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正直
-From A Mother in Mannville
——节选自《妈妈住在曼菲尔》
M.K.Rawlings
M.K.罗林兹
The Orphanage is high in the Carolina mountains. Sometimes in winter the snowdrifts are sodeep that the institution is cut off from the village below,from all the world. Fog hides themountain peaks, the snow swirls down the valleys, and a wind blows so bitterly that theorphanage boys who take the milk twice daily to the baby cottage reach the door with fingersstiff in anagony of numbness.
在卡罗来纳的山地里,有一座孤儿院坐落在高处。隆冬时节,风雪交加,有时候积雪堆得老高,将孤儿院与山下的村庄乃至整个外界完全隔断。云雾遮蔽了重重峰峦,雪花飞旋着冲人山谷。在呼啸的寒风中,孤儿院的男孩们将一份份牛奶端到育婴房去,一天得跑两趟呢。当他们走到育婴房门口的时候,手指冻得僵硬,一点儿都不听使唤了。
I was there in the autumn. I wanted quiet, isolation, to do some troublesome writing. I wantedmountain air to blow out the malaria from too long a time in the subtropics. I was homesick,too, for the flaming of maples in October,and for corn shocks and pumpkins and black-walnuttrees and the lift of hills. I found them all, living in a cabin that belonged to the orphanage, halfa mile beyond the orphanage farm. When I took the cabin, I asked for a boyor man to comeand chop wood for the fireplace. The first few days were warm, I found what wood I neededabout the cabin, no one came, and Iforgot the order.
我秋天就到了那里。我需要安静,与世隔绝,好从事艰辛的创作。我需要山里的清风,把久居亚热带地区染上的疟疾吹散。我还想起家来,老惦着那十月间的枫叶似火,那一垛垛玉米秫秸,南瓜成堆,黑胡桃林子,还有隆起的山丘。我住在孤儿院的一间小屋里,距院农场有半英里,这一切尽收眼底。我住进去的时候,要求派个男孩或者男人帮我劈柴烧壁炉。头几天还算暖和,我在小屋的四周捡了点木柴,没见人来,也就把这话给忘了。
I looked up from my typewriter one late afternoon, a little startled. A boystood at the door,and my pointer dog, my companion, was at his side and had not barked to warn me. The boywas probably twelve years old, but undersized. He wore overalls and a torn shirt, and wasbarefooted.
一天傍晚,我正在打字,猛抬头不禁吃了一惊:有个男孩站在房门口,而跟我做伴的猎狗竟在他身边默默呆着,连个招呼也没跟我打一声。这孩子大概有12岁,不过个子没那么大,他穿着一条工装裤,一件破旧的衬衣,光着两脚。
He said, "I can chop some wood today."
他说:“我今天可以劈点儿木柴。”
I said, "But I have a boy coming from the orphanage."
我说:“可我请了孤儿院的孩子来劈。”
"I'm the boy."
“我就是。”
"You? But you're small."
“是你?可你还小呢。”
"Size don't matter, chopping wood," he said. "Some of the big boys don't chop good. I've beenchopping wood at the orphanage a long time."
“劈柴火可不论个头儿,”他说,“有的大孩子还劈不好呢。我在孤儿院劈了好长一阵了。”
I visualized mangled and inadequate branches for my fires. I was well into my work and notinclined to conversation. I was a little blunt."Very well. There's the ax. Go ahead and see whatyou can do."
我想象中出现了砍得乱七八糟的树枝子,供不上壁炉烧的。我一心在写作,没有心思搭理他,话也说得有点生硬:“好了好了,去拿斧子吧。先劈劈再看吧。”
I went back to work,closing the door. At first the sound of the boy dragging brush annoyedme. Then he began to chop. The blows were rhythmic and steady, and shortly I had forgottenhim, the sound no more of an interruption than a consistent rain. I suppose an hour and ahalf passed, for when I stopped and stretched, and heard the boy's steps on the cabin stoop,the sun was dropping behind the farthest mountain, and the valleys were purplewith somethingdeeper than the asters.
我关上门,继续写作。起先听他拽木头,闹得我心烦。后来他动手劈柴了。他劈得错落有致,不紧不慢,我很快就把他忘了,那斧声就跟一场绵绵细雨似的对我全无干扰。我估计他劈了有一个半小时吧,因为这时我歇下来舒展一下身子,听见他正走上门口的台阶,夕阳已渐渐沉没在远山的背后,壑谷间一片紫霭,颜色比翠菊还浓。
The boy said, "I have to go to supper now. I can come again tomorrow evening."
这孩子说道:“我得去吃晚饭了。我明晚再来。”
I said, "I'll pay you now for what you've done," thinking I should probably have to insist on anolder boy. "Ten cents an hour'?"
我说:“我这就把你的工钱结了吧,”心想恐怕还得换个大孩子来,“一小时算一毛?”
"Anything is all right."
“怎么都行。”
We went together back of the cabin. An astonishing amount of solid wood had been cut. Therewere cherry logs and heavy roots of rhododendron, and blocks from the waste pine and oakleft from the building of the cabin.
我们一起来到屋后。只见满地都是劈好了的结结实实的木柴,简直令人咂舌。其中有樱桃树的圆木干和杜鹃灌木的粗根,就连盖小屋剩下的废松木和废栎木,也都劈成了大块的木柴。
"But you've done as much as a man," I said. "This is a splendid pile."
“你可是跟大人劈得一样多了,”我说,“瞧这么大一堆,太好了。”
I looked at him, actually, for the first time. His hair was the color of the corn shocks, and hiseyes, very direct, were like the mountain sky when rain is pending-gray, with a shadowing ofthat miraculous blue. As I spoke a light came over him, as though the setting sun hadtouched him with the same suffused glory with which it touched the mountains. I gave him aquarter.
我端详着他,说真的,这还是头一回。他的头发呈玉米秫秸的颜色,两眼里一片率真,像是山雨欲来的天空——灰暗中透出那奇异的天蓝。我正说着,忽见他周身一片光亮,仿佛落日那洒满群山的余辉也洒到了他身上。我给了他一枚两角五分的硬币。
"You may come tomorrow," I said, "and thank you very much."He looked at me, and at the coin,and seemed to want to speak, but could not, and turned away.
“你明天来吧,”我说,“多谢你了。”他看看我,又看看硬币,好像要说什么,可又说不出来,就转身离去。
"I'll split kindling tomorrow," he said over his thin ragged shoulder. "You'llneed kindling andmedium wood and logs and backlogs."
“明天我劈引火柴,”他回过头来又说,衬衣的肩部都磨薄磨破了,“点火柴,引火柴,原木,垫底的,你都用得着。”
At daylight I was half wakened by the sound of chopping. Again it was so even in texture that Iwent back to sleep. When I left my bed in the cool morning, the boy had come and gone, and astack of kindling was neat against the cabin wall. He came again after school in the afternoonand worked until time to return to the orphanage. His name was Jerry; he was twelve years old,and he had been at the orphanage since he was four. I could picture him at four, with the samegrave gray-blue eyes and the same-independence? No, the word that comes to me is"integrity."
第二天黎明时分,一阵劈柴声搅得我似醒非醒。那拍子依然不紧不慢,又把我带回梦乡。我早上起床,天很凉,这孩子来过又走了,只见一堆引火柴整整齐齐码在墙边。他下午放学后又来了,一口气干到该回孤儿院了才歇手。他叫杰里,12岁了,从四岁起就呆在孤儿院。我可以想象他四岁的样子,也是这双郑重其事的灰蓝色眼睛,也是这份自立?不,我想到的词儿是“正直”。
The word means something very special to me, and the quality for which I use it is a rare one.My father had it-there is another of whom I am almost sure-but almost no man of myacquaintance possesses it with the clarity,the purity, the simplicity of a mountain stream.But the boy Jerry had it. It is bedded-on courage, but it is more than brave. It is honest, but itis more than honesty. The ax handle broke one day. Jerry said the woodshop at theorphanage would repair it. I brought money to pay for the job and he refused it.
这个词对我有特殊的含义,我用它来说明一种难得的品格。我父亲就有这种品格——我相信还有别人,但是在我的相识中几乎没有一个人像一泓山泉那般清澈、纯洁和朴素地具备这种品格。然而杰里这孩子就有。他的正直植根于勇气,但又超出勇敢。它是诚实,但又超出诚实。有一天,斧把断了。杰里说孤儿院的木工房给修。我掏出修理费,他不肯收。
"I'll pay for it," he said. "I broke it. I brought the ax down careless."
“这钱该我出,”他说,“我弄断的。我砍得不小心。”
"But no one hits accurately every time," I told him. "The fault was in the wood of the handle.I'll see the man from whom I bought it.
“可谁都有个闪失的时候,”我对他说,“都怪木把不结实。我找卖斧子的去。”
"It was only then that he would take the money. He was standing back of his own carelessness. He was a free-will agent and he chose to do careful work, and if he failed, he took theresponsibility without subterfuge.
他这才肯把钱收下。他对自己的疏忽毫不遮掩。他是个自有主意的人,干活就要认真干好,没干好,他就承担责任,决不借故推诿。
Nanjing the Beloved City
南京,她有层出不穷的风流人物,和彪炳千秋的不朽业绩。大都会特有的凝聚力,吸引了无数风云人物、仁人志士在这里角逐争雄,一逞豪彦。从孙权、谢安到洪秀全、孙中山,从祖冲之、葛洪到李时珍、郑和,从刘勰、萧统到曹雪芹、吴敬梓,从王羲之、顾恺之到徐悲鸿、傅抱石,还有陶行知、杨廷宝等等,中国历史上一批杰出的政治家、军事家、科学家、文学家、艺术家、教育家、建筑家等荟萃于此,在这块钟灵毓秀的土地上一圆他们的辉煌之梦。他们是中华民族的优秀儿女,巍巍钟山、滚滚长江养育了他们,为他们提供了施展抱负的舞台,他们也以自己的雄才大略、聪明智慧为中华民族的灿烂文明增添了流光溢彩的新篇章。
Nanjing has witnessed the continuous emergence of many distinguished talents and noblehearts as well as monumental achievements that shone through the ages. Attracted by herspecial appeal, a great number of powerful figures and people actuated by high ideals havestayed in or frequented this metropolis to contend for the lead or to give play to their geniusand virtues. Military commanders such as Sun Quan and Xie An; political leaders such as HongXiuquan and Dr. Sun Yat-sen; scientists like Zu Chongzhi, Ge Hong, Li Shizhen and Zhenghe;men of letters such as Liu Xie, Xiao Tong, Cao Xueqin and Wu Jingzi; artists like Wang Xizhi, GuKaizhi, Xu Beihong and Fu Baoshi; educators such as Tao Xingzhi; and architects like YangTingbao—all these renowned historical figures used to settle on this blessed land to have theirsplendid dreams fulfilled. The towering Purple Mountains and billowing Yangtze River nurturedthem and provided them with arenas in which to realize their aspirations. By virtue of theirgenius, vision, and sagacity, these best and brightest sons and daughters of the nation madespectacular contributions to the resplendent Chinese civilization.
南京,她自新中国建立以来发生的巨大而深刻的变化更加使人欢欣鼓舞。从1949年4月23日始,人民真正成为这座古老城市的主人。金陵回春,古城新生,昔日饱尝的屈辱和灾难,至此如同梦魇终被摆脱。人民在自己的土地上辛勤劳作,把古老南京装扮得面貌一新。特别是近十年几来,改革开放又给这座美丽的名城注入了新的活力,崭新的工业、通达的运输、如画的城市建设、兴盛的第三产业、多姿的文化生活,都使这个具有古都特色的现代都市焕发出勃勃英姿。孙中山先生所预言的:“南京将来之发展未可限量也”,正在逐步成为现实。
The tremendous changes that have taken place in Nanjing since New China was founded areeven more inspiring, just as the much quoted couplet from a poem written by the lateChairman Mao Zedong on the occasion of the liberation of the city on April 23, 1949 has it:
The city, a tiger crouching, a dragon curling, outshines its ancient glories;
In heroic triumph heaven and earth have been overturned.
Balmy spring winds returned to bring new life to this historic city, of which the common peoplecame to be the genuine masters. The night marish sufferings and humiliations of the past wereleft behind once and for all. The citizens of Nanjing have been working hard to give this age-oldtown a new appearance. Especially for the past ten years or more, the country’s reform andopening-up policy has infused new vigor into this beautiful and famous city. Newly builtindustries, an efficient transportation network extending in all directions, picturesque urbanconstruction, a booming tertiary industry, a varied and colorful cultural life, all these and moreadded charm and vitality to this modern metropolis, which retains somehow the ambiance andfeatures of an ancient capital. The prophecy of Dr. Sun Yat-sen father of modern China that“Nanjing will have a future that knows no bounds” is becoming true.
南京,这座古老而年轻的历史文化名城,是多么的可爱!
Nanjing, an old city with a rich and celebrated past, yet vigorous in her new youth-how lovelyshe is!
飞翔的杀手正受到威胁
Could anything be more majestic, serene or threatening than the largest bird of prey in theworld, the harpy eagle, soaring above its domain? Weighing nine kilograms and with a 2.2-metre wingspan, this giant of the 。sky glides at 65 kilometres per hour over dense Brazilianrainforest. Its cruel head with flaring coloured crest and huge hooked beak twists constantlyfrom side to side.
有什么比世界上最大的食肉猛禽热带大雕在它的领地上方搏击长空更加壮丽,更加安详,又更具威胁性呢?体重九公斤,翼幅达2.2米的空中巨物在茂密的巴西雨林上空以每小时65公里的速度滑翔。它那长着展开的有色肉冠和巨大钩状鹰嘴的残暴的脑袋木断地向两边扭来扭去。
It spots a monkey in a treetop 2.5 kilometres away and zeroes in on its prey. The monkeymunches on, oblirious to the threat. Then the eagle strikes,plucking its prey from its perchwith talons bome on legs the thickness of your wrists. The monkey dies instantly, pierced bythe talons. The eagle carries the body back to its treetop lair. The famed and feared harpyeagle has killed again.
它发现了2.5公里之外树梢上的一只猴子,就立即把注意力集中在这只猎物身上。猴子全然不知威胁的存在,仍在津津有味地咀嚼着。大雕发起了进攻,用它的利爪将猎物从树枝上一把抓了起来,那利爪长在与人的手腕一般粗的腿上。被利爪刺穿了的猴子刹时间一命呜呼。大雕将其尸体带回树梢上的窝里。鼎鼎大名、令人生畏的热带大雕又杀生了。
Whether this frightening creature does indeed soar like other eagles in search of prey is opento conjecture 。 Forless is known about the harpy than any other eagle-the remoteness of itshabitat sees to that. But it has been seen carrying monkeys, sloth and even small deer back toits nest.
这吓人的热带大雕捕食时是否真的和其他鹰类一样翱翔还没有定论,尚待猜测。人们对大雕的了解比对其他鹰类的了解都少——这是因为它的栖息地十分遥远而造成的,但确实见过它将猴子、树獭甚至小鹿带回巢中。
This eagle's extraordinary eyesight is one of its greatest assets. Like many other eagles, it cansee between four and eight times as much detail as canhumans. The result is an ability to seeclearly a smaU monkey at a distance of up to 2.5 kilometres and to judge distances withpinpoint accuracy 。 The latter is an obvious requirement if prey is to be snatched at speed.
大雕非凡的视力是其最大的优势之一。和许多其他鹰类一样,它看清细节的能力比人类要强四至八倍。这样它就能够看清两点五公里以外的一只小猴子,并能极精确地判定距离,若想快速抓获猎物,准确判断距离很明显是必需的。
It's hard to believe that a creature so well equipped to survive could- ever find itself underthreat. But with huge tracts of rainforest being felled in Centraland South America, the harpy'sfood sources are harder to find.
令人难以置信的是生存条件如此优越的生物竟然也会处于威胁之中,但随着中、南美洲大片热带雨林的被砍伐,大雕的食物来源更为困难。
The threat posed could soon be similar to that facing the harpy's near relative, the Philippinesmonkey-eating eagle. This acutely threatened bird was reduced in numbers to fewer than 100in the wild by the loss of its forest habitat and by the heavy demands of trophy hunters in thePhilippines.
不久,这种威胁就会和热带大雕的近亲——菲律宾食猴鹰所面临的威胁相似了。由于森林栖息地的丧失和菲律宾猎手的大量捕杀,这种受到严重威胁的鸟类的野外数量已减少到不足100只。
Like its Filipino cousm, the harpy eagle nests in the tops of the largest forest trees. It thereforeneeds an intact forest to breed. The seemingly invinable harpy is vulnerable for anotherreason. A mating pair is thought to produce only one eaglet every two years. Harpy eggs takeup to 60 days to hatch and chicks take a further 60 days before they learn to fly. What ismore, the youngster is fed by the parents for many months after it has learned to fly. Annualbreeding then is impossible.
和它的菲律宾同伴一样,热带大雕把巢筑在最大的树顶上。因此,它的繁殖需要一个保持完好的森林环境。似乎不可战胜的热带大雕易受伤害还有一个原因。据信,一对交配的大雕每两年才能生下一个雏雕。雕蛋的孵化需要60天,雏雕学飞之前还需60天。而且,雏雕学会飞行之后还需父母喂养多月。因而,大雕不可能每年繁殖。
Folklore has long held that the harpy eagle preys on human babies as well as forest animals. Tothe ancient Mayans of CentralAmerica the bird was Moan,a bird of ill omen and death. The harpyfrom which the eagle derives its name was a mythical wreaker of vengeance. Yet there is noevidence, according to British naturalist Leslie Brown, that children have ever been taken bythe harpy.
民间传说里,一直认为热带大雕既捕食森林动物,也捕食婴儿。对中美洲的古代玛雅人来说,热带大雕就是Moan,一种带来不祥和死亡的鸟。鹰的名字来自哈比( Harpy),神话中的一个复仇者。然而,按照英国博物学家莱斯利�布朗的说法,还没有证据表明大雕曾经掠走过小孩。
But the Anglia Television Company fflm crew from England that compiled a televisiondocumentary titled Fury of the Forest can vouch for the harpy's ferociousness when its nest isthreatened. One camera team was attacked when filming a pair of harpys mating and nesting.
但制作电视纪录片《森林的愤怒》的英国英吉利电视公司的拍摄人员可以证明:热带大雕,在它的巢穴受到威胁时,是无比凶暴的。一个摄制组在拍摄一对大雕交配和筑巢时受到了它们的袭击。
The harpy eagle does not face the same immediate threat as its Filipino cousin. But if thedestruction of its forest habitat continues at its present rate, the largest of avian predators,too, could join those birds already on the endangered species list. Leslie Brown wrote in 1976that nearly half of the 59 species of eagle were under threat. Those who appreciate naturewill be hoping that the harpy can surmount this threat, to soar on over the forests of SouthAmerica.
The Forgetful Song Thrush
蓝曼
Lan man
那天,我刚刚走进滨河公园,便听到从小树林中传出了画眉的叫声。顺声走去,我看见一只画眉正在花坛里跳来跳去。我仔细观察,寻找它腿上应该有的细索,结果没有看到。啊,这是一只跳出樊笼自由的鸟儿。它自由自在地,一会儿跳上月季的花枝,扬起头来歌唱一阵,一会儿又跳进草丛里,尾巴一翘一翘,向我张望。它那得意的神态,确实招人喜爱。
The other day when I went into Riverside Park, I was greeted by the chirrup of a song thrushfrom a grove. Walking towards the sound I saw the thrush hopping about in a flower bed. Ilooked carefully trying to spot a tiny piece of string that should have been fastened to its leg,but in vain. Ah, it must have escaped from its cage. It was a free bird! One moment it jumpedonto a rose spray and sang with its head high, the next it plunged into the grass and looked atme with its tail waving up and down. Its proud and self-satisfied manner was really enchanting.
在离它不远的草地上,有一只鸟笼。涂了漆的竹篾儿,根根洁净、整齐。笼顶上的那个大笼钩儿,锃明瓦亮。笼门上还挂着一个大红绒穗子,好看极了。若与住房比拟,这可算是一幢相当豪华的住宅了。
Not far from the bird on the grass was a bird cage. It was made of painted bamboo strips andlooked neat and clean. On top of the cage stood a big gleaming metal hook. From the cage-door hung a fiery red tassel, which added to the magnificence of the cage. As birdhouses go,this was certainly a luxurious residence.
在附近的马缨花树下,一位老人正坐着打瞌睡。看来,他就是鸟笼的主人。他听到我的脚步声,睁开了睡眼。我主动向他打招呼:
An old man was dozing under a nearby hibiscus tree. He seemed to be the owner of the cage.Hearing my approaching steps he opened his eyes. I began the dialogue.
“老师傅,你的画眉逃出了笼子!”
"Hello. You bird has got out."
“是的,让它散散步。”
"Yeah. Let it go for a stroll."
“不怕它飞走了么?”我说。
"Aren't you afraid it might fly away?"
老人望了望我,又冷冷一笑:“飞走,往哪儿飞!它舍不得那个食罐儿!”
The old man cast a glance at me and gave an uncaring smile. "Fly away? But why should it? Itcan't leave the food bowl."
我望望食罐儿,并没有什么特殊之处,只不过是细瓷印有一枝梅花罢了。罐中的鸟食是些黄澄澄的颗粒,有一缕野草的清香散发出来。这不外乎把泡软了的小米拌上煮熟了的蛋黄,也许又加了一点什么香料之类,没有什么稀奇。
Examining the bowl carefully, I found nothing special about it. It was no more than a small finechina bowl with a plum design on the side. The bird food in it was some yellow grains whichgave off the refreshing smell of wild grass. I thought it must be a mixture of soaked millet andthe yolk of boiled eggs, perhaps with some condiments added to it. There was nothing specialabout it.
我把我的看法向老人说了。他摇了摇头,没有说什么,只冲着我微笑。我不好再追问他,也许在养鸟这门学问里面,各有各的绝招儿,其中奥秘不愿告人。
I told the old man what was on my mind, but he just shook his head and smiled at me withoutsaying a word. I knew better than to keep on inquiring, for each has his own tricks in raisingbirds and such secrets must never be given away.
这里我瞧见那只自由的鸟儿,从从容容地走进了笼门儿。啪的一声,老人随后把笼门关上。画眉得意洋洋,立在食罐上正啄食那黄澄澄的颗粒。我走出公园想着,那食罐里放了什么样的“迷魂药”,竟使一只美丽的画眉,只会唱歌而忘却了自己的一双翅膀?!
Just at that moment I saw the carefree bird walk into the cage at a leisurely pace. Seeing thathis bird was re-encaged, the old man slid down the cage-door with a click. Standing on the rimof the bowl complacently, the thrush had already begun to peck at its food. As I left the park, Iturned over in my mind a recurring question—what was the magic in the food that had madethis beautiful bird sing so happily but forget about its wings?