双语散文:我有五封信都在路上

【英文译文】

I Have Five Letters on the Way (Excerpt)

摘要：现在还有人写信吗？这是电讯发达的年代。写信这种事儿像本时代很多事情一样严重萎缩。但是，我照样写信。

Is there anyone who still writes letters? This is an age of developed telecommunications. Like many other things of this age, writing letters is becoming less and less common. However, I still write letters.

April in the south was fine; I spent half an hour in writing five letters. I wrote on five topics and I hoped they would move northwards slowly, at the speed that aged People sip a cup of strong tea, like a streetcar in the 1940s gliding around the city at the dusk.

People in ancient times had to send extremely urgent letters by way of riding horses and changing them at courier stations which were filled with the horses' winded breath. Nowadays some things do not need to be rushed — for instance, an inconsequential message to five people that can be enclosed in envelopes, put in canvas bags and released slowly.

Sometimes I see a person receiving two calls at the same time. Such overstated business overwhelms me. The busiest person cannot read two letters at once. Just one line in a letter will consume the reader's attention. When one reads a letter, he or she must concentrate. This is where the nobility of letters lies.

Ten years ago, a friend sent me a typed letter from Japan. It read: "Now I can use typewriters!" I was skeptical about this letter. I turned it over and could not find a line of his handwriting. Even his signature was produced by the typewriter. I didn't feel as if I had received his letter. It had no traces of humanity and I didn't believe those black signs made by the cingulum.

My five leisurely letters have not reached the recipients' cities. Meanwhile something funny suddenly happened. I spent almost two hundred yuan on one phone call. The automatic system deducted the money from my account. My five letters are still on the way. I thought that this was completely ironic — a bottomless black humor.

Some people walk on feet and on hands as well, which is funny. Nevertheless, the feelings of the two ways of walking are different. I love to have letters traveling slowly on the roads.

【中文原文】

现在还有人写信吗？这是电讯发达的年代。写信这种事儿像本时代很多事情一样严重萎缩。但是，我照样写信。

四月里，南方的天气很好，用了半个小时的时间，我分别写了五件事情，我希望它们五个慢慢悠悠地向着北走，用老年人喝下一杯浓茶的那种速度，类似坐着四十年代的有轨电车，在黄昏里环绕城市。

古人还有紧急到火烧眉毛的事情，用快马轮换着送信，沿途的驿站散发着马鼻子里的气息。今天也有缓慢优雅的事情，比如，和五个人分别说几句不重要的话，然后让它们散淡地跟着帆布口袋走在漫漫路上。

我看见一个人同时接听两部电话，那种左右都在的忙，让人感觉夸张。再忙的人也不可能同时看两封信，一行字将固定地占有人的最短距离时间。人在看一封信的时候必须专一，这是信的高贵之处。

十年以前，一个人从日本寄了一封打印的信件，那些铅字说：我已经可以用打字机了！我很怀疑这信，翻来覆去，没有看见这个人的手迹，连他的姓名也由打字机出品。在感觉中，我不认为我收到过这个人的信件。没有人的痕迹，那些从色带磨擦出来的黑疙瘩使我不相信。

我的五封悠悠的信都还没有到达对方的城市，突然发生一件事情，我用掉将近200元人民币打了一个电话，我觉得这简直是一个讽刺，漆黑无底的黑色幽默。

有自动系统已经扣掉了那些钱，它们从我的银行户头上消失。我那五封信还在路上。

有的人能用脚走路，还能用手走路，这有点滑稽，不过，两种走法的感觉是不同的，我喜欢有信在路上慢慢走。

【重点讲解】

1. 电讯发达的年代：an age of developed telecommunications。注意telecommuni-cations为复数。

2. 严重萎缩：即‘越来越少、越来越不普遍’，译为is becoming less and less common。

3. 照样：即‘像以前一样、仍然’，译为still。

4. 四月里，南方的天气很好：“April in the south was fine.” 或 “It was fine in April in the south.”。

5. 我分别写了五件事情：即‘我写了五封信，涉及五个话题’，I wrote (five letters) on five topics。注意这里介词用on，就像我们比较熟悉的用法：a book on Chinese culture（一本关于中国文化的书）。

6. 用老年人喝下一杯浓茶的那种速度：at the speed that aged people sip a cup of strong tea，这里的动词‘喝’译成sip，较形象地描述了老年人一口一口慢慢品茶的情景。

7. 有轨电车：streetcar。

8. 在黄昏里环绕城市：即‘在黄昏时分绕着城市走’，gliding around the city at the dusk。glide：悄悄地走。

9. 古人：people in ancient times。注意times用的是复数。

10. 紧急到火烧眉毛：即‘十分紧急’，译为extremely urgent或pressing。‘火烧眉毛’是修饰紧急的程度，译文extremely urgent已有所表达，故不用逐字逐句地翻译。由于两种语言的差距，翻译中有时也不得不舍弃中文里一些十分形象的文字。

11. 用快马轮换着送信：即‘用骑快马、在驿站更换马匹的方式送信’，by way of riding horses and changing them at courtier stations。

12. 马鼻子里的气息：horses' winded breath。

13. 今天也有缓慢优雅的事情：即‘今天也有不用着急去做的事情’， “Nowadays some things do not need to be rushed.”。

14. 几句不重要的话：inconsequential message。

15. 让它们散淡地跟着帆布口袋走在漫漫路上：如果不知道‘帆布口袋’是邮局装信的邮包，这句话就不好理解。译文则把这句话从逻辑上补充完整了。

16. 那种左右都在的忙，让人感觉夸张：Such overstated business overwhelms me. 这里的business意为‘忙乱的状况’。

17. 那些铅字说：即‘信上说’，译为it read。

18. 怀疑这信：was skeptical about this letter。

19. 手迹：handwriting。

20. 他的姓名：这里指‘信的落款、签名’，译为signature。

21. 在感觉中，我不认为我收到过这个人的信件：即‘我没有觉得我曾收到过他的信’，“I didn't feel as if I had received his letter.”。

22. 黑疙瘩：即‘黑色的字符’，black signs。

23. 对方：这里指‘收信人’，译为re-cipients。

24. 简直是一个讽刺：was completely ironic或was simply ironic。

25. 有自动系统……：这一段的译文穿插到了前一段，行文更为紧凑。

26. 银行户头：(bank) account。

27. 用脚走路，还能用手走路：walk on feet and on hands as well或walk on feet and also on hands。

28. 这有点滑稽：which is funny是一个非限制性定语从句，这里的which指代的是‘用手走路’这件事。

29. 喜欢：love比like语气更强一些，确切地表达了作者喜欢的程度。