文学翻译例文—— 伊甸之东/East of Eden
发布日期：2025-01-03 18:01 点击次数：142
本文作者约翰・斯坦贝克，20世纪美国最有影响力的作家之一。他熟悉社会底层的人们，其许多作品都以他们为主人公，表现了底层人的善良、质朴的品格，创造了“斯坦贝克式的英雄”形象。同时，他的小说艺术造诣很高，将写实风格与幻想风格有机地结合起来，对后来美国文学，尤其是西部文学的发展产生了重大的影响。其代表作品有小说《人鼠之间》、《愤怒的葡萄〉、《月亮下去了》、《珍珠》、〈伊甸之东》、《烦恼的冬天》等。本文摘选自《伊甸之东》第一章，由王永年翻译，文中主要描述了作者故乡的美丽景色，用词十分优美，译者在翻译时选词独到，恰当地表达了原文的意思。The Salinas Valley is in Northern California.萨利纳斯河谷位于加利福尼亚州北部。It is a long narrow swale between two ranges of mountains, and the Salinas River winds and twists up the center until it falls at last into Monterey Bay.那是两条山脉之间的一片狭长的洼地，萨利纳斯河蜿蜒曲折从中间流过，最后注入蒙特雷海湾。I remember my childhood names for grasses and secret flowers.我记得儿时给各种小草和隐蔽的小花取的名字。I remember where a toad may live and what time the birds awaken in the summer--and what trees and seasons smelled like- how people looked and walked and smelled even.我记得蛤蟆喜欢在什么地方栖身，鸟雀夏天早晨什么时候醒来一我还记得树木和不同季节特有的气息一-记得人们的容貌、走路的姿态、甚至身上的气味。The memory of odors is very rich.关于气味的记忆实在太多啦。I remember that the Gabilan Mountains to the east of the valley were light gay mountains full of sun and loveliness and a kind of invitation, so that you wanted to climb into their warm foothills almost as you want to climb into the lap of a beloved mother.我记得河谷东面的加毕仑山脉总是阳光璀璨、明媚可爱，仿佛向你殷勤邀请，你不禁想爬上暖洋洋的山麓小丘，正像爬到亲爱的母亲的怀里那样。They were beckoning mountains with a brown grass love.棕色的草坡给你爱抚，向你召唤。The Santa Lucias stood up against the sky to the west and kept the valley from the open sea, and they were dark and brooding-unfriendly and dangerous.西面的圣卢西亚斯山脉高耸人云，黑压压地挡在河谷和大海之间，显得不友好而危险。I always found in myself a dread of west and a love of east.我发现自己一直对西方怀有畏惧，而对东方怀有喜爱。Where I ever got such an ideas I cannot say, unless it could be that the morning came over the peaks of the Gabilans and the night drifted back from the ridges of the Santa Lucias.我说不出这种想法的根子在什么地方，也许是因为黎明从加比仑山顶升起，夜晚从圣卢西亚斯山脊压下来。It may be that the birth and death of the day had some part it my feeling about the two ranges of mountains每一天的诞生和消亡也许让我对两条山脉产生了不同的感情。From both sides of the valley little steams slipped out of the hill canyons and fell into the bed of the Salinas River.洼地两面的小峡谷都有涧水流出，汇人萨利纳斯河床。In the winter of wet years the streams ran full-freshet, and they swelled the river until sometimes it raged and boiled, bank full, and then it was a destroyer.在多雨的年份，冬天水流充沛，引起河面暴涨，有时候汹涌翻腾，泛滥两岸，就成了祸害。The river tore the edges of the farm lands and washed whole acres down; it toppled barns and houses into itself, to go floating and bobbing away.河水冲坏了农田边缘，毁掉大片大片的土地，让牲口棚和房屋坍塌，卷人洪流，漂浮而去。It trapped cows and pigs and sheep and drowned them in its muddy brown water and carried them to the sea.牛、猪、羊走投无路，在黄褐色的泥水里眼睁睁地淹死，给带到海里。Then when the late spring came, the river drew in from its edges and the sand banks appeared.春末时分，河面变窄，露出了沙岸。And in the summer the river didn't run at all above ground.到了夏天，地上河水完全断流。Some pools would be left in the deep swirl places under a high bank.只有原先岸高漩涡深的地方才留下几个水塘。The tules and grasses grew back, and willows straightened up with the flood debris in their upper branches.芦苇和茅草重新生长，柳树直起躯干，上部的枝桠还挂着洪水留下的枯枝败草。The Salinas was only a part-time river.萨利纳斯只是一条季节性河流。The summer sun drove it under-ground.夏天的太阳把它逼进了地底。It was not a fine river at all, but it was the only one we had and so we boasted about it--how dangerous it was in a wet winter and how dry it was in a dry summer.它根本不是条了不起的河流，但是我们只有这么一条，因此便为它吹嘘一-说它在多雨的冬天是多么危险，在干旱的夏天是何等枯竭。You can boast about anything if it's all you have.如果你别无他有，你可以为任何东西吹嘘。Maybe the less you have, the more you are required to boast.也许你有的东西越少，你就越要吹吹牛皮。责任编辑：admin