ADrinkinthePassage带译文.docx
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ADrinkinthePassage带译文
A-Drink-in-the-Passage（带译文）
LT
到《先驱者》报社的路上，我有时从那里经过，当看到总是有许多人在那里驻足观看时，我心里美滋滋的；但我只是用眼角瞟上几眼。
9 Then one night I was working late at the Herald, and when I came out there was hardly anyone in the streets, so I thought I'd go and see the window, and indulge certain pleasurable human feelings. I must have got a little lost in the contemplation of my own genius, because suddenly there was a young white man standing next to me.
10 He said to me, "What do you think of that, mate?
"And you know, one doesn't get called "mate" every day.
后来，有一天晚上我在《先驱者》报社工作到了很晚，出来时，街上几乎没有行人了。
于是我想去看看那个橱窗，尽情享受一下常人的喜悦之情。
当时我肯定是在凝视自己的天才之作时有点忘乎所以了，竟没有发现身旁不知何时站了一位白人青年。
他对我说：
“伙计，你觉得这尊雕塑怎么样？
”要知道，一个人并不是每天都有人称他“伙计”的。
11 "I'm looking at it," I said.
12 "I come and look at it nearly every night," he said."You know it's by one of your own boys, don't you?
"
13 "Yea, I know."
14 "It's beautiful," he said. "Look at that mother's head. She's loving that child, but she's somehow watching too. Like someone guarding. She knows it won't be an easy life."
15 Then he said confidentially, "Mate, would you like a drink?
"
16 Well honestly I didn't feel like a drink at that time of night, with a white stranger and all, and a train still to catch to Orlando.
17 "You know we black people must be out of the city by eleven," I said. 18 "It won't take long. My flat's just round the corner. Do you speak Afrikaans?
"
19 "Since I was a child," I said in Afrikaans.
20 "We'll speak Afrikaans then. My English isn't too wonderful. I'm van Rensburg. And you?
"
21 I couldn't have told him my name. I said I was Vakalisa, living in Orlando.
“我正在欣赏，”我说。
“我几乎每天晚上都来看它，”他说，“你知道，这可是由你们的一位兄弟创作的，你知道吧？
”
“是的，我知道。
”
“太美了，”他说，“看看那位母亲的表情，她深情地望着孩子，但似乎也在提防着什么，就像一位守护者一样。
她知道生活不会一帆风顺。
” 接着，他悄悄地说：
“伙计，想喝一杯吗？
”
说实在的，我不想在深夜与一个陌生的白人喝酒，有可能会引起种种麻烦，更可况还要赶火车回奥兰多。
“你知道，我们黑人晚上十一点前必须出城，”我说。
“时间不会太长。
我的公寓离这儿很近。
你会说南非荷兰语吗？
” “从小就会，”我用南非荷兰语说道。
“那我们就说南非荷兰语吧。
我的英语不太好。
我叫范伦斯堡。
你呢？
” 我不可能把我的真名告诉他。
于是我就说我叫瓦卡利萨住在奥兰多。
22 By this time he started off, and I was following, but not willingly. We didn't exactly walk abreast, but he didn't exactly walk in front of me. He didn't look constrained. He wasn't looking round to see if anyone might be watching.
23 He said to me, "Do you know what I wanted to do?
"
24 "No," I said.
这时他已经开始走了，我跟着他，但并不很情愿。
我们并不是完全并肩而行，但他也不是走在我的前面。
他看起来并不拘谨，也没有环顾四周看看是否有人在注意我们。
他对我说：
“你知道我曾想干什么吗？
” “不知道，”我说。
25 "I wanted a bookshop, like that one there. I always wanted that, ever since I can remember. But I had bad luck. My parents died before I could finish school."
26 Then he said to me, "Are you educated?
"
27 I said unwillingly, "Yes." Then I thought to myself, how stupid, for leaving the question open.
28 And sure enough he asked, "Far?
"
29 And again unwillingly, I said, "Far."
30 He took a big leap. "Degree?
"
31 "Yes."
32 "Literature?
"
33 "Yes."
34 He expelled his breath, and gave a long "ah". We had reached his building, Majorca Mansions, not one of those luxurious places. I was glad to see that the entrance lobby was deserted. I wasn't at my ease. The lift was at ground level, marked White Only. Van Rensburg opened the door and waved me in. While I was waiting for him to press the button, so that we could get moving and away from that ground floor, he stood with his finger suspended over it, and looked at me with a kind of honest, unselfish envy.
35 "You were lucky," he said. "Literature, that's what I wanted to do."
36 He shook his head and pressed the button, and he didn't speak again until we stopped high up. But before we got out he said suddenly, "If I had had a bookshop, I'd have given that boy a window too."
“我曾想开家书店，就像那儿的那一家。
从我记事起，我就一直有这样的想法。
但我运气不好。
父母在我上完学之前就去世了。
”然后他问我：
“你受过教育吗？
”
我不情愿地回答说：
“是的。
”然后我心想我真够傻的，因为他会对这个话题问个没完。
果然，他继续问道：
“学历高吗？
” 我再次不情愿地说：
“挺高。
” 他向前迈了一大步：
“拿到学位了吗？
” “拿到了。
” “文学方面的？
”
“对。
”
他呼了口气，同时长长地“啊”了一声。
我们到了他住的马约尔卡公寓，并不是那种奢华的公寓。
看到入口大厅没有人，我倒觉得有点高兴，但还是有点不自在。
电梯停在一层，门上写着“仅限白人”。
范伦斯堡打开电梯门，招手让我进去。
当我等他按下按钮以便尽快离开一层楼时，他却站在那里，手指停留在按钮上方，用一种真诚无私的羡慕的表情看着我。
“你很幸运，”他说，“文学，那正是我曾经想要学习的。
”
他摇了摇头并按下了按钮。
直到电梯升到高层停了下来他都没有再开口说话。
但在我们走出电梯之前，他突然说道：
“如果我有一家书店。
我也会给那个青年一个橱窗展览他的作品。
”
37 We got out and walk along one of those polished concrete passageways. On the one side was a wall, and plenty of fresh air, and far down below von Brandis Street. On the other side were the doors, impersonal doors. Van Rensburg stopped at one of the doors, and said to me, "I won't be a minute." Then he went in, leaving the door open, and inside I could hear voices. Then after a minute or so, he came back to the door, holding two glasses of red wine. He was warm and smiling.
38 "Sorry, there's no brandy," he said. "Only wine. Here's happiness."
我们走出电梯，沿着一条打磨得很亮的水泥走廊往前走。
走廊的一边是墙，走廊里空气新鲜而充足，下面便是冯.布兰迪斯大街。
另一边则是门，冷冰冰的门。
范伦斯堡在其中的一扇门前停了下来，对我说：
“我马上就出来。
”然后他走了进去，没关门，我能听到里面说话的声音。
大约一分钟之后，他出来了，手里拿着两杯红酒，态度热情，面带微笑。
“不好意思，没有白兰地了，”他说，“只有红酒，为幸福干杯。
”
39 Now I certainly had not expected that I would have my drink in the passage. I wasn't only feeling what you may be thinking, I was thinking that one of the impersonal doors might open at any moment, and someone might see me in a "white" building, and see me and van Rensburg breaking the liquor laws of the country. Anger could have saved me from the whole embarrassing situation, but you know I can't easily be angry. Even if I could have been, I might have found it hard to be angry with this particular man. But I wanted to get away from there, and I couldn't.
40 Van Rensburg said to me, "Don't you know this fellow Simelane?
"
41 "I've heard of him," I said.
42 "I'd like to meet him," he said. "I'd like to talk to him." He added, "You know, talk out my heart to him."
当时我根本没有料到我会在走廊里喝酒。
我当时的感受你无法想象，我在担心其中的一扇冷冰冰的门会突然打开，有人会看到我在“白人”公寓里，看到我和范伦斯堡一起违反国家的禁酒令。
我可以用愤怒来摆脱那种尴尬的境地，但你知道，我轻易不发火。
即使我是个轻易发火的人，我也有可能很难对面前这个人发火。
我想马上离开那儿，但却做不到。
范伦斯堡对我说：
“你不认识西梅拉内这个人吗？
” “听说过他，”我说。
“我很想见见他，”他说。
“我想和他谈谈。
”他补充道，“你知道，我想和他说说我的心里话。
”
43 A woman of about fifty years of age came from the room beyond, bringing a plate of biscuits. She smiled and bowed to me. I took one of the biscuits, but not for all the money in the world could I have said to her dankie, my nooi or that disgusting dankie, misses, nor did I want to speak to her in English because her language was Afrikaans, so I took the risk of it and used the word mevron, for the politeness of which some Afrikaners would knock a black man down, and I said, in high Afrikaans, with a smile and bow too, "Ek is a dankbaar, Mevrou."
一位大约五十岁的妇女从旁边的房间走了过来，手里端着一盘饼干。
她微笑着向我点头致意。
我拿了一块饼干，但无论如何我都不会对她说“谢谢，小姐”或者那令人讨厌的“谢谢，太太”。
我也不想和她说英语，因为她说的是南非荷兰语。
于是，出于礼貌---南非荷兰人可能会将使用这种礼貌用语的黑人打翻在地---我斗胆用了“夫人”这个词，我面带微笑并鞠了个躬，用上流社会使用的南非荷兰语说：
“非常感谢，夫人。
”
44 But nobody knocked me down. The woman smiled and bowed, and van Rensburg, in a strained voice that suddenly came out of nowhere, said, "Our land is beautiful. But it breaks my heart."
45 The woman put her hand on his arm, and said, "Jannie, Jannie."
46 Then another woman and man, all about the same age, came up and stood behind van Rensburg.
47 "He's a B.A.," van Rensburg told them.
48 The first woman smiled and bowed to me again, and van Rensburg said, as though it were a matter of grief, "I wanted to give him brandy, but there's only wine."
49 The second woman said, "I remember, Jannie. Come with me."
50 She went back into the room, and he followed her. The first woman said to me, "Jannie's a good man. Strange, but good."
不过，并没有人将我打翻在地。
这位妇女微笑着点点头，而范伦斯堡突然声音变得不自然，莫名其妙地高声冒出一句：
“我们的国家很美，但却让我心碎。
”“这位妇女将手搭在他的胳膊上，说：
“詹尼，詹尼。
”
之后，又有一男一女走了过来，年龄都差不多，他们站在了范伦斯堡的身后。
“他是文学学士，”范伦斯堡告诉他们说。
第一位妇女再次冲我微笑并点头致意，范伦斯堡说：
“我本想请他喝白兰地，但只有红酒了。
”他说话的样子就好像在说一件悲伤的事。
另一位妇女说：
“我想起来了，詹尼，跟我来。
”
范伦斯堡跟着她进了房间，第一位妇女对我说：
“詹尼是位好人。
有些古怪，但人很好。
”
51 And I thought the whole thing was mad, and getting beyond me, with me a black stranger being shown a testimonial for the son of the house, with these white strangers standing and looking at me in the passage, as though they wanted for God's sake to touch me somewhere and didn't know how, but I saw the earnestness of the woman who had smiled and bowed to me, and I said to her, "I can see that, Mevrou."
52 "He goes down every night to look at the statue," she said. "He said only God could make something so beautiful, therefore God must be in the man who made it, and he wants to meet him and talk out his heart to him."
53 She looked back at the room, and then she dropped her voice a little, and said to me, "Can't you see, it's somehow because it's a black woman and a black child?
"
我觉得这一切太不正常了，让我感到难以理解：
一位白人妇女向我这个陌生黑人夸耀公寓里这个小伙子的品格，这些陌生白人站在走廊里看着我，好像他们的的确确想要与我交流，但又不知如何去做。
但我看得出来，对我微笑点头的那位妇女是真诚的，于是我对她说：
“我看得出来，夫人。
”
“他每天晚上都去那儿看那尊雕塑，”她说，“他说只有上帝才有可能创造出如此美丽的东西，因此，上帝一定在创作者心中，他想见见这个人，跟他说说心里话。
”
她回头看了看房间，然后压低声音对我说：
“可能是因为雕塑是一位黑人妇女与一个黑人孩子吧，你能明白吗？
”
54 And I said to her, "I can see that, Mevrou."
55 She turned to the man and said of me, "He's a good boy."
56 Then the other woman returned with van Rensburg, and van Rensburg had a bottle of brandy. He was smiling and pleased, and he said to me, "This isn't ordinary brandy, it's French."
57Heshowedmethebottle,andI,wantingtogetthehelloutofthatplace,lookedatitandsawitwascognac.Heturnedtothemanandsaid,"Uncle,youremember?
Themanatthebottle-storesaidthiswasthebestbrandyintheworld."
58"Imustgo,"Isaid."Imustcatchthattrain."
59"I'lltakeyoutothestation,"hesaid."Don'tyouworryaboutthat."
60Hepouredmeadrinkandoneforhimself.
我对她说：
“我能看出来，夫人。
” 她转向那个男人说：
“他是个好小伙。
”
这时另一位妇女和范伦斯堡回来了，范伦斯堡手里拿着一瓶白兰地。
他满脸笑容，高兴地对我说：
“这可不是普通的白兰地，这是法国白兰地。
”
他让我看了看这瓶酒，而我真想赶快离开这个地方。
我看了一眼，这是一瓶科尼亚克白兰地。
他转向另一位男人说：
“叔叔，还记得吗？
酒铺里的那个男的说这是世界上最好的白兰地。
”
“我得走了，“我说，”我必须赶上那趟火车。
” “我会送你去火车站的，”他说，“不用担心。
”他为我斟了一杯酒，也为自己倒了一杯。
”
61 "Uncle," he said, "what about one for yourself?
"
62 The older man said, "I don't mind if I do," and he went inside to get himself a glass.
63 Van Rensburg said, "happiness," and lifted his glass to me. It was a good brandy, the best I've ever tasted. But I wanted to get the
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