全大学英语综合教程课文原文及翻译
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unit 6 The
Last Leaf
When Johnsy fell seriously
ill, she seemed to lose the will to hang
on to
life. The doctor held out little hope for her. Her
friends seemed
helpless. Was there nothing to
be done?
约翰西病情严重,她似乎失去了活下去的意志。医生对她不抱什么希
望。朋
友们看来也爱莫能助。难道真的就无可奈何了吗?
1 At the
top of a three-story brick building, Sue and
Johnsy had their
studio.
from California.
They had met at a cafe on Eighth Street and found
their
tastes in art, chicory salad and bishop
sleeves so much in tune that the
joint studio
resulted.
在一幢三层砖楼的顶层,苏和约翰西辟了个画室。“约翰西”是乔
安娜的昵
称。她们一位来自缅因州,一位来自加利福尼亚。两人相遇在第八大街的一个咖啡
馆,
发现各自在艺术品味、菊苣色拉,以及灯笼袖等方面趣味相投,于是就有了这
个两人画室。
2 That was in May. In November a cold,
unseen stranger, whom the doctors
called
Pneumonia, stalked about the district, touching
one here and there
with his icy fingers.
Johnsy was among his victims. She lay, scarcely
moving
on her bed, looking through the small
window at the blank side of the next
brick
house.
那是5月里的事。到了11月,一个医生称之为肺炎的阴森的隐形客闯入
了
这一地区,用它冰冷的手指东碰西触。约翰西也为其所害。她病倒了,躺在床上几
乎一动不动,只能隔着小窗望着隔壁砖房那单调沉闷的侧墙。
3 One
morning the busy doctor invited Sue into the
hallway with a bushy,
gray eyebrow.
一天上午,忙碌的医生扬了扬灰白的浓眉,示意苏来到过道。
4
want to
live. Your little lady has made up her mind that
she's not going
to get well. Has she anything
on her mind?
“她只有一成希望,”他说。“那还得看她自己是不是想活
下去。你这位女朋
友已经下决心不想好了。她有什么心事吗?”
5
“她――她想有一天能去画那不勒斯湾,”苏说。
6 -- bosh! Has
she anything on her mind worth thinking about
twice
-- a man, for instance?
“画画?――得了。她有没有别的事值得她留恋的――比如说,一个男人?”
7
man?said Sue. a man worth -- but, no, doctor;
there is nothing
of the kind.
“男人?”苏说。“难道一个男人就值得――可是,她没有啊,大夫,没有
这码子事。”
8
But whenever my patient begins to count the
carriages in her funeral
procession I subtract
50 per cent from the curative power of
medicines.
After the doctor had gone Sue went
into the workroom and cried. Then she
marched
into Johnsy's room with her drawing board,
whistling a merry tune.
“好吧,”大夫说
。“我会尽一切努力,只要是科学能做到的。可是,但凡病
人开始计算她出殡的行列里有几辆马车的时候
,我就要把医药的疗效减去一半。”
大夫走后,苏去工作室哭了一场。随后她携着画板大步走进约翰西的
房间,口里吹
着轻快的口哨。
9 Johnsy lay, scarcely
making a movement under the bedclothes, with her
face toward the window. She was looking out
and counting -- counting
backward.
约翰西躺在被子下几乎一动不动,脸朝着窗。她望着窗外,数着数――倒数
着数!
10
“12,”她数道,过了一会儿“11”,接着数“10”和“9”;再数“8”
和“7”,
几乎一口同时数下来。
11 Sue looked out of
the window. What was there to count? There was
only
a bare, dreary yard to be seen, and the
blank side of the brick house twenty
feet
away. An old, old ivy vine climbed half way up the
brick wall. The cold
breath of autumn had
blown away its leaves, leaving it almost bare.
苏朝窗外望去。外面有什么好数的呢?外面只看到一个空荡荡的沉闷的院
子,还有
20英尺开外那砖房的侧墙,上面什么也没有。一棵古老的常青藤爬到半
墙高。萧瑟秋风吹落了枝叶,藤
上几乎光秃秃的。
12 said Johnsy, in almost a
whisper. falling faster now.
Three days ago
there were almost a hundred. It made my head ache
to count
them. But now it's easy. There goes
another one. There are only five left
now.
“6”,约翰西数着,声音几乎听不出来。“现在叶子掉
落得快多了。三天前
差不多还有100片。数得我头都疼。可现在容易了。又掉了一片。这下子只剩5片
了。”
13
“5片什么,亲爱的?”
14
On the ivy vine. When the last one falls I must
go, too. I've
known that for three days.
Didn't the doctor tell you?
“叶子。常青藤上的叶子。等
最后一片叶子掉了,我也就得走了。三天前我
就知道会这样。大夫没跟你说吗?”
15
with your getting well? Don't be so silly.
Why, the doctor told me this
morning that your
chances for getting well real soon were ten to
one! Try
to take some soup now, and let Sudie
go and buy port wine for her sick child.
“噢,我从没听说过这种胡说八道。常青藤叶子跟你病好不好有什么关系?
别这么傻。对了,大夫上午跟
我说,你的病十有八九就快好了。快喝些汤,让苏迪
给她生病的孩子去买些波尔图葡萄酒来。”
16
out the window. goes another. No, I
don't want any soup. That leaves
just four. I
want to see the last one fall before it gets dark.
Then I'll
go, too. I'm tired of waiting. I'm
tired of thinking. I want to turn loose
my
hold on everything, and go sailing down, down,
just like one of those
poor, tired
leaves.
“你不用再去买酒了,”约翰西说道,两眼一直盯着窗外。
“又掉了一片。不,
我不想喝汤。这一下只剩下4片了。我要在天黑前看到最后一片叶子掉落。那时我<
br>也就跟着走了。我都等腻了。也想腻了。我只想撇开一切,
飘然而去,就像那边一
片可怜的疲倦的叶子。”
17
the old
miner. I'll not be gone a minute.
“快睡吧,”苏说。“我得叫贝尔曼上楼来给我当老矿工模特儿。我去去就来。”
18
Old Behrman was a painter who lived on the ground
floor beneath them.
He was past sixty and had
a long white beard curling down over his chest.
Despite looking the part, Behrman was a
failure in art. For forty years he
had been
always about to paint a masterpiece, but had never
yet begun it.
He earned a little by serving as
a model to those young artists who could
not
pay the price of a professional. He drank gin to
excess, and still talked
of his coming
masterpiece. For the rest he was a fierce little
old man, who
mocked terribly at softness in
any one, and who regarded himself as guard
dog
to the two young artists in the studio above.
老贝尔曼是住在两人楼下底层的一个画家。他已年过六旬,银白色蜷曲的长
髯披挂
胸前。贝尔曼看上去挺像艺术家,但在艺术上却没有什么成就。40年来他一
直想创作一幅传世之作,却
始终没能动手。他给那些请不起职业模特的青年画家当
模特挣点小钱。他没节制地喝酒,谈论着他那即将
问世的不朽之作。要说其他方面,
他是个好斗的小老头,要是谁表现出一点软弱,他便大肆嘲笑,并把自
己看成是楼
上画室里两位年轻艺术家的看护人。
19 Sue found
Behrman smelling strongly of gin in his dimly
lighted studio
below. In one corner was
a blank canvas on an easel that had been waiting
there for twenty-five years to receive the
first line of the masterpiece.
She told him of
Johnsy's fancy, and how she feared she would,
indeed, light
and fragile as a leaf herself,
float away, when her slight hold upon the
world grew weaker. Old Behrman, with his red
eyes plainly streaming, shouted
his contempt
for such foolish imaginings.
苏在楼下光线暗淡的画
室里找到了贝尔曼,他满身酒味刺鼻。屋子一角的画
架上支着一张从未落过笔的画布,在那儿搁了25年
,等着一幅杰作的起笔。苏把
约翰西的怪念头跟他说了,并说约翰西本身就像一片叶子又瘦又弱,她害怕
要是她
那本已脆弱的生存意志再软下去的话,真的会凋零飘落。老贝尔曼双眼通红,显然
是泪涟
涟的,他大声叫嚷着说他蔑视这种傻念头。
20
die because
leafs drop off from a vine? I have never heard of
such a thing.
Why do you allow such silly
ideas to come into that head of hers? God! This
is not a place in which one so good as Miss
Johnsy should lie sick. Some
day I will paint
a masterpiece, and we shall all go away. Yes.
“什么!”他嚷道。“世界上竟然有这么愚蠢的人,因为树叶从藤上掉落就要
去死?我听都没听说过这等
事。你怎么让这种傻念头钻到她那个怪脑袋里?天哪!
这不是一个像约翰西小姐这样的好姑娘躺倒生病的
地方。有朝一日我要画一幅巨
作,那时候我们就离开这里。真的。”
21
Johnsy was sleeping when they went upstairs. Sue
pulled the shade down,
and motioned Behrman
into the other room. In there they peered out the
window
fearfully at the ivy vine. Then they
looked at each other for a moment without
speaking. A persistent, cold rain was
falling, mingled with snow. Behrman,
in his
old blue shirt, took his seat as the miner on an
upturned kettle for
a rock.
两人上了楼,约
翰西已经睡着了。苏放下窗帘,示意贝尔曼去另一个房间。
在那儿两人惶惶不安地凝视着窗外的常青藤。
接着两人面面相觑,哑然无语。外面
冷雨夹雪,淅淅沥沥。贝尔曼穿着破旧的蓝色衬衣,
坐在充当矿石的倒置的水壶上,
摆出矿工的架势。
22 When Sue
awoke from an hour's sleep the next morning she
found Johnsy
with dull, wide-open eyes staring
at the drawn green shade.
第二天早上,只睡了一个小时的苏醒来看到约翰西睁大着无神的双眼,凝望
着拉下的绿色窗帘。
23
“把窗帘拉起来;我要看,”她低声命令道。
24
Wearily Sue obeyed.
苏带着疲倦,遵命拉起窗帘。
25 But, Lo! after the beating rain and
fierce wind that had endured
through the
night, there yet stood out against the brick wall
one ivy leaf.
It was the last on the vine.
Still dark green near its stem, but with its
edges colored yellow, it hung bravely from a
branch some twenty feet above
the ground.
可是,瞧!经过一整夜的急风骤雨,竟然还存留一片常青藤叶,背靠砖墙,
格外显
目。这是常青藤上的最后一片叶子。近梗部位仍呈暗绿色,但边缘已经泛黄
了,它无所畏惧地挂在离地2
0多英尺高的枝干上。
26
during the night.
I heard the wind. It will fall today, and I shall
die at
the same time.
“这是最后一片叶子,”约翰西说
。“我以为夜里它肯定会掉落的。我晚上听
到大风呼啸。今天它会掉落的,叶子掉的时候,也是我死的时
候。”
27 The day wore away, and even through
the twilight they could see the
lone ivy leaf
clinging to its stem against the wall. And then,
with the coming
of the night the north wind
was again loosed.
白天慢慢过去了,即便在暮色黄昏之中,他们仍
能看到那片孤零零的常青藤
叶子,背靠砖墙,紧紧抱住梗茎。尔后,随着夜幕的降临,又是北风大作。
28 When it was light enough Johnsy, the
merciless, commanded that the
shade be raised.
等天色亮起,冷酷无情的约翰西命令将窗帘拉起。
29 The
ivy leaf was still there.
常青藤叶依然挺在。
30 Johnsy lay for a long time looking at
it. And then she called to Sue,
who was
stirring her chicken soup over the gas stove.
约翰西躺在那儿,望着它许久许久。接着她大声呼唤正在煤气灶上搅鸡汤的
苏。
31
last leaf stay there to show me how
wicked I was. It is a sin to want to
die. You
may bring me a little soup now, and some milk with
a little port
in it and -- no; bring me a
hand-mirror first, and then pack some pillows
about me, and I will sit up and watch
you cook.
“我一直像个不乖的孩子,苏迪,”约翰西说。“有一种力量让那最后
一片叶
子不掉,好让我看到自己有多坏。想死是一种罪过。你给我喝点汤吧,再来点牛奶,
稍放
一点波尔图葡萄酒――不,先给我拿面小镜子来,弄几个枕头垫在我身边,我
要坐起来看你做菜。”
32 An hour later she said:
一个小时之后,她说:
33
“苏迪,我真想有一天去画那不勒斯海湾。”
34 The doctor came in
the afternoon, and Sue had an excuse to go into
the hallway as he left.
下午大夫来了,他走时苏找了个借口跟进了过道。
35
his.
“现在是势均力敌,”大夫说着,握了握苏纤细颤抖的手。
36 nursing
you'll win. And now I must see another case I have
downstairs. Behrman, his name is -- some kind
of an artist, I believe.
Pneumonia, too. He is
an old, weak man, and the attack is acute. There
is
no hope for him; but he goes to the
hospital today to be made more
comfortable.
“只要精心照料,你就赢了。现在我得去楼下看另外一
个病人了。贝尔曼,
是他的名字――记得是个什么画家。也是肺炎。他年老体弱,病来势又猛。他是没<
br>救了。不过今天他去了医院,照料得会好一点。”
37 The
next day the doctor said to Sue: out of danger.
You've won.
The right food and care now --
that's all.
第二天,大夫对苏说:“她脱离危险了。你赢了。注意饮食,好好照顾,就
行了。”
38
And that afternoon Sue came to the bed where
Johnsy lay and put one
arm around her.
当日下午,苏来到约翰西的床头,用一只手臂搂住她。
39
died of
pneumonia today in the hospital. He was ill only
two days. He was
found on the morning of the
first day in his room downstairs helpless with
pain. His shoes and clothing were wet through
and icy cold. They couldn't
imagine where he
had been on such a terrible night. And then they
found a
lantern, still lighted, and a ladder
that had been dragged from its place,
and some
scattered brushes, and a palette with green and
yellow colors mixed
on it, and -- look out the
window, dear, at the last ivy leaf on the wall.
Didn't you wonder why it never fluttered or
moved when the wind blew? Ah,
darling, it's
Behrman's masterpiece -- he painted it there the
night that
the last leaf fell.
“我跟你说件
事,小白鼠,”她说。“贝尔曼先生今天在医院里得肺炎去世了。
他得病才两天。发病那天上午人家在楼
下他的房间里发现他疼得利害。他的鞋子衣
服都湿透了,冰冷冰冷的。他们想不出那么糟糕的天气他夜里
会去哪儿。后来他们
发现了一个灯笼,还亮着,还有一个梯子被拖了出来,另外还有些散落的画笔,一<
br>个调色板,和着黄绿两种颜色,――看看窗外,宝贝儿,看看墙上那最后一片常青
藤叶子。它在刮风的时候一动也不动,你没有觉得奇怪吗?啊,亲爱的,那是贝尔
曼的杰作――最后一片
叶子掉落的那天夜里他画上了这片叶子。”
He did not trust the
woman to trust him. And he did not trust the woman
not to trust him. And he did not want to be
mistrusted now.
他不敢相信这个女人居然会信任自己。他也不认为这
个女人就不信任自己。
不过,现在他不想失去别人对自己的信任。
unit 7 Life of a Salesman
Making a living
as a door-to-door salesman demands a thick skin,
both
to protect against the weather and
against constantly having the door shut
in
your face. Bill Porter puts up with all this and
much, much more.
干挨家挨户上门推销这一营生得脸皮厚,这是因为
干这一行不仅要经受风吹
日晒,还要承受一次又一次的闭门羹。比尔 ·
波特忍受着这一切,以及别的种种
折磨。
Life of a Salesman
Tom Hallman Jr.
1 The alarm rings.
It's 5:45. He could linger under the covers,
listening
to the radio and a weatherman who
predicts rain. People would understand.
He
knows that.
一个推销员的生活
小汤姆 · 霍尔曼
闹钟响了。是清晨5:45。他可以在被子里再躺一会儿,听听无线电广播。
天气预报员预报有雨。人们
会理解的。这点他清楚。
2 A surgeon's scar cuts across
his lower back. The fingers on his right
hand are so twisted that he can't tie
his shoes. Some days, he feels like
surrendering. But his dead mother's challenge
echoes in his soul. So, too,
do the voices of
those who believed him stupid, incapable of living
independently. All his life he's struggled to
prove them wrong. He will not
quit.
3
And so Bill Porter rises.
他的下背有一道手术疤痕。他
右手的手指严重扭曲,连鞋带都没法系。有时,
他真想放弃不干了。可在他内心深处,一直回响着已故老
母的激励, 还有那些说他
蠢,说他不能独立生活的人的声音。他一生都在拚命去证明他们错了。他决不
能放
弃不干。
于是比尔·波特起身了。
4 He takes the
first unsteady steps on a journey to Portland's
streets,
the battlefield where he fights alone
for his independence and dignity. He's
a door-
to-door salesman. Sixty-three years old. And his
enemies -- a crippled
body that betrays him
and a changing world that no longer needs him --
are
gaining on him.
他摇摇晃晃迈出了去波特兰大街的
头几步,波特兰大街是他为独立与尊严而
孤身搏杀的战场。他是个挨家挨户上门推销的推销员,今年63
岁。他的敌人――
辜负他的残疾的身体和一个不再需要他的变化着的世界――正一步一步把他逼向
绝境。
5 With trembling hands he assembles
his weapons: dark slacks, blue shirt
and
matching jacket, brown tie, tan raincoat and hat.
Image, he believes,
is everything.
他用颤抖的双手收拾行装:深色宽松裤,蓝衬衣和与之相配的茄克衫,褐色
领带,土褐色雨衣和帽子。在他看来,形象就是一切。
6 He stops in
the entryway, picks up his briefcase and steps
outside.
A fall wind has kicked up. The
weatherman was right. He pulls his raincoat
tighter.
7 He tilts his hat just so.
他在门口停了一下,提起公文包,走了
出去。秋风骤起,冷飕飕的。天气预报员说得没错。他将雨衣裹裹
紧。
他把帽子往一侧微微一斜。
8 On the 7:45
bus that stops across the street, he leaves his
briefcase
next to the driver and finds a seat
in the middle of a pack of bored teenagers.
在
街对面停靠的7:45那班公共汽车上,他把公文包放在司机身旁,在一群
没精打采的十几岁的孩子当中
找了个位子坐下。
9 He leans forward, stares toward
the driver, sits back, then repeats
the
process. His nervousness makes him laugh
uncontrollably. The teenagers
stare at him.
They don't realize Porter's afraid someone will
steal his
briefcase, with the glasses,
brochures, order forms and clip-on tie that
he
needs to survive.
他身子往前一倾,盯着司机那儿望
,然后靠着椅背坐下,接着他又反
复这个过程。他心情紧张,控制不住自己而笑出声来。那些孩子望着他
。他们不明
白,波特是担心有人偷他的包,包里有他生存不可缺少的眼镜,宣传小册子,定单,
以及可用别针别上的领带。
10 Porter senses the stares.
He looks at the floor.
波特意识到了小孩子在盯着他看。他把目光转向车厢地板。
11
His face reveals nothing. In his heart, though, he
knows he should
have been like these kids,
like everyone on this bus. He's not angry. But
he knows. His mother explained how the
delivery had been difficult, how the
doctor
had used an instrument that crushed a section of
his brain and caused
cerebral palsy, a
disorder of the nervous system that affects his
speech,
hands and walk.
他脸上没有流露出任何神情
。但在他心里,他知道自己本该和这些孩子一样,
和车上其他所有人一样。他并不生气。但他心里明白。
他母亲解释说生他时难产,
医生使用了某种器械,损坏了他大脑的一部分,导致了大脑性麻痹,一种影响
他说
话,手部活动以及行走的神经系统的紊乱。
12 Porter came
to Portland when he was 13 after his father, a
salesman,
was transferred here. He attended a
school for the disabled and then Lincoln
High
School, where he was placed in a class for slow
kids.
波特13岁那年随着当推销员的父亲工作调动来到波特兰。他上了一个残疾人
学
校,后来就读林肯高级中学,在那儿他被编入慢班。
13 But he wasn't
slow.
但他并不笨。
14 His mind was
trapped in a body that didn't work. Speaking was
difficult
and took time. People were impatient
and didn't listen. He felt different
-- was
different -- from the kids who rushed about in the
halls and planned
dances he would never
attend.
他由于身体不能正常运行而使脑子不能充分发挥其功能。他说话困难,
而且
慢。别人不耐烦,不听他说。他觉得自己不同于――事实上也确实不同于――那些
<
br>在过道里东奔西跑的孩子,那些孩子安排的舞会他永远也不可能参加。
15 What
could his future be? Porter wanted to do something
and his mother
was certain that he could rise
above his limitations. With her encouragement,
he applied for a job with the Fuller Brush Co.
only to be turned down. He
couldn't carry a
product briefcase or walk a route, they said.
他将来会是个什么样子呢?波特想做些事,母亲也相信他能冲破身体的局
限。在她
的鼓励之下,他向福勒牙刷公司申请一份工作,结果却遭到拒绝。他不能
提样品包,也不能跑一条推销线
路,他们说。
16 Porter knew he wanted to be a
salesman. He began reading help wanted
ads in
the newspaper. When he saw one for Watkins, a
company that sold
household products door-to-
door, his mother set up a meeting with a
representative. The man said no, but Porter
wouldn't listen. He just wanted
a chance. The
man gave in and offered Porter a section of the
city that no
salesman wanted.
波特知道自
己想当推销员。他开始阅读报纸上的招聘广告。他看到沃特金斯,
一家上门推销家用物品的公司要人,他
母亲就跟其代理人安排会面。那人说不行,
可波特不予理会。他就是需要一个机会。那人让步了,把城里
一个其他推销员都不
要的区域派给了他。
17 It took Porter
four false starts before he found the courage to
ring
the first doorbell. The man who answered
told him to go away, a pattern
repeated
throughout the day.
波特一开始四次都没敢敲门,第五次才鼓起
勇气按了第一户人家的门铃。开
门的那人让他走开,这种情形持续了一整天。
18 That night Porter read through
company literature and discovered the
products
were guaranteed. He would sell that pledge. He
just needed people
to listen.
当晚,波特仔细阅读了公
司的宣传资料,发现产品都是保用的。他要把保用
作为卖点。只要别人肯听他说话就成。
19
If a customer turned him down, Porter kept coming
back until they heard
him. And he sold.
要是客户回绝波特,拒绝倾听他的介绍,他就一再上门。就这样他将产品卖
了出去。
20
For several years he was Watkins' top retail
salesman. Now he is the
only one of the
company's 44,000 salespeople who sells door-to-
door.
他连着几年都是沃特金斯公司的最佳零售推销员。如今他是该公司44000名
推销员中惟一一个上门推销的人。
21 The bus stops in the
Transit Mall, and Porter gets off.
公共汽车在公交中转购物中心站停下,波特下了车。
22 His body is not
made for walking. Each step strains his joints.
Headaches are constant visitors. His right arm
is nearly useless. He can't
fully control the
limb. His body tilts at the waist; he seems to be
heading
into a strong, steady wind that keeps
him off balance. At times, he looks
like a
toddler taking his first steps.
他的身体不适合行
走。每走一步关节都疼。头疼也是习以为常的事。他的右
臂几乎没用。他不能完全控制这只手臂。他的身
体从腰部开始前倾,看上去就像是
顶着一股强劲的吹个不停的风迈步向前,风似乎要把他刮倒。有时他看
上去就像是
个刚刚学步的孩童。
23 He walks 10
miles a day.
他每天要走10英里的路程。
24
His first stop today, like every day, is a
shoeshine stand where
employees tie his laces.
Twice a week he pays for a shine. At a nearby
hotel
one of the doormen buttons Porter's top
shirt button and slips on his clip-on
tie. He
then walks to another bus that drops him off a
mile from his territory.
像平日一样,他今天的第一站是个
擦鞋摊,这里的雇员替他系好鞋带。他每
周请他们擦两次鞋。附近一家旅馆的门卫替他扣上衬衣最上面一
粒纽扣,戴上用别
针别上的领带。随后他步行去搭乘另一部巴士,在距离他的推销区域一英里处下车。
25 He left home nearly three hours ago.
他是差不多3个小时前从家里动身的。
26 The wind is
cold and raindrops fall. Porter stops at the first
house.
This is the moment he's been preparing
for since 5:45 a.m. He rings the bell.
风冷雨淋。波特在第一户人家门前停了下来。这是他从5:45分开始就为之
准备的时刻。他按了门铃。
27 A woman comes to the door.
一位妇人开了门。
28
29
30 Porter
nods.
31
32
33 She
shuts the door.
34 Porter's eyes reveal
nothing.
35 He moves to the next house.
36 The door opens.
37 Then closes.
“你好。”
“不,多谢了。我这就要出门。”
波特点点头。
“那我过会儿来,可以吗?”他问。
“不用了,”那妇人回答道。
她关上了门。
波特眼里没有流露丝毫神情。
他转向下一个人家。
门开了。
随即又关上。
38 He doesn't get a
chance to speak. Porter's expression never
changes.
He stops at every home in his
territory. People might not buy now. Next time.
Maybe. No doesn't mean never. Some of his best
customers are people who
repeatedly turned him
down before buying.
他连开口说话的机会都没有。波特的表情从
不改变。他敲开自己推销区内的
每一个家门。人们现在可能不买什么。也许下一次会买。现在不买不等于
永远不买。
他的一些老客户都是那些多次把他拒之门外而后来才买的人。
39 He
makes his way down the street.
40
41
42
43
他沿着街道往前走。
“我不想试用这个产品。”
“也许下次试一试。”
“对不起。我在打电话。”
“不要。”
44 Ninety
minutes later, Porter still has not made a sale.
But there is
always another home.
45
He walks on.
46 He knocks on a door. A
woman appears from the backyard where she's
gardening. She often buys, but not today, she
says, as she walks away.
47
48 She
pauses.
49
90分钟之后,波特仍没能卖出一件物品。不过,下面有的是人家。
他继续向前走。
他敲响一扇门。一位正在拾掇花园的妇女从后院走了出来。她常常买他的东
西,不
过今天不买,她说着走开了。
“你真的不买什么?”波特问。
她迟疑了一下。
“那么……”
50 That's
all Porter needs. He walks as fast as he can,
tailing her as
she heads to the backyard. He
sets his briefcase down and opens it. He puts
on his glasses, removes his brochures and
begins his sales talk, showing
the woman
pictures and describing each product.
波
特要的就是这一迟疑。他尽可能快步上前,跟着她朝后院走去。他放下公
文包,打了开来。他戴上眼镜,
拿出产品介绍小册子,开始推销,给那位妇人看图
片,详细介绍每一个产品。
51
Spices?
52
53 Jams?
54
55 Porter's hearing is the one perfect
thing his body does. Except when
he gets a
live one. Then the word
调料?
“不要。”
果酱?
“不要。恐怕今天不要什么,比尔。”
波特的听觉是他身上惟一没有一点毛病的功能。只有当他察觉对方有可能买
他东西
的时候才会发生例外。这个时候,他是听不见“不”字的。
56 Pepper?
57
58 Laundry soap?
59
60 Porter stops. He smells blood. He
quickly remembers her last order.
61
aren't you about out of soap? That's what you
bought last time.
You ought to be out right
about now.
62
胡椒粉?
“不要。”
洗衣皂?
“嗯。”
波特停了下来。他嗅到了猎物。他很快记起了她上次的订单。
“对了,你肥皂差不多用完了吧?你上次买的就是这个。现在该差不多用完
了。”
“没错,比尔。我买一块。”
63 He arrives home, in a
rainstorm, after 7 p.m. Today was not profitable.
He tells himself not to worry. Four days left
in the week.
晚上7点过后,他在暴风雨中回到了家。今天没赚钱。他跟自己说别着急。
这个星期还有4天呢。
64 At least he's off his feet and home.
至少他回到了家,不用再站立了。
65 Inside, an era is
preserved. The telephone is a heavy, rotary model.
There is no VCR, no cable.
屋内,俨然是保存完好的一个旧时代。电话是笨重的拨盘式的那种。没有录
像放映机,没有有线电视。
66 His is the only house in the
neighborhood with a television antenna
on the
roof.
他家是附近惟一一家屋顶上支着电视接收天线的人家。
67
He leads a solitary life. Most of his human
contact comes on the job.
Now, he heats the
oven and slips in a frozen dinner because it's
easy to
fix.
他过着离群索居的生活。他跟别人的来往大都限于
工作上。他打开了烤炉,
放了一盒冷藏食品进去,因为这样做饭方便。
68 The
job usually takes him 10 hours.
他的工作通常要花去他10个小时。
69 He's a weary man who
knows his days -- no matter what his intentions
-- are numbered.
他身心疲惫,知道来日无多了――不管他愿不愿意。
70 He works on
straight commission. He gets no paid holidays,
vacations
or raises. Yes, some months are
lean.
他的收入完全依靠佣金。他没有带薪假期,没有度假,也没有加薪。的确,
有些月份收入相当微薄。
71 In 1993, he needed back surgery to
relieve pain caused from decades
of walking.
He was laid up for five months and couldn't work.
He was forced
to sell his house. The new
owners, familiar with his situation, froze his
rent and agreed to let him live there until he
dies.
1993年,他需要作背部手术,以减轻数十年行走引起的疼痛。他卧床五
个月,
无法工作。他被迫出售房子。房子的新主人了解他的处境,冻结了他的房租,并答
应让他在有生之年继续住在那里。
72 He doesn't feel
sorry for himself.
73 The house is only a
building. A place to live, nothing more.
74
His dinner is ready. He eats at the kitchen table
and listens to the
radio. The afternoon mail
brought bills that he will deal with later this
week. The checkbook is upstairs in the
bedroom.
75 His checkbook.
他并不因此自悲自怜。
房子只不过是个建筑物。一个住的地方。仅此而已。
晚饭好了。他在厨房的桌子旁吃饭,边吃边听着收音机。下午的邮差送来了
他的账
单,这些账单他将在这个星期后几天支付。支票簿在楼上卧室里。
他的私人支票簿。
76 He types in the recipient's name and
signs his name.
77 The signature is small
and scrawled.
78 Unreadable.
79
But he knows.
80 Bill Porter.
81
Bill Porter, salesman.
他用打字机打上收款人的名字,随后签上名。
签名小小的,字迹潦草。
难以辨认。
可他认得出来。
比尔·波特。
推销员比尔·波特。
82 From his easy
chair he hears the wind lash his house and the
rain pound
the street outside his home. He
must dress warmly tomorrow. He's sleepy.
With
great care he climbs the stairs to his bedroom.
83 In time, the lights go off.
84
Morning will be here soon.
他坐在安乐椅上,只听得呼
啸的大风猛烈地冲击着他的屋子,大雨击打着屋
外的街面。明天他得穿得暖和些。他觉得困了,他小心翼
翼地爬上楼就寝。
没过一会儿,灯就灭了。
早晨很快就会来临。
When children take up ways of
making a living that differ greatly from
their
parents, differences in outlook can easily arise.
This is what Alfred
Lubrano found. Brought up
in the family of a building worker, education led
him to develop different interests and
ambitions from his father. Here he
writes
about how this affected their relationship.
当子女的谋生方式与父母大相径庭时,很容易产生观念上的差异。 这正是
艾尔弗雷德·卢布拉诺的发现
。他在一个建筑工人的家庭里长大,他所受的教育使
他产生了不同于父亲的兴趣与抱负。他在本文中叙述
了这一差异如何影响着他们的
父子关系。
unit 8 A Clone Is Born
Cloning offers the
possibility of making exact copies of ourselves.
Should this be allowed? What benefits and
dangers may cloning bring?
克隆技术使我们有可能分毫
不差地复制自己。这一技术是否应该获准应用?
克隆技术会带来什么裨益与危险?
A Clone Is Born
Gina Kolata
1 On
July 5, 1996, at 5:00 p.m., the most famous lamb
in history entered
the world. She was born in
a shed, just down the road from the Roslin
Institute
in Roslin, Scotland, where she was
created. And yet her creator, Ian Wilmut,
a
quiet, balding fifty-two-year-old embryologist,
does not remember where
he was when he heard
that the lamb, named Dolly, was born. He does not
even
recall getting a telephone call from John
Bracken, a scientist who had
monitored the
pregnancy of the sheep that gave birth to Dolly,
saying that
Dolly was alive and healthy and
weighed 6.6 kilograms.
1996年7月5日下午5点,有史
以来最出名的小羊羔问世了。它出生在苏格
兰罗斯林镇的罗斯林研究院所在的那条路上的一个小棚里,这
只羊羔是在该研究院
创造出来的。而它的创造者伊恩·威尔莫特,一位正在谢顶的文质彬彬的52岁的<
br>胚胎学家,却不记得自己是在什么地方听到这头名叫多利的羊问世的消息的。他甚
至不记得曾接到
约翰· 布拉肯的电话,这位对产下多利的那头羊的整个妊娠过程
进行监察的科学家在电话上说多利健康
存活,体重6.6千克。
2 No one broke open champagne.
No one took pictures. Only a few staff
members
from the institute and a local veterinarian who
attended the birth
were present. Yet Dolly,
who looked for all the world like hundreds of
other
lambs that dot the rolling hills of
Scotland, was soon to change the world.
没有人打开香槟酒庆贺。没有人拍照留影。只有研究院的几位员工,以及接
生的一位当地兽医在场。然而
,多利,这头与苏格兰起伏的山丘上散布着的千百头
其他的羊毫无异样的小羊羔,很快就
改变了世界。
3 When the time comes to write the
history of our age, this quiet birth,
the
creation of this little lamb, will stand out. The
world is a different
place now that she is
born.
当后人编写我们这一时代的历史的时候,这一平静的降生,这头小羊羔的问
世,将会引人注目。世界因它降生而从此改变。
4 Dolly is a
clone. She was created not out of the union of a
sperm and
an egg but out of the genetic
material from an udder cell of a six-year-old
sheep. Wilmut fused the udder cell with an egg
from another sheep, after
first removing all
genetic material from the egg. The udder cell's
genes
took up residence in the egg and
directed it to grow and develop. The result
was Dolly, the identical twin of the original
sheep that provided the udder
cells, but an
identical twin born six years later.
多利
是头克隆羊。它不是精卵结合的产物,而是由取自一头六龄羊的乳腺细
胞的基因材料生成的。威尔莫特先
将取自另一头羊的卵子中的所有基因材料取出,
再将该卵子与这一乳腺细胞融合。乳腺细胞的基因在该卵
子中安营扎寨,令其生长
发育。其结果就是多利羊,即与提供乳腺细胞的那头羊一模一样的孪生羊,只是
这
头孪生羊晚出生了6年。
5 Until Dolly entered the
world, cloning was the stuff of science fiction.
It had been raised as a possibility decades
ago, then dismissed, something
that serious
scientists thought was simply not going to happen
anytime soon.
Now it is not fantasy to think
that someday, perhaps decades from now, but
someday, you could clone yourself and make
tens, dozens, hundreds of
genetically
identical twins. Nor is it science fiction to
think that your
cells could be improved
beforehand, genetically engineered to add some
genes
and remove others.
在多利羊问世之前,克
隆技术不过是科学幻想的故事。几十年前有人提出这种可能
性,后来遭到摒弃,严肃的科学家那时认为克
隆在近期根本不可能实现。现在这已
不再是幻想,几十年之后,或许有朝一日你可以克隆自己,造出数十
个,数百个,
上千个基因完全相同的孪生的兄弟。事先改进你的细胞,运用基因工程注入某些基
因,剔除某些基因,这样的事也不再是科学幻想。
6 True, it was a
sheep that was cloned, not a human being. But
there was
nothing exceptional about sheep.
Even Wilmut, who made it clear that he was
opposed to the very idea of cloning people,
said that there was no longer
any theoretical
reason why humans could not clone themselves,
using the same
methods he had used to clone
Dolly.
you couldn't do it.
没错,克隆的是头羊,
而不是人。但羊并没有任何独特之处。甚至明确表示
反对克隆人的威尔莫特也称,理论上,没有理由说人
类不能使用与克隆多利羊同样
的手段来克隆人类本身。“原则上没有不能这么做的理由。”但他补充说,
“我们都
会认为这样做令人厌恶。”
7 We live in a time
when we argue about pragmatism and compromises in
our quest to be morally right. But cloning
forces us back to the most basic
questions
that have plagued humanity since the dawn of
recorded time: What
is good and what is evil?
And how much potential for evil can we tolerate
to obtain something that might be good?
Cloning, with its possibilities for
creating our own identical twins,
brings us back to the ancient sins of vanity
and pride; the sins of Narcissus, who so loved
himself, and of Prometheus,
who, in stealing
fire, sought the powers of God. So before we can
ask why
we are so fascinated by cloning, we
have to examine our souls and ask, What
exactly so bothers many of us about trying to
make an exact copy of our genetic
selves? Or,
if we are not bothered, why aren't we?
我们生活在这样一个时代,人们为了追求道德的完善对实用主义和妥协折衷
的问题争论不休。而克隆技术
迫使我们回到有史以来一直困扰人类的那些最本质的
问题:何者为善,何者为恶?为了获得可能有益的东
西,我们对邪恶的隐患能容忍
到何种程度?克隆技术以其创造与我们自身完全一样的孪生兄弟的可能性,
将我们
带回到种种古老的罪孽:虚荣傲慢;那喀索斯式的自恋罪,以及普罗米修斯的罪孽,
他以
盗火来谋求上帝的权力。因此,我们在扪心自问为什么对克隆技术如此着迷之
前,不得不首先审视自己的
心灵,问一问:究竟是什么东西使得我们中的许多人对
于尝试复制与自身基因完全等同的孪生兄弟那么不
安?或者,如果我们并没有感到
不安,其原因又是什么?
8 We want
children who resemble us. Even couples who use
donor eggs or
donor sperm, search catalogs of
donors to find people who resemble themselves.
Several years ago, a poem by Linda Pastan,
called
Home,
Is it my own image
I love so
in your face?
I lean over your sleep,
Narcissus over
his clear pool,
ready to fall in --
to drown for you
if necessary.
Yet if we so love
ourselves, reflected in our children, why is it so
terrifying to so many of us to think of seeing
our exact genetic replicas
born again,
identical twins years younger than we? Is it one
thing for nature
to form us through a genetic
lottery, and another for us to take complete
control, abandoning all thoughts of somehow,
through the mixing of genes,
having a child
who is like us, but better? Normally, when a man
and a woman
have a child together, the child
is an unpredictable mixture of the two.
We
recognize that, of course, in the old joke in
which a beautiful but dumb
woman suggests to
an ugly but brilliant man that the two have a
child. Just
think of how wonderful the baby
would be, the woman says, with my looks and
your brains. Aha, says the man. But what if
the child inherited my looks
and your brains?
我们希望子女像我们自己。即使是采用捐赠卵子或捐赠精子的夫妇也要查找
精子捐
献人名录,以发现与自己相像的人。若干年前,琳达·
帕斯坦写的一首题
为《致离家的女儿》的诗曾出现在纽约地铁的墙上,诗中写道:
难道是我自己的形象
映在你的脸上
使我如此爱恋?
我俯视着安睡的你
就像那喀索斯俯视着
他那一潭清水,
随时准备跳下去――
如有必要
为你沉溺
然而,如果我们如此爱恋在子女身上映现
出来的自我,那为什么我们当中有
这么多人,一想到将目睹与我们完全一样的基因复制品、比自己年轻许
多的双胞胎
降生的时候,就会感到如此惊恐?难道大自然通过基因的任意组合将我们造就是一
回
事,而由我们自己实施全面控制,摈弃一切随意的念头,通过基因组合造就一个
与我们相似但更为完美的
孩子则又是另外一回事?当男女一起生育孩子时,孩子往
往是两个人基因的不可预料的组合。显然,一个
老笑话表明我们已经认识到了这一
点。这个笑话说的是一位漂亮但蠢笨的女人向一个丑陋但才华横溢的男
人建议两人
一起生一个孩子。想一想吧,那女人说,孩子拥有我的容貌、你的大脑那将会多么
出
色。啊,那男人说,可要是孩子继承了我的容貌你的大脑呢?
9 Cloning
brings us face-to-face with what it means to be
human and makes
us confront both the
privileges and limitations of life itself. It also
forces us to question the powers of science.
Is there, in fact, knowledge
that we do not
want? Are there paths we would rather not pursue?
克隆技术使我们直接面对做人的意义这个问题,使我们直接面对生命本身的
特权与
限制。克隆技术也迫使我们对科学的力量提出质疑。是不是有些知识我们真
的不要去获取?有一些路我们
宁愿不去探寻?
10 The time is long past when we
can speak of the purity of science,
divorced from its consequences. If any
needed reminding that the innocence
of
scientists was lost long ago, they need only
recall the comments of J.
Robert Oppenheimer,
the genius who was a father of the atomic bomb and
who
was transformed in the process from a
supremely confident man, ready to
follow his
scientific curiosity, to a humbled and troubled
soul, wondering
what science had let loose.
我们奢谈科学的纯洁性,将科学与其后果分离的时代早已过去。如果有谁还
需要提
醒,科学家的纯真早已丧失,他们只要回想一下J·罗伯特·奥本海默的话。
奥本海默是一位天才,他是
原子弹的缔造者之一。他在追求科学的过程中,从一个
极其自信、随时准备跟着科学好奇心走的人,逐渐
变成了一个谦恭困惑的人,他不
知道科学放出了什么妖魔。
11 Before
the bomb was made, Oppenheimer said,
that is
technically sweet you go ahead and do the bomb
was dropped
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in a
chilling speech delivered in 1947, he said:
lose.
在原子弹造出之前,奥本海默说:“当你看到某个技术完美的
东西时,你就
毫不犹豫地去实现它。”原子弹投在广岛、长崎之后,他在1947年发表的一则令人毛骨悚然的演说中指出:“物理学家们已经尝到过罪孽的滋味,这种滋味他们无法
忘记。”
12 As with the atom bomb, cloning is
complex, multi-layered in its threats
and its
promises. It offers the possibility of real
scientific advances that
can improve our lives
and save them. In medicine, scientists dream of
using
cloning to reprogram cells so we
can make our own body parts for
transplantation. Suppose, for example, you
needed a bone marrow transplant.
Some deadly
forms of leukemia can be cured completely if
doctors destroy
your own marrow and replace it
with healthy marrow from someone else. But
the
marrow must be a close genetic match to your own.
If not, it will lash
out at you and kill you.
Bone marrow is the source of the white blood cells
of the immune system. If you have someone
else's marrow, you'll make their
white blood
cells. And if those cells think you are different
from them,
they will attack.
如同原子弹一样,克隆技术带来的威胁与希望是复杂的、 多层面的。它提
供了改善生活、拯救生命的真
正科学进步的可能性。在医学上,科学家梦想着运用
克隆技术改编细胞的编码指令程序,这样我们就可以
制造出我们自己身体的某些部
分进行移植。比如说,假定你需要进行骨髓移植。如果医生摧毁你自身的骨
髓,用
他人的健康骨髓来取代,某些致命的白血病就能得到彻底的医治。但骨髓的属型必
须与你
自己的相匹配。不然的话,移植的骨髓就会向你发起进攻,置你于死地。骨
髓是免疫系统的白细胞的来源
。如果你获得别人的骨髓,你就会造出别人的白细胞。
如果这些白细胞认定你与它们不同,它们就会发起
进攻。
13 But suppose, instead, that
scientists could take one of your cells
-- any
cell -- and merge it with a human egg. The egg
would start to divide,
to develop, but it
would not be permitted to divide more than a few
times.
Instead, technicians would bathe it in
proteins that direct primitive cells,
embryo
cells, to become marrow cells. What started out to
be a clone of you
could grow into a batch of
your marrow -- the perfect match.
不过,可以有别的办法。假定科学家能够用你自身的某个细胞――任何一个
细胞――将它与人的卵细胞融
合。卵细胞开始分裂,生长,但你可以控制它,只让
它分裂若干次。技术人员将它置于蛋白质当中,指令
原始细胞,即胚胎细胞,长成
骨髓细胞。开始时本可以克隆你的东西却可以长成一批你的骨髓――与你完
美相配
的骨髓。
14 More difficult, but not
inconceivable, would be to grow solid organs,
like kidneys or livers, in the same way.
更为困难,但并非不可思议的,是以同样的方法长成完整的器官,如肾脏或
肝脏。
15
Another possibility is to create animals whose
organs are perfect
genetic matches for humans.
If you need a liver, a kidney, or even a heart,
you might be able to get one from a specially
designed pig clone.
另一种可能性是生成器官与人类基因完全吻
合的动物。如果你需要肝脏,肾
脏,甚至心脏,你或许能从一头特别设计的克隆猪身上获得。
16 The possibilities are limitless,
scientists say, and so, some argue,
we should
stop focusing on our hypothetical fears and think
about the
benefits that cloning could bring.
科学家称克隆技术蕴藏着无穷的可能性,因此,有人争辩说,我们不应该喋
喋不休
地谈论种种假设的恐惧,而去想一想克隆技术能够带来的裨益。
Laurence
Tribe used to be against human cloning. However,
the arrival
of Dolly the sheep led him to have
second thoughts on the matter.
劳伦斯·特赖布过去反对克隆人。然而,多利羊的问世促使他重新思考这一
问题。
unit 6
The Last Leaf
When Johnsy fell
seriously ill, she seemed to lose the will to hang
on to life. The doctor held out little hope
for her. Her friends seemed
helpless. Was
there nothing to be done?
约翰西病情严重,她似乎失去
了活下去的意志。医生对她不抱什么希望。朋
友们看来也爱莫能助。难道真的就无可奈何了吗?
1 At the top of a three-story brick
building, Sue and Johnsy had their
studio.
from California. They had met at a cafe on
Eighth Street and found their
tastes in art,
chicory salad and bishop sleeves so much in tune
that the
joint studio resulted.
在一幢
三层砖楼的顶层,苏和约翰西辟了个画室。“约翰西”是乔安娜的昵
称。她们一位来自缅因州,一位来自
加利福尼亚。两人相遇在第八大街的一个咖啡
馆,发现各自在艺术品味、菊苣色拉,以及灯笼袖等方面趣
味相投,于是就有了这
个两人画室。
2 That was in May. In
November a cold, unseen stranger, whom the doctors
called Pneumonia, stalked about the district,
touching one here and there
with his icy
fingers. Johnsy was among his victims. She lay,
scarcely moving
on her bed, looking through
the small window at the blank side of the next
brick house.
那是5月里的事。到了11月,一个医生称之为肺
炎的阴森的隐形客闯入了
这一地区,用它冰冷的手指东碰西触。约翰西也为其所害。她病倒了,躺在床上
几
乎一动不动,只能隔着小窗望着隔壁砖房那单调沉闷的侧墙。
3
One morning the busy doctor invited Sue into the
hallway with a bushy,
gray eyebrow.
一天上午,忙碌的医生扬了扬灰白的浓眉,示意苏来到过道。
4
want to
live. Your little lady has made up her mind that
she's not going
to get well. Has she anything
on her mind?
“她只有一成希望,”他说。“那还得看她自己是不是想活
下去。你这位女朋
友已经下决心不想好了。她有什么心事吗?”
5
“她――她想有一天能去画那不勒斯湾,”苏说。
6 -- bosh! Has
she anything on her mind worth thinking about
twice
-- a man, for instance?
“画画?――得了。她有没有别的事值得她留恋的――比如说,一个男人?”
7
man?said Sue. a man worth -- but, no, doctor;
there is nothing
of the kind.
“男人?”苏说。“难道一个男人就值得――可是,她没有啊,大夫,没有
这码子事。”
8
But whenever my patient begins to count the
carriages in her funeral
procession I subtract
50 per cent from the curative power of
medicines.
After the doctor had gone Sue went
into the workroom and cried. Then she
marched
into Johnsy's room with her drawing board,
whistling a merry tune.
“好吧,”大夫说
。“我会尽一切努力,只要是科学能做到的。可是,但凡病
人开始计算她出殡的行列里有几辆马车的时候
,我就要把医药的疗效减去一半。”
大夫走后,苏去工作室哭了一场。随后她携着画板大步走进约翰西的
房间,口里吹
着轻快的口哨。
9 Johnsy lay, scarcely
making a movement under the bedclothes, with her
face toward the window. She was looking out
and counting -- counting
backward.
约翰西躺在被子下几乎一动不动,脸朝着窗。她望着窗外,数着数――倒数
着数!
10
“12,”她数道,过了一会儿“11”,接着数“10”和“9”;再数“8”
和“7”,
几乎一口同时数下来。
11 Sue looked out of
the window. What was there to count? There was
only
a bare, dreary yard to be seen, and the
blank side of the brick house twenty
feet
away. An old, old ivy vine climbed half way up the
brick wall. The cold
breath of autumn had
blown away its leaves, leaving it almost bare.
苏朝窗外望去。外面有什么好数的呢?外面只看到一个空荡荡的沉闷的院
子,还有
20英尺开外那砖房的侧墙,上面什么也没有。一棵古老的常青藤爬到半
墙高。萧瑟秋风吹落了枝叶,藤
上几乎光秃秃的。
12 said Johnsy, in almost a
whisper. falling faster now.
Three days ago
there were almost a hundred. It made my head ache
to count
them. But now it's easy. There goes
another one. There are only five left
now.
“6”,约翰西数着,声音几乎听不出来。“现在叶子掉
落得快多了。三天前
差不多还有100片。数得我头都疼。可现在容易了。又掉了一片。这下子只剩5片
了。”
13
“5片什么,亲爱的?”
14
On the ivy vine. When the last one falls I must
go, too. I've
known that for three days.
Didn't the doctor tell you?
“叶子。常青藤上的叶子。等
最后一片叶子掉了,我也就得走了。三天前我
就知道会这样。大夫没跟你说吗?”
15
with your getting well? Don't be so silly.
Why, the doctor told me this
morning that your
chances for getting well real soon were ten to
one! Try
to take some soup now, and let Sudie
go and buy port wine for her sick child.
“噢,我从没听说过这种胡说八道。常青藤叶子跟你病好不好有什么关系?
别这么傻。对了,大夫上午跟
我说,你的病十有八九就快好了。快喝些汤,让苏迪
给她生病的孩子去买些波尔图葡萄酒来。”
16
out the window. goes another. No, I
don't want any soup. That leaves
just four. I
want to see the last one fall before it gets dark.
Then I'll
go, too. I'm tired of waiting. I'm
tired of thinking. I want to turn loose
my
hold on everything, and go sailing down, down,
just like one of those
poor, tired
leaves.
“你不用再去买酒了,”约翰西说道,两眼一直盯着窗外。
“又掉了一片。不,
我不想喝汤。这一下只剩下4片了。我要在天黑前看到最后一片叶子掉落。那时我<
br>也就跟着走了。我都等腻了。也想腻了。我只想撇开一切,
飘然而去,就像那边一
片可怜的疲倦的叶子。”
17
the old
miner. I'll not be gone a minute.
“快睡吧,”苏说。“我得叫贝尔曼上楼来给我当老矿工模特儿。我去去就来。”
18
Old Behrman was a painter who lived on the ground
floor beneath them.
He was past sixty and had
a long white beard curling down over his chest.
Despite looking the part, Behrman was a
failure in art. For forty years he
had been
always about to paint a masterpiece, but had never
yet begun it.
He earned a little by serving as
a model to those young artists who could
not
pay the price of a professional. He drank gin to
excess, and still talked
of his coming
masterpiece. For the rest he was a fierce little
old man, who
mocked terribly at softness in
any one, and who regarded himself as guard
dog
to the two young artists in the studio above.
老贝尔曼是住在两人楼下底层的一个画家。他已年过六旬,银白色蜷曲的长
髯披挂
胸前。贝尔曼看上去挺像艺术家,但在艺术上却没有什么成就。40年来他一
直想创作一幅传世之作,却
始终没能动手。他给那些请不起职业模特的青年画家当
模特挣点小钱。他没节制地喝酒,谈论着他那即将
问世的不朽之作。要说其他方面,
他是个好斗的小老头,要是谁表现出一点软弱,他便大肆嘲笑,并把自
己看成是楼
上画室里两位年轻艺术家的看护人。
19 Sue found
Behrman smelling strongly of gin in his dimly
lighted studio
below. In one corner was
a blank canvas on an easel that had been waiting
there for twenty-five years to receive the
first line of the masterpiece.
She told him of
Johnsy's fancy, and how she feared she would,
indeed, light
and fragile as a leaf herself,
float away, when her slight hold upon the
world grew weaker. Old Behrman, with his red
eyes plainly streaming, shouted
his contempt
for such foolish imaginings.
苏在楼下光线暗淡的画
室里找到了贝尔曼,他满身酒味刺鼻。屋子一角的画
架上支着一张从未落过笔的画布,在那儿搁了25年
,等着一幅杰作的起笔。苏把
约翰西的怪念头跟他说了,并说约翰西本身就像一片叶子又瘦又弱,她害怕
要是她
那本已脆弱的生存意志再软下去的话,真的会凋零飘落。老贝尔曼双眼通红,显然
是泪涟
涟的,他大声叫嚷着说他蔑视这种傻念头。
20
die because
leafs drop off from a vine? I have never heard of
such a thing.
Why do you allow such silly
ideas to come into that head of hers? God! This
is not a place in which one so good as Miss
Johnsy should lie sick. Some
day I will paint
a masterpiece, and we shall all go away. Yes.
“什么!”他嚷道。“世界上竟然有这么愚蠢的人,因为树叶从藤上掉落就要
去死?我听都没听说过这等
事。你怎么让这种傻念头钻到她那个怪脑袋里?天哪!
这不是一个像约翰西小姐这样的好姑娘躺倒生病的
地方。有朝一日我要画一幅巨
作,那时候我们就离开这里。真的。”
21
Johnsy was sleeping when they went upstairs. Sue
pulled the shade down,
and motioned Behrman
into the other room. In there they peered out the
window
fearfully at the ivy vine. Then they
looked at each other for a moment without
speaking. A persistent, cold rain was
falling, mingled with snow. Behrman,
in his
old blue shirt, took his seat as the miner on an
upturned kettle for
a rock.
两人上了楼,约
翰西已经睡着了。苏放下窗帘,示意贝尔曼去另一个房间。
在那儿两人惶惶不安地凝视着窗外的常青藤。
接着两人面面相觑,哑然无语。外面
冷雨夹雪,淅淅沥沥。贝尔曼穿着破旧的蓝色衬衣,
坐在充当矿石的倒置的水壶上,
摆出矿工的架势。
22 When Sue
awoke from an hour's sleep the next morning she
found Johnsy
with dull, wide-open eyes staring
at the drawn green shade.
第二天早上,只睡了一个小时的苏醒来看到约翰西睁大着无神的双眼,凝望
着拉下的绿色窗帘。
23
“把窗帘拉起来;我要看,”她低声命令道。
24
Wearily Sue obeyed.
苏带着疲倦,遵命拉起窗帘。
25 But, Lo! after the beating rain and
fierce wind that had endured
through the
night, there yet stood out against the brick wall
one ivy leaf.
It was the last on the vine.
Still dark green near its stem, but with its
edges colored yellow, it hung bravely from a
branch some twenty feet above
the ground.
可是,瞧!经过一整夜的急风骤雨,竟然还存留一片常青藤叶,背靠砖墙,
格外显
目。这是常青藤上的最后一片叶子。近梗部位仍呈暗绿色,但边缘已经泛黄
了,它无所畏惧地挂在离地2
0多英尺高的枝干上。
26
during the night.
I heard the wind. It will fall today, and I shall
die at
the same time.
“这是最后一片叶子,”约翰西说
。“我以为夜里它肯定会掉落的。我晚上听
到大风呼啸。今天它会掉落的,叶子掉的时候,也是我死的时
候。”
27 The day wore away, and even through
the twilight they could see the
lone ivy leaf
clinging to its stem against the wall. And then,
with the coming
of the night the north wind
was again loosed.
白天慢慢过去了,即便在暮色黄昏之中,他们仍
能看到那片孤零零的常青藤
叶子,背靠砖墙,紧紧抱住梗茎。尔后,随着夜幕的降临,又是北风大作。
28 When it was light enough Johnsy, the
merciless, commanded that the
shade be raised.
等天色亮起,冷酷无情的约翰西命令将窗帘拉起。
29 The
ivy leaf was still there.
常青藤叶依然挺在。
30 Johnsy lay for a long time looking at
it. And then she called to Sue,
who was
stirring her chicken soup over the gas stove.
约翰西躺在那儿,望着它许久许久。接着她大声呼唤正在煤气灶上搅鸡汤的
苏。
31
last leaf stay there to show me how
wicked I was. It is a sin to want to
die. You
may bring me a little soup now, and some milk with
a little port
in it and -- no; bring me a
hand-mirror first, and then pack some pillows
about me, and I will sit up and watch
you cook.
“我一直像个不乖的孩子,苏迪,”约翰西说。“有一种力量让那最后
一片叶
子不掉,好让我看到自己有多坏。想死是一种罪过。你给我喝点汤吧,再来点牛奶,
稍放
一点波尔图葡萄酒――不,先给我拿面小镜子来,弄几个枕头垫在我身边,我
要坐起来看你做菜。”
32 An hour later she said:
一个小时之后,她说:
33
“苏迪,我真想有一天去画那不勒斯海湾。”
34 The doctor came in
the afternoon, and Sue had an excuse to go into
the hallway as he left.
下午大夫来了,他走时苏找了个借口跟进了过道。
35
his.
“现在是势均力敌,”大夫说着,握了握苏纤细颤抖的手。
36 nursing
you'll win. And now I must see another case I have
downstairs. Behrman, his name is -- some kind
of an artist, I believe.
Pneumonia, too. He is
an old, weak man, and the attack is acute. There
is
no hope for him; but he goes to the
hospital today to be made more
comfortable.
“只要精心照料,你就赢了。现在我得去楼下看另外一
个病人了。贝尔曼,
是他的名字――记得是个什么画家。也是肺炎。他年老体弱,病来势又猛。他是没<
br>救了。不过今天他去了医院,照料得会好一点。”
37 The
next day the doctor said to Sue: out of danger.
You've won.
The right food and care now --
that's all.
第二天,大夫对苏说:“她脱离危险了。你赢了。注意饮食,好好照顾,就
行了。”
38
And that afternoon Sue came to the bed where
Johnsy lay and put one
arm around her.
当日下午,苏来到约翰西的床头,用一只手臂搂住她。
39
died of
pneumonia today in the hospital. He was ill only
two days. He was
found on the morning of the
first day in his room downstairs helpless with
pain. His shoes and clothing were wet through
and icy cold. They couldn't
imagine where he
had been on such a terrible night. And then they
found a
lantern, still lighted, and a ladder
that had been dragged from its place,
and some
scattered brushes, and a palette with green and
yellow colors mixed
on it, and -- look out the
window, dear, at the last ivy leaf on the wall.
Didn't you wonder why it never fluttered or
moved when the wind blew? Ah,
darling, it's
Behrman's masterpiece -- he painted it there the
night that
the last leaf fell.
“我跟你说件
事,小白鼠,”她说。“贝尔曼先生今天在医院里得肺炎去世了。
他得病才两天。发病那天上午人家在楼
下他的房间里发现他疼得利害。他的鞋子衣
服都湿透了,冰冷冰冷的。他们想不出那么糟糕的天气他夜里
会去哪儿。后来他们
发现了一个灯笼,还亮着,还有一个梯子被拖了出来,另外还有些散落的画笔,一<
br>个调色板,和着黄绿两种颜色,――看看窗外,宝贝儿,看看墙上那最后一片常青
藤叶子。它在刮风的时候一动也不动,你没有觉得奇怪吗?啊,亲爱的,那是贝尔
曼的杰作――最后一片
叶子掉落的那天夜里他画上了这片叶子。”
He did not trust the
woman to trust him. And he did not trust the woman
not to trust him. And he did not want to be
mistrusted now.
他不敢相信这个女人居然会信任自己。他也不认为这
个女人就不信任自己。
不过,现在他不想失去别人对自己的信任。
unit 7 Life of a Salesman
Making a living
as a door-to-door salesman demands a thick skin,
both
to protect against the weather and
against constantly having the door shut
in
your face. Bill Porter puts up with all this and
much, much more.
干挨家挨户上门推销这一营生得脸皮厚,这是因为
干这一行不仅要经受风吹
日晒,还要承受一次又一次的闭门羹。比尔 ·
波特忍受着这一切,以及别的种种
折磨。
Life of a Salesman
Tom Hallman Jr.
1 The alarm rings.
It's 5:45. He could linger under the covers,
listening
to the radio and a weatherman who
predicts rain. People would understand.
He
knows that.
一个推销员的生活
小汤姆 · 霍尔曼
闹钟响了。是清晨5:45。他可以在被子里再躺一会儿,听听无线电广播。
天气预报员预报有雨。人们
会理解的。这点他清楚。
2 A surgeon's scar cuts across
his lower back. The fingers on his right
hand are so twisted that he can't tie
his shoes. Some days, he feels like
surrendering. But his dead mother's challenge
echoes in his soul. So, too,
do the voices of
those who believed him stupid, incapable of living
independently. All his life he's struggled to
prove them wrong. He will not
quit.
3
And so Bill Porter rises.
他的下背有一道手术疤痕。他
右手的手指严重扭曲,连鞋带都没法系。有时,
他真想放弃不干了。可在他内心深处,一直回响着已故老
母的激励, 还有那些说他
蠢,说他不能独立生活的人的声音。他一生都在拚命去证明他们错了。他决不
能放
弃不干。
于是比尔·波特起身了。
4 He takes the
first unsteady steps on a journey to Portland's
streets,
the battlefield where he fights alone
for his independence and dignity. He's
a door-
to-door salesman. Sixty-three years old. And his
enemies -- a crippled
body that betrays him
and a changing world that no longer needs him --
are
gaining on him.
他摇摇晃晃迈出了去波特兰大街的
头几步,波特兰大街是他为独立与尊严而
孤身搏杀的战场。他是个挨家挨户上门推销的推销员,今年63
岁。他的敌人――
辜负他的残疾的身体和一个不再需要他的变化着的世界――正一步一步把他逼向
绝境。
5 With trembling hands he assembles
his weapons: dark slacks, blue shirt
and
matching jacket, brown tie, tan raincoat and hat.
Image, he believes,
is everything.
他用颤抖的双手收拾行装:深色宽松裤,蓝衬衣和与之相配的茄克衫,褐色
领带,土褐色雨衣和帽子。在他看来,形象就是一切。
6 He stops in
the entryway, picks up his briefcase and steps
outside.
A fall wind has kicked up. The
weatherman was right. He pulls his raincoat
tighter.
7 He tilts his hat just so.
他在门口停了一下,提起公文包,走了
出去。秋风骤起,冷飕飕的。天气预报员说得没错。他将雨衣裹裹
紧。
他把帽子往一侧微微一斜。
8 On the 7:45
bus that stops across the street, he leaves his
briefcase
next to the driver and finds a seat
in the middle of a pack of bored teenagers.
在
街对面停靠的7:45那班公共汽车上,他把公文包放在司机身旁,在一群
没精打采的十几岁的孩子当中
找了个位子坐下。
9 He leans forward, stares toward
the driver, sits back, then repeats
the
process. His nervousness makes him laugh
uncontrollably. The teenagers
stare at him.
They don't realize Porter's afraid someone will
steal his
briefcase, with the glasses,
brochures, order forms and clip-on tie that
he
needs to survive.
他身子往前一倾,盯着司机那儿望
,然后靠着椅背坐下,接着他又反
复这个过程。他心情紧张,控制不住自己而笑出声来。那些孩子望着他
。他们不明
白,波特是担心有人偷他的包,包里有他生存不可缺少的眼镜,宣传小册子,定单,
以及可用别针别上的领带。
10 Porter senses the stares.
He looks at the floor.
波特意识到了小孩子在盯着他看。他把目光转向车厢地板。
11
His face reveals nothing. In his heart, though, he
knows he should
have been like these kids,
like everyone on this bus. He's not angry. But
he knows. His mother explained how the
delivery had been difficult, how the
doctor
had used an instrument that crushed a section of
his brain and caused
cerebral palsy, a
disorder of the nervous system that affects his
speech,
hands and walk.
他脸上没有流露出任何神情
。但在他心里,他知道自己本该和这些孩子一样,
和车上其他所有人一样。他并不生气。但他心里明白。
他母亲解释说生他时难产,
医生使用了某种器械,损坏了他大脑的一部分,导致了大脑性麻痹,一种影响
他说
话,手部活动以及行走的神经系统的紊乱。
12 Porter came
to Portland when he was 13 after his father, a
salesman,
was transferred here. He attended a
school for the disabled and then Lincoln
High
School, where he was placed in a class for slow
kids.
波特13岁那年随着当推销员的父亲工作调动来到波特兰。他上了一个残疾人
学
校,后来就读林肯高级中学,在那儿他被编入慢班。
13 But he wasn't
slow.
但他并不笨。
14 His mind was
trapped in a body that didn't work. Speaking was
difficult
and took time. People were impatient
and didn't listen. He felt different
-- was
different -- from the kids who rushed about in the
halls and planned
dances he would never
attend.
他由于身体不能正常运行而使脑子不能充分发挥其功能。他说话困难,
而且
慢。别人不耐烦,不听他说。他觉得自己不同于――事实上也确实不同于――那些
<
br>在过道里东奔西跑的孩子,那些孩子安排的舞会他永远也不可能参加。
15 What
could his future be? Porter wanted to do something
and his mother
was certain that he could rise
above his limitations. With her encouragement,
he applied for a job with the Fuller Brush Co.
only to be turned down. He
couldn't carry a
product briefcase or walk a route, they said.
他将来会是个什么样子呢?波特想做些事,母亲也相信他能冲破身体的局
限。在她
的鼓励之下,他向福勒牙刷公司申请一份工作,结果却遭到拒绝。他不能
提样品包,也不能跑一条推销线
路,他们说。
16 Porter knew he wanted to be a
salesman. He began reading help wanted
ads in
the newspaper. When he saw one for Watkins, a
company that sold
household products door-to-
door, his mother set up a meeting with a
representative. The man said no, but Porter
wouldn't listen. He just wanted
a chance. The
man gave in and offered Porter a section of the
city that no
salesman wanted.
波特知道自
己想当推销员。他开始阅读报纸上的招聘广告。他看到沃特金斯,
一家上门推销家用物品的公司要人,他
母亲就跟其代理人安排会面。那人说不行,
可波特不予理会。他就是需要一个机会。那人让步了,把城里
一个其他推销员都不
要的区域派给了他。
17 It took Porter
four false starts before he found the courage to
ring
the first doorbell. The man who answered
told him to go away, a pattern
repeated
throughout the day.
波特一开始四次都没敢敲门,第五次才鼓起
勇气按了第一户人家的门铃。开
门的那人让他走开,这种情形持续了一整天。
18 That night Porter read through
company literature and discovered the
products
were guaranteed. He would sell that pledge. He
just needed people
to listen.
当晚,波特仔细阅读了公
司的宣传资料,发现产品都是保用的。他要把保用
作为卖点。只要别人肯听他说话就成。
19
If a customer turned him down, Porter kept coming
back until they heard
him. And he sold.
要是客户回绝波特,拒绝倾听他的介绍,他就一再上门。就这样他将产品卖
了出去。
20
For several years he was Watkins' top retail
salesman. Now he is the
only one of the
company's 44,000 salespeople who sells door-to-
door.
他连着几年都是沃特金斯公司的最佳零售推销员。如今他是该公司44000名
推销员中惟一一个上门推销的人。
21 The bus stops in the
Transit Mall, and Porter gets off.
公共汽车在公交中转购物中心站停下,波特下了车。
22 His body is not
made for walking. Each step strains his joints.
Headaches are constant visitors. His right arm
is nearly useless. He can't
fully control the
limb. His body tilts at the waist; he seems to be
heading
into a strong, steady wind that keeps
him off balance. At times, he looks
like a
toddler taking his first steps.
他的身体不适合行
走。每走一步关节都疼。头疼也是习以为常的事。他的右
臂几乎没用。他不能完全控制这只手臂。他的身
体从腰部开始前倾,看上去就像是
顶着一股强劲的吹个不停的风迈步向前,风似乎要把他刮倒。有时他看
上去就像是
个刚刚学步的孩童。
23 He walks 10
miles a day.
他每天要走10英里的路程。
24
His first stop today, like every day, is a
shoeshine stand where
employees tie his laces.
Twice a week he pays for a shine. At a nearby
hotel
one of the doormen buttons Porter's top
shirt button and slips on his clip-on
tie. He
then walks to another bus that drops him off a
mile from his territory.
像平日一样,他今天的第一站是个
擦鞋摊,这里的雇员替他系好鞋带。他每
周请他们擦两次鞋。附近一家旅馆的门卫替他扣上衬衣最上面一
粒纽扣,戴上用别
针别上的领带。随后他步行去搭乘另一部巴士,在距离他的推销区域一英里处下车。
25 He left home nearly three hours ago.
他是差不多3个小时前从家里动身的。
26 The wind is
cold and raindrops fall. Porter stops at the first
house.
This is the moment he's been preparing
for since 5:45 a.m. He rings the bell.
风冷雨淋。波特在第一户人家门前停了下来。这是他从5:45分开始就为之
准备的时刻。他按了门铃。
27 A woman comes to the door.
一位妇人开了门。
28
29
30 Porter
nods.
31
32
33 She
shuts the door.
34 Porter's eyes reveal
nothing.
35 He moves to the next house.
36 The door opens.
37 Then closes.
“你好。”
“不,多谢了。我这就要出门。”
波特点点头。
“那我过会儿来,可以吗?”他问。
“不用了,”那妇人回答道。
她关上了门。
波特眼里没有流露丝毫神情。
他转向下一个人家。
门开了。
随即又关上。
38 He doesn't get a
chance to speak. Porter's expression never
changes.
He stops at every home in his
territory. People might not buy now. Next time.
Maybe. No doesn't mean never. Some of his best
customers are people who
repeatedly turned him
down before buying.
他连开口说话的机会都没有。波特的表情从
不改变。他敲开自己推销区内的
每一个家门。人们现在可能不买什么。也许下一次会买。现在不买不等于
永远不买。
他的一些老客户都是那些多次把他拒之门外而后来才买的人。
39 He
makes his way down the street.
40
41
42
43
他沿着街道往前走。
“我不想试用这个产品。”
“也许下次试一试。”
“对不起。我在打电话。”
“不要。”
44 Ninety
minutes later, Porter still has not made a sale.
But there is
always another home.
45
He walks on.
46 He knocks on a door. A
woman appears from the backyard where she's
gardening. She often buys, but not today, she
says, as she walks away.
47
48 She
pauses.
49
90分钟之后,波特仍没能卖出一件物品。不过,下面有的是人家。
他继续向前走。
他敲响一扇门。一位正在拾掇花园的妇女从后院走了出来。她常常买他的东
西,不
过今天不买,她说着走开了。
“你真的不买什么?”波特问。
她迟疑了一下。
“那么……”
50 That's
all Porter needs. He walks as fast as he can,
tailing her as
she heads to the backyard. He
sets his briefcase down and opens it. He puts
on his glasses, removes his brochures and
begins his sales talk, showing
the woman
pictures and describing each product.
波
特要的就是这一迟疑。他尽可能快步上前,跟着她朝后院走去。他放下公
文包,打了开来。他戴上眼镜,
拿出产品介绍小册子,开始推销,给那位妇人看图
片,详细介绍每一个产品。
51
Spices?
52
53 Jams?
54
55 Porter's hearing is the one perfect
thing his body does. Except when
he gets a
live one. Then the word
调料?
“不要。”
果酱?
“不要。恐怕今天不要什么,比尔。”
波特的听觉是他身上惟一没有一点毛病的功能。只有当他察觉对方有可能买
他东西
的时候才会发生例外。这个时候,他是听不见“不”字的。
56 Pepper?
57
58 Laundry soap?
59
60 Porter stops. He smells blood. He
quickly remembers her last order.
61
aren't you about out of soap? That's what you
bought last time.
You ought to be out right
about now.
62
胡椒粉?
“不要。”
洗衣皂?
“嗯。”
波特停了下来。他嗅到了猎物。他很快记起了她上次的订单。
“对了,你肥皂差不多用完了吧?你上次买的就是这个。现在该差不多用完
了。”
“没错,比尔。我买一块。”
63 He arrives home, in a
rainstorm, after 7 p.m. Today was not profitable.
He tells himself not to worry. Four days left
in the week.
晚上7点过后,他在暴风雨中回到了家。今天没赚钱。他跟自己说别着急。
这个星期还有4天呢。
64 At least he's off his feet and home.
至少他回到了家,不用再站立了。
65 Inside, an era is
preserved. The telephone is a heavy, rotary model.
There is no VCR, no cable.
屋内,俨然是保存完好的一个旧时代。电话是笨重的拨盘式的那种。没有录
像放映机,没有有线电视。
66 His is the only house in the
neighborhood with a television antenna
on the
roof.
他家是附近惟一一家屋顶上支着电视接收天线的人家。
67
He leads a solitary life. Most of his human
contact comes on the job.
Now, he heats the
oven and slips in a frozen dinner because it's
easy to
fix.
他过着离群索居的生活。他跟别人的来往大都限于
工作上。他打开了烤炉,
放了一盒冷藏食品进去,因为这样做饭方便。
68 The
job usually takes him 10 hours.
他的工作通常要花去他10个小时。
69 He's a weary man who
knows his days -- no matter what his intentions
-- are numbered.
他身心疲惫,知道来日无多了――不管他愿不愿意。
70 He works on
straight commission. He gets no paid holidays,
vacations
or raises. Yes, some months are
lean.
他的收入完全依靠佣金。他没有带薪假期,没有度假,也没有加薪。的确,
有些月份收入相当微薄。
71 In 1993, he needed back surgery to
relieve pain caused from decades
of walking.
He was laid up for five months and couldn't work.
He was forced
to sell his house. The new
owners, familiar with his situation, froze his
rent and agreed to let him live there until he
dies.
1993年,他需要作背部手术,以减轻数十年行走引起的疼痛。他卧床五
个月,
无法工作。他被迫出售房子。房子的新主人了解他的处境,冻结了他的房租,并答
应让他在有生之年继续住在那里。
72 He doesn't feel
sorry for himself.
73 The house is only a
building. A place to live, nothing more.
74
His dinner is ready. He eats at the kitchen table
and listens to the
radio. The afternoon mail
brought bills that he will deal with later this
week. The checkbook is upstairs in the
bedroom.
75 His checkbook.
他并不因此自悲自怜。
房子只不过是个建筑物。一个住的地方。仅此而已。
晚饭好了。他在厨房的桌子旁吃饭,边吃边听着收音机。下午的邮差送来了
他的账
单,这些账单他将在这个星期后几天支付。支票簿在楼上卧室里。
他的私人支票簿。
76 He types in the recipient's name and
signs his name.
77 The signature is small
and scrawled.
78 Unreadable.
79
But he knows.
80 Bill Porter.
81
Bill Porter, salesman.
他用打字机打上收款人的名字,随后签上名。
签名小小的,字迹潦草。
难以辨认。
可他认得出来。
比尔·波特。
推销员比尔·波特。
82 From his easy
chair he hears the wind lash his house and the
rain pound
the street outside his home. He
must dress warmly tomorrow. He's sleepy.
With
great care he climbs the stairs to his bedroom.
83 In time, the lights go off.
84
Morning will be here soon.
他坐在安乐椅上,只听得呼
啸的大风猛烈地冲击着他的屋子,大雨击打着屋
外的街面。明天他得穿得暖和些。他觉得困了,他小心翼
翼地爬上楼就寝。
没过一会儿,灯就灭了。
早晨很快就会来临。
When children take up ways of
making a living that differ greatly from
their
parents, differences in outlook can easily arise.
This is what Alfred
Lubrano found. Brought up
in the family of a building worker, education led
him to develop different interests and
ambitions from his father. Here he
writes
about how this affected their relationship.
当子女的谋生方式与父母大相径庭时,很容易产生观念上的差异。 这正是
艾尔弗雷德·卢布拉诺的发现
。他在一个建筑工人的家庭里长大,他所受的教育使
他产生了不同于父亲的兴趣与抱负。他在本文中叙述
了这一差异如何影响着他们的
父子关系。
unit 8 A Clone Is Born
Cloning offers the
possibility of making exact copies of ourselves.
Should this be allowed? What benefits and
dangers may cloning bring?
克隆技术使我们有可能分毫
不差地复制自己。这一技术是否应该获准应用?
克隆技术会带来什么裨益与危险?
A Clone Is Born
Gina Kolata
1 On
July 5, 1996, at 5:00 p.m., the most famous lamb
in history entered
the world. She was born in
a shed, just down the road from the Roslin
Institute
in Roslin, Scotland, where she was
created. And yet her creator, Ian Wilmut,
a
quiet, balding fifty-two-year-old embryologist,
does not remember where
he was when he heard
that the lamb, named Dolly, was born. He does not
even
recall getting a telephone call from John
Bracken, a scientist who had
monitored the
pregnancy of the sheep that gave birth to Dolly,
saying that
Dolly was alive and healthy and
weighed 6.6 kilograms.
1996年7月5日下午5点,有史
以来最出名的小羊羔问世了。它出生在苏格
兰罗斯林镇的罗斯林研究院所在的那条路上的一个小棚里,这
只羊羔是在该研究院
创造出来的。而它的创造者伊恩·威尔莫特,一位正在谢顶的文质彬彬的52岁的<
br>胚胎学家,却不记得自己是在什么地方听到这头名叫多利的羊问世的消息的。他甚
至不记得曾接到
约翰· 布拉肯的电话,这位对产下多利的那头羊的整个妊娠过程
进行监察的科学家在电话上说多利健康
存活,体重6.6千克。
2 No one broke open champagne.
No one took pictures. Only a few staff
members
from the institute and a local veterinarian who
attended the birth
were present. Yet Dolly,
who looked for all the world like hundreds of
other
lambs that dot the rolling hills of
Scotland, was soon to change the world.
没有人打开香槟酒庆贺。没有人拍照留影。只有研究院的几位员工,以及接
生的一位当地兽医在场。然而
,多利,这头与苏格兰起伏的山丘上散布着的千百头
其他的羊毫无异样的小羊羔,很快就
改变了世界。
3 When the time comes to write the
history of our age, this quiet birth,
the
creation of this little lamb, will stand out. The
world is a different
place now that she is
born.
当后人编写我们这一时代的历史的时候,这一平静的降生,这头小羊羔的问
世,将会引人注目。世界因它降生而从此改变。
4 Dolly is a
clone. She was created not out of the union of a
sperm and
an egg but out of the genetic
material from an udder cell of a six-year-old
sheep. Wilmut fused the udder cell with an egg
from another sheep, after
first removing all
genetic material from the egg. The udder cell's
genes
took up residence in the egg and
directed it to grow and develop. The result
was Dolly, the identical twin of the original
sheep that provided the udder
cells, but an
identical twin born six years later.
多利
是头克隆羊。它不是精卵结合的产物,而是由取自一头六龄羊的乳腺细
胞的基因材料生成的。威尔莫特先
将取自另一头羊的卵子中的所有基因材料取出,
再将该卵子与这一乳腺细胞融合。乳腺细胞的基因在该卵
子中安营扎寨,令其生长
发育。其结果就是多利羊,即与提供乳腺细胞的那头羊一模一样的孪生羊,只是
这
头孪生羊晚出生了6年。
5 Until Dolly entered the
world, cloning was the stuff of science fiction.
It had been raised as a possibility decades
ago, then dismissed, something
that serious
scientists thought was simply not going to happen
anytime soon.
Now it is not fantasy to think
that someday, perhaps decades from now, but
someday, you could clone yourself and make
tens, dozens, hundreds of
genetically
identical twins. Nor is it science fiction to
think that your
cells could be improved
beforehand, genetically engineered to add some
genes
and remove others.
在多利羊问世之前,克
隆技术不过是科学幻想的故事。几十年前有人提出这种可能
性,后来遭到摒弃,严肃的科学家那时认为克
隆在近期根本不可能实现。现在这已
不再是幻想,几十年之后,或许有朝一日你可以克隆自己,造出数十
个,数百个,
上千个基因完全相同的孪生的兄弟。事先改进你的细胞,运用基因工程注入某些基
因,剔除某些基因,这样的事也不再是科学幻想。
6 True, it was a
sheep that was cloned, not a human being. But
there was
nothing exceptional about sheep.
Even Wilmut, who made it clear that he was
opposed to the very idea of cloning people,
said that there was no longer
any theoretical
reason why humans could not clone themselves,
using the same
methods he had used to clone
Dolly.
you couldn't do it.
没错,克隆的是头羊,
而不是人。但羊并没有任何独特之处。甚至明确表示
反对克隆人的威尔莫特也称,理论上,没有理由说人
类不能使用与克隆多利羊同样
的手段来克隆人类本身。“原则上没有不能这么做的理由。”但他补充说,
“我们都
会认为这样做令人厌恶。”
7 We live in a time
when we argue about pragmatism and compromises in
our quest to be morally right. But cloning
forces us back to the most basic
questions
that have plagued humanity since the dawn of
recorded time: What
is good and what is evil?
And how much potential for evil can we tolerate
to obtain something that might be good?
Cloning, with its possibilities for
creating our own identical twins,
brings us back to the ancient sins of vanity
and pride; the sins of Narcissus, who so loved
himself, and of Prometheus,
who, in stealing
fire, sought the powers of God. So before we can
ask why
we are so fascinated by cloning, we
have to examine our souls and ask, What
exactly so bothers many of us about trying to
make an exact copy of our genetic
selves? Or,
if we are not bothered, why aren't we?
我们生活在这样一个时代,人们为了追求道德的完善对实用主义和妥协折衷
的问题争论不休。而克隆技术
迫使我们回到有史以来一直困扰人类的那些最本质的
问题:何者为善,何者为恶?为了获得可能有益的东
西,我们对邪恶的隐患能容忍
到何种程度?克隆技术以其创造与我们自身完全一样的孪生兄弟的可能性,
将我们
带回到种种古老的罪孽:虚荣傲慢;那喀索斯式的自恋罪,以及普罗米修斯的罪孽,
他以
盗火来谋求上帝的权力。因此,我们在扪心自问为什么对克隆技术如此着迷之
前,不得不首先审视自己的
心灵,问一问:究竟是什么东西使得我们中的许多人对
于尝试复制与自身基因完全等同的孪生兄弟那么不
安?或者,如果我们并没有感到
不安,其原因又是什么?
8 We want
children who resemble us. Even couples who use
donor eggs or
donor sperm, search catalogs of
donors to find people who resemble themselves.
Several years ago, a poem by Linda Pastan,
called
Home,
Is it my own image
I love so
in your face?
I lean over your sleep,
Narcissus over
his clear pool,
ready to fall in --
to drown for you
if necessary.
Yet if we so love
ourselves, reflected in our children, why is it so
terrifying to so many of us to think of seeing
our exact genetic replicas
born again,
identical twins years younger than we? Is it one
thing for nature
to form us through a genetic
lottery, and another for us to take complete
control, abandoning all thoughts of somehow,
through the mixing of genes,
having a child
who is like us, but better? Normally, when a man
and a woman
have a child together, the child
is an unpredictable mixture of the two.
We
recognize that, of course, in the old joke in
which a beautiful but dumb
woman suggests to
an ugly but brilliant man that the two have a
child. Just
think of how wonderful the baby
would be, the woman says, with my looks and
your brains. Aha, says the man. But what if
the child inherited my looks
and your brains?
我们希望子女像我们自己。即使是采用捐赠卵子或捐赠精子的夫妇也要查找
精子捐
献人名录,以发现与自己相像的人。若干年前,琳达·
帕斯坦写的一首题
为《致离家的女儿》的诗曾出现在纽约地铁的墙上,诗中写道:
难道是我自己的形象
映在你的脸上
使我如此爱恋?
我俯视着安睡的你
就像那喀索斯俯视着
他那一潭清水,
随时准备跳下去――
如有必要
为你沉溺
然而,如果我们如此爱恋在子女身上映现
出来的自我,那为什么我们当中有
这么多人,一想到将目睹与我们完全一样的基因复制品、比自己年轻许
多的双胞胎
降生的时候,就会感到如此惊恐?难道大自然通过基因的任意组合将我们造就是一
回
事,而由我们自己实施全面控制,摈弃一切随意的念头,通过基因组合造就一个
与我们相似但更为完美的
孩子则又是另外一回事?当男女一起生育孩子时,孩子往
往是两个人基因的不可预料的组合。显然,一个
老笑话表明我们已经认识到了这一
点。这个笑话说的是一位漂亮但蠢笨的女人向一个丑陋但才华横溢的男
人建议两人
一起生一个孩子。想一想吧,那女人说,孩子拥有我的容貌、你的大脑那将会多么
出
色。啊,那男人说,可要是孩子继承了我的容貌你的大脑呢?
9 Cloning
brings us face-to-face with what it means to be
human and makes
us confront both the
privileges and limitations of life itself. It also
forces us to question the powers of science.
Is there, in fact, knowledge
that we do not
want? Are there paths we would rather not pursue?
克隆技术使我们直接面对做人的意义这个问题,使我们直接面对生命本身的
特权与
限制。克隆技术也迫使我们对科学的力量提出质疑。是不是有些知识我们真
的不要去获取?有一些路我们
宁愿不去探寻?
10 The time is long past when we
can speak of the purity of science,
divorced from its consequences. If any
needed reminding that the innocence
of
scientists was lost long ago, they need only
recall the comments of J.
Robert Oppenheimer,
the genius who was a father of the atomic bomb and
who
was transformed in the process from a
supremely confident man, ready to
follow his
scientific curiosity, to a humbled and troubled
soul, wondering
what science had let loose.
我们奢谈科学的纯洁性,将科学与其后果分离的时代早已过去。如果有谁还
需要提
醒,科学家的纯真早已丧失,他们只要回想一下J·罗伯特·奥本海默的话。
奥本海默是一位天才,他是
原子弹的缔造者之一。他在追求科学的过程中,从一个
极其自信、随时准备跟着科学好奇心走的人,逐渐
变成了一个谦恭困惑的人,他不
知道科学放出了什么妖魔。
11 Before
the bomb was made, Oppenheimer said,
that is
technically sweet you go ahead and do the bomb
was dropped
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in a
chilling speech delivered in 1947, he said:
lose.
在原子弹造出之前,奥本海默说:“当你看到某个技术完美的
东西时,你就
毫不犹豫地去实现它。”原子弹投在广岛、长崎之后,他在1947年发表的一则令人毛骨悚然的演说中指出:“物理学家们已经尝到过罪孽的滋味,这种滋味他们无法
忘记。”
12 As with the atom bomb, cloning is
complex, multi-layered in its threats
and its
promises. It offers the possibility of real
scientific advances that
can improve our lives
and save them. In medicine, scientists dream of
using
cloning to reprogram cells so we
can make our own body parts for
transplantation. Suppose, for example, you
needed a bone marrow transplant.
Some deadly
forms of leukemia can be cured completely if
doctors destroy
your own marrow and replace it
with healthy marrow from someone else. But
the
marrow must be a close genetic match to your own.
If not, it will lash
out at you and kill you.
Bone marrow is the source of the white blood cells
of the immune system. If you have someone
else's marrow, you'll make their
white blood
cells. And if those cells think you are different
from them,
they will attack.
如同原子弹一样,克隆技术带来的威胁与希望是复杂的、 多层面的。它提
供了改善生活、拯救生命的真
正科学进步的可能性。在医学上,科学家梦想着运用
克隆技术改编细胞的编码指令程序,这样我们就可以
制造出我们自己身体的某些部
分进行移植。比如说,假定你需要进行骨髓移植。如果医生摧毁你自身的骨
髓,用
他人的健康骨髓来取代,某些致命的白血病就能得到彻底的医治。但骨髓的属型必
须与你
自己的相匹配。不然的话,移植的骨髓就会向你发起进攻,置你于死地。骨
髓是免疫系统的白细胞的来源
。如果你获得别人的骨髓,你就会造出别人的白细胞。
如果这些白细胞认定你与它们不同,它们就会发起
进攻。
13 But suppose, instead, that
scientists could take one of your cells
-- any
cell -- and merge it with a human egg. The egg
would start to divide,
to develop, but it
would not be permitted to divide more than a few
times.
Instead, technicians would bathe it in
proteins that direct primitive cells,
embryo
cells, to become marrow cells. What started out to
be a clone of you
could grow into a batch of
your marrow -- the perfect match.
不过,可以有别的办法。假定科学家能够用你自身的某个细胞――任何一个
细胞――将它与人的卵细胞融
合。卵细胞开始分裂,生长,但你可以控制它,只让
它分裂若干次。技术人员将它置于蛋白质当中,指令
原始细胞,即胚胎细胞,长成
骨髓细胞。开始时本可以克隆你的东西却可以长成一批你的骨髓――与你完
美相配
的骨髓。
14 More difficult, but not
inconceivable, would be to grow solid organs,
like kidneys or livers, in the same way.
更为困难,但并非不可思议的,是以同样的方法长成完整的器官,如肾脏或
肝脏。
15
Another possibility is to create animals whose
organs are perfect
genetic matches for humans.
If you need a liver, a kidney, or even a heart,
you might be able to get one from a specially
designed pig clone.
另一种可能性是生成器官与人类基因完全吻
合的动物。如果你需要肝脏,肾
脏,甚至心脏,你或许能从一头特别设计的克隆猪身上获得。
16 The possibilities are limitless,
scientists say, and so, some argue,
we should
stop focusing on our hypothetical fears and think
about the
benefits that cloning could bring.
科学家称克隆技术蕴藏着无穷的可能性,因此,有人争辩说,我们不应该喋
喋不休
地谈论种种假设的恐惧,而去想一想克隆技术能够带来的裨益。
Laurence
Tribe used to be against human cloning. However,
the arrival
of Dolly the sheep led him to have
second thoughts on the matter.
劳伦斯·特赖布过去反对克隆人。然而,多利羊的问世促使他重新思考这一
问题。