中英文互译短篇文章
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中英文互译短篇文章篇1:Mayhew
生活的道路
William S. Maugham
威廉·S.毛姆
The lives of most men are determined by their environment. They accept the circumstancesamid which fate has thrown them not only with resignation but even with good will. They arelike streetcars running contentedly on their rails and they despise the sprightly flivver thatdashes in and out of the traffic and speeds so jauntily across the open country. I respectthem;they are good citizens, good husbands, and good fathers, and of course somebody hasto pay the taxes; but I do not find them exciting. I am fascinated by the men, few enough in allconscience, who take life in their own hands and seem to mould it to their own liking. It may bethat we have no such thing as free will, but at all events we have the illusion ofit. At acrossroad it does seem to us that we might go either to the right or the left and, the choiceonce made, it is difficult to see that the whole course of the world's history obliged us to takethe turning we did.
对于大多数人来说,生活是由环境决定的。他们在命运的拨弄面前,不仅逆来顺受,甚至还能随遇而安。这些人犹如街上的有轨电车,满足于在自己的轨道上运行;而对于那些不时出没于车水马龙间和欢快地奔驰在旷野上的廉价小汽车却不屑一顾。我尊重这些人;他们是守法的公民、尽职的丈夫、慈祥的父亲。当然,总得有人缴纳种种税款;可是,我并不觉得他们使人振奋。另有些人把生活掌握在自己手里,似乎在按照自己的意愿创造生活,尽管这样的人寥若晨星,他们却深深地吸引了我。自由意志这玩意儿对我们来说也许纯属子虚乌有;但不管怎么说,它确实存在于我们的幻想之中。每逢站在十字路口,我们好像能在左右两条道路中任选其一,可一旦选定之后,却又很难认识到那实际是世界历史的整个进程左右了我们的转折点。
I never met a more interesting man than Mayhew. He was a lawyerin Detroit. He was an able anda successful one. By the time he was thirty-five he had a large and a lucrative praaice, he hadamassed a competence, and he stood on the threshold of a distinguished career. He had ana cute brain, anattractive personality, and uprightness. There was no reason why he shouldnot become, financially or politically, a power in the land. One evening he was sitting in his clubwith a group of friends and they were perhaps a little worse (or the better) for liquor. One ofthem had recently come from Italy and he told them of a house he had seen at Capri, a houseon the hill, overlooking the Bay of Naples, with a large and shady garden. He described to themthe beauty of the most beautifulisland in the Mediterranean.
我从未见到过比梅休更有意思的人了。他是底特律的一名律师,为人能干,事业上也很成功。35岁时就门庭若市,收入可观,累累胜诉,声名昭着,前程似锦。他头脑灵活,性格招?喜欢,为人又很正直,在这个国家里不变得有钱或有势才怪呢。一天晚上,他与一些朋友在俱乐部聚会。喝了酒之后,他们也许有点醉意(或更清醒)了,其中一人刚从意大利回来,跟大家谈起了在卡普里岛看到的一幢房子。那是一幢坐落在小山上的房屋,还有个绿叶成荫的大花园。从屋里望出去,那不勒斯湾尽收眼底。他娓娓动听地把地中海这个最美的岛屿夸了一番。
"It sounds fine," said Mayhew. "Is that house for sale?"
“听起来倒真不错!”梅休说,“那房子卖不卖?”
"Everything is for sale in Italy."
“在意大利什么东西都卖。”
"Let's send'em a cable and make an offer for it."
“我们打个电报,出个价把那房子买下来。”
"What in heaven's name would you do with a house in Capri?"
“天哪!你买卡普里的一所房子干什么用啊?”
"Live in it," said Mayhew.
“住呗!”梅休说。
He sent for a cable form, wrote it out, and dispatched it. In a few hours the reply came back.The offer was accepted.
他叫人取来一张电报单,填好后就发了出去。没过几小时,回电来了,买卖成交。
Mayhew was no hypocrite and he made no secret of the fact that he would never have done sowild a thing if he had been sober, but when he was he did not regret it. He was neither animpulsive nor an emotional man, but a very honest and sincere one. He would never havecontinued from bravado in a course that he had come to the conclusion was unwise. Hemade up his mind to do exactly as he had said. He did not care for wealth and he had enoughmoney on which to live in Italy. He thought he could do more with life than spend it oncomposing the trivial quarrels of unimportant people.
梅休绝对不是伪君子。他毫不隐讳地承认,如果当时头脑清醒的话,他决不至于做出如此轻率的事。但此刻他清醒了,也决不反悔。他不是个一冲动就鲁莽从事的人,也不多愁善感。他为人十分正直、诚恳。无论干什么,只要意识到所干的并不明智,他就马上会停下来,从不会因一时逞能而一味蛮干下去。他决心不折不扣地履行自己的诺言。
He had no definite plan. He merely wanted to get away from a life that had given him allit hadto offer. I suppose his friends thought him crazy; some must have done all they could todissuade him. He arranged his affairs, packed up his ffirniture, and started.
梅休并不在乎钱财,他有的是钱,足够在意大利花的。他想使生活过得更有价值,不愿再把这大好年华浪费在调停芸芸众生因区区小事引起的吵闹中。他没有明确的计赳。他只是想抛弃这已不能再使他满意的生活。我想他的朋友们一定以为他疯了。有些人肯定是费尽唇舌劝他千万别这么做。可是他安排好手头的事务,把家具装了箱,毅然上路了。
Capri is a gaunt rock of austere outline, bathed in a deep blue sea; but its vineyards, greenand smiling, give it a soft and easy grace. It is friendly,remote, and debonair. I find it strangethat Mayhew should have settled on this lovely island, for I never knew a man more insensibleto beauty I do not know what he sought there: happiness, freedom, or merely leisure; I knowwhat he found. In this place which appeals so extravagantly to the senses he lived a life entirelyof the spirit. For the island is rich with historic associations and over it broods always theenigmatic memory of Tiberius the Emperor. From his windows which overlooked the Bay ofNaples, with the noble shape of Vesuvius changing colour with the changing light, Mayhew saw ahundred places that recalled the Romans and the Greeks. The past began to haunt him. All thathe saw for the first time, for he had never been abroad before, excited his fancy; and in his soulstirred the creative imagination. He was a man of energy. Presently he made up his mind towrite a history. For some time he looked about for a subject, and at last decided on the secondcentury of the Roman Empire. It was little known and it seemed to him to offer problemsanalogous with those of our own day.
卡普里岛是一块外形突兀的荒凉的岩石,沐浴在深蓝色的海洋里。但是它的葱绿的葡萄园仿佛在向人微笑,使这个海岛增添了几分令人舒爽的温柔宁静的姿色。卡普里岛远离尘嚣,却景色宜人,生气盎然。我真感到奇怪,梅休竟会找这么一个可爱的海岛定居,因为我实在不相信还有谁会比他对美更无动于衷的了。我不知道他到那儿去想追求什么,是寻幸福,求自由,或者只是为了优游岁月;但我知道他找到了什么。在这个岛上,人的感官本会受到强烈的刺激,而他却过上了纯精神的生活。因为这个岛上尽是能够勾起你联想的历史遗迹,总叫你想到提比略大帝的神秘故事。他站在窗前就能俯视那不勒斯湾。每当日移光变,维苏威火山的雄姿也随之变换色泽。此时,他凭窗远望,看到上百处残踪遗迹,因而联想起罗马和希腊的盛衰。他开始不停地思考起古代社会来。过去他从未到过国外,现在第一次开了眼界,什么都使他神驰遐想。脑海中创造性的想象联翩浮来。他是个精力充沛的人,立刻就决定要笔耕史学。他花了一些时间寻找题目,最终选定了罗马帝国的第二世纪。这个题目很少为人所知。梅休认为帝国当时存在的问题与当今社会的情况颇有巧合之处。
He began to collect books and soon he had an immense library. His legal training had taughthim to read quickly. He settled down to work. At first hehad been accustomed to foregather inthe evening with the painters, writers,and such like who met in the little tavern near the Piazza,but presently hewithdrew himself, for his absorption in his studies became more pressing. Hehad been accustomed to bathe in that bland sea and to take long walks among the pleasantvineyards, butlittle by little, grudging the time, he ceased to do so. He worked harder than hehad ever worked in Detroit. He would start at noon and work all through the night till thewhistle of the steamer that goes every morning from Capri to Naples told him that it was fiveo'clockand time to go to bed. His subject opened out before him, vaster and more significant,and he imagined a work that would put him forever beside the great historians of the past. Asthe years went by he was to be found seldom in the ways of men. He could be tempted to comeout of his house only by agame o' chess or the chance of an argument. He loved to set hisbrain against another's. He was widely read now, not only in history, but in philosophy andscience; and he was a skilful controversialist, quick, logical, and incisive.
他开始收集有关着作,不久就有了大量藏书。搞法律时受的训练教会了他如何快速阅读。他着手工作了。起初,,他惯于在黄昏时分到市场附近的一个小酒店和聚在那里的画家、作家等文人墨客共同消磨一段时光,但不久他就深居简出了,因为研究工作日趋紧张,使他抽不出时间。一开始他也常到温和的海水中去洗澡,不时在可爱的葡萄园之间散步。但由于舍不得时间,渐渐地他不再洗澡,也不散步了。他干得要比在底特律卖力得多,常常是正午开始工作,彻夜不眠,待到汽笛一鸣,才恍然意识到已是清晨五点,从卡普里到那不勒斯的船只正要起锚出航,该是睡觉的时候了。他的主题在他面前展开了,涉及的内容越来越广泛,意义越来越重大。他在遐想,一旦巨着完成,他将跻身于历代伟大的史学家之列,永垂史册。时间一年年过去,人们很少看到他与外界来往,只有一场棋赛或是一次辩论,才能诱使他走出家门。他就是爱与人斗智。现在他已博览群书,不仅读历史,还读哲学与科学。他能争善辩,思路敏捷,说理逻辑严密,批判尖锐辛辣。
But he had good-humour and kindliness; though he took a very human pleasure in victory, hedid not exult in it to your mortification.
但他心地是善良的。当然,每逢胜利他也免不了满腔欢欣与快乐,这是人之常情。不过他并不沾沾自喜,而让别人下不了台。
When first he came to the island he was a big, brawny.fellow, with thick black hair and a blackbeard, of a powerful physique; but gradually his skin became pale and waxy; he grew thin andfrail. It was an odd contradiction in the most logical of men that, though a convinced andimpetuous materialist,he despised the body; he looked upon it as a vile instrument which hecould force to do the spirit's bidding. Neither illness nor lassitude prevented him from going onwith his work. For fourteen years he toiled uluemittingly. He made thousands and thousands ofnotes. He sorted and classified them. Hehad his subjea at his finger ends, and at last was readyto begin. He sat down to write. He died.
当他初到海岛时,个子高大结实,一头浓密的黑发和一把黑胡须,是一个身强力壮的人。但渐渐地他的皮肤日见苍白,人也瘦弱了。尽管他是一个坚定不移的、甚至近于偏激的唯物论者,却不把肉体放在眼里。这在一位最讲究逻辑的人身上,可真是自相矛盾得叫人不可思议。他把肉体视为微不足道的工具,认为他可以驱使肉体去完成精神赋予的使命。病魔和疲劳都不能使他停止工作。整整14年,他埋头苦干,锲而不舍,做了千万条注释,又把这些注释分门别类整理有序。对于自己的主题,他了如指掌,终于万事俱备,他坐下来去写那煌煌巨着。然而他死了。
The body that he, the materialist, had treated so contumeliously took its revenge on him.
这位唯物论者曾极度蔑视肉体,如今肉体对他进行了报复。
That vast accumulation of knowledge is lost for ever. Vain was that ambition,surely not anignoble one, to set his name beside those of -Gibbon and Mommsen . His memory is treasuredin the hearts of a few friends, fewer,alas! as the years pass on, and to the world he isunknown in death as he was in life.
那长年累月积累起来的知识也随着他的死而化为乌有。他曾想与吉本和蒙森齐名。这雄心无疑是高尚的,然而如今只是一场空。几个朋友还怀念着他,可叹的是,随着岁月的流逝,记得他的人也越来越少。在这个大干世界上,他死后默默无闻,犹如他生前一样。
And yet to me his life was a success. The pattern is good and complete. Hedid what he wanted,and he died when his goal was in sight and never knew the bitterness of an end achieved.
然而,在我看来,他的一生是成功的。他的生活道路是完美的。因为他干了他想干的事。当目标在望时,他与世长辞,因而也就幸免了达到目标后的心酸与痛苦。
中英文互译短篇文章篇2:Luck
好运气
Mark Twain
马克·吐温
I was at a dinner in London given in honor of one of the most celebrated English military menof his time. I do not want to tell you his real name and titles. I will just call him LieutenantGeneral Lord Arthur Scoresby. I cannot describe my excitement when I saw this great andfamous man. There he sat, the man himself, in person, all covered with medals. I could not takemy eyes off him. He seemed to show the true mark of greatness. His fame had no effect onhim. The hundreds of eyes watching him, the worship of so many people did not seem to makeany difference to him.
事情发生在伦敦的一次宴会上。这次宴会是为当代英国威名显赫的两三位军事将领之一举行的。由于下面即将说明的原因,我将不提他的真实姓名和各种头衔。我将称他为陆军中将阿瑟·斯考兹比勋爵、皇家护卫骑士、巴斯爵士,等等,等等,等等。鼎鼎大名的人物具有多大的魅力130年前他在克里米亚战役中崭露头角,名声大噪,历久不衰。从那时以后我曾无数次听见人们谈到他,而此刻他本人就坐在那儿。我盯着这位半神半人似的人物,看呀,看呀,看呀,好像这就是我的美酒佳肴。我注视着他,搜寻他的一切特点并默记在心:他的面部表情安详、矜持、高贵、严肃;他的气质中具有朴素、诚实的品格,这是一眼就看得出的;他对自己的丰功伟绩虽然踌躇满志,但却不露声色——好像不知道成百双充满崇敬之情的眼睛正注视着他;好像不知道出自人们内心的一股深厚的爱慕之情,一种真诚的崇拜,正朝他涌来。
Next to me sat a clergyman, who was an old friend of mine. He was not always a clergyman.During the first half of his life he was a teacher in the military school at Woolwich. There was astrange look in his eye as he leaned toward me and whispered – "Privately – he is a completefool." He meant, of course, the hero of our dinner.
坐在我左边的牧师是我的老相识。他现在是牧师,可前半辈子却是在戎马生涯中度过的,而且还当过伍立奇军事学校的教官。就在我刚谈到的这个时刻,他眼中隐隐约约闪现出一种十分离奇的目光,一边用手势指着宴会上的那位英雄,一边俯过头来轻轻地,但却是满有把握地对我说:“私下说说一他是个头号大傻瓜。”
This came as a shock to me. I looked hard at him. I could not have been more surprised if hehas said the same thing about Nepoleon, or Socrates, or Solomon. But I was sure of two thingsabout the clergyman. He always spoke the truth. And, his judgment of men was good.Therefore, I wanted to find out more about our hero as soon as I could.
这个评语使我大吃一惊。如果他说的是拿破仑、苏格拉底或是所罗门,我也不会感到更惊奇了。有两点我是清楚的:这位牧师说话句句真实可靠;而且他很有知人之明。因此我断定,毫无疑问,世人是错看了这位英雄:他的确是个傻瓜。于是我就想在方便的时候向这位孤身独处的牧师问清楚,他是怎样发现这个秘密的。
Some days later I got a chance to talk with the clergyman, and he told me more. These are hisexact words:
过了些日子,机会来到了,下面就是这位牧师告诉我的话:
About forty years ago, I was an instructor in the military academy at Woolwich, when youngScoresby was given his first examination. I felt extremely sorry for him. Everybody answeredthe questions well, intelligently, while he – why, dear me – he did not know anything, so tospeak. He was a nice, pleasant young man. It was painful to see him stand there and giveanswers that were miracles of stupidity.I knew of course that when examined again he wouldfail and be thrown out. So, I said to myself, it would be a simple, harmless act to help him asmuch as I could. I took him aside and found he knew a little about Julius Ceasar's history. But,he did not know anything else. So, I went to work and tested him and worked him like a slave. Imade him work, over and over again, on a few questions about Ceasar, which I knew he wouldbe asked.If you will believe me, he came through very well on the day of the examination. Hegot high praise too, while others who knew a thousand times more than he were sharplycriticized. By some strange, lucky accident, he was asked no questions but those I made himstudy. Such an accident does not happen more than once in a hundred years. Well, all throughhis studies, I stood by him, with the feeling a mother has for a disabled child. And he alwayssaved himself by some miracle.
大约40年前,我在伍立奇军事学校当教官。年轻的斯考兹比参加初试时,我在他那个小组。班上别的学员回答问题都很漂亮,而他一一唉,天啊,他可说是一无所知,我的怜悯之心不禁为之大动。谁都看得出他是个好孩子,可亲可爱,又很天真;此刻他站在那儿,呆若木鸡,回答问题时的愚昧无知真是荒谬绝伦,叫人看了十分痛心。我的怜悯心都被他激发起来了。我暗自思忖,复试时他肯定是要被刷掉的;既然如此,尽我所能来减轻他摔下来的痛苦,也就只不过是一种无害的慈悲举动而已。我把他叫到一旁,发现他还知道一点儿恺撒大帝的历史,既然他别的什么也不知道,于是我就辅导他,逼他像奴隶船上的奴隶一样拼命准备有关恺撒大帝的一些老生常谈的问题,而我知道这些问题是会考到的。信不信由你,考试那天他居然名列前茅!就凭这点儿纯释是表面功夫的“死记硬背”他过了关,而且还受到赞扬;而别人呢,虽然比他强一千倍,却被淘汰了。由于某种奇妙幸运的机遇一—这种机遇—百年也难碰到第二次,除了他准备的狭窄范围之外,没其妙。这么说吧,自始至终我都守护着他,我对他的感情就像一位母亲对待自己的瘸腿小孩一样;但他却总是能从困境中自己解脱出来——明摆着全是凭奇迹。
I thought that what in the end would destroy him would be the mathematics examination. Idecided to make his end as painless as possible. So, I pushed facts into his stupid head forhours. Finally, I let him go to the examination to experience what I was sure would be hisdismissal from school. Well, sir, try to imagine the result. I was shocked out of my mind. Hetook first prize! And he got the highest praise.
当然啰,到头来揭穿他、要他命的还是数学。我打定主意尽量叫他死得痛快点儿;于是我选定了考官最可能出的题目的路子对他反反复复进行填鸭式的硬灌,然后让他听天由命。您想想那结果吧:叫我大吃一惊,他居然荣获头奖!全场向他热烈鼓掌祝贺。
I felt guilty day and night – what I was doing was not right. But I only wanted to make hisdismissal a little less painful for him. I never dreamed it would lead to such strange, laughableresults. I thought that sooner or later one thing was sure to happen: The first real test once hewas through school would ruin him.
睡觉?一个星期我都睡不着。我日日夜夜受着良心的折磨。我做的这一切纯粹是出于恻隐之心,只是为了让这可怜的小伙子别摔得太惨。我做梦也没有想到,事情的结果竟是如此之荒.唐透顶。我感到像弗兰肯斯坦一样有罪,难过。我让一个呆瓜可能有机会青云直上,荣膺重任;而结局只能是:时机一到,他和他的事业前程都会一块儿完蛋。
Then, the Crimean War broke out. I felt that sad for him that there had to be a war. Peacewould have given this donkey a chance to escape from ever being found out as being sostupid. Nervously, I waited for the worst to happen. It did. He was appointed an officer. Acaptain, of all things! Who could have dreamed that they would place such a responsibility onsuch weak shoulders as his.
克里米亚战争这时刚刚爆发。我暗中想,当然得有一场战争。要是在和平时期,就没有机会叫这头蠢驴在死之前不露出本相。我等着火山爆发。火山果然爆发了。可是火山爆发时却惊得我目瞪口呆。官方公报上发表他为作战团队的一名上尉!比他强的人服役到老,头发都灰白了,才能爬到这样高的位置谁又预料得到他们竟会把责任如此重大的一副担子放在这样稚嫩而不堪胜任的肩膀上?要是他们叫他当一名扛大旗的军士,我还勉强受得了;可是叫他当上尉一想想看!这真把我吓了个半死。
I said to myself that I was responsible to the country for this. I must go with him and protectthe nation against him as far as I could. So, I joined up with him. And anyway we went to thefield.
我是个爱好安逸、不好活动的人,可是想想看我干了件什么事。我自思自想,这件事我要对国家负责,我一定得跟他一起去尽我所能保护国家不受他的祸害。于是我拿出历年辛辛苦苦工作、点点滴滴节省下来的一点积蓄,叹了口气,跑到他那个团队买了个扛大旗的差使,跟部队一起开赴战场。
And there – oh dear, it was terrible. Mistakes, fearful mistakes – why, he never did anythingthat was right – nothing but mistakes. But, you see, nobody knew the secret of how stupid hereally was. Everybody misunderstood his actions. They saw his stupid mistakes as works ofgreat intelligence. They did, honestly! His smallest mistakes made a man in his right mind cry,and shout and scream too – to himself, of course. And what kept me in a continual fear wasthe fact that every mistake he made increased his glory and fame. I kept saying to myself thatwhen at last they found out about him, it will be like the sun falling out of the sky.
哎哟哟,真可怕。犯错误?——他可只会犯错误,别的什么也干不出来。但是你得明白,这家伙的秘密谁也没窥破过。大伙儿都错看了他,并且对他的所作所为每次都必然做出错误的解释。结果是,他们把这个白痴所犯的大错竟然当成是天才的杰作。我一点也不瞎说,他们就是这样胡搞的!他最微小的错误也足够叫一个头脑清醒的人大喊起来;这些错误的确叫我大喊起来——这叫我私下里大发雷霆、破口大骂。老是使我直冒冷汗的是,每次他犯下一个新的错误,他的英名就愈加大放异彩!我不断地对自己说,他这样青云直上,、有朝一日真相揭穿的时候,那会像太阳从天上掉下来。
He continued to climb up, over the dead bodies of his superiors. Then, in the hottest momentof one battle down went our colonel. My heart jumped into my mouth, for Scoresby was thenext in line to take his place. Now, we are in for it, I said…
他的上级不断阵亡,他也就踏着他们的尸体步步高升。最后,在某战役最炽烈的时刻,我们的上校也牺牲了。我吓得心都快从口里跳出来了,因为斯考兹比是第二名军衔最高的军官!瞧吧,我说,不到十分钟咱们全都得到地狱里报到,没错。
The battle grew hotter. The English and their allies were steadily retreating all over the field. Ourregiment occupied a position that was extremely important. One mistake now would bringtotal disaster. And what did Scoresby do this time – he just mistook his left hand for his righthand…that was all. An order came for him to fall back and support our right. Instead, he movedforward and went over the hill to the left. We were over the hill before this insane movementcould be discovered and stopped. And what did we find? A large and unsuspected Russian armywaiting! And what happened – were we all killed? That is exactly what would have happened inninety-nine cases out of a hundred. But no – those surprised Russians thought that no oneregiment by itself would come around there at such a time.
战斗打得异常激烈,联军在整个战场上节节败退。我们团队所踞的阵地十分重要;此刻出错必会招致全军覆没。在这一发千钧之际,,这个头号大傻瓜是怎样指挥的呢?他把团队从阵地撤出,下令向邻近的一座小山包发起冲锋,而那里连一个敌兵的影子也没有!“一错再错!”我自言自语地说,“这下子到底是全完蛋啦。”我们一个劲儿往前冲,敌人还来不及发现和制止我们的疯狂行动,我们就已经冲上了山脊。我们看到了什么呢?谁也想不到竟是俄军整整一个军的后备队!结果如何呢?是不是把我们吃掉了呢?百分之九十九的情况下,那必然是我们的下场。但是,不,那些俄国人推测:在这种时刻,单单一个团队是决不会像羊群放牧似的在这儿出现的。
It must be the whole British army, they thought. They turned tail, away they went over the hilland down into the field in wild disorder, and we after them. In no time, there was the greatestturn around you ever saw. The allies turned defeat into a sweeping and shining victory.
必定是英军全军出击,必定是俄军的诡计已被识破而不能得逞;因此他们就掉头乱跑,从山上跑到山下,混乱不堪,我们则尾追不舍;他们自己破坏了俄军坚强的中央阵地,撕开了一个缺口,于是俄军立即全线大溃败,那情形真是少见,结果联军反败为胜,获得了伟大、辉煌的胜利!坎罗伯特元帅看到这一切,又惊又喜,赞叹不已,立即召见斯考兹比,拥抱他,在战场上当着全军的面给他授勋!
The allied commander looked on, his head spinning with wonder, surprise and joy. He sentright off for Scoresby, and put his arms around him and hugged him on the field in front of allthe armies. Scoresby became famous that day as a great military leader – honored throughoutthe world. That honor will never disappear while history books last.
那一次斯考兹比犯的是什么错误?只不过是把右手当成了左手——如此而已。命令叫他往后靠,支援我方右翼;而他呢,他却往前靠,越过小山包向左方运动。但是那一天,他却一举成名,成了一位神奇的天才军事家,誉满全球。只要世上还有历史书存在,这种荣誉就永放光芒。
He is just as nice and pleasant as ever, but he still does not know enough to come in out of therain. He is the stupidest man in the universe. Until now, nobody knew it but Scoresby andmyself. He has been followed, day by day, year by year, by a strange luck. He has been ashining soldier in all our wars for years. He has filled his whole military life with mistakes. Everyone of them brought him another honorary title. Look at his chest, flooded with British andforeign medals. Well, sir, every one of them is the record of some great stupidity or other.They are proof that the best thing that can happen to a man is to be born lucky. I say again, asI did at the dinner, Scoresby's a complete fool.
他是一位非常和蔼可亲、平易近人的好人,但他就是不知道下雨了应当进屋躲躲。这话一点不假。他是宇宙间夭字第一号的蠢驴;半个钟头以前除了他自己和我之外还没有旁人知道内情。日复一日,年复一年,他交的全是好运,一种极不寻常的、令人惊叹不已的好运。在一代人的时期内,他参加过我们的历次战争,战功彪炳;他在戎马生涯中始终不断犯错误,然而这些错误总是使他荣膺爵士、从男爵、勋爵或是别的什么称号。瞧他的胸脯儿,嘿,密密麻麻挂满了本国和外国的勋章。你瞧,每枚勋章都是某件荒.唐透顶的蠢事的记录,这些勋章加在一起就证明:人生在世所能碰到的最最好的事就是一出娘胎就交上好运气。我在宴会上说过,我现在再说一遍,斯考兹比是个头号大傻瓜。
中英文互译短篇文章篇3:Love Is Not Like Merchandise
爱情不是商品
A reader in Florida, apparently bruised by some personal experience, writes in to complain, "IfI steal a nickel's worth of merchandise, I am a thief and punished; but if I steal the love ofanother's wife, I am free."
佛罗里达州的一位读者显然是在个人经历上受过创伤, 他写信来抱怨道: “如果我偷走了五分钱的商品, 我就是个贼, 要受到惩罚, 但是如果我偷走了他人妻子的爱情, 我没事儿。”
This is a prevalent misconception in many people's minds---that love, like merchandise, canbe "stolen". Numerous states, in fact, have enacted laws allowing damages for "alienation ofaffections".
这是许多人心目中普遍存在的一种错误观念——爱情, 像商品一样, 可以 “偷走”。实际上,许多州都颁布法令,允许索取“情感转让”赔偿金。
But love is not a commodity; the real thing cannot be bought, sold, traded or stolen. It is anact of the will, a turning of the emotions, a change in the climate of the personality.
但是爱情并不是商品;真情实意不可能买到,卖掉,交换,或者偷走。爱情是志愿的行动,是感情的转向,是个性发挥上的变化。
When a husband or wife is "stolen" by another person, that husband or wife was already ripefor the stealing, was already predisposed toward a new partner. The "love bandit" was onlytaking what was waiting to be taken, what wanted to be taken.
当丈夫或妻子被另一个人“偷走”时,那个丈夫或妻子就已经具备了被偷走的条件,事先已经准备接受新的伴侣了。这位“爱匪”不过是取走等人取走、盼人取走的东西。
We tend to treat persons like goods. We even speak of the children "belonging" to theirparents. But nobody "belongs" to anyone else. Each person belongs to himself, and to God.Children are entrusted to their parents, and if their parents do not treat them properly, thestate has a right to remove them from their parents' trusteeship.
我们往往待人如物。我们甚至说孩子“属于”父母。但是谁也不“属于”谁。人都属于自己和上帝。孩子是托付给父母的,如果父母不善待他们,州政府就有权取消父母对他们的托管身份。
Most of us, when young, had the experience of a sweetheart being taken from us by somebodymore attractive and more appealing. At the time, we may have resented this intruder---but aswe grew older, we recognized that the sweetheart had never been ours to begin with. It wasnot the intruder that "caused" the break, but the lack of a real relationship.
我们多数人年轻时都有过恋人被某个更有诱惑力、更有吸引力的人夺去的经历。在当时,我们兴许怨恨这位不速之客---但是后来长大了,也就认识到了心上人本来就不属于我们。并不是不速之客“导致了”决裂,而是缺乏真实的关系。
On the surface, many marriages seem to break up because of a "third party". This is, however,a psychological illusion. The other woman or the other man merely serves as a pretext fordissolving a marriage that had already lost its essential integrity.
从表面上看,许多婚姻似乎是因为有了“第三者”才破裂的。然而这是一种心理上的幻觉。另外那个女人,或者另外那个男人,无非是作为借口,用来解除早就不是完好无损的婚姻罢了。
Nothing is more futile and more self-defeating than the bitterness of spurned love, thevengeful feeling that someone else has "come between" oneself and a beloved. This is always adistortion of reality, for people are not the captives or victims of others---they are free agents,working out their own destinies for good or for ill.
因失恋而痛苦,因别人“插足”于自己与心上人之间而图报复,是最没有出息、最自作自受的乐。这种事总是歪曲了事实真相,因为谁都不是给别人当俘虏或牺牲品——人都是自由行事的,不论命运是好是坏,都由自己来作主。
But the rejected lover or mate cannot afford to believe that his beloved has freely turned awayfrom him--- and so he ascribes sinister or magical properties to the interloper. He calls him ahypnotist or a thief or a home-breaker. In the vast majority of cases, however, when a homeis broken, the breaking has begun long before any "third party" has appeared on the scene.
但是,遭离弃的情人或配偶无法相信她的心上人是自由地背离他的——因而他归咎于插足者心术不正或迷人有招。他把他叫做催眠师、窃贼或破坏家庭的人。然而,从大多数事例看,一个家的破裂,是早在什么“第三者”出现之前就开始了的。
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