【英汉双语散文】 Luck 好运气 节选（下）

sunshine

     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 so stupid. Nervously, I waited for the worst to happen. It did. He was appointed an officer. A captain, of allthings! Who could have dreamed that they would place such a responsibility on such weakshoulders 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 mindcry, and shout and scream too – to himself, of course. And what kept me in a continual fearwas the fact that every mistake he made increased his glory and fame. I kept saying to myselfthat when 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 moment ofone battle down went our colonel. My heart jumped into my mouth, for Scoresby was the nextin 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. Our regiment occupied a position that was extremely important. One mistake now wouldbring total disaster. And what did Scoresby do this time – he just mistook his left hand for hisright hand…that was all. An order came for him to fall back and support our right. Instead, hemoved forward and went over the hill to the left. We were over the hill before this insanemovement could be discovered and stopped. And what did we find? A large and unsuspectedRussian army waiting! And what happened – were we all killed? That is exactly what would havehappened in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred. But no – those surprised Russians thoughtthat no one regiment 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. Every one of them brought him another honorary title. Look at his chest, flooded with Britishand foreign 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。

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