palace and Han Yu’s An Elegiac Address to My Nephew Shi’erlang, all short and yet full of true feelings? Isn’t A Collection of Random Thoughts by Ba Jin, our contemporary, another like example of pithy writing?
  注释:
  《话说短文》是冰心写于1988年1月的随笔。作者一针见血地指出“为写作而写作”的不正之风以及崇尚长文的时弊。
  (1)“也许是我的精、气、神都不足吧”也可译为Perhaps due to deficiency in my mental and physical energy,但不如Perhaps due to my failing energies简洁。“精、气、神”在文中显得俏皮,意即“精力”,故译为energies即可。
  (2)“如”即‘比如说“,译为say。英语中举例时常用say这个字,和for词example同义。
  (3)“为应付编辑朋友”的意思是“迁就编辑朋友之约或要求”,故译为top humour one’s editor-friends。英语to humour作to gratify by compliance解。
  (4)“也被冲洗到水份太多”意即“变得夸张空洞”,故译为“become inflated。
  (5)“你心尖上”即“你的内心深处”或“你的心头”,译为your heart即可,不宜按字面译为the tip of your heart。
  (6)“我们伟大的祖国,是有写短文的文学传统的”也可译为Our great motherland has a literary tradition of short essays,但不如Our motherland is known for its literary tradition of short essays灵活顺口。
  (7)“……有几篇是长的?”译为Do you find anything unduely long…,其中unduely是添加成分,作“不适当地”或“过分地”解,原文虽无其词而有其意。
  (8)“《祭十二郎文》”译为An elegiac Address to My Nephew Shi’erlang,其中My Nephew是为交待“十二郎”何许人而添加的成分,有助于读者的理解,属释义性译文。
  (9)“……不也是一个实例吗?”译为Isn’t …another like example of pithy writing?,其中like和of pithy writing均为添加成分,原文虽无其词而有其意。
  路畔的蔷薇
  郭沫若
  清晨往松林里去散步,我在林荫路畔发见了一束被遗弃了的蔷薇。蔷薇的花色还是鲜艳的,一朵紫红,一朵嫩红,一朵是病黄的象牙色中带着几分血晕(1)。
  我把蔷薇拾在手里了。
  青翠的叶上已经凝集着细密的露珠,这显然是昨夜被除人遗弃了的。
  这是可怜的少女受了薄幸的男子的欺绐?还是不幸的青年受了轻狂的的妇人的玩弄?
  昨晚上甜蜜的私语,今朝的冷清的露珠……(2)
  我把蔷薇拿到家里来了,我想找个花瓶来供养它。
  花瓶我没有(3),我在一只墙角上寻了一个断了颈子的盛酒的土瓶。
  ——蔷薇哟,我虽然不能供养你以春酒,但我要供养你以清洁的流泉,清洁的素心。你在这破土瓶中虽然不免要凄凄寂寂地飘零(4),但比遗弃在路旁被人践踏了的好罢?
  Wayside Roses
  Guo Moruo
  Rambling through a pine forest early in the morning, I came across a bunch of forsaken roses lying by the shady wayside. They were still fresh in colour. One was purplish-red, another pink, still another a sickly ivory-yellow slightly tinged with blood-red.
  I picked them up in my hand.
  The numerous fine dewdrops on the fresh green leaves clearly showed that the roses had just been cast away the previous night.
  Were they pitiful maidens deflowered by fickle men? Or were they unlucky young men fooled by frivolous women?
  Last night’s whispers of love; this morning’s drops of cold dew…
  I brought the roses home and tried to find a flower vase to keep them in.
  Flower vase I had none, but I did find in a nook of my room an empty earthen wine bottle with its neck broken.
  --O dear roses, though unable to treat you to spring wine, I could offer you limpid spring water and my sincere pure heart. Wouldn’t it be better for you to wither away in solitude in this broken earthen wine bottle than to lie abandoned by the roadside and be trodden down upon?

kythree 发表于 2016-7-28 13:22:37


  注释:
  《路畔的蔷薇》是郭沫若(1892-1978)的早期小品,玲珑剔透,饶有诗意,堪称一首优美的散文诗。
  (1)“一朵是病黄的象牙色中带着几分血晕”译为a sickly ivory-yellow slightly tinged with blood-red,其中sickly作“病态的”解。又,ivory-yellow和blood-red的结构都是“实物颜色词+基本颜色词”,为英语颜色词的常见形式。
  (2)“昨晚上甜蜜的私语,今朝的冷清的露珠……”译为Last night’s whispers of love; this morning’s drops of cold dew…,两个英语并列词组,在用词结构上前后完全对称,与原文形似,并与原文有同样的言外之意。又,“昨晚”在这里虽指过去的过去,但仍译为last night,不译为the previous night,以求语言生动,这是英语中常见的灵活用法。
  (3)“花瓶我没有”译为Flower vase I have none,等于I have no flower vase,其中none作形容词用,修饰前面Flower vase。这种用法常见于文学语体中,如:Time and money he had none。
  (4)“飘零”意即“凋落”,故译作to wither away。
  夕暮
  郭沫若
  我携着(1)三个孩子在屋后草场中嬉戏着的时候,夕阳正烧着海上的天壁(2),眉痕的新月已经出现在鲜红的云(3)缝里了。
  草场中放牧着的几条黄牛,不时曳着悠长的鸣声(4),好像在叫它们的主人快来牵它们回去。
  我们的两匹母鸡和几只鸡雏(5),先先后后地从邻寺的墓地里跑回来了。
  立在厨房门内的孩子们的母亲向门外的沙地上撒了一握米粒出来。
  母鸡们咯咯咯地叫了起来了(6),鸡雏们也啁啁地争食起来了。
  ——“今年的成绩真好呢,竟养大了十只(7)。”
  欢愉的音波,在金色的暮霭中游泳。
  Dusk
  Guo Moruo
  While my three kids accompanied by myself, were frolicking about on the meadow behind my house, the sky above the distant edge of the sea was aglow with the setting sun and the crescent new moon was already peeping out from behind the scarlet clouds.
  A few cows grazing on the pasture let out a long drawn-out moo now and then as if urging their master to lead them home as quickly as possible.
  Our two mother hens and their baby chicks were scurrying homeward one after another from the grave yard of the nearby monastery.
  The kids’ mother, standing by the kitchen door, sprinkled a handful of rice onto the sandy ground in the open.
  At the clucking of the hens, the chicks scrambled for the feed, chirping.
  “We’ve done quite well this year, with ten chicks growing fast,” beamed my wife.
  The joyous sound wave drifted through the golden evening mist.
  注释:
  《夕暮》是郭沫若的早期小品,充满诗情画意,堪称一篇玲珑剔透的美文。文章记述的是真情真事,字里行间流露出热爱生活的感情。
  (1)“我携着”译为accompanied by myself,其中myself比me更确切,不但读来顺口,且能加强语气,突出“亲自”的含义。
  (2)“海上的天壁”指“海边的上空”,不宜直译,现以加字法处理:the sky above the distant edge of the sea。
  (3)“鲜红的云”译为the scarlet clouds。颜色词scarlet在此比red更确切,因scarlet的意思是very bright red,与原文“鲜红”一致。
  (4)“曳着悠长的鸣声”中的“曳”作“拖”或“拉”解,结合上下文译为let out,意同utter(发出),为英语常用成语。又“鸣声”译为moo,为英语拟声词,指牛的叫声,相当于汉语的“哞”。
  (5)“我们的两匹母鸡和几只鸡雏”译为Our two mother hens and their baby chicks,其中mother和baby是为加强译文效果而添加的定语,前者作“母”解,后者作“幼小”解。
  (6)“母鸡们咯咯地叫起来了”译为At the clucking of the hens,其中介词At表示时间,即先后两个动作很快相继发生,或后面一个动作是前面一个动作的反应。在此指母鸡一叫,小鸡立即争食。
  (7)“‘今年的成绩真好呢,竟养大了十只’”译为 “We’ve done quite well this year, with ten chicks growing fast, ” beamed my wife,其中beamed my wife(妻微笑地或欣喜的说)是添加成分,原文虽无其词却有其意。
  白 发
  郭沫若
  许久储蓄在心里的诗料(1),今晨在理发店里又浮上了心来了。——
  你年青的,年青的,远隔河山的(2)姑娘哟,你的名姓我不曾知道,你恕我只能这样叫你了。
  那回是春天的晚上吧?你替我剪了发,替我刮了面,替我盥洗了(3),又替我涂了香膏。
  你最后替我分头的时候,我在镜中看见你替我拔去了一根白发(4)。
  啊,你年青的,年青的远隔河山的姑娘哟,漂泊者自从那回离开你后又漂泊了三年,但是你的慧心(5)替我把青春留住了。
  The White Hair
  Guo Moruo
  My long pent-up poetic emotion emerged again this morning at a hairdresser’s
  O young lady, you young lady of the distant land! Excuse me for addressing you as “young lady”, for your name is still unknown to me.
  It was probably on a spring evening. You cut my hair, shaved my face, gave me a shampoo and applied some vanishing cream.
  Finally, in the mirror I saw you plucking out a white hair from my head while parting my hair.
  O young lady, you young lady of the distant land, I have been leading a wandering life for another three years since I saw you last, but it is your feeling heart that has been the cause of my sustained youth.
  注释:
  《白发》是郭沫若的早期小品,热情奔放,玲珑而富有诗意,是一首优美的散文诗。
  (1)“许久储蓄在心里的诗料”译为My long pent-up poetic emotion。“储蓄在心里”意即“被抑制的”,故译为pent-up。“诗料”即“诗情”,故译为poetic emotion。
  (2)“远隔河山的”不必按字面直译,现按“遥远的”意思译为of the distant (或remote) land。 (3)“替我盥洗了”在此指“替我洗了头”,故译为gave me a shampoo。
  (4)“拔去了一根白发”译为plucking out a white hair from my head,其中hair作可数名词用。
  (5)“慧心”在这里可按“温柔体贴”、“富有同情的心”等含义译为feeling heart或tender heart。
  水墨画(1)
  郭沫若
  天空一片灰暗,没有丝毫的日光。
  海水的蓝色浓得惊人(2),舐岸的微波吐出群鱼喋噏的声韵。
  这是暴风雨欲来时的先兆(3)。
  海中的岛屿和乌木的雕刻一样静凝着了。我携着中食的饭匣向沙岸上走来,在一只泊系着的渔舟里面坐着。
  一种淡白而无味的凄凉的情趣——我把饭匣打开,又闭上了(4)。
  回头望见松原里的一座孤寂的火葬场(5)。红砖砌成的高耸的烟囱口上,冒出了一笔灰白色的飘忽的轻烟……
  An Inkwash Painting
  Guo Moruo
  The sky was a sheet of murky grey, completely devoid of sunlight.
  The sea was a ghastly dark blue. The gentle waves licking at the shore gave forth a humming sound like that of fish in shoals.
  All that foreboded a storm.
  Some isles in the sea stood quiet and still like ebony sculptures.
  I walked towards the sandy beach carrying my lunch-box and then sat inside a fishing boat moored at the seashore.
  What an insipid and dreary scene! I opened the lunch-box only to have it covered up again.
  Looking back, I caught sight of a lonely crematorium looming out of a pine wood. Its towering red-brick chimney was giving off wisps of grayish smoke.
  注释:
  (1)“水墨画”除译An Inkwash Painting外,也可译为An Ink-and-Wash Painting。
  (2)“海水的蓝色浓得惊人”译为The sea was a ghastly dark blue,其中ghastly的意思是“可怕的”,但兼有“不正常”的含义。
  (3)“这是暴风雨欲来时的先兆”译为All that foreboded a storm。“先兆”也可译为foretold,但不如foreboded确切,因后者一般都针对不好的事物。
  (4)“又闭上了”译为only to have it covered up again,其中only(用在不定式前)往往作“结果却”或“却又”解。
  (5)“望见松原里的一座孤寂的火葬场”译为caught sight of a lonely crematorium looming out of a pine wood,其中用looming代替standing等能较好地表达“赫然耸现”的含义。
  (6)“冒出了……轻烟”译为giving off…smoke,其中to give off是成语,意同to send out, to emit等。
  墓
  郭沫若
  昨朝我一个人在松林里徘徊,在一株老松树下戏筑了一座砂丘(1)。
  我说,这便是我自己的坟墓了(2)。
  我便拣了一块白石来写上了我自己的名字,把来做了墓碑。
  我在墓的两旁还移种了两株稚松(3)把它伴守。
  我今朝回想起来,又一人走来凭吊(4)。
  但我已经走遍了这莽莽的松原,我的坟墓究竟往那儿去了呢?
  啊,死了的我昨日的尸骸哟(5),哭墓的是你自己的灵魂,我的坟墓究竟往那儿去了呢?
  The Grave
  Guo Moruo
  Yesterday morning, while wandering about alone in a pine forest, I amused myself by piling up a small sand-hill under an old pine tree.
  “Let this be my own grave,” said I.
  Picking up a piece of white stone, I scribbled my name on it and said, “Let this be my own gravestone.”
  On either side of the grave, I transplanted a pine sapling to keep it company.
  This morning, recalling the grave, I went to pay a visit to it.
  But the grave was nowhere to be found though I searched every nook and corner of the dense forest. Where was it gone to?
  O ye remains of my yesterday’s dead self, it was your own soul that had come to mourn at the grave! Where was my grave gone to?
  注释:
  (1)“戏筑了一座砂丘”的意思是“堆起一座砂丘以自娱”,现译为I amused myself by piling up a small sand-hill,也可译为I piled up for fun a small sandhill。“筑”在这里作“堆积”解,故译为piling up,不宜按字面译为building或constructing等。译文中的small是添加成分,原文虽无其词而有其意。
  (2)“这便是我自己的坟墓了”含有说话者的意图,故译文用祈使句表达:Let this be my own grave,和This shall be my own grave同义。
  (3)“稚松”即“松树苗”,故译为pine sapling。
  (4)“凭吊”在此作“探望”解,译to pay a visit to即可,不必译为to pay homage to或to pay respects to等。
  (5)“啊,死了的我昨日的尸骸哟”译为O ye remains of my yesterday’s dead self,其中ye作“你”解,属古语,在此用以烘托散文诗的格调。
  想北平
  老舍
  设若让我写一本小说,以北平作背景,我不至于害怕,因为我可以拣着我知道的写,而躲开我所不知道的。让我单摆浮搁的讲一套北平,我没办法。北平的地方那么大,事情那么多,我知道的真觉太少了,虽然我生在那里,地直到廿七岁才离开。以名胜说,我没到过陶然亭(1),这多可笑!以此类推,我所知道的那点只是“我的北平”,而我的北平大概等于牛的一毛。
  可是,我真爱北平。这个爱几乎是要说而说不出的。我爱我的母亲。怎样爱?我说不出。在我想作一件事讨她老人家喜欢的时候,我独自微微的笑着;在我想到她的健康而不放心的时候,我欲落泪。言语是不够表现我的心情的,只有独自微笑或落泪才足以把内心揭露在外面一些来。我之爱北平也近乎这个。夸奖这个古城的某一点是容易的,可是那就把北平看得太小了。我所爱的北平不是枝枝节节的一些什么,而是整个儿与我的心灵相粘合的一段历史,一大块地方,多少风景名胜,从雨后什刹海的蜻蜓一直到我梦里的玉泉山的塔影(2),都积凑到一块,每一小的事件中有个我,我的每一思念中有个北平,这只有说不出而已。
  真愿成为诗人,把一切好听好看的字都浸在自己的心血里,像杜鹃(3)似的啼出北平的俊伟。啊!我不是诗人!我将永远道不出我的爱,一种像由音乐与图画所引起的爱。这不但是辜负了北平,也对不住我自己,因为我是最初的知识与印象都得自北平,它是在我的血里,我的性格与脾气里有许多地方是这古城所赐给的。我不能爱上海与天津,因为我心中有个北平。可是我说不出来!
  伦敦,巴黎,罗马与堪司坦丁堡,曾被称为欧洲的四大“历史的都城”。我知道一些伦敦的情形;巴黎与罗马只是到过而已;堪司坦丁堡根本没有去过。就伦敦,巴黎,罗马来说,巴黎更近似北平——虽然“近似”两字都拉扯得很远——不过,假使让我“家住巴黎”,我一定会和没有家一样的感到寂苦。巴黎,据我看,还太热闹。自然,那里也有空旷静寂的地方,可是又未免太旷(4);不像北平那样复杂而又有个边际(5),使我能摸着——那长着红酸枣的老城墙!面向着积水滩,背后是城墙,坐在石上看水中的小蝌蚪或苇叶上嫩蜻蜓,我可以快乐的坐一天,心中完全安适,无所求也无可怕,像小儿安睡在摇篮里。是的,北平也有热闹的地方,但是它和太极拳相似,动中有静。巴黎有许多地方使人疲乏,所以咖啡与酒是必要的,以便刺激;在北平,有温和的香片茶就够了。
  论说巴黎的布置已比伦敦罗马匀调的多了,可是比上北平还差点事儿。北平在人为之中显出自然,几乎是什么地方即不挤得慌,又不太僻静;最小的胡同里的房子也有院子与树;最空旷的地方也离买卖街与住宅区不远。这种配法可以算——在我的经验中——天下第一了。北平的好处不在处处设备得完全,而在它处处有空儿,可以使我自由的喘气;不在有好些美丽的建筑,而在建筑的四周都有空闲的地方,使它们成为美景。每一城楼,每一牌楼,都可以从老远就看见。况且在街上还可以看见北山与西山呢!
  好学的,爱古物的,人们自然喜欢北平,因为这里书多古物多。我不好学,也没钱买古物。对于物质上,我却喜欢北平的花多菜多果子多。花草是种费钱的玩艺,可是此地的“草花儿”很便宜,而且家家有院子,可以不多的钱而种一院子花,即使算不了什么,可是到底可爱呀。墙上的牵牛,墙根的靠山竹与草茉莉,是多么省钱省事而足以招来蝴蝶呀!至于青菜,白菜,扁豆,毛豆角,黄瓜,菠菜等等,大多数是直接由城外担来而送到家门口的。雨后,韭菜叶上还往往带着雨时溅起的泥点,青菜摊子上的红红绿绿几乎有诗似的美丽。果子有不少是由西山与北山来的,西山的沙果,海棠,北山的黑枣,柿子,进了城还带着一层白霜儿呀!哼,美国的橘子包着纸,遇到北平的带着霜儿的玉李,还不愧杀!
  是的,北平是个都城,而能有好多自己产生的花,菜,水果,这就使人更接近了自然。从它里面说,它没有像伦敦的那些成天冒烟的工厂;从外面说,它紧连着园林、菜圃与农村。采菊东篱下(6),在这里,确是可以悠然见南山的;大概把“南”字变个“西”或“北”,也没有多少了不得吧(7)。像我这样的一个贫寒的人,或者只有在北平能享受一点清福了(8)。
  好,不再说了吧;要落泪了,真想念北平呀!
  Fond Memories of Peiping
  Lao She
  I have no misgivings about writing a novel with Peiping as its background because I can choose to write about what I am most familiar with while shying away from what is less known to me. But I shall be at a complete loss if I should be called upon to write exclusively about Peiping. Peiping is so big and multifaceted that very little of it, I believe, is known to me though I was born and brought up there and never went away until I was 27. Just fancy that I have neglected to visit even Tao Tan Ting, a local scenic attraction! It follows that, in contrast with Peiping in its entirety, what little I know about it is probably a mere drop in the ocean.
  I do cherish, however, a genuine love for Peiping—a love that is almost as inexpressible as my love for mother. I smile by myself when I think of something I can do to please mother; I feel like crying when I worry about mother’s health. Words fail me where silent smiles and tears well express my innermost feelings. The same is true of my love for Peiping. I shall fail to do justice to this vast ancient city if I should do no more than extol just one certain aspect of it. The Peiping I love is not something in bits and pieces, but a phase of history and a vast tract of land completely bound up with my heart. Numerous scenic spots and historical sites from Shi Sha Hai Lake with its dragonflies after a rain to the Yu Quan Shan Mountain with the dream pagoda on top—all merge into a single whole. I associate myself with everything in Peiping no matter how trivial it is; Peiping is always in my mind. I can’t tell why.
  If only I were a poet so that, with all the sweet and beautiful words at my command, I would sing of the grandeur of Peiping in as longing a note as that of a cuckoo! Alas, I am no poet! I shall never be able to express my love—the kind of love as inspired by music or painting. That is quite a letdown to both Peiping and myself, for it is to this ancient city that I owe what I have within me, including my early knowledge and impressions as well as much of my character and temperament. With Peiping possessing my heart, I can never become attached to either Shanghai or Tianjin. I can’t tell why.
  London, Paris, Rome and Constantinople are known as the four major “historic capitals” of Europe. I know something about London; I have been to Paris and Rome only briefly; I have never visited Constantinople at all. Of all these cities, Paris has the closest affinity with Peiping (The word “affinity” may perhaps sound a bit farfetched). Nevertheless, if should make my home in Paris, I would feel very lonely as if I had no home at all. As far as I know, Paris is too much of a bustling town. It does have quiet open spaces, but they smack of mere expanses of vacancy. Peiping is complicated and yet tangible. I can feel it by touch. I can feel the red wild jujubes growing on its ancient city wall! I can spend a whole day enjoying myself sitting on a rock to observe tiny tadpoles in the water or tender dragonflies on reeds while facing me lies Ji Shui Tan Pond and right behind me rises the high city wall. I can thus enjoy a perfect inner clam, free from any desire or fear, like a child sleeping peacefully in the cradle. There are also bustling places in Peiping, to be sure, but like the traditional Chinese shadow boxing Tai Ji Quan, the city retains its stillness in the midst of motion. While Parisians have to turn to coffee or wine for the relief of boredom caused by so many wearisome places in their city, the mild beverage of jasmine tea will be more than adequate for dwellers of Peiping.

kysix 发表于 2016-7-28 14:53:45


  Though Paris has a better layout than London or Rome, it nevertheless cannot compare with Peiping, one always finds the natural in the midst of the artificial. The city as a whole is neither too crowded nor too secluded. Even houses tucked away in very small lanes have their own courtyards and trees. Even the most secluded places are situated within a stone’s throw of business or residential districts. Such a layout is, to my mind, without equal all over the world. However, what distinguishes Peiping is not the perfect layout, but the open spaces here and there where people can breathe freely; not the many beautiful buildings, but the open grounds around each building which add to its architectural beauty. Each gate tower of the city wall and each pailou (decorated archway) can been seen from afar. And the Northern and Western hills are visible to people in the open streets.
  Those who are fond of studying or collecting curios will naturally be drawn to Peiping, which is remarkable for its rich store of books and curios. Personally I am not given to studying, nor do I have spare money to buy curios. But I am keen on the flowers, vegetables and fruit which grow in rich abundance in Peiping. Gardening is something very expensive. But since flowers of herbaceous plants in Peiping are very cheap and each house has a courtyard of its own, it does not cost very much to plant a whole courtyard to such flowers which, though humble, are nevertheless lovely to look at, such as morning glories on the wall, china pinks at the foot of wall and marvels-of-Peru. Yes, cheap as they are, they attract butterflies! Green vegetables, cabbages, hyacinth beans, young soya beans, cucumbers, spinach, etc. are often carried straight form the suburbs to your residential quarters for marketing. Often, leeks from rural farms after a rain still have specks of mud on their leaves. The vegetables stalls are so colorful that they present a scene of poetic charm. Fruits come mainly from the western and northern suburbs, such as crab apples and cherry apples from the Western Hills, and jujubes and persimmons from the Northern Hills. Look, how they are still covered with frostlike bloom when they are put on the market! Indeed, America’s paper-wrapped oranges will pale beside Peiping’s plums bearing a thin coating of frostlike bloom!
  The city of Peiping brings its residents into closer contact with nature by growing flowers, vegetables and fruit in large quantities. The city proper is not plagued by factory chimneys such as you find in London giving off volumes of smoke all day long. On the outskirts of the city lie numerous flower gardens, vegetables farms and villages. An ancient Chinese poet by the name of Tao Yuanming says aptly in one of his famous poems, “Plucking chrysanthemums under the eastern hedge, I calmly view the southern hills.” To adapt it to life in Peiping, I might as well substitute the word “western” or “northern” for the word “southern” in the line. Peiping is probably the only place for a man of limited means like me to live an easy and carefree life in.
  Now, let me leave off writing, for I am on the point of shedding tears. How I miss Peiping.
  注释:
  北京于1930年改称北平,1949年新中国成立时恢复旧名。《想北平》是老舍名篇,写于1936年。约六十年前的古都风貌和生活情调,时至今日,已发生巨大变化。当时老舍在山东大学任教,正值日寇入侵,国难当头。文章热情颂扬北平,字里行间洋溢着强烈的爱国主义和民族自豪感。
  (1)“我没到过陶然亭”译为I have neglected to visit even Tao Ran Ting, a local scenic attraction,其中a local scenic attraction是添加成分,俾国外读者理解“陶然亭”及古都一大名胜。又译文中neglected一词也可用failed来表达。
  (2)“梦里的玉泉山的塔影”译为the Yu Quan Shan Mountain with the dream pagoda on top,其中dream属于定语形容词,作“梦一般完美的”解。
  (3)“杜鹃”是一种益鸟,也称“杜宇”、“布谷”或“子规”,英语为cuckoo。古代诗人认为杜鹃鸣声凄厉,旅人闻之,不禁产生思家的心情,故常用“啼血”形容其鸣声。“啼血”不宜直译,可结合上下文意译为its longing note。
  (4)“可是又未免太旷”译为but they smack of mere expanses of vacancy,其中smack of作“有些像……”解,用以表达原文“未免”的含义;又“太旷”作“大而空”解,故译为expanses of vacancy。
  (5)“有个边际”意即“可触摸的”或“有实质的”,故译为tangible或vacancy。
  (6)“采菊东篱下”出自东晋文学家陶渊明《论酒》诗。本是“采菊东篱下,悠然见南山”,两句相联。现有解释性翻译法,把诗人姓名、时代,以及上下诗句,交代清楚,否则国外读者无法理解。
  (7)“大概把‘南’字变个‘西’或‘北’,也没有多少了不得的吧。”这句紧接上面的诗句,英译时也须灵活处理,交代其内涵:To adapt it to life in Peiping, I might as well substitute the word “western” or “northern” for the word “southern” in the line。
  (8)“清福”可译为an easy and carefree life或a life free worries and cares。
  养 花
  老舍
  我爱花,所以也爱养花(1)。我可还没成为养花专家,因为没有工夫去作研究与试验。我只把养花当作生活中的一种乐趣,花开的大小好坏都不计较,只要开花我就高兴。在我的小院中,到夏天,满是花草,小猫儿们只好上房去玩耍(2),地上没有它们的运动场。
  花虽多,但无奇花异草。珍贵的花草不易养活,看着一棵好花生病欲死是件难过的事。我不愿时时落泪。北京的气候,对养花来说,不算很好。冬天冷,春天多风,夏天不是干旱就是大雨倾盆;秋天最好,可是忽然会闹霜冻。在这种气候里,想把南方的好花养活,我还没有那么大的本事。因此,我只养些好种易活、自己会奋斗的花草(3)。
  不过,尽管花草自己会奋斗(4),我若置之不理,任其自生自灭(5),它们多数还是会死了的。我得天天照管它们,像好朋友似的关切他们。一来二去(6),我摸着一些门道:有的喜阴,就别放在太阳地里,有的喜干,就别多浇水。这是个乐趣,摸住门道,花草养活了,而且三年五载(7)老活着、开花,多么有意思呀!不是乱吹,这就是知识呀!多得些知识,一定不是坏事。
  我不是有腿病吗,不但不利于行,也不利于久坐。我不知道花草们受我的照顾,感谢我不感谢;我可得感谢它们。在我工作的时候,我总是写了几十个字,就到院中去看看,浇浇这棵,搬搬那盆,然后回到屋中再写一点,然后再出去,如此循环(8),把脑力劳动与体力劳动结合到一起,有益身心(9),胜于吃药。要是赶上狂风暴雨或天气突变哪,就得全家动员(10),抢救花草,十分紧张(11)。几百盆花,都要很快地抢到屋里去,使人腰酸腿疼,热汗直流。第二天,天气好转,又得把花儿都搬出去,就又一次腰酸腿疼,热汗直流。可是,这多么有意思!不劳动,连棵花儿也养不活,这难道不是真理么?
  送牛奶的同志,进门就夸“好香”!这使我们全家都感到骄傲。赶到昙花开放的时候,约几位朋友来看看,更有秉烛夜游的神气(12)——昙花总在夜里放蕊。花儿分根了,一棵分为数棵,就赠给朋友们一些;看着友人拿走自己的劳动果实,心里自然特别喜欢。
  当然,也有伤心的时候,今年夏天这有这么一回。三百株菊秧还在地上(没有移入盆中的时候),下了暴雨。邻家的墙倒了下来,菊秧被砸死者约三十多种,一百多棵!全家都几天没有笑容!
  有喜有忧,有笑有泪,有花有实,有香有色,既须劳动,又长见识,这就是养花的乐趣。
  On Growing Flowers
  Lao She
  I love flowers and hence have taken to growing them. But, short of time to do research and experiment in flower cultivation, I am no gardener at all. I merely take flower cultivation as a pleasure of life. I really don’t care whether or not my flowers will put forth plump and nice-looking blossom. I’ll be delighted as long as they can blossom. In summer, flowers and plants growing in luxuriance in my small courtyard will leave little open space as a playground for the little cats, so they have to sport about in our rooms instead.
  I grow many flowers, but none of them are exotic or rare ones. It is difficult to grow a precious flower species. And I feel bad to see a good flower dying of illness. I don’t want often to shed tears over that. But Beijing’s climate is more or less unfit for the growing of flowers. Freezing in winter, windy in spring, and either too dry or too often visited by rainstorms in summer. While autumn is the best of all, it is often plagued by a sudden frost. In a climate like this, it is far beyond my capacity to grow precious flowers of southern breed. Therefore, I only grow flowers and plants that are hardy and enjoy a high survival rate.
  Although such flowers are able to weather through by themselves, I, however never ignore them or abandon them to their own fate, for otherwise most of them will probably end up dead. I have to care for them every day as if they were my close friends. Thus, in the course of time, I’ve somehow got the hang of flower cultivation some flowers which are accustomed to growing in the shade should not be too much exposed to the sun. Those which prefer dryness should not be watered too often. It gives me much pleasure to know the right way of handling them. How interesting it is to be able to keep my flowers and plants alive and watch them thrive and bloom year in year out! It is no exaggeration to say that there is much knowledge involved in this! And the more knowledge one acquires, the better it is of course.
  As I have some trouble with my leg, I can’t more around easily, nor can I sit too long. I don’t know if the flowers under my care are grateful to me or not. However, I wish for my part to acknowledge my thanks to them. I often leave off sedentary work after writing a few dozen words and go to the courtyard to take a look at the flowers, watering them and moving about the potted ones. Then I’ll return to my room to write a bit more. I’ll go through the same back-and-forth process again and again, thus combining mental with manual labour. This is a better way to keep me fit in mind and body than taking medicine. In case of a violent storm or a sudden change of weather, however, the whole family will have to turn out to salvage the flowers and plants. Everybody will then feel keyed up. By the time when we have managed to move the several hundred potted flowers to the rooms in a hurry, we will be dog-tired and wet with perspiration. The next day, when the weather is fine, we will have another round of being dog-tired and wet with perspiration in taking all the flowers out to the courtyard again. How interesting it is! Isn’t it true that without doing manual labour, we couldn’t even keep a single flower alive?
  It filled the whole family with pride whenever the milkman exclaims on entering our gate, “What a sweet smell!” When the night-blooming cereuses are about to be in flower, we will invite some friends to visit us in the evening to feast their eyes on them—in an atmosphere smacking of nocturnal merry-making under candle lights. When the cereuses have branched out, we will pick some of the flowers and give them as a present to our friends. We are of course especially happy to see them take away our fruits of labour.
  Of course, there is a time to feel sad too. Last summer, a rainstorm hit us when 300 chrysanthemum seedlings in the courtyard were about to be transplanted to pots. Suddenly, the wall of our neighbour collapsed and crushed more than 100 seedlings of 30 varieties. The whole family were sad-faced for quiet a few days!
  Joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, flowers and fruit, fragrance and colour, manual labour and increased knowledge—all these make up the joy of flower cultivation.
  注释:
  老舍的《养花》于1956年10月21日发表在《文汇报》上。老舍爱花,写出了养花的乐趣,视花儿为自己生命的一部分,人花合一。文章短小简练,朴素隽永。
  (1)“所以也爱养花“译为hence have taken to growing them,其中动词短语to take to的意思是“开始喜欢”。此句也可译为are therefore fond of growing flowers。
  (2)“只好上房去玩耍”译为they have to sport about in our rooms instead,其中动词短语to sport about的意思是“嬉戏”(to play and jump about happily)。
  (3)“我只养些好种易活、自己会奋斗的花草”译时稍作灵活处理:I only grow flowers and plants that are hardy and enjoy a high survival rate,其中用enjoy a high survival rate(成活率高)表达“好种易活”;用hardy(耐寒、耐劳、能吃苦)表达“会奋斗的”。
  (4)“自己会奋斗”译为able to weather through by themselves,其中动词短语to weather through的意思是“对付困难”、“渡过风暴”等。此句也可译为able to carry on the struggle for existence by themselves,但用字太大、太多。
  (5)“任其自生自灭”不宜按字面直译,现意译为abandon them to their own fate。
  (6)“一来二去”的意思是“经过一定的时间”,故译为in the course of time。
  (7)“三年五载”以灵活的办法译为year in year out。
  (8)“然后再出去,如此循环”不宜按字面直译,现译为I’ll go through the same back-and-forth process again and again,其中定语back-and-forth作“来来往往”解;go through the same process作“重复同一过程”解。
  (9)“有益身心”可有两种译法:to keep me fit in mind and body或to keep me mentally and physically fit。
  (10)“就得全家动员”译为the whole family will have to turn out,其中动词短语to turn out的意思是“出动”或“出来参加”。
  (11)“十分紧张”译为feel keyed up,其中动词短语to key up的意思是“使紧张”,因此keyed up和excited、tense等同义。
  (12)“更有秉烛夜游的神气”中的“秉灯夜游”是成语,比喻“及时行乐”,今结合上下文按“夜间秉烛作乐”的意思译为nocturnal merry-making under candle lights。又“更有……神气”意即“带有……的味道”,故全句译为in an atmosphere smacking of nocturnal merry-making under candle lights.
  白杨礼赞
  茅盾
  白杨树实在是不平凡的,我赞美白杨树!
  当汽车在望不到边际的高原上奔驰,扑入你的视野的,是黄绿错综的一条大毡子(1);黄的,那是土,未开垦的处女土,几十万年前由伟大的自然力所堆积成功的黄土高原的外壳;绿的呢,是人类战胜自然的结果,是麦田,和风吹送,翻起了一轮一轮的绿波——这时你会真心佩服昔人所造的两个字“麦浪”,若不是妙手偶得,便确是经过锤炼的语言的精华;黄与绿主宰着,无边无垠,坦荡如砥(2),这时如果不是宛若并肩的远山的连峰提醒了你(这些山峰凭你的肉眼来判断,就知道是在你脚底下的),你会忘记了汽车是在高原上行驶。这时你涌起来的感想也许是“雄壮”,也许是“伟大”,诸如此类的形容词;然而同时你的眼睛也许觉得有点倦怠,你对当前的“雄壮”或“伟大”闭了眼(3),而另一种味儿在你的心头潜滋暗长(4)了——“单调”!可不是,单调,有一点儿吧?
  然而刹那间,要是你猛抬眼看见了前面远远地有一排,——不,或者甚至只是三五株,一二株,傲然地耸立,像哨兵似的树木的话,那你的恹恹欲睡(5)的情绪又将如何?我那时是惊奇地叫了一声的!
  那就是白杨树,西北极普通的一种树,然而实在不是平凡的一种树!
  那是一种力争上游的一种树,笔直的干,笔直的枝。它的干呢,通常是丈把高,像是加过人工似的,一丈以内,绝无旁枝;它所有的丫枝呢,一律向上,而且紧紧靠拢,也像是加过人工似的,成为一束,绝无横斜逸出(6);它的宽大的叶子也是片片向上,几乎没有斜生的,更不用说倒垂了;它的皮,光滑而有银色的晕圈,微微泛出淡青色。这是虽在北方的风雪的压迫下却保持着倔强挺立的一种树!哪怕只有碗来精细罢,它却努力向上发展,高到丈许,二丈,参天耸立,不折不挠,对抗着西北风。
  这就是白杨树,西北极普通的一种树,然而决不是平凡的树!它没有婆娑的姿态,没有屈曲盘旋(7)的虬枝,也许你要说它不美丽,——如果美是专指“婆娑”或“横斜逸出”之类而言,那么白杨树算不得树中的好女子;但是它却是伟岸(8),正直,朴质,严肃,也不缺乏温和,更不用提它的坚强不屈与挺拔,它是树中伟丈夫!当你在积雪初融的高原上走过,看见平坦的大地上傲然挺立这么一株或一排白杨树,难道你觉得树只是树?难道你就想不它的朴质,严肃,坚强不屈,至少也象征了北方的农民;难道你竟一点也不联想到,在敌后的广大土地上,到处有坚强不屈,就像这白杨树一样傲然挺立的守卫他们家乡的哨兵(9),难道你又不更远一点想到这样枝枝叶叶靠紧团结,力求上进的白杨树,宛然象征了今天在华北平原纵横激荡(10),用血写出新中国历史的那种精神和意志。
  白杨不是平凡的树。它是西北极普遍,不被人重视,就跟北方农民相似;它有极强的生命力(11),磨折不了,压迫不倒,也跟北方的农民相似。我赞美白杨树,就因为它不但象征了北方的农民,尤其象征了今天我们民族解放斗争中所不可缺的(12)朴质,坚强,以及力求上进的精神。
  让那些看不起民众,贱视民众,顽固的倒退的人们去赞美那贵族化的楠木(13)(那也是直干秀颀(14)的),去鄙视这极常见,极易生长的白杨罢,但是我要高声赞美白杨树!
  Tribute to the White Poplar
  Mao Dun
  The white poplar is no ordinary tree. Let me sing its praises.
  When you travel by car through Northwest China’s boundless plateau, all you see before you is something like a huge yellow-and-green felt blanket. Yellow is the soil—the uncultivated virgin soil. It is the outer covering of the loess plateau accumulated by Mother Nature several hundred thousand years ago. Green are the wheat fields signifying man’s triumph over nature. They become a sea of rolling green waves whenever there is a soft breeze. One is here reminded of Chinese expression mai lang meaning “rippling wheat” and cannot help admiring our forefathers’ ingenuity in coining such a happy phrase. It must have been either the brainwave of a clever scholar, or a linguistic gem sanctioned by long usage. The boundless highland, with dominant yellow and green, is flat like a whetstone. Were it not for distant mountain peaks standing side by side (which, as your naked eyes tell you, are bellow where you stand), you would probably forget that you are on the highland. The sight of the scene will probably call up inside you a string of epithets like “spectacular” or “grand”. Meanwhile, however, your eyes may become weary of watching the same panorama, so much so that you are oblivious of its being spectacular or grand. And you may feel monotony coming on. Yes, it is somewhat monotonous, isn’t it?
  Now what will become of your weariness if you suddenly raise your eyes only to catch sight of distant row of trees (or just a couple of them) standing there proudly like sentries. For my part, I cannot keep from uttering an exclamation of surprise!
  They are white poplars. Though very common in Northwest China, they are no ordinary trees!
  With straight trunks and branches, white poplars aim high. Their trunks are usually over ten feet tall and, as if wrought by human effort, utterly bare of branches below ten feet. Their twigs, also like things artificially shaped, all reach out towards the sky and grow close together in a cluster without any sideway growth. Their leaves are broad and point upwards with very few slanting sideways, much less upside down. Their glossy barks are a faint light green with hazy silver spots. They stand erect and unbending in face of North China’s violent wind and snow. Though they may be only as big as the mouth of bowl, they strive to grow upwards until they reach the towering height of some twenty feet and stand indomitable against the northwest wind.
  They are white poplar. Though very common in Northwest China, they are no ordinary tree! You may call them unattractive because they have neither the graceful carriage of a dancer, nor such branches as can twine and climb. But nevertheless they are big and tall, honest and upright, simple and plain, earnest and unyielding—and not without gentleness and warmth though. They are giants among trees! When you trudge through the melting snow of the highland and see one or a row of white poplars standing proudly on the vast plains, how could you look upon them as nothing but mere trees? How could you forget that with all their simplicity, earnestness and unyieldingness, they are symbolic of our peasants in the North? How could you fail to associate them with our dauntless soldiers guarding our homeland all over the vast rear? How could you fail to see that these trees, ever striving to put out their closely knit branches and leaves in an upward direction, are symbolic of the spirit and will of our men who, fighting heroically all over the northern plains, are writing the history of New China with their own blood?
  White poplars are no ordinary trees. But these common trees in Northwest China are as much ignored as our peasants in the North. However, like our peasants in the North, they are bursting with vitality and capable of surviving any hardship or oppression. I pay tribute to them because they symbolize our peasants in the North and, in particular, the spirit of honesty, tenacity and forging ahead—a spirit central to our struggle for national liberation.
  The reactionary diehards, who despise and snub the common people, can do whatever they like to eulogize the elite nanmu (which is also tall, straight and good-looking) and look down upon the common, fast-growing white poplar. I, for my part, will be loud in my praise of the latter!
  注释:
  《白杨礼赞》是茅盾在抗日战争期间1941年3月写的一篇著名散文。
  (1)“是黄绿错综的一条大毡子”译为something like a huge yellow-and-green felt blanket,其中something like是为适应英语上下文而增添的成分,变隐喻为明喻,使译文读来更顺当。又yellow-and-green(或yellow and green)和yellow green不同,前者为黄绿杂处,构成一种花色,后者为黄绿混合,即绿中带黄。
  (2)“坦荡如砥”意即平坦得像一块磨刀石,现直译为flat like a whetstone,保留原文的比喻。
  (3)“你对当前的‘雄壮’或‘伟大’闭了眼”意即你对眼前的景色不再感到“雄壮”或“伟大”,现译为you are oblivious of its being spectacular or grand,其中oblivious of作“忘却”或“不觉得”解。
  (4)“潜滋暗长”意即“逐渐开始”,现译为coming on。英语短语to come on作to begin by degree解。
  (5)“恹恹欲睡”作“困倦”解,故译为weariness。
  (6)“横斜逸出”指树枝从树干的旁边斜伸出来,现译为sideway growth。
  (7)“屈曲盘旋”意即弯弯曲曲地向上爬,现译为twine and climb。
  (8)“伟岸”意即“高大”,现译为big and tall。
  (9)“守卫他们的家乡的哨兵”中的“哨兵”实际上指“士兵”或“战士”,不宜译为sentries。全部短语应译为soldiers guarding our homeland。
  (10)“纵横激荡”意即到处同敌人英勇战斗,现译为fighting heroically。
  (11)“有极强的生命力”译为are bursting with vitality,其中burst with意同full of。
  (12)“我们民族解放斗争中所不可缺的……”译为…central to our struggle for national liberation,其中central to意同essential to。
  (13)“楠木”是一种常绿乔木,质地坚硬,为贵重木材,现译为namu。
  (14)“秀颀”意即美丽而高大。现译为good-looking and tall。
  故都的秋
  郁达夫
  秋天,无论在什么地方的秋天,总是好的(1);可是啊,北国的秋,却特别地来得清,来得静,来得悲凉。我的不远千里(2),要从杭州赶上青岛,更要从青岛赶上北平来的理由,也不过想饱尝一尝这“秋”,这故都的秋味。
  江南,秋当然也是有的,但草木凋得慢,空气来得润,天的颜色显得淡,并且又时常多雨而少风;一个人夹在苏州上海杭州,或厦门香港广州的市民中间,浑浑沌沌地过去,只能感到一点点清凉,秋的味,秋的色,秋的意境与姿态,总看不饱,尝不透,赏玩不到十足(3)。秋并不是名花,也并不是美酒,那一种半开,半醉的状态,在领略秋的过程上,是不合适的。
  不逢北国之秋,已将近十余年了。在南方每年到了秋天,总要想陶然亭的芦花,钓鱼台的柳影,西山的虫唱,玉泉的夜月,潭柘寺的钟声(4)。在北平即使不出门去罢,就是在皇城人海之中,租人家一椽破屋来住着,早晨起来,泡一碗浓茶,向院子一坐,你也能看到很高很高的碧绿的天色,听得到青天下驯鸽的飞声。从槐树叶底,朝东细数着一丝一丝漏下来的日光,或在破壁腰中,静对着像喇叭似的牵牛花(朝荣)的蓝朵,自然而然地也能感觉到十分的秋意。说到牵牛花,我以为以蓝色或白色者为佳,紫黑色次之,淡红色最下。最好,还要在牵牛花底教长着几根疏疏落落的尖细且长的秋草,使作陪衬。
  北国的槐树,也是一种能使人联想起秋来的点缀。像花而又不是花的那一种落蕊,早晨起来,会铺得满地。脚踏上去,声音也没有,气味也没有,只能感出一点点极微细极柔软的触觉。扫街在树影下一阵扫后,灰土上留下来的一条条扫帚的丝纹,看起来既觉得细腻,又觉得清闲(5),潜意识下并且还觉得有点儿落寞,古人所说的梧桐一叶而天下知秋的遥想,大约也就在这些深沉的地方。
  秋蝉的衰弱的残声,更是北国的特产;因为北平处处全长着树,屋子又低,所以无论在什么地方,都听得见它们的啼唱。在南方是非要上郊外或山上去才听得到的。这秋蝉的嘶叫,在北平可和蟋蟀耗子一样,简直像是家家户户都养在家里的家虫(6)。
  还有秋雨哩,北方的秋雨,也似乎比南方的下得奇,下得有味,下得更像样(7)。
  在灰沉沉的天底下,忽而来一阵凉风,便息列索落地下起雨来了。一层雨过,云渐渐地卷向了西去,天又青了,太阳又露出脸来了;著着很厚的青布单衣或夹袄的都市闲人,咬着烟管,在雨后的斜桥影里,上桥头树底下去一立,遇见熟人,便会用了缓慢悠闲的声调,微叹(8)着互答着说:
  “唉,天可真凉了——”
  “可不是么?一层秋雨一层凉了!”
  北方的果树,到秋来,也是一种奇景。第一是枣子树;屋角,墙头,茅房边上,灶房门口,它都会一株株地长大起来。像橄榄又像鸽蛋似的这枣子颗儿,在小椭圆形的细叶中间,显出淡绿微黄的颜色的时候,正是秋的全盛时期;等枣树叶落,枣子红完,西北风就要起来了(9),北方便是尘沙灰土的世界,只有这枣子、柿子、葡萄,成熟到八九分的七八月之交,是北国的清秋的佳日,是一年之中最好也没有的golden days。
  有些批评家说,中国的文人学士,尤其是诗人,都带着很浓厚的颓废色彩,所以中国的诗文里,颂赞秋的文字特别的多。但外国的诗人,又何尝不然?我虽则外国诗文念得不多,也不想开账来,做一篇秋的诗歌散文钞,但你若去一翻英德法意等诗人的集子,或各国的诗文的anthology来,总能够看到许多关于秋的歌颂与悲啼。各著名的大诗人的长篇田园诗或四季诗里,也总以关于秋的部分,写得最出色而最有味。足见有感觉的动物,有情趣的人类,对于秋,总是一样的能特别引起深沉,幽远,严厉,萧索的感触来的。不单是诗人,就是被关闭在牢狱里的囚犯,到了秋天,我想也一定会感到一种不能自已的深情(10);秋之于人,何尝有国别,更何尝有人种阶级的区别呢?不过在中国,文字里有一个“秋士(11)”的成语,读本里又有着很普遍的欧阳子的秋声(12)与苏东坡的《赤壁赋》(13)等,就觉得中国的文人,与秋的关系特别深了。可是这秋的深味,非要在北方,才感受得到底。

kythree 发表于 2016-7-28 15:37:30


  南国之秋,当然是也有它的特异的地方的,比如廿四桥的明月,钱塘江的秋潮,普陀山的凉雾,荔枝湾的残荷等等,可是色彩不浓,回味不永。比起北国的秋来,正像是黄酒之于白干,稀饭之于馍馍,鲈鱼之于大蟹,黄犬之于骆驼。
  秋天,这北国的秋天,若留得往的话,我愿把寿命的三分之二折去,换得一个三分之一的零头。
  Autumn in Peiping
  Yu Dafu
  Autumn, wherever it is, always has something to recommend itself. In North China, however, it is particularly limpid, serene and melancholy. To enjoy its atmosphere to the full in the onetime capital, I have, therefore, made light of travelling a long distance from Hanghou to Qingdao, and thence to Peiping.
  There is of course autumn in the South too, but over there plants wither slowly, the air is moist, the sky pallid, and it is more often rainy than windy. While muddling along all by myself among the urban dwellers of Suzhou, Shanghai, Xianmen, Hong Kong or Guangzhou, I feel nothing but a little chill in the air, without ever relishing to my heart’s content the flavour, colour, mood and style of the season. Unlike famous flowers which are most attractive when half opening, good wine which is most tempting when one is half drunk, autumn, however, is best appreciated in its entirety.
  It is more than a decade since I last saw autumn in North. When I am in the South, the arrival of each autumn will put me in mind of Peiping’s Tao Ran Ting with its reed catkins, Diao Yu Tai with its shady willow trees, Western Hills with their chirping insects, Yu Quan Shan Mountain on a moonlight evening and Tan Zhe Si with its reverbrating bell. Suppose you put up in a humble rented house inside the bustling imperial city, you can, on getting up at dawn, sit in your courtyard sipping a cup of strong tea, leisurely watch the high azure skies and listen to pigeons circling overhead. Saunter eastward under locust trees to closely observe streaks of sunlight filtering through their foliage, or quietly watch the trumpet-shaped blue flowers of morning glories climbing half way up a dilapidated wall, and an intense feeling of autumn will of itself well up inside you. As to morning glories, I like their blue or white flowers best, dark purple ones second best, and pink ones third best. It will be most desirable to have them set off by some tall thin grass planted underneath here and there.
  Locust trees in the North, as a decorative embellishment of nature, also associate us with autumn. On getting up early in the morning, you will find the ground strewn all over with flower-like pistils fallen from locust trees. Quiet and smellless, they feel tiny and soft underfoot. After a street cleaner has done the sweeping under the shade of the trees, you will discover countless lines left by his broom in the dust, which look so fine and quiet that somehow a feeling of forlornness will begin to creep up on you. The same depth of implication is found in the ancient saying that a single fallen leaf from the wutong tree is more than enough to inform the world of autumn’s presence.
  The sporadic feeble chirping of cicadas is especially characteristic of autumn in the North. Due to the abundance of trees and the low altitude of dwellings in Peiping, cicadas are audible in every nook and cranny of the city. In the South, however, one cannot hear them unless in suburbs or hills. Because of their ubiquitous shrill noise, these insects in Peiping seem to be living off every household like crickets or mice.
  As for autumn rains in the North, they also seem to differ from those in the South, being more appealing, more temperate.
  A sudden gust of cool wind under the slaty sky, and raindrops will start pitter-pattering. Soon when the rain is over, the clouds begin gradually to roll towards the west and the sun comes out in the blue sky. Some idle townsfolk, wearing lined or unlined clothing made of thick cloth, will come out pipe in mouth and, loitering under a tree by the end of a bridge, exchange leisurely conversation with acquaintances with a slight touch of regret at the passing of time:
  “Oh, real nice and cool—“
  “Sure! Getting cooler with each autumn shower!”
  Fruit trees in the North also make a wonderful sight in autumn. Take jujube tree for example. They grow everywhere—around the corner of a house, at the foot of a wall, by the side of a latrine or outside a kitchen door. It is at the height of autumn that jujubes, shaped like dates or pigeon eggs, make their appearance in a light yellowish-green amongst tiny elliptic leaves. By the time when they have turned ruddy and the leaves fallen, the north-westerly wind will begin to reign supreme and make a dusty world of the North. Only at the turn of July and August when jujubes, persimmons, grapes are 80-90 percent ripe will the North have the best of autumn—the golden days in a year.
  Some literary critics say that Chinese literati, especially poets, are mostly disposed to be decadent, which accounts for predominance of Chinese works singing the praises of autumn. Well, the same is true of foreign poets, isn’t it? I haven’t read much of foreign poetry and prose, nor do I want to enumerate autumn-related poems and essays in foreign literature. But, if you browse through collected works of English, German, French or Italian poets, or various countries’ anthologies of poetry or prose, you can always comes across a great many literary pieces eulogizing or lamenting autumn. Long pastoral poems or songs about the four seasons by renowned poets are mostly distinguished by beautiful moving lines on autumn. All that goes to show that all live creatures and sensitive humans alike are prone to the feeling of depth, remoteness, severity and bleakness. Not only poets, even convicts in prison, I suppose, have deep sentiments in autumn in spite of themselves. Autumn treats all humans alike, regardless of nationality, race or class. However, judging from Chinese idiom qiushi (autumn scholar, meaning and aged scholar grieving over frustrations in his life) and frequent selection in textbooks of Ouyang Xiu’s On the Autumn Sough and Su Dongpo’s On the Red Cliff, Chinese men of letters seem to be particularly autumn-minded. But, to know the real flavour of autumn, especially China’s autumn, one has to visit the North.
  Autumn in the South also has its unique features, such as the moonlit Ershisi Bridge in Yangzhou, the flowing sea tide at the Qiantangjiang River, the mist-shrouded Putuo Mountain and lotuses at the Lizhiwan Bay. But they all lack strong colour and lingering flavour. Southern autumn is to Northern autumn what yellow rice wine is to kaoliang wine, congee to steamed buns, perches to crabs, yellow dogs to camels.
  Autumn, I mean Northern autumn, if only it could be made to last forever! I would be more than willing to keep but one-third of my life-span and have two-thirds of it bartered for the prolonged stay of the season!
  注释
  《故都的秋》是郁达夫(1896-1945)的名篇,1934年8月写于北平。文章通过对北国特有风物的细腻描绘,抒发作者对故都之秋的无比眷恋之情。
  (1)“总是好的”不宜按字面直译。现译为always has something to recommend itself,其中to have…to recommend…作“有……可取之处”解。
  (2)“不远千里,要从杭州赶上青岛……”译为have made light of travelling a long distance from Hangzhou to Qingdao…,其中to make light of是成语,作“对……不在乎”解。
  (3)“总看不饱,尝不透,赏玩不到十足”不宜逐字直译。译文without ever relishing to my heart’s content…中用relishing to my heart’s content概括原文中的“看……饱”、“尝……透”、“赏玩……”等。
  (4)“每年到了秋天,总要想起陶然亭的芦花……”译为the arrival of each autumn will put me in mind of Peiping’s Tao Ran Ting with its reed catkins…,其中to put one in mind of…是成语,作“使人想起……”解。译文中的Peiping’s是添加成分,以便国外读者理解句中所列各景点的所在地是北平。
  (5)“既觉得细腻,又觉得清闲”中的“清闲”意同“幽静”,故译为quiet。
  (6)“可和蟋蟀耗子一样,简直像是家家户户都养在家里的家虫”译为seem to be living off every household like crickets or mice,其中to live off (= to live on)中成语,作“靠……生活”解,用以表达“养在……的家虫”。
  (7)“更像样”意即“更有节制”,故译为more temperate 。
  (8)根据上下文,“微叹“是为”感怀时光的消逝“,故以释义法译为with a slight touch of reget at the passing of time。
  (9)“西北风就要起来了”译为the northwesterly wind will begin to reign supreme,其中to reign supreme强调“占优势”之意。
  (10)“感到不能自已的深情”译为have deep sentiments…in spite of themselves,其中in spite of oneself是成语,作“不由自主地”解。
  (11)“秋士”是古汉语,指“士之暮年不遇者”,现译为qiushi (autumn scholar, meaning an aged scholar grieving over frustrations in his life)。
  (12)“欧阳子的秋声”即“欧阳修所作的《秋声赋》”,现译为Ouyang Xiu’s On the Autumn Sough。
  (13)〈赤壁赋〉为苏东坡所作,借秋游赤壁,抒发自己的人生感慨。可译为On the Red Cliff或Fu on the Red Cliff。
  谈结婚
  郁达夫
  前些日子,林语堂先生似乎曾说过(1)女子的唯一事业,是在结婚,现在一位法国大文豪来沪,对去访问他的新闻记者的谈话之中,又似乎说,男子欲成事业,应该不要结婚。
  华盛顿·欧文(2)是一个独身的男子,但《见闻短记》里的一篇歌颂妻子的文章(3),却写的那么优美可爱。同样查而斯·兰姆(4)也是独身的男子,而爱丽亚的《独身者的不平》(5)一篇,又冷嘲热讽,将结婚的男女和婚后必然的果子——小孩们——等,俏皮到了那一步田地。
  究竟是结婚的好呢,还是不结婚的好?这问题似乎同先有鸡还是先有鸡蛋一样(6),常常有人提起,而也常常没有人解决过的问题(7)。照大体看来,想租房子的时候,是无眷莫问的,想做官的时候,又是朝里无裙(8)莫做官的,想写文章的时候,是独身者(9)不能写我的妻的,凡此种种似乎都是结婚的好。可是要想结婚,第一要有钱,第二要有闲,第三要有职,这潘驴(10)……的五个条件,却也不容易办到(11)。更何况结婚之后,“儿子自己要来(12)”,在这世界人口过剩,经济恐慌,教育破产,世风不古的时候,万一不慎,同兰姆所说的一样,儿子们去上了断头台(13),那真是连祖宗三代的楣都要倒尽,那里还有什么“官人请!娘子请!”的唱随之乐(14)可说呢?
  左思右想,总觉得结婚也不好的,不结婚也是不好的。
  A Chat about Marriage
  Yu Dafu
  The other day, Mr. Lin Yutang said something to the effect that women’s only career lies in matrimony. Now, an eminent French writer declared at a press interview after arriving in Shanghai that men should stay bachelors if they want to achieve success in life.
  Washington Irving was a confirmed bachelor, but in his Sketch Book there is an article extolling the wife as a graceful and lovely life-long partner. Charles Lamb, also a single man, in A Bachelor’s Complaint of the Behaviour of Married People, one of his essays signed “Elia”, speaks mockingly of married people with their inevitable postnuptial fruits—the children. Marriage or no marriage, which is more desirable? That sounds like the chicken-and- egg question, which, though often discussed, remains a perpetual puzzle. Generally speaking, one who has no family dependants is not supposed to rent a house, one who has no petticoat influence in the government should refrain from becoming an official, an unmarried male writer is in no position to writer about “my wife”. All these seem to hint at the advantage of marriage. But, to get married, you need to have five perquisites, namely, money, leisure, employment, good looks and potentness, of which all are not always available. What is more, after your marriage, your offspring will come to this world of themselves. And in a world with overpopulation, economic crisis, educational bankruptcy and deteriorating public morals, they may, just as Charles Lamb says, through their own acts of indiscretion, be sent to the gallows. With such a terrible misfortune befalling your family, how could you still have wedded bliss to speak of?
  Thinking the matter over and over again, I cannot but come to the conclusion that neither matrimony nor bachelorship has anything to recommend itself.
  注释:
  郁达夫,一生短暂,在恋爱与婚姻上有很多坎坷经历。小品文《谈结婚》寥寥数语,看似游戏笔墨,但庄谐并出,寓理于趣,感叹人生多苦难,对现实百态深表不满。
  (1)“似乎曾说过……”意即“说过一些话,大意是……”,译为said something to the effect that…,其中to the effect that…作“大意是……”解。
  (2)“华盛顿·欧文”是美国作家Washington Irving (1783-1859)。《见闻短记》(Sketch Book)为其著名代表作。
  (3)“一篇歌颂妻子的文章”的篇名为The Wife。
  (4)“查而斯·兰姆”是英国散文家Charles Lamb (1775-1834)。笔名爱丽亚(alia),著有《爱丽亚散文集》(Essays of Alia)。
  (5)“《独身者的不平》”指《爱丽亚散文集》中的一篇。
  (6)“这个问题似乎同先有鸡呢还是先有鸡蛋一样”译为That sounds like the chicken-and-egg question,其中chicken-and-egg(或chicken and egg )是成语,作“鸡与蛋孰先难定”或“因果难定”解。
  (7)“常常没有人解决过的问题”可译为has never been resolved,现译为remains a perpetual puzzle,变反说为正说。
  (8)“裙”指“裙带关系”意即“藉以相互依靠的姻亲关系”,现译为petticoat influence。
  (9)“独身者”指“独身男作家”,故译为an unmarried male writer。
  (10)“潘驴”源自《金瓶梅》第三回,指“潘安的貌”和“驴大行货”,在文中分别指第四、第五两个条件。现分别译为gook looks和potentness。
  (11)“却也很不易办到”意即“却也不易都具备”,译为of which all are not always available,等于of which not all are always available。
  (12)“儿子自己要来”译为your offspring will come to this world of themselves,其中短语of themselves和automatically同义。
  (13)“走上了断头台”,本可译为be sent to the guillotine,但因兰姆文中说的绞刑架,故译为be sent to the gallows。
  (14)“‘官人请!娘子请!’的唱随之乐”不宜逐字直译,现意译为wedded bliss(闺房之乐),简单明了。
  永远的憧憬(1)和追求
  萧红
  一九一一年,在一个小县城里边,我生在一个小地主的家里。那县城差不多就是中国的最东最北部——黑龙江省——(2)所以一年之中,倒有四个月飘着白雪。
  父亲常常为着贪婪而失掉了人性。他对待仆人,对待自己的儿女,以及对待我的祖父都是同样的吝啬而疏远,甚至于无情(3)。
  有一次,为着房屋租金的事情,父亲把房客的全套的马车赶了过来。房客的家属们哭着诉说着(4),向我的祖父跪了下来,于是祖父把两匹棕色的马(5)从车上解下来还了回去。
  为着这匹马,父亲向祖父起着终夜的争吵(6)。“两匹马,咱们是算不了什么的,穷人,这匹马就是命根。(7)”祖父这样说着,而父亲还是争吵。九岁时,母亲死去。
  父亲也就更变了样(8),偶然打碎了一只杯子,他就要骂到使人发抖的程度。后来就连父亲的眼睛也转了弯,每从他的身边经过,我就像自己的身上生了针剌一样(9);他斜视着你,他那高傲的眼光从鼻梁经过嘴角而后往下流着(10)。
  所以每每在大雪中的黄昏里(11),围着暖炉,围着祖父,听着祖父读着诗篇,看着祖父读着诗篇时微红的嘴唇(12)。
  父亲打了我的时候,我就在祖父的房里,一直面向着窗子,从黄昏到深夜——窗外的白雪,好像白棉花一样飘着;而暖炉上水壶的盖子,则像伴奏的乐器似的振动着(13)。
  祖父时时把多纹的两手放在我的肩上,而后又放在我头上,我的耳边便响着这样的声音:
  “快快长吧!长大就好了。”
  二十岁那年,我就逃出了父亲的家庭。直到现在还是过着流浪的生活。
  “长大”是“长大了”,而没有“好”。
  可是从祖父那里,知道了人生除掉了冰冷和憎恶而外,还有温暖和爱。
  所以我就向这“温暖”和“爱”的方面,怀着永久的憧憬和追求。
  My Everlasting Dream and Pursuit
  Xiao Hong
  In 1911, I was born into a petty Landlord family in a remote county town in Heilongjiang Province—a town situated virtually at the northeastern tip of China. We had snow there for as long as one third of a year.
  Father, driven by avarice, often became very unfeeling. He would treat his servants, his own children and even my grandpa alike with meanness and indifference, not to say with ruthlessness.
  Once, due to a dispute over house rent, he took away by force a tenant’s horse-drawn cart and drove it home. The tenant’s family came to see grandpa and, dropping to their knees, tearfully related their troubles. Grandpa unharnessed the two chestnut horses and retuned them to tenant.
  That touched off a night-long quarrel between father and grandpa. “The two horses mean nothing to us, but everything to the poor,” argued grandpa. Father, however, refused to listen. Mother died when I was nine. From then on father went from bad to worse. Even a mere cup accidentally broken by someone would send him into such a violent rage that we all shivered with fear. Later, whenever I happened to walk past him, he would even have his eyes directed sideways, which made me feel like being pricked all over on thorns. When he looked askance at me, superciliousness gushed from his eyes down the bridge of his nose and then off the corners of his mouth.
  Often of a snowy evening, we children would hang about grandpa by a heating stove, listening to him reading poems aloud and meanwhile watching his busy ruddy lips.
  Whenever father had given me a beating, I would seek solace in grandpa’s room where I would stay gazing out of the window from dusk till late into the night while snowflakes were flying like cotton and the lid of the kettle over the heating stove rattling like a musical instrument playing an accompaniment.
  Grandpa would place his wrinkled hand on my shoulder and then on my head, saying,
  “Grow up quick, poor child! You’ll be all right after you’ve grown up.”
  I fled from home at twenty. And so far I still live the life of a vagrant.
  True, I’ve “grown up”, but I’m not yet “all right”.
  Nevertheless, from grandpa I’ve learned that apart from coldness and hatred, there is also warmth and love in life.
  Hence my everlasting dream and pursuit of this “warmth” and “love”.
  注释:
  萧红(1911-1942),黑龙江省呼兰县人,官僚地主家庭出身,是才华横溢的女作家。本文是她应美国友人斯诺之给而写的小传。文章诉说她如何在祖父在关怀和抚育下度过寂寞的幼女时代。
  (1)“憧憬“译为dream,和aspiration, longing, yearning等同义。
  (2)“那县城差不多就是中国的最东最北部——黑龙江省——”意即“那县城在黑龙江省,差不多位于中国的东北角”。现译为in a remote town in Heilongjiang Province—a town situated virtually at the northeastern tip of china,其中以remote(偏僻的、边远的)表达“小”,便于烘托原文的气氛;at the northeastern tip of China比in China’s northeastern part灵活顺口。
  (3)“甚至于无情”译为not to say with ruthlessness,其中not to say是英语成语,意即and almost或and perhaps even。
  (4)“哭着诉说着”译为tearfully related their troubles,其中related意told。
  (5)“棕色的马”译为chestnut horses。英语常用chestnut指马的棕色,或棕色的马.
  (6)译文touched off是成语,作“激起”、“引起”解。
  (7)“穷人,这匹马就是命根”译为they mean everything to the poor,其中everything和前面的nothing相互应。
  (8)“父亲也就更变了样”译为From then on father went from bad to worse,其中from then on是连接上句的添加成分。又went from bad to worse是成语,作“越来越坏”、“每况俞下”解。
  (9)“就像自己的身上生了针剌一样”译为feel like being pricked all over on thorns,其中feel like是短语动词,作“如同”解,又介词on常用来指人体受到伤害的原因,
  (10)译文superciliousness gushed from his eyes…是隐喻。
  (11)译文Often of a snowy evening中的of 等于on,但有“经常”的含义。
  (12)“围着暖炉,围着祖父,听着祖父读着诗篇,看着祖父读着诗篇时微红的嘴唇”译为would hang about grandpa by a heating stove, listening to him ready poems aloud and meanwhile watching his busy ruddy lips,其中hang about或hang around为动词短语,作“待在……身边”解,通常有亲密、友好的含义。又busy一词描述祖父的嘴唇不断张合,以代替“读着诗篇时”。
  (13)“暖炉上水壶的盖子,则像伴奏乐器似的振动着”译为and the lid of the kettle over the heating stove rattling like a musical instrument playing an accompaniment, 其中rattling表达“振动”,而不用vibrating等,因to rattle不仅指“振动”,而且指格格作响声,与“伴奏乐器”的比喻相互应。
  当 铺
  萧红
  “你去当吧!你去当吧,我不去!”
  “好,我去,我就愿意进当铺(1),进当铺我一点也不怕,理直气壮。”
  新做起来的我的棉袍,一次还没有穿,就跟着我进当铺去了!在当铺门口稍微徘徊了一下,想起出门时郎华要的价目(2)——非两元不当。
  包袱送到柜台上,我是仰着脸,伸着腰,用脚尖站起来送上去的,真不晓得当铺为什么摆起这么高的柜台(3)!
  那戴帽头的人翻着衣裳看,还不等他问,我就说了:
  “两块钱。”
  他一定觉得我太不合理,不然怎么连看我一眼也没看,就把东西卷起来,他把包袱仿佛要丢在我的头上,他十分不耐烦的样子(4)。
  “两块钱不行,那么,多少钱呢?”
  “多少钱不要。”他摇摇像长西瓜形的脑袋,小帽头顶尖的红帽球,也跟着摇了摇。
  我伸手去接包袱,我一点也不怕,我理直气壮,我明明知道他故意作难(5),正想把包袱接过来就走。猜得对对的,他并不把包袱真给我(6)。
  “五毛钱!这件衣服袖子太瘦,卖不出钱来……”
  “不当。”我说。

kysix 发表于 2016-7-28 16:04:05


  “那么一块钱,……再可不能多了,就是这个数目。”他把腰微微向后弯一点,柜台太高,看不出他突出的肚囊……一只大手指,就比在和他太阳穴一般高低的地方。
  带着一元票子和一张当票,我怏怏地走,走起路来感到很爽快,默认自己是很有钱的人。菜市,米店我都去过,臂上抱了很多东西,感到非常愿意抱这些东西,手冻得很痛,觉得这是应该,对于手一点也不感到可惜,本来手就应该给我服务,好像冻掉了也不可惜。路旁遇见一个老叫花子,又停下来给他一个大铜板,我想我有饭吃,
  他也是应该吃啊!然而没有多给,只给一个大铜板,那些我自己还要用呢(7)!又摸一摸当票也没有丢,这才重新走,手痛得什么心思也没有了,快到家吧!快到家吧。但是,背上流了汗,腿觉得很软,眼睛有些剌痛(8),走到大门口,才想起来从搬家还没有出过一次街,走路腿也无力,太阳光也怕起来。
  又摸一摸当票才走进院子去。郎华仍躺在床上,和我出来的时候一样,他还不习惯于进当铺。他是在想什么。拿包子给他看,他跳起来了:
  “我都饿啦,等你也不回来。”
  十个包子吃去一大半,他才细问:“当多少钱?当铺没欺负你?”
  把当票给他,他瞧着那样少的数目:
  “才一元,太少。”
  虽然说当得的钱少,可是又愿意吃包子,那么结果很满足(9)。他在吃包子的嘴(10),看起来比包子还大,一个跟着一个,包子消失尽了。
  The Pawnshop
  Xiao Hong
  “You go and do the pawning! You go, but not me!”
  “Ok, I go. I wouldn’t mind. I’m not afraid at all. I don’t see anything wrong about it.”
  Thus, my newly-made cotton-padded gown, which had not been worn even once, accompanied me to the pawnshop. At the door of the pawnshop I hesitated for a while, recalling the asking price suggested by Lang Hua when I left home—“Nothing less than two Yuan.”
  I stood on tiptoe, face upward and back straightened, to hand the cloth-wrapped bundle onto the counter. How strange the pawnbroker should have put up a counter so forbiddingly high!
  A man in a skullcap turned the gown over and over to examine it. Before he could open his mouth, I said,
  “Two Yuan.”
  He must have thought me too unreasonable, for he rolled up the gown without even taking a look at me. Impatience was written all over his face as if he were about to throw the bundle onto my head.
  “If two yuan won’t do, then how much?”
  “We won’t take it for anything,” said he, shaking his longish watermelon-shaped head, the decorative red bead on top of his skullcap swaying.
  I was aware that he was out to make things difficult for me. Therefore, bold and confident, I reached out my hand for the bundle. But, just as I had been doubly sure, he simply wouldn’t let go of it.
  “Fifty cents! The sleeves are too tight. The gown won’t fetch much…”
  “I won’t pawn it,” said I.
  “Well, how about one yuan?...Can’t give you any more. That’s final.” He leaned back a little bit, his bulging paunch concealed behind the high counter…Meanwhile, to signal“one yuan”, he gestured with a finger raised as high as his temples.
  Armed with a one-dollar note and a pawn ticket, I, unhappy as I was, walked with a light step and felt like one of the rich. I visited the food market and the grain shop. I did not tire of carrying an armful of purchases. My hands ached with cold, but this was as it should be. I felt no pity for them. It was their bounden duty to wait on me—even at the cost of suffering frostbite. I also bought ten steamed stuffed buns at a pastry shop. I was proud of my shopping. Again and again I felt so thrilled that I completely forgot all the pain in my frostbitten hands. When I saw an old beggar by the roadside, I stopped to give him a copper coin. Why, if I had food to eat, he certainly had no reason to go hungry! But I couldn’t afford to give him more, for I needed the rest of the money for keeping my own body and soul together! Before I walked on again, I put my hand on the pawn ticket in my pocket to make sure that it was still there. By then, the pain in my hands had become the only thing I was conscious of. So I was anxious to be home again. My back sweated, my legs felt like jelly, my eyes stung. At the gate of my home, it suddenly occurred to me that this was the first time I had ever been out to town since I moved here and that accounted for my legs feeling so weak and my eyes being so shy of light.
  On entering the courtyard, I touched the pawn ticket again. Lang Hua was still lying on the bed with the same aversion to a pawnshop. I wonder what was now in his mind. The moment I produced the buns, he jumped up from his bed,
  “I’m so hungry. I’ve been long waiting for you to come back.”
  It was not until he had gulped down more than half of the buns that he began to question me closely, “How much did you pawn it for? Did they cheat you?”
  I showed him the pawn ticket and he eyed the pitifully small sum scratched on it.
  “Only one Yuan? Too little!”
  True, the money was too little, but the buns were good to eat, so that all’s well that ended well. One after another vanished the buns into his cavernous mouths—a mouth that looked even bigger than a bun.
  注释:
  《当铺》反映了1932到1934年她与萧军在哈尔滨生活的艰苦的日子。
  (1)“我就愿意进当铺”译为I wouldn’t mind,所采用的是正反表达法,把原文从正面表达的句子,在译文中从反面来表达,以便提高译文的效果。
  (2)“要的价目”译为the asking price,为英语常用语,是从to ask a price转过来的。
  (3)“这么高的柜台”译为a counter so forbiddingly high,其中forbiddingly作“令人生畏”或“难以接近”(unfriendly或unapproachable)解,原文虽无其词但有其意。
  (4)“十分不耐烦的样子”译为Impatience was written all over his face,其中to be written all over (或on)作“显露”解。为英语惯用表达法。
  (5)“他故意作难”译为he was out to make difficult for me,其中to be out to do(或for)something作“企图”(to intend或want)解,是英语惯用表达法。
  (6)“他亲不把包袱真给我”译为he simply wouldn’t let go of it,其中let go of是英语习语,作“放手”(to stop holding)解。
  (7)“然而没有多给……那些我自己的还要用呢!”译为But I couldn’t afford to give him more, for I needed the rest of the money to keep my own body and soul together!,其中to keep my own body and soul together作“勉强维持生活”(just to make both ends meet)解,是译文中的添加成分,原文虽无其词而有其意。
  (8)“背上流了汗,腿觉得很软,眼睛有些刺痛”译为My back sweated, my legs felt like jelly, my eyes stung,三句并列,都用不及物动词,并采用连词省略法(asyndeton),有助于提高译文的表达效果。
  (9)“那么结果很满足”译为so that all’s well that ended well,其中all’s well that ends well是英语谚语,作“有了好结果就行了”(It is the end that matters)解。
  (10)“嘴”译为cavernous mouth,其中cavernous是为衬托原意而添加的成分,作“大而深”(very large and deep)解。
  野 草
  夏衍
  有这样一个故事。
  有人问:世界上什么东西的气力最大(1)?回答纷纭的很,有的说“象”,有的说“狮”,有人开玩笑似的说:是“金刚”,金刚(2)有多少气力,当然大家全不知道。
  结果,这一切答案完全不对(3),世界上气力最大的,是植物的种子。一粒种子所可以显现出来的力,简直是超越一切,这儿又是一个故事。
  人的头盖骨,结合得非常致密与坚固,生理学家和解剖学者用尽了一切的方法,要把它完整在分出来(4),都没有这种力气,后来忽然有人发明了一个方法,就是把植物的种子放在要解剖的头盖骨里,给它以温度与湿度,使它发芽(5),一发芽,这些种子便以可怕的力量,将一切机械力所不能分开的骨骼,完整地分开了。植物种子力量之大,如此如此。
  这,也许特殊了一点,常人不容易理解,那么,你看见笋的成长吗?你看见被压在瓦砾和石块下面的一颗小草的生成吗?它为着向往阳光,为着达成它的生之意志(6),不管上面的石块如何重,石块与石块之间如何狭,它必定要曲曲折折地,但是顽强不屈在透到地面上来,它的根往土壤里钻,它的芽往地面挺,这是一种不可抗拒的力,阻止它的石块,结果也被它掀翻,一粒种子的力量的大,如此如此。
  没有一个人将小草叫做“大力士” (7),但是它的力量之大,的确是世界无比,这种力,是一般人看不见的生命力,只要生命存在,这种力就要显现,上面的石块,丝毫不足以阻挡,因为它是一种“长期抗战”的力,有弹性,能屈能伸的力,有韧性,不达目的不止的力(8)。
  种子不落在肥土而落在瓦砾中,有生命力的种子决不会悲观和叹气,因为有阻力才有磨炼。生命开始的一瞬间就带了斗争来的草,才是坚韧的草,也只有这种草,才可以傲然地对那些玻璃棚中养育着的盆花哄笑。
  Wild Grass
  Xia Yan
  There is a story which goes like this:
  Someone asked, “What has the greatest strength on earth?” The answers varied. Some said, “The elephant.” Some said, “The lion.” Some said jokingly, “The fierce-browed guardian gods to Buddha.” But nobody of course could tell how strong the guardian gods were supposed to be.
  All the answers turned out to be wide of the mark. The mightiest thing on earth is the seed of a plant. The great strength which a seed is capable of is simply matchless. Here goes another story:
  The bones forming a human skull are so tightly and perfectly fit together that all physiologists or anatomists, hard as they try, are powerless to take them apart without damaging them. It so happened that, at the suggestion of someone, some seeds of plant were placed inside a human skull awaiting dissection before heat and moisture were applied to cause them to grow. Once they started to grow, they let loose a terrific force to separate all the skull bones, leaving each of them intact. This would have been impossible with any mechanical power under the sun. See, how powerful the seeds of a plant can be!
  This story may be somewhat too unusual for you to understand. Well, have you ever seen the growth of a bamboo shoot? Or the growth of tender grass from under a heap of rubble or rocks? Seeking sunlight and survival, the young plant will labour tenaciously through twists and turns to bring itself to the surface of the ground no matter how heavy the rocks overhead may be or how narrow the opening between them. While striking its roots deep into the soil, the young plant pushes its new shoots above-ground. The irresistible strength it can muster is such as to overturn any rock in its way. See, how powerful a seed can be!
  Though nobody describes the little grass as a “husky”, yet its herculean strength is unrivalled. It is the force of life invisible to the naked eye. It will display itself so long as there is life. The rock is utterly helpless before this force—a force that will forever remain militant, a force that is resilient and can take temporary setbacks calmly, a force that is tenacity itself and will never give up until the goal is reached.
  When a seed falls under debris instead of on fertile soil, it never sighs in despair because to meet with obstruction means to temper itself. Indomitable is the grass that begins its very life with a tough struggle. It is only fit and proper that the proud grass should be jeering at the potted flowers in a glass house.
  注释: 《野草》是夏衍(1900-1995)于抗战期间写的一篇散文,赞颂小草的那种为常人看不见的顽强生命力,以象征手法鼓舞国人坚定抗战胜利的信心。
  (1)“世界上什么东西的气力最大”译为What has the greatest strength on earth,其中on earth和in the world同义,但此句用on earth较为合适,因它通常用于疑问词或最高级词后加强语气。
  (2)“金刚”是“金刚力士”之略,指守护佛法的天神,常怒目作勇猛之相,现把它意译为the fierce-browed guardian gods to Buddha,其中fierce-browed的意思是“怒目横眉”。
  (3)“结果,这一切答案完全不对”译为All the answers turned out to be wide of the mark,其中wide of the mark或far from the mark为成语,意即“离谱”、“不正确”。
  (4)“把它完整地分出来”即“把它完好无损地分开”,故译为to take them apart without damaging them。
  (5)“使它发芽”的译文为to cause them grow。也可译为to cause them to put out fresh shoots。
  (6)“为着向往阳光,为着达成它的生之意志”实际上的意思是“为了争取阳光和生存”,故译为Seeking sunlight and survival即可。
  (7)“没有一个人将小草叫做‘大力士’”译为Though nobody describes the little grass as a “husky”,其中describe…as的意思是“把……说成”、“把……称为”;husky的意思是“高大强壮的人”。
  (8)“有韧性,不达目的不止的力”译为a force that is tenacity itself and will never give up until the goal is reached,其中itself一词用来加强前面的抽象名词tenacity,属习惯用法。
  恋爱不是游戏
  庐隐
  没有在浮沉的人海中(1),翻过筋斗的和尚,不能算善知识(2);
  没有受过恋爱洗礼的人生,不能算真人生。
  和尚最大的努力,是否认现世而求未来的涅槃(3),但他若不曾了解现世,他又怎能勘破现世(4),而跳出三界(5)外呢?
  而恋爱是人类生活的中心,孟子说:“食色性也。”所谓恋爱正是天赋之本能;如一生不了解恋爱的人,他又何能了解整个人生?
  所以凡事都从学习而知而能,只有恋爱用不着学习,只要到了相当的年龄,碰到合式(适)的机会,他和她便会莫名其妙地恋爱起来。
  恋爱人人都会(6),可是不见得人人都懂(7),世俗大半以性欲伪充恋爱,以游戏的态度处置恋爱,于是我们时刻可看到因恋爱而不幸的记载。
  实在的恋爱绝不是游戏,也绝不是堕落的人生所能体验出其价值的,它具有引人向上的鞭策力,它也具有伟大无私的至上情操,它更是美丽的象征。
  在一双男女正纯洁热爱着的时候,他和她内心充实着惊人的力量;他们的灵魂是从万有的束缚中,得到了自由,不怕威胁,不为利诱,他们是超越了现实,而创造他们理想的乐园。
  不幸物欲充塞的现世界,这种恋爱的光辉,有如萤火之微弱,而且“恋爱”有时适成为无知男女堕落之阶,使维纳斯不禁深深地叹息:“自从世界人群趋向灭亡之途,恋爱变成了游戏,哀哉!”
  Love is Not a Game
  Lu Yin
  A Buddhist monk without having experienced ups and downs in the sea of mortals will have no claim to true wisdom.
  Likewise, one who has never gone through the baptism of romantic love will have little genuine knowledge of life. Buddhist monks exert every effort to renounce this life in favour of future nirvana. But, without a full knowledge of this life, how could they see through the vanity of human society and make a clean break with this mortal world?
  Romantic love is the core of human life. Mencius says, “The desire for food and sex is nature.” In other words, love is innate. If one remains a lifelong stranger to love, how can he thoroughly understand life?
  Man becomes capable through learning. But love is an exception. Boy and girl, when they are of age and meet at an opportune moment, will become mysteriously attached to each other.
  Though people love by instinct, yet all cannot understand it correctly. More often than not, love is but carnal desire in disguise and is treated as a mere game. That is why we so often hear tragic stories of love. True love is not a game. Nor can its true value be appreciated by the morally degenerate.
  True love spurs one on to higher attainment. It embodies the supreme quality of selflessness, and is, above all, symbolic of beauty.
  When a man and woman are deeply immersed in true love, they are full of amazing inner strength. Their souls are freed from all bondage. They are unyielding before threats and incorruptible before any promise of material gain. They transcend the reality to create an ideal paradise of their own.
  Unfortunately, in this present world overflowing with material desires, this kind of true love is as rare as the feeble light of fireflies. What is more, “love” sometimes even leads to moral degeneration on the part of ignorant men and women. Over this, Venus cannot help lamenting with a deep sigh, “Love has become a mere game ever since humanity set out on its way to extinction. O what a sad story!”
  注释:
  女作家庐隐(1898-1934),福建闽侯人,早期与冰心齐名。她的杂文短小精悍,直爽坦率,笔锋锐利。
  (1)“浮沉的人海中”译为ups and downs in the sea of mortals,其中ups and downs意同vicissitudes(兴败、盛衰);the sea of mortals意同the sea of the living。
  (2)“不能算善知识”意即“没有过资格称为智者”,现译为will have no claim to true wisdom,其中have no claim to本作“对……没有提出要求的权利”解,现作“没有资格称为……”解。此句也可译为will have no true wisdom to speak of,但与原意稍有出入。
  (3)“涅槃”指信佛教者经过长期“修道”所达到的最高境界。后世也称僧人逝世为“涅槃”(又称“入灭”或“圆寂”)。英语称之为virvana,源于梵文。
  (4)“勘破现世”意同“看破红尘”现译为see through the vanity of human society。
  (5)“跳出三界”中的“三界”也是佛教用语,指“众生所住的世界”。现按“与现世一刀两断”的意思把“跳出三界”译为make a clean break with this mortal world。
  (6)“恋爱人人都会”意即“恋爱出于本能”,故译为People love by instinct。
  (7)“可是不见的人人都懂”译为yet all cannot understand it correctly,等于yet not all can understand I correctly。
  
页: [1]
查看完整版本: 2016翻译硕士复习资料:英译中国现代散文选(二)