散文英译汉佳作赏析

散文英译汉佳作赏析

　　汉译英散文佳作赏析：冯骥才《西式幽默》

　　Western Humour

　　冯骥才

　　Feng Jicai

　　学院请来一位洋教师，长得挺怪，红脸，金发，连鬓大胡须，有几根胡子一直逾过面颊，挨近鼻子，他个子足有二米，每迸屋门必须低头，才能躲过门框子的拦击，叫人误以为他进门先鞠躬，这不太讲究礼貌了吗？

　　Our institute employed an English teacher. He looked very strange red-faced, golden-haired, with a thick growth of whiskers that reached all the way to the nose. He was really tall-- no less than six foot five. When he came in through the door, he had to lower his head to avoid banging against the door frame. It looked as though he always bowed to you at the door and that was much too polite.

　　顶怪的是，他每每与中国学生聊天，聊到可笑之处时，他不笑，脸上也没表情，好象他不喜欢玩笑；可是有时毫不可笑的事，他会冷不防放声大笑，笑得翻江倒海，仰面朝天，几平连人带椅子要翻过去，喉结在脖子上乱跳，满脸胡子直抖。常使中国学生面面相觑，不知这位洋教师的神经是不是有点问题？

　　What was more, he never laughed, when he chatted with his Chinese students on amusing stories, nor did his face show any expression as if he knew no sense of humour. However, when it came to topics of the most dull nature, he would burst into uncontrollable laughter, roaring while rocking in his chair, almost falling flat on his back, his Adam's apple dancing up and down in his throat and his whiskers fluttering all over his face. The students would then look at each other, wondering if he was in his right mind.

　　一天，洋教师出题，考察学生们用洋文作文的水准，题目极简单，随便议论议论校园内的一事一物，褒贬皆可。中国学生很灵，一挥而就，洋教师阅后。评出了最佳作文一篇，学生们听后大为不解，这种通篇说谎的文章怎么能被评为“最佳”？

　　One day he set the students an essay to see how well they could write in English, the topic being A Comment on Life on the Campus-it her complimentary or critical. That was simple. And his students, quick at writing, finished it at one go and turned it in no time. He went through the papers and picked one that he thought the best. When he read it out to the students, they were greatly perplexed. Of all the comments, why did he like this one best, Not a single word of it was true.

　　原来这篇作文是写学校食堂。写作文的学生来自郊区农村，人很老实，胆子又小, 生伯得罪校方，妨碍将来毕业时的分数、评语、分配工作等等，便不顾真假，胡编乱造，竭力美化，唱赞歌。使得一些学生看后惯惯然。可是……洋教师明知学校食堂糟糕透顶的状况，为什么偏要选这篇作文？有人直问洋教师。

　　It was about the campus cafeteria and the author was a peaceable and timid guy from a village near the town. In order not to offend the school authorities -- a decisive factor: concerning his final grading, evaluation and, above; all, where he was to go after graduation -- he had made up a high-sounding story in praise of the cafeteria regardless of reality, thus making his ClaSS- mates very angry. The teacher was as well aware of the cafeteria's terrible conditions, but why should this piece in particular have appealed to him so much, Someone asked.

　　洋教师说：“这文章写得当然好，而且绝妙无比。你们听一一”他拿起作文念起来，“我们学校最美的地方，不是教室，不是操场，也不是校门口那个带喷水的小花坛，而是食堂。瞧，玻璃干净得几乎叫你看不到它的存在——。”洋教师念到这儿，眼睛调皮地一亮，眉毛一挑，“听听，多么幽默！”

　　"This is undoubtedly a good one,'' the teacher insisted. "Unprecedentedly good! Just listen --" He began to read. "'The most beautiful spot on campus is not the Classrooms, nor the sports ground, nor the small lawn with a fountain at the school gate; it is our cafeteria. Look! The windows are so clean , that you scarcely notice any glass on them' --" "He paused, his eyes flashing with a glint of humour and his brows shooting upward. "Listen! Isn't it humorous?"

　　幽默？怎么会是幽默大家还没弄明白。

　　Humorous? But what was humorous about it? The students were hard put to it.

　　洋教师接着念道：“如果你不小心在学校食堂跌了一跤，你会惊奇地发现你并没跌跤，因为你身上半点尘上也没留下；如果你长期在学校食堂里工作，恐怕你会把苍蝇是什么样子都忘了……”洋教师又停住，舌头“得”地弹一声，做一个怪脸说，“听呀，还要多幽默，我简直笑得念不下去了。”

　　"If you were not careful enough,'" the teacher read on, '"and had a fall on the floor, you would be amazed to find that you had not fallen at all because you did not get a single particle of dust on your clothes. If you had worked in the cafeteria long enough, you would have forgotten what a fly looks like ... " He paused again, his tongue clicking admiration. Working up a very funny expression on his face, he went on, "Listen, please! Could anyone else have made it more humorous?" He laughed so hard that he could scarcely continue.

　　学生们忽然明白了什么。

　　By now the students seemed to be cottoning on.

　　洋教师一边笑，一边继续往下念：“食堂天天的饭菜有多么精美、多么丰富、多么解馋！只有在学校食堂里，你才会感到吃饭是一种地道的享受……”

　　The teacher went on his reading punctuated by fits of laughter ."How wonderfully is the food cooked here! What a great variety of dishes you have here and how well your appetite is satisfied! In fact it is only at the cafeteria of the institute that you eating enjoyable...."

　　散文英译汉佳作赏析：我父亲的音乐

　　My Father's Music

　　我父亲的音乐

　　by Wayne Kalyn

　　韦恩凯林

　　I remember the day Dad first lugged the heavy accordion up our front stoop, taxing his small frame. He gathered my mother and me in the living room and opened the case as if it were a treasure chest. "Here it is," he said. "Once you learn to play, it'll stay with you for life."

　　记得有一天，身材瘦小的父亲背着一架沉重的手风琴，费力地走到前门廊。他把妈妈和我叫进厅里，打开了那只盒子，好象那是一个百宝箱似的。“就这个，”他说，“你一旦学会，它将伴随你一生。”

　　If my thin smile didn't match his full-fledged grin, it was because I had prayed for a guitar or a piano. For the next two weeks, the accordion was stored in the hall closet. Then one evening Dad announced that I would start lessons the following week. In disbelief I shot my eyes toward Mom for support. The firm set of her jaw told me I was out of luck.

　　如果说我勉强的微笑与他发自内心的笑容不和谐的话，那是因为我一直想要一把吉他或一架钢琴。随后的两个星期，那架手风琴一直放在大厅的橱子里。一天晚上，爸爸宣布下周我开始上琴课。疑惑中，我把视线急忙投向妈妈求助。她紧绷的下巴告诉我：我倒运了。

　　Spending $300 for an accordion and $5 per lesson was out of character for my father. He was practical always － something he learned growing up on a Pennsylvania farm. Clothes, heat and sometimes even food were scarce.

　　花300元买一架手风琴，每次上课再花3美元，这可不像父亲的作风。他一直是很实际的——这是他在宾夕法尼亚农场成长过程中学来的。那时候，衣服、暖气，有时甚至连食物都短缺。

　　Dad was a supervisor in a company that serviced jet engines. Weekends, he tinkered in the cellar, turning scraps of plywood into a utility cabinet or fixing a broken toy with spare parts. Quiet and shy, he was never more comfortable than when at his workbench.

　　爸爸是一家为喷气式飞机引擎提供服务的公司的主管。周末，他在地下室里修修补补，把胶合板的边角料做成一个实用的小柜子，或者用一些零件把坏了的玩具修好。他不喜张扬，不爱说话。最让他感到舒服的，莫过于在工作台旁边。

　　Only music carried Dad away from his world of tools and projects. On a Sunday drive, he turned the radio on immediately. At red lights, I'd notice his foot tapping in time. He seemed to hang on every note.

　　只有音乐会让爸爸远离他的工具和计划的世界。一个星期天驾车外出，一上车他就打开了收音机。遇到红灯时，我注意到他的脚在打着拍子，似乎能跟得上每一个节拍。

　　Still, I wasn't prepared when, rummaging in a closet, I found a case that looked to me like a tiny guitar's. Opening it, I saw the polished glow of a beautiful violin. "It's your father's," Mom said. "His parents bought it for him. I guess he got too busy on the farm to ever learn to play it." I tried to imagine Dad's rough hands on this delicate instrument － and couldn't.

　　然而，我还是没有思想准备，那是我在橱子里翻找东西时，发现一只像是装小吉它的盒子。打开一看，是一把锃亮的、漂亮的小提琴。“那是你爸爸的，”妈妈说。“他父母给他买的。我想他在农场里太忙了，没有时间学。”我试图想象爸爸粗糙的双手放在这精致的乐器上的情景——无法想象。

　　Shortly after, my lessons began with Mr. Zelli. On my first day, with straps straining my shoulders, I felt clumsy in every way. "How did he do?" my father asked when it was over. "Fine for the first lesson," said Mr. Zelli. Dad glowed with hope.

　　不久，泽利先生开始教我拉手风琴。第一天，手风琴背带压着我的肩膀，我感到浑身不自在。“他学得怎么样？”结束时，父亲问。“第一堂课，这已经很不错。”泽利先生说。爸爸眼中闪着希望的光芒。

　　I was ordered to practice half an hour every day, and every day I tried to get out of it. My future seemed to be outside playing ball, not in the house mastering songs I would soon forget. But my parents hounded me to practice.

　　爸爸命令我每天练半个小时，可每天我都想赖掉。我的将来似乎应在户外打球，而不是在屋内练那些很快就会忘掉的曲子。然而父母不断地督促我练习。

　　Gradually, to my surprise, I was able to string notes together and coordinate my hands to play simple songs. Often, after supper, my father would request a tune or two. As he sat in his easy chair, I would fumble through "Lady of Spain" and "Beer Barrel Polka."

　　渐渐地，让我吃惊的是，我竟然能把几个音符连起来了。手指的协调性也好点了，还能拉出几首简单的曲子。晚饭后，父亲常常会要我拉上一、两首曲子。他躺在安乐椅里，我则笨拙地拉完“西班牙女郎”和“啤酒桶波尔卡”。

　　"Very nice, better than last week," he'd say. Then I would follow into a medley of his favorites, "Red River Valley" and "Home on the Range," and he would drift off to sleep, the newspaper folded on his lap. I took it as a compliment that he could relax under the spell of my playing.

　　他会说，“不错，比上星期好，”然后我会接着拉他喜欢的曲子“红河谷”和“山上的家”。听着听着，他慢慢睡着了，报纸叠在腿上。我把这看作是一种赞扬：他能在我美妙的演奏中放松。

　　One July evening I was giving an almost flawless rendition of "Come Back to Sorrento," and my parents called me to an open window. An elderly neighbor, rarely seen outside her house, was leaning against our car humming dreamily to the tune. When I finished, she smiled broadly and called out, "I remember that song as a child in Italy. Beautiful, just beautiful."

　　七月的一个傍晚，我正在拉“重回索联托”，拉得几乎完美无缺。父母突然把我叫到窗前。一位极少出门、上了年纪的老邻居，正靠在我们的车旁，跟着曲子沉醉地哼唱着。当我拉完时，她咧开嘴笑了，大声说：“小时候在意大利我听到过这首歌曲，我还记得。太棒了，真是棒极了。

　　”Throughout the summer, Mr. Zelli's lessons grew more difficult. It took me a week and a half to master them now. All the while I could hear my buddies outside playing heated games of stickball. I'd also hear an occasional taunt; "Hey, where's your monkey and cup?"

　　整个夏天，泽利先生的课越来越难。现在要一个半星期才能掌握。练琴时，我总是听到伙伴们在外面玩棍球的嬉闹声。偶尔还听到奚落：“嗨，你的猴子和奖杯哪里去了？

　　”Such humiliation paled, though, beside the impending fall recital. I would have to play a solo on a local movie theater's stage. I wanted to skip the whole thing. Emotions boiled over in the car one Sunday afternoon. "I don't want to play a solo." I said. "You have to," replied my father.

　　不过，这种羞辱与即将来临的秋季演奏会相比，算不得什么。我得在当地一家影剧院舞台上独奏一曲。我想逃避这一切。一个星期天的下午，不满的情绪终于在车上爆发了。“我不想独奏，”我说。“你必须去，”父亲说。

　　"Why?" I shouted. "Because you didn't get to play your violin when you were a kid? Why should I have to play this stupid instrument when you never had to play yours?"Dad pulled the car over and pointed at me. "Because you can bring people joy. You can touch their hearts. That's a gift I won't let you throw away." He added softly, "Someday you'll have the chance I never had: you'll play beautiful music for your family. And you'll understand why you've worked so hard."

　　“为什么？”我叫了起来。“就因为你小时候没能拉上小提琴？你从来不用拉琴，我为什么必须拉那笨重的玩意？”爸爸把车开到路边，手指着我。“因为你能给人们带来快乐。你能拨动他们的心弦。我不会让你放弃这份才能。”爸爸又心平气和地说：“有一天你会有我从未有过的机会：你能为你的全家弹奏美妙的音乐。那时你会明白，如此努力到底是为什么。”

　　I was speechless. I had rarely heard Dad speak with such feeling about anything, much less the accordion. From then on, I practiced without my parents’ making me.

　　我不吱声了。我很少听到爸爸如此语重心长地跟我谈事情，更不用说是为了拉手风琴的事。从那以后，我练琴再也不用父母盯着。

　　The evening of the concert Mom wore glittery earrings and more makeup than I could remember. Dad got out of work early, put on a suit and tie, and slicked down his hair with Vitalis. They were ready an hour early, so we sat in the living room chatting nervously. I got the unspoken message that playing this one song was a dream come true for them.

　　音乐会那天晚上，妈妈戴上了亮闪闪的耳环，精心打扮一番；爸爸也早早下班回家，穿上西装，系上领带，头上抹了瓦特里斯，油亮亮的。他们提前一个小时就准备好了，我们就坐在厅里，紧张地谈论着。我感觉到，上台演奏这首曲子是他们要实现的一个梦想。

　　At the theater nervousness overtook me as I realized how much I wanted to make my parents proud. Finally, it was my turn. I walked to the lone chair on stage and performed "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" without a mistake. The applause spilled out, with a few hands still clapping after others had stopped. I was lightheaded, glad my ordeal was over.

　　在剧场里，当我意识到我是多么想让父母感到骄傲时，我极为紧张。最后，终于轮到我了。我走向舞台中央的那张椅子，演奏了一曲“今晚你孤独吗？”，一个音符也没拉错。顿时，掌声四起，难以停息。我 头有点晕晕的，庆幸我的苦难终于结束。

　　After the concert Mom and Dad came backstage. The way they walked － heads high, faces flushed － I knew they were pleased. My mother gave me a big hug. Dad slipped an arm around me and held me close. "You were just great," he said. Then he shook my hand and was slow to let it go.

　　音乐会后，爸妈来到后台。他们走路的样子，昂着头，精神焕发--我知道他们很开心。妈妈紧紧地抱住我。爸爸伸出一只手臂，牢牢地搂住我：“你太棒了。”说完，他使劲地握着我的手，不愿松开。

　　As the years went by, the accordion drifted to the background of my life. Dad asked me to play at family occasions, but the lessons stopped. When I went to college, the accordion stayed behind in the hall closet next to my father's violin.

　　随着岁月的流逝，那架手风琴渐渐退至我生活的幕后。只有在家庭聚会上，爸爸还会让我拉上一曲。但是风琴课不再上了。我上大学时，那架手风琴放进厅里的壁橱，在爸爸的小提琴旁边。

　　A year after my graduation, my parents moved to a house in a nearby town. Dad, at 51, finally owned his own home. On moving day, I didn't have the heart to tell him that he could dispose of the accordion, so I brought it to my own home and put it in the attic.

　　大学毕业后一年，父母搬到附近城镇的一栋房子。爸爸在他五十一岁那年终于拥有了自己的家。搬家那天，我不忍 心告诉他，说他可以处理那架手风琴，于是我把它带回自己家，放在阁楼上。

　　There it remained, a dusty memory, until one afternoon several years later when my two children discovered it by accident. Scott thought it was a secret treasure; Holly thought a ghost lived inside. They were both right.

　　手风琴一直放在那里，成了尘封的记忆。直到几年后的一个下午，我的两个孩子偶然发现了它。斯科特认为这是一件秘密宝藏。霍莉则认为里面住着一个幽灵。他俩都对。

　　When I opened the case, they laughed and said, "Play it, play it." Reluctantly, I strapped on the accordion and played some simple songs. I was surprised my skills hadn't rusted away. Soon the kids were dancing in circles and giggling. Even my wife, Terri, was laughing and clapping to the beat. I was amazed at their unbridled glee.

　　我打开盒子时，他们笑了，叫道“拉一曲，拉一曲。”我不情愿地背上琴带，拉了几只简单的曲子。真没想到，我拉起来还是那么娴熟。很快，孩子们围成圈跳起来，咯咯地笑个不停。甚至连我妻子特丽也笑了，打着拍子。看着他们纵情欢笑，我感到惊异。

　　My father's words came back to me: "Someday you'll have the chance I never had, Then you'll understand." I finally knew what it meant to work hard and sacrifice for others. Dad had been right all along: the most precious gift is to touch the hearts of those you love. Later I phoned Dad to let him know that, at long last, I understood. Fumbling for the right words, I thanked him for the legacy it took almost 30 years to discover. "You're welcome," he said, his voice choked with emotion.

　　我的耳边回响起父亲说过的话：“有一天你会有我从未有过的机会，那时你会明白的。”我终于明白，去努力，去为别人作出牺牲意味着什么。爸爸始终是对的：最珍贵的礼物莫过于打动你所爱的人的心。后来，我给爸爸去电话，告诉他我终于懂了。我笨嘴拙舌地找寻合适的词语，为他给我的宝贵财富表示感谢，这财富我花了差不多三十年才发现。“不用谢，”他激动得说不出话来。

　　Dad never learned to coax sweet sounds from his violin. Yet he was wrong to think he would never play for his family. On that wonderful evening, as my wife and children laughed and danced, they heard my accordion. But it was my father's music.

　　爸爸从未学过从他的小提琴上拉出美妙的声音。但是他以为自己永远不会为家人弹奏音乐，这种想法是错的。那个美妙的夜晚，我的妻子、孩子欢歌笑舞，他们听到的是我的手风琴，但，那却是我父亲的音乐。

　　英译汉散文佳作赏析：什么叫朋友

　　A Faraway Friend is someone you grew up with or went to school with or lived in the same town as until one of you moved away. Without a Faraway Friend, you would never get any mail addressed in handwriting. A Faraway Friend calls late at night, invites you to her wedding, always says she is coming to visit but rarely shows up. An actual visit from a Faraway Friend is a cause for celebration and binges of all kinds.

　　远方的朋友是这样的一个人：和你从小一同长大的，或者是同学，或者和你原本住在同一个镇上，后来你们中的一人搬到了别处。没有一位远方的朋友，你连一封手写的信都收不到。远方的朋友会半夜打来电话，邀请你去参加她的婚礼，她总是说要来看你，却很少露面。要是真的来访，那才叫“不亦乐乎”，各种名目的狂欢可就有了理由。

　　Faraway friends go through phases of intense communication, then maybe out of touch for many months. Either way, the connection is always there. A conversation with your Faraway Friend always helps to put your life in perspective: When you feel you’ve hit a dead end, come to a confusing fork in the road, or gotten lost in some cracker-box subdivision of your life, the advice of the Faraway Friend — who has the big picture, who is so well acquainted with the route that brought you to this place — is indispensable.

　　两个远方的朋友会经历密切交流的阶段，接下来或许几个月都不联系。但无论联系与否，友谊永远不会改变。与远方的朋友一席长谈，总是有助于你更好地认识生活；当你觉得自己走入了死胡同时，当你面对岔路而不知所措时，来自远方朋友的忠告就越发不可或缺，她看得清大局，完全了解你是怎么走到这一步的。

　　Another useful function of the Faraway Friend is to help you remember things from a long time ago, like the name of your seventh-grade history teacher, what was in that really good stir-fry, or exactly what happened that night on the boat with the guys from Florida.

　　远方的朋友还有一个益处，就是能让你记起很久以前的事情，比如七年级历史老师的名字，那盘炒菜里究竟什么东西那么好吃，或者那天晚上在船里和佛罗里达来的男孩子们都干了些什么。

　　Ah, the former friend. A sad thing. At best a wistful memory, at worst a dangerous enemy who is in possession of many of your deepest secrets. But what was it that drove you apart? A misunderstanding, a betrayed confidence, an underpaid loan, an ill-conceived flirtation. A poor choice of spouse can do in a friendship just like that. Going into business together can be a serious mistake. Time, money, distance, cult religions: all noted friendship killers. You quit doing drugs, you’re not such good friends with your dealer anymore.

　　啊，从前的朋友。让人忧伤的事情。好了的话是一段伤感的记忆，不好的话你有一个危险的敌人，而且对你许多最隐秘的事情都了如指掌。可究竟是什么把你们分开的呢？一个误解，一个被泄露的秘密，一笔没有偿还的借款，一次有欠考虑的轻俏之举。择偶不慎也会使友谊分崩离析；一起做生意会成为一个严重的错误；时间、金钱、距离、宗教狂热，这都是耳熟能详的友谊杀手。如同一旦你戒了毒，你就不再是你供货商的好朋友了。

　　And lest we forget, there are the Friends You Love to Hate. They call at inopportune times. They say stupid things. They butt in, they boss you around, they embarrass you in public. They invite themselves over. They take advantage. You’ve done the best you can, but they need professional help. On top of all this, they love you to death and are convinced they’re your best friends on the planet.

　　而且我们别忘了：还有些朋友，你喜欢恨他们。他们在不适当的时候打电话，他们蠢话连篇，他们胡乱插手你的事情，他们把你指使得团团乱转，他们总是占尽了你的便宜。你已经尽了最大的努力，可他们需要的其实是专业人员的帮助。这一切之外，他们还爱你爱得要死要活，深信他们是你在这个世界上最好的朋友。

　　So why do you continue to be involved with these people? Why do you tolerate them? On the contrary, the real question is what would you do without them. Without Friends You Love to Hate, there would be nothing to talk about with your other friends. Their problems and their irritating stunts provide a reliable source of conversation for everyone they know.

　　那么你又为什么继续和他们打交道呢？为什么要容忍他们呢？反过来说，真正的问题是：没有他们你行吗？没有这些你宁可去憎恨的朋友，你和你别的朋友也就无话可说了。他们的缺陷和他们恼人的噱头，为他们认识的每一个人都提供了源源不断的谈资。

　　What’s more, Friends You Love to Hate make you feel good about yourself, since you are obviously in so much better shape than they are. No matter what these people do, you will never get rid of them. As much as they need you, you need them, too.

　　此外，他们还能使你对自己感觉良好，因为你的状况显然比他们好得太多。不管他们做出什么事情来，你绝对不愿摆脱他们。你对他们的需要，和他们对你的需要可谓不相上下呢。

　　At the other end of the spectrum are Hero Friends. These people are better than the rest of us, that’s all there is to it. Their career is something you wanted to be when you grew up — painter, forest ranger, tireless doer of good.

　　与此相反的另一个极端则是那些令人艳羡的朋友。他们比我们这些人都更出色，有这一点就够了。他们的事业就是你长大后的追求——画家、护林人，不知疲倦的行善者。

　　They have beautiful homes filled with special handmade things presented to them by villagers in the remote areas they have visited in their extensive travels. Yet they are modest. They never gossip. They are always helping others, especially those who have suffered a death in the family or an illness. You would think people like this would just make you sick, but somehow they don’t.

　　他们拥有漂亮的房子，里面满是手工做的奇特玩意儿，都是他们周游世界时到过的边远地区的村民总送给他们的。可他们依旧待人谦和。他们从不饶舌。他们总是去帮助别人，特别是那些遭受丧失亲人之痛或疾病折磨的人。你会认为这种人只能让你厌倦，可他们偏偏不是那样。

　　A new friend is a tonic unlike any other. Say you meet her at a party. In your bowling league. At a Japanese conversation class, perhaps. Wherever, whenever, there’s that spark of recognition. The first time you talk, you can’t believe how much you have in common. Suddenly, your life story is interesting again, your insights fresh, your opinion valued. Your various shortcomings are as yet completely invisible.

　　新的朋友是一剂无可比拟的良药。也许你是在一次聚会上结识她的，也许是在保龄球俱乐部里，也许是日语会话课上。无论何处，无论何时，只因为擦出了那钟惺惺相惜的火花。你简直无法相信你们有这么多共同点，而且只是第一次交谈。突然间，你的经历又变得有趣了，你的见识不同凡响，你的意见也倍受重视。你各式各样的缺点一时间也完全消失不见了。

　　散文英译汉佳作赏析：培根《论养生》

　　Of Regiment of Health

　　论养生

　　There is a wisdom in this, beyond the rules of physic: a man's own observation, what he finds good of, and what he finds hurt of, is the best physic to preserve health.

　　养生有道，非医学底规律所能尽。一个人自己的观察，他对于何者有益何者有害于自己的知识，乃是最好的保健药品。

　　But it is a safer conclusion to say; this agreeth not well with me, therefore I will not continue it; than this; I fmd no offence of this, therefore I may use it. For strength of nature in youth passeth over many excesses, which are owing a man till his age. Discern of the coming on of years, and think not, to do the same things still; for age will not be defied.

　　但是在下断语的时候，如果说：“这个与我底身体不合，因此我要戒它”，比说：“这个好象于我没有什么害处，因此我要用它”较为安全得多。因为少壮时代底天赋的强力可以忍受许多纵欲的行为，而这些行为是等于记在账上，到了老年的时候，是要还的。留心你底年岁底增加，不要永远想做同一的事情，因为年岁是不受蔑视的。

　　Beware of sudden change in any great point of diet, and if necessity enforce it, fit the rest to it. For it is a secret, both in nature, and state; that it is safer to change many things, than one. Examine thy customs, of diet, sleep, exercise, apparel, and the like; and try in anything thou shall judge hurtful, to discontinue it by little and little; but so, as if thou doest fmd any inconvenience by the change, thou come back to it again: for it is hard to distinguish, that which is generally held good, and wholesome, from that, which is good particularly, and fit for thine own body.

　　在饮食底重要部分上不可骤然变更，如果不得已而变更的话，则别的部分也须要变更，以便配合得宜。因为在自然的事体和国家的事务上都有一种秘诀，就是变一事不如变多事的安全。把你平日饮食、睡眠、运动、衣服、等等的习惯自省一下，并且把其中你认为有害的习惯试行逐渐戒绝，但是其办法应当这样，如果你由这种变更而感觉不适的时候，就应当回到原来的习惯去；因为把一般认为有益卫生的习惯和于个人有益，于你自己底身体适合的习惯分别起来是不容易的。

　　To be free minded, and cheerfully disposed, at hours of meat, and of sleep, and of exercise, is one of the best precepts of long lasting. As for the passions and studies of the mind; avoid envy; anxious fears; anger fretting inwards; subtle and knotty inquisitions; joys, and exhilarations in excess; sadness not communicated.

　　在吃饭、睡觉、运动的时候，心中坦然，精神愉快，乃是长寿底最好秘诀之一。至于心中的情感及思想，则应避嫉妒，焦虑，压在心里的怒气，奥秘难解的研究，过度的欢乐，暗藏的悲哀。

　　Entertain hopes; mirth rather than joy; variety of delights, rather than surfeit of them; wonder, and admiration, and therefore novelties; studies that fill the mind with splendid and illustrious objects, as histories, fables, and contemplations of nature. If you fly physic in health altogether, it will be too strange for your body, when you shall need it If you make it too familiar, it will work no extraordinary effect, when sickness cometh. I commend rather some diet, for certain seasons, than frequent use of physic, except it be grown into a custom.

　　应当长存着的是希望，愉快，而非狂欢；变换不同的乐事，而非过餍的乐事；好奇与仰慕，以保有新鲜的情趣；以光辉灿烂的事物充满人心的学问，如历史、寓言、自然研究皆是也。如果你在健康的时候完全摒弃医药，则到了你需要它的时候将感觉医药对于你底身体过于生疏不惯。如果你平日过于惯用医药，则疾病来时，医药将不生奇效。窃以为与其常服药饵，不如按季节变更食物，除非服药已经成了一种习惯。

　　For those diets alter the body more, and trouble it less. Despise no new accident in your body, but ask opinion of it In sickness, respect health principally; and in health, action.

　　因为那些不同的食物是可以变更体气而不扰乱它的。对于身体上任何新的症候都不可小视，须要向人求教。

　　For those that put their bodies to endure in health, may in most sickness, which are not very sharp, be cured only with diet, and tendering.

　　在病中，主要的是注意健康；在健康的时候，主要的是注意活动。因为那平日使自己底身体习于劳动的人在大多数不很厉害的疾病中只要节饮食，多调养，就可以好了。

　　Celsus could never have spoken it as a physician, had he not been a wise man withal, when he giveth it, for one of the great precepts of health and lasting, that a man do vary, and interchange contraries; but with an inclination to the more benign extreme: use fasting, and full eating, but rather full eating; watching and sleep, but rather sleep;sitting, and exercise, but rather exercise; and the like.

　　塞尔撒斯教人养生长寿之道，最要的一端就是一个人应当把各种相反的习惯都变换着练习练习，但是在轻重之间却应当稍重那有益于人的一端；禁食与饱食都应当练习，但是宁可稍重饱食；警醒与睡眠都应当练习，但是宁可偏尚睡眼；安坐与运动都应当练习，但是宁可着重运动；诸如此类。

　　So shall nature be cherished, and yet taught masteries. Physicians are some of them so pleasing, and conformable to the humour of the patient, as they press not the true cure of the disease; and some other are so regular, in proceeding according to art, for the disease, as they respect not sufficiently the condition of the patient Take one of a middle temper, or if it may not be found in one man, combine two of either sort: and forget not to call, as well the best acquainted with your body, as the best reputed of for his faculty.

　　塞尔撒斯要不是一位医生而兼哲人的话，专以医生底身分他是永不会说出这种话来的。如他所说的办法，将使天生的体质既可以得滋养又可以增力量也。医生之中有些是对于病人底脾气很纵容迁就的，以致不能迅收治疗之效；又有些人则是照治病底学理行事，十分谨严，以致对于病者底实情不充分注重。选择医生的时候顶好请一位性情适中的；或者，如果一个人没有这样的性情的时候，则在两种人里各取其一而调和之。又在请医生的时候，固然要请那出名的好医生，也不可忘了请那个最熟悉你底体格的医生也。

　　散文汉译英佳作赏析：老舍《小麻雀》

　　小麻雀

　　A Little Sparrow

　　老舍

　　Lao She

　　雨后，院里来了个麻雀，刚长全了羽毛。它在院里跳，有时飞一下，不过是由地上飞到花盆沿上，或由花盆上飞下来。看它这么飞了两三次，我看出来：它并不会飞得再高一些。，它的左翅的几根长翎拧在一处，有一根特别的长，似乎要脱落下来。

　　As soon as the rain stopped, a little sparrow, almost full-fledged, flew into the courtyard. It hopped, fluttered, darting up to the edge of flower pots and back to the ground again. Watching it move up and down a couple of times, I realized drat it could not fly any higher as the plumes on its left wing had got twisted with one sticking out as if about to come off.

　　我试着往前凑，它跳一跳，可是又停住，看着我，小黑豆眼带出点要亲近我又不完全信任的神气。我想到了：这是个熟鸟，也许是自幼便养在笼中的。所以它不十分怕人。可是它的左翅也许是被养着它的或别个孩子给扯坏，所以它爱人，又不完全信任。

　　When I made an attempt to move closer, it jumped off a hit and stopped again, staring back at me with its small, black and bean-like eyes that had a mixed look of wanting to be friends with me and not being certain that I was trustworthy. It occurred to me that this must be a tame bird, having been caged since it was hatched perhaps. No wonder it was not much scared of my presence. Its left wing might have been impaired by some kid and that was why there was distrust in its look though it showed some intimacy with man.

　　想到这个，我忽然的很难过。一个飞禽失去翅膀是多么可怜。这个小鸟离了人恐怕不会活，可是人又那么狠心，伤了它的翎羽。它被人毁坏了，而还想依靠人，多么可怜!

　　Suddenly I was seized with sadness. How miserable it was for a bird to lose its wings! Without someone taking care of it this small thing could not survive. But man had injured its wing. How cruel he was! Injured as it was, it still wanted to rely on man. How pitiable!

　　它的眼带出进退为难的神情，虽然只是那么个小而不美的小鸟，它的举动与表情可露出极大的委屈与为难。它是要保全它那点生命，而不晓得如何是好。对它自己与人都没有信心，而又愿找到些倚靠。它跳一跳，停一停，看着我，又不敢过来。

　　The look in its eyes showed that She little creature was of two minds. It was small and by no means pretty, yet its gestures and expressions revealed that it had been wronged and landed in a difficult situation. It was anxious to keep its delicate life out of danger, but it did not know what to do. It had little confidence in itself and less trust in man, but it needed someone to rely on. It hopped and stopped, looking at me but too shy to come over.

　　我想拿几个饭粒诱它前来，又不敢离开，我怕小猫来扑它。可是小猫并没在院里，我很快地跑进厨房，抓来了几个饭粒。及至我回来，小鸟已不见了。我向外院跑去，小猫在影壁前的花盆旁蹲着呢。我忙去驱逐它，它只一扑，把小鸟擒住!被人养惯的小麻雀，连挣扎都不会，尾与爪在猫嘴旁搭拉着，和死去差不多。

　　I thought of fetching some cooked rice to attract it, but I dared not leave it alone test it should be attacked by the kitten. As the kitten was not around at the moment, I hurried to the kitchen and cause back with a few grains only to find the bind missing. I ran to the outer yard and saw the kitten crouching by a flower pot in front of the screen wall. I hastened to drive her away but, with a quick jump, she caught hold of the bird. The tame sparrow, with its tail and claws dangling from the kitten’s mouth, did not even know how to struggle. It looked more dead than alive.

　　瞧着小鸟，猫一头跑进厨房，又一头跑到西屋。我不敢紧追，怕它更咬紧了可又不能不追。虽然看不见小鸟的头部，我还没忘了那个眼神。那个预知生命危险的眼神。

　　With my eyes fixed on the bird, I watched the kitten run first to the kitchen and then to the ram at the west end. I was afraid to press hard after her, but I had to follow her in case she should tighten her jaws. Though the bird's head was not visible to toe, the look of anticipated danger in its eyes was vivid in my wind.

　　那个眼神与我的好心中间隔着一只小白猫。来回跑了几次，我不追了。追上也没用了，我想，小鸟至少已半死了。猫又进了厨房，我愣了一会儿，赶紧的又追了去；那两个黑豆眼仿佛在我心内睁着呢。

　　Between its look and my sympathy stood that small white cat. Having run a few rounds after her I quit, thinking it was pointless to chase her like that because, by the time I caught her, the bird would have been half dead. When the cat slipped back to the kitchen again, I hesitated for a second and then hurried over there too. It seemed, in my mind's eye, the little bird were pleading for help with its two black bean-like eyes.

　　进了厨房，猫在一条铁筒—冬天升火通烟用的，春天拆下来便放在厨房的墙角—旁蹲着呢。小鸟已不见了。铁筒的下端未完全扣在地上，开着一个不小的缝儿，小猫用脚往里探。我的希望回来了，小鸟没死。

　　In the kitchen I noticed the cat was crouching by a tin pipe which was installed as smoke duct in winter and dismantled in spring, at the corner, but the bird was not with her. The pipe leaned against the corner and, between its lower end and the floor; there was an opening through which the cat was probing with her paws. My hope revived: the bird was not dead.

　　小猫本来才四个来月大，还没捉住过老鼠，或者还不会杀生.只是叼着小鸟玩一玩。正在这么想，小鸟忽然出来了，猫倒像吓了一跳，往后躲了躲。小鸟的样子，我一眼便看清了，登时使我要闭上了眼。

　　As the kitten was less than four months old, it had not teamed how to catch mice, or how to kill for that matter. It was merely holding the bird in its mouth and having fun with it. While I was thinking along these lines the little bird suddenly emerged and the kitten, taken aback, bolted backward. Tile way the little bird looked was so registered to me at the first glance that I felt like shutting my eyes immediately.

　　小鸟几乎是蹲着，胸离地很近，像人害肚痛蹲在地上那样。它身上并没血。身子可似乎是拳在一块，非常的短。头低着，小嘴指着地。那两个黑眼珠!非常的黑，非常的大，不看什么，就那么顶黑顶大的愣着。

　　It was virtually crouching, with its chest close to the floor, like a man suffering from a stomachache. There was no stain of blood on its body, but it seemed to be shrinking up into itself. Its head dropped low, its small beak pointing to the floor. Its two black eyes, unseeing, were very black and large, looking last.

　　它只有那么一点活气，都在眼里，像是等着猫再扑它，它没力量反抗或逃避；又像是等肴猫赦免了它，或是来个救星。生与死都在这俩眼里，而并不是清醒的。它是胡涂了，昏迷了：不然为什么由铁筒中出来呢可是，虽然昏迷，到底有那么一点说不清的，生命根源的，希望。

　　The little life left in it was all in the eyes. It seemed to be expecting the cat to charge again, with no strength to resist or run; or wishing that the cat would be kind enough to pardon it or that some savior would come along to its rescue. Life and death coexisted in its eyes. I thought the bin must be confused or stunned, or else why should it have come out from the pipe? Stunned as it was, it still cherished some hope which, though hard to define, was the source of life.

　　这个希望使它注视着地上，等着，等着生或死。它怕得非常的忠诚气完全把自己交给了一线的希望，一点也不动。像把生命要从两眼中流出，它不叫也不动。

　　With that hope it gazed at the floor, expecting either to survive or die. I was so really scared that it became completely motionless, leaving itself all to the precarious hope. It kept quiet and still as if waiting for its life to flow out of its eyes.

　　小猫没再扑它，只试着用小脚碰它。它随着击碰倾侧，头不动，眼不动，还呆呆地注视着地上。但求它能活着，它就决不反抗。

　　The kitten made no more attempts to attack it. She only tried to touch it with her little paws. As the kitten touched it, it tilted from side to side, its head undisturbed and its eyes looking blank at the floor. It would not fight back so long as there was a chance of survival.

　　可是并非全无勇气，它是在猫的面前不动！我轻轻地过去，把猫抓住。将猫放在门外，小鸟还没动。我双手把它捧起来。它确是没受了多大的伤.虽然胸上落了点毛。它看了我一眼!

　　But the bird had not lost all of its courage; it acted this way only with the cat. I went aver light-footed, picked up the cat and put her outside the door, the sparrow remaining where it was. When I took it up in my hands and looked, it was riot seriously injured, though some fluff had come off its chest. It was looking at me.

　　我没主意：把它放了吧，它准是死；养着它吧，家中没有笼子。我捧着它，好像世上一切生命都在我的掌中似的，我不知怎样好。小鸟不动，拳着身，两眼还那么黑，等着!愣了好久，我把它捧到卧室里，放在桌子上，看着它，它又愣了半夭，忽然头向左右歪了歪用它的黑眼睁了一下；又不动了，可是身子长出来一些，还低头看着，似乎明白了点什么。

　　I had no idea what to do. If I let it go, it was sure to die; if I kept it with me, I did rot have a cage for it. I held it in my hands as if holding all the lives in the world, not knowing what to do. 'Me sparrow huddled up, motionless, its eyes as black as ever, still expectant. It remained that way for a long while. I took it to my bedroom, put it on the desk and watched it for a few moments. Suddenly it tilted its head Wit and then right, winking its black eyes once or twice, and became still again. By now its body seemed to have stretched a hit, but it still kept its head low as if it had understand something.

　　散文汉译英佳作赏析：许地山《落花生》

　　落花生

　　The Peanut

　　许地山

　　Xu Dishan

　　我们屋后有半亩隙地。母亲说：“让它荒芜着怪可惜，既然称们那么爱吃花生，就辟来做花生园罢。”我们几姊弟和几个小丫头都很喜欢——买种的买种，动土的动土，灌园的灌园；过不了几个月，居然收获了!

　　At the back of our house there was half a mu of vacant land. "It's a pity to let it go to waste like that," Mother said. "Since you all enjoy eating peanuts, let us open it up and make it a peanut garden.” At that my brother, sister and I were all delighted and so were the young housemaids. Some went to buy seeds, some dug the ground and others watered it and, in a couple of months, we had a harvest!

　　妈妈说：“今晚我们可以做一个收获节，也请你们爹爹来尝尝我们底新花生，如何?”我们都答应了。母亲把花生做成好几样食品，还吩咐这节期要在园里底茅亭举行。

　　"Let us have a party tonight to celebrate," Mother suggested, "and ask Dad to come for a taste of our fresh peanuts. What do you say?" We all agreed, of course. Mother cooked the peanuts in different styles and told us to go to the thatched pavilion in the garden for the celebration.

　　那晚上的天色不大好，可是爹爹也到来，实在很难得!爹爹说：“你们爱吃花生么?”

　　The weather was not very good that night but, to our great delight, Dad came all the same. "Do you like peanuts?" Dad asked.

　　我们都争着答应：“爱!”

　　"Yes!" we all answered eagerly.

　　“谁能把花生底好处说出来?”

　　"But who ran tell me what the peanut is good for?"

　　姊姊说：“花生的气味很美。”

　　"It is very delicious to eat," my sister took the lead.

　　哥哥说：“花生可以制油。”

　　"It is good for making cooking oil,” my brother followed.

　　我说：“无论何等人都可以用贱价买它来吃；都喜欢吃它。这就是它的好处。”

　　"It is inexpensive." I said. "Almost everyone can afford it and everyone enjoys eating it. I think this is what it is good for."

　　爹爹说：“花生的用处固然很多；但有一样是很可贵的。这小小的豆不像那好看的苹果、桃子、石榴，把它们的果实悬在枝上，鲜红嫩绿的颜色，令人一望而发生羡慕的心。它只把果子埋在地底，等到成熟，才容人把它挖出来。你们偶然看见一棵花生瑟缩地长在地上，不能立刻辨出它有没有果实，非得等到你接触它才能知道。”

　　"Peanut is good for many things," Dad said, "but there is one thing that is particularly good about it. Unlike apples, peaches or pomegranates that display their fruits up in the air, attracting you with their beautiful colours, peanut buries its fruit in the earth. It does not show itself until you dig it out when it is ripe and, unless you dip 4 out, you can't tell whether it bears fruit or not just by its frail sterns above ground."

　　我们都说：“是的。”母亲也点点头。爹爹接下去说：“所以你们要像花生，因为它是有用的，不是伟大、好看的东西。”

　　"That's true," we all said and Mother nodded tier assent. "So you should try to be like the peanut,' Dad scent on, "because it is useful, though not great or attractive.”

　　我说：“那么，人要做有用的人，不要做伟大、体面的人了。”爹爹说：“这是我对于你们的希望。”

　　"Do you mean,” I asked, "we should team to be useful but not seek to be great or attractive?" "Yes," Dad said. "'Ibis is what I wish you to be."

　　我们谈到夜阑才散，所有花生食品虽然没有了，然而父亲底话现在还印在我心版上。

　　We stayed up late that night, eating all the peanuts Mother had cooked for us. But Father's words remained vivid in my memory till this day.