雙語散文:我有五封信都在路上

【英文譯文】

I Have Five Letters on the Way (Excerpt)

摘要：現在還有人寫信嗎？這是電訊發達的年代。寫信這種事兒像本時代很多事情一樣嚴重萎縮。但是，我照樣寫信。

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】

現在還有人寫信嗎？這是電訊發達的年代。寫信這種事兒像本時代很多事情一樣嚴重萎縮。但是，我照樣寫信。

四月裏，南方的天氣很好，用了半個小時的時間，我分別寫了五件事情，我希望它們五個慢慢悠悠地向着北走，用老年人喝下一杯濃茶的那種速度，類似坐着四十年代的有軌電車，在黃昏裏環繞城市。

古人還有緊急到火燒眉毛的事情，用快馬輪換着送信，沿途的驛站散發着馬鼻子裏的氣息。今天也有緩慢優雅的事情，比如，和五個人分別說幾句不重要的話，然後讓它們散淡地跟着帆布口袋走在漫漫路上。

我看見一個人同時接聽兩部電話，那種左右都在的忙，讓人感覺誇張。再忙的人也不可能同時看兩封信，一行字將固定地佔有人的最短距離時間。人在看一封信的時候必須專一，這是信的高貴之處。

十年以前，一個人從日本寄了一封打印的信件，那些鉛字說：我已經可以用打字機了！我很懷疑這信，翻來覆去，沒有看見這個人的手跡，連他的姓名也由打字機出品。在感覺中，我不認爲我收到過這個人的信件。沒有人的痕跡，那些從色帶磨擦出來的黑疙瘩使我不相信。

我的五封悠悠的信都還沒有到達對方的城市，突然發生一件事情，我用掉將近200元人民幣打了一個電話，我覺得這簡直是一個諷刺，漆黑無底的黑色幽默。

有自動系統已經扣掉了那些錢，它們從我的銀行戶頭上消失。我那五封信還在路上。

有的人能用腳走路，還能用手走路，這有點滑稽，不過，兩種走法的感覺是不同的，我喜歡有信在路上慢慢走。

【重點講解】

1. 電訊發達的年代：an age of developed telecommunications。注意telecommuni-cations爲複數。

2. 嚴重萎縮：即‘越來越少、越來越不普遍’，譯爲is becoming less and less common。

3. 照樣：即‘像以前一樣、仍然’，譯爲still。

4. 四月裏，南方的天氣很好：“April in the south was fine.” 或 “It was fine in April in the south.”。

5. 我分別寫了五件事情：即‘我寫了五封信，涉及五個話題’，I wrote (five letters) on five topics。注意這裏介詞用on，就像我們比較熟悉的用法：a book on Chinese culture（一本關於中國文化的書）。

6. 用老年人喝下一杯濃茶的那種速度：at the speed that aged people sip a cup of strong tea，這裏的動詞‘喝’譯成sip，較形象地描述了老年人一口一口慢慢品茶的情景。

7. 有軌電車：streetcar。

8. 在黃昏裏環繞城市：即‘在黃昏時分繞着城市走’，gliding around the city at the dusk。glide：悄悄地走。

9. 古人：people in ancient times。注意times用的是複數。

10. 緊急到火燒眉毛：即‘十分緊急’，譯爲extremely urgent或pressing。‘火燒眉毛’是修飾緊急的程度，譯文extremely urgent已有所表達，故不用逐字逐句地翻譯。由於兩種語言的差距，翻譯中有時也不得不捨棄中文裏一些十分形象的文字。

11. 用快馬輪換着送信：即‘用騎快馬、在驛站更換馬匹的方式送信’，by way of riding horses and changing them at courtier stations。

12. 馬鼻子裏的氣息：horses' winded breath。

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

14. 幾句不重要的話：inconsequential message。

15. 讓它們散淡地跟着帆布口袋走在漫漫路上：如果不知道‘帆布口袋’是郵局裝信的郵包，這句話就不好理解。譯文則把這句話從邏輯上補充完整了。

16. 那種左右都在的忙，讓人感覺誇張：Such overstated business overwhelms me. 這裏的business意爲‘忙亂的狀況’。

17. 那些鉛字說：即‘信上說’，譯爲it read。

18. 懷疑這信：was skeptical about this letter。

19. 手跡：handwriting。

20. 他的姓名：這裏指‘信的落款、簽名’，譯爲signature。

21. 在感覺中，我不認爲我收到過這個人的信件：即‘我沒有覺得我曾收到過他的信’，“I didn't feel as if I had received his letter.”。

22. 黑疙瘩：即‘黑色的字符’，black signs。

23. 對方：這裏指‘收信人’，譯爲re-cipients。

24. 簡直是一個諷刺：was completely ironic或was simply ironic。

25. 有自動系統……：這一段的譯文穿插到了前一段，行文更爲緊湊。

26. 銀行戶頭：(bank) account。

27. 用腳走路，還能用手走路：walk on feet and on hands as well或walk on feet and also on hands。

28. 這有點滑稽：which is funny是一個非限制性定語從句，這裏的which指代的是‘用手走路’這件事。

29. 喜歡：love比like語氣更強一些，確切地表達了作者喜歡的程度。