张保红文学翻译作业6小说EC原文.docx

张保红文学翻译作业6小说EC原文.docx

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张保红文学翻译作业6小说EC原文

NephewfromTurkey

IlyasHalil

Onedaylastyear,therewasasuddenknockonthedoor.Withoutwarning,mynephewhadarrivedfromTurkey!

WhenIhadlastseenhim,hewasknee-hightoagrasshopper,withtimideyes,earsliketwofans,twofrontteethmissing,shorthairandcontinuallydirtyhands.Youknow,thelookthatfitseverynephew.Ilikedandwascloselyattachedtohim.Withthatknee-high-to-a-grasshoppersize,heusedtolookupatmeasifviewingatelephonepole,hisambereyessmilingandsecretlymakingfunofme.Thelegsstickingoutofhisshortpantswerealittlecrooked.Thoughhiseyeswerestraight,heappearedabitcross-eyed.IfeltsorrywhenIlookedathim…andInevergotangrywithhimorhithim.Whenwetalked,heseemedtohaveaweightonhisshouldersandappearedoffended.Whenhewasguilty,thisattributedefinitelyworsened.Hiseyesgrewmoistandhisvoicesoftenedtowherehecouldhardlybeheard;ittrembledlikealeaf.Thosewhosawhim,thoughthimanorphanandfeltsorry.Theyfeltlikeputtingtheirhandsintheirpocketsandgivinghimsomespendingmoneyorcandy.Inspiteofmyhittingmyothernephewsforanyoldthing,thisoneIcouldn’ttouch.Ilovedthelittlesonofagun!

Athome,nomatterwhogotangry,ournephewmanagedtokeephisdistance.Ifyouspoketohim,hedidn’treply.Ifhedidanswer,itwasquietly.Evenifyouhithim,hewasquiet.Whentakingabeating,insteadofincreasing,hiswailingdecreased.Thus,theangerofwhoeverwasbeatinghimturnedtocompassionandtheboywassavedfromfurtherpunishment.OnlymuchlaterdidIcometothisconclusion.WhentalkingwithothersIobservedthatourladhadneithercrookedlegs,cross-eyesnorbigearshanginglikefigleaves.Furthermore,whenhegotmad,heknewhowtoyellhisheadoff.Itwasonlywhenhedetecteddangerthathislegswentcrooked,hisearsgrewandhiseyescrossed.

Ihadn’tseenmynephewforthefifteenyearssinceIhademigratedtoCanada.Hehadbecomeastrappingyoungman,handsomeandstrong!

Afterbiddinghimwelcome,Iaskedafewquestionsaboutwhatheplannedtodo.

“Whatjobwillyoutake,Nephew?

’

“Golly,Uncle,I’lldoanyjobthereis.Nothingwillgetawayfromme.Justsayit,I’lldoit.I’vedoneeverything!

I’vebeenacarpenter,electrician,peddler,shoemaker,tailor,automechanic;youwantmore?

I’vebeenallofthese!

”

“Toobad!

Soyoudidn’tgetthechancetogotocollege?

”

“Whatkindoftalkisthat,Uncle!

Ifinishedlawschool.”

“Verywell,myboy,buthowdidyoufindtimetodoallthesethings?

You’reonlytwenty-threeyearsold!

Howdidyoumanageallthesejobsandstillgotocollege?

”

“Uncle,don’tworryaboutthedetails!

Justeatthegrapesanddon’taskaboutthevineyard!

Ifyoudon’tbelieveme,showmeabrokenelectricsewingmachine,radio,electricshaverorajuicerandI’llrepairit.Youcan’ttellasuitI’vereversedtheclothonfromanewone.IfIturnthathandkerchiefpocketoveritwilllookrealsharp!

It’snothardtoselloldclothesfornew!

Ifit’sfoodyouwant,letmecookforyoutoday!

SeeifwhatIcookisn’tsodeliciousyoucan’teatenoughofit?

Theflavorwillstayonyourpalateahundredyears!

There’snothingIdon’tknow,Uncle!

”

Isawthatourboycertainlyhadlearned“toshootthebull.”I’veheardofalltypesbutneveronelikethis.Theboywasawalkingtradesguild!

Furthermore,hehadstudiedlaw!

Belogical,Ithoughttomyself.Ifapersonspenttwoyearslearningeachjob,itwouldtakefiftyyearstolearnalltheseprofessions.“Something’srotteninDenmark.”It’llprobablysurfacelater!

“Whatjobcanyougethere?

Forgetlawfornow.ThesourceofCanadianlawisnotRomanlaw.NapoleonicCivilLawisn’tineffecthere,either,”Itoldhim.

“NapoleonicLaw?

What’sthat?

Wedidn’tstudysuchlaw.”

“Youmeanyoudon’tknowwhoNapoleonwas?

”

“No,”repliedournephew.

“So-o-o,whatkindofhistorydidyoustudy?

’

“Ordinaryhistory,Uncle!

Onlywedidn’thaveahistoryteacher.Acaptaincametoourclass,ahistorybufffromthenearbyregiment.Hegaveuslotsoflessonsonsoldieringandtherepairofweapons.Becauseofhim,IbecameaNumberOnegunsmith.Bringwhateveryouwant!

Blindfolded,Icantakeapartamachinegunandassembleitagain,Icanevenrepairheavytanks.Ifyouwant,I’llmakeyouapistolformawaterpipe!

Iknowlotsaboutweapons.Ourcaptainusedtosay,“Afteryouknowweapons,youmakehistoryyourself.There’snoneedtolearnhistorysomeoneelsehasmade!

”Idon’tknowwhodefeatedwhominbattlenorwhatyear.WhatdoIcare?

Wouldthatmakemepowerful?

It’shotair!

Nah!

Ifthisrightarmisstrong,OK,forgettherest!

”

“Verywell,Nephew!

Tomorrow,let’sgotothecapitalandregisteryouattheembassy.”

“ArewegoingtoWashington,Uncle?

”

“Comeon,isWashingtonthecapitalofCanada？

Whotaughtyougeography,myboy?

”

“O-hoh,Uncle,lookatthequestionyouasked.Gee,inalifetime,whoisgoingtoaskmethecapitalofCanada?

Insteadofthat,Ilearnedmoreusefulthings!

IfyourcoatgetstorntodaywillknowledgeaboutCanadasaveyouexpense?

Orisknowledgeofsewingneeded?

Tellme,Uncle!

Thethingsourgeographyteachertaughtusarealwaysuseful.Afterourschool’sgeographyteacher,OmerTemel,lefttoopenagrocerystore,thetowntailor,KasimEffendi,whoknewhowtoreadandwrite,cametoteachthegeographyclass.Hetaughtusforsixyears.Welearnedalot!

Everyyear,weturnedtheclothontwosuitsofclothes.Wepatchedandlearnedtopress!

Welearnedhowtosewtrousers.Ourteachersaid,“Learnthisandinlifeyou’llnevergohungry.Insteadofmemorizingthenamesofinfidelforeigncities,orlearningtheirrivers,learnsomethinguseful!

What’sthatknowledgegoodforexcepttoclimbmountainsandtearupyourshoes?

ForwhatGod-awfulreasondoyoulearnthepopulationofBerlinorLondon?

Doesn’tthenumberchangeeveryyear?

Notonlyeveryyear,itchangeseveryday,everyhour!

Thousandsofpeopledie,areborn,comeandgo…Don’tthosegeographershaveanybrains?

Theynevergettiredofgivingfalsefigurestothestudents.”

“TailorKasimEffendiusedtosay,“Nowsee!

LookatHaydar,theliteratureteacher’shouse,thenmine!

Tellmenow,whoseknowledgeisthemostuseful?

HaydarBeywritespoetry,buthe’shungry;sowhat’stheuseofthisknowledge?

Comeandseewhoseknowledgeprovidesmorebread,butterandhoney.Comeandseewholivesmorecomfortably.PayattentiontowhatIsay!

LearnwhatIshowyouandyouwon’teatbreadwithoutbutterandhoney!

”

Ilistenedtomynephewinamazement.Whathesaidwasprobablytrue.Icomparedmysituationwithhis.Therewasachasmbetweenus!

Iwasagraduatehistoryteacher,fifty-threeyearsold.ForthepastfifteenyearsI’vecontinuedattheuniversityeverywinterlearningnewthings.Everyyear,IrealizehowfarbehindIam!

Inspiteofthis,inthesameplace,likeadonkey’stail,Iteachonandon,hopingforbetterthings!

WiththiswayoflifeitseemsI’mgettingnowhere.

“Verywell,myboy,how’syourmathematics?

”Iasked.

“Hotasapistol,Uncle.Notathingwrongwithit!

Welearnedmathematicsfromitsorigin.Therewasnoonebetterthanourteacher.IfyousearchedallofTurkey,youtrulycouldn’tfindabetterteacher.Misoncametousformath.Hewastheaccountantforabiginstitution.Hetaughtushowtocountmoney,puttheexcessinthesafeandtobargain.

“Heimpressedonusthefinepointsofadditionandsubtraction.Forexample:

whenbuyingaproduct,additionisonethingwhenselling,somethingelse.It’sthesamewithsubtraction!

Noteveryoneknowsthesefinepoints.Misonisamanwhogivesthegovernmenttherun-around.Hepreparestaxreturnseveryyearandit’simpossibletofindamistakeinthem.Thegovernmentofferedhimthousandsoflira:

‘ComeandbeourMinisterofFinance!

’Hedidn’taccept.‘I’mjustaservanttofreeprinciples!

’hereplied.Truly,hewasamodestman.It’stoobadwecouldn’tlearnmultiplicationanddivisionformhim.Butnevermind,I’llhandlethesituationwithadditionandsubtraction.ThankGod,Ihaven’tbeencheatedyet.”

“Allright,son,didn’tyouhavedifficultyincollegewithsuchatwo-biteducation?

’

“Whatdifficulty,Uncle?

Theteachershadthedifficultyfromus.Itwasreallyeasyforus.AtthistimeIlearnedautorepair.Inthesecondyearoflaw,ourprofessorofInternationalLawwassickanddidn’tcometoclassthewholeyear.Duringthoseclassperiods,Iwenttothegarageacrossfromtheuniversityandworked.Ididautorepairs.Americantouristsusedtobringtheircarstothegarage.SoIlearnedforeignmoneyandexchangeinadditiontoimprovingmyknowledgeofEnglish.ThatyearIearnedasmuchasaprofessor.”

Iwasbecomingmoreandmoreinterested.Thiswasaphilosophyofeducationunfamiliartome.Theywereeducatingstudentsinanatmosphereconformingtothegoings-onintheworld.

“OK,son,whatdidyoulearncarpentryinplaceof?

’

“Ididn’tlearnitinplaceofanything,Uncle!

WhenourprofessorofCivilLawsuddenlydiedatthebeginningoftheschoolyear,Iworkedatacarpentryshoptofillmysparetime.Uncle,IhavenoregretsthatIlearnedthis.Ibuiltourhouse.Foundation,walls,ceiling,furniture----Imadeeverything.ToobadIdidn’tstaytherelonger.

“Sixmonthslater,ateachercametoourcollegeofMedicine,aspecialistininternalmedicine.Fromhim,Ipickedupmanyfactsrelatedtocivillaw.He’dbeenintheCollegeofMedicinewhenoneofhisteachersdied;aprofessorofCivilLawthencametoteachthem.Sothat’showhelearnedagreatdealaboutlaw.Thatyearhealsoincreasedourknowledgeofhealth.Ifsomeonegetssickathome,