落花生 許地山
我們屋后有半畝隙地。母親說：“讓它荒蕪著怪可惜，既然你們那么愛吃花生，就辟來做花生園罷(1)。”我們幾個(gè)姊弟(2)和幾個(gè)小丫頭都很喜歡——買種的買種，動(dòng)土的動(dòng)土，灌園的灌園；過了不幾個(gè)月，居然收獲了！ 媽媽說：“今晚我們可以做一個(gè)收獲節(jié)(3)，也請你們的爹爹來嘗嘗我們底新花生，如何？”我們都答應(yīng)了。母親把花生做成好幾樣食品(4)，還吩咐這節(jié)期要在園里底茅亭舉行。 那晚上底天色不大好(5)，可是爹爹也來到，實(shí)在很難得！爹爹說：“你們愛吃花生嗎？” 我們都爭著答應(yīng)：“愛！” “誰能把花生底好處說出來？” 姊姊說：“花生底氣味很美。” 哥哥說：“花生可以榨油。” 我說：“無論何等人都江堰市可以用賤價(jià)買它來吃；都喜歡吃它。這是它的好處。”
爹爹說：“花生底用處固然很多；但有一樣是很可貴的。這小小的豆(6)不像那好看的蘋果、桃子、石榴，把它們底果實(shí)懸在枝上，鮮紅嫩綠的顏色(7)，令人一望而發(fā)生羨慕的心。它只把果子埋在地底，等到成熟，才容人把它挖出來。你們偶然看見一棵花生瑟縮(8)地長在地上，不能立刻辨出它有沒有果實(shí)，非得等到你接觸它才能知道。”
我們都說：“是的。”母親也點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭。爹爹接下去說：“所以你們要像花生(9)，因?yàn)樗怯杏玫模皇莻ゴ?、好看的東西。”我說：“那么，人要做有用的，不要做偉大、體面的人了。”爹爹說：“這是我對于你們的希望。” 我們談到夜闌才散，所有花生食品雖然沒有了，然而父親底話現(xiàn)在還印在我心版上。
Peanuts
Xu Dishan
Behind our house there lay half a mou of vacant land. Mother said, “it’s a pity to let it lie waste. Since you all like to eat peanuts so very much, why not plant some here?” that exhilarated us children and our servant girls as well, and soon we started buying seeds, ploughing the land and watering the plants. We gathered in a good harvest just after a couple of months!
Mother said, “How about giving a party this evening to celebrate the harvest and inviting your Daddy to have a taste of our newly-harvested peanuts?” We all agreed. Mother made quite a few varieties of goodies out of the peanuts, and told us that the party would be held in the thatched pavilion on the peanut plot. It looked like rain that evening, yet, to our great joy, father came nevertheless. “Do you like peanuts?” asked father. “Yes, we do!” we vied in giving the answer. “Which of you could name the good things in peanuts?” “Peanuts taste good,” said my elder sister. “Peanuts produce edible oil,” said my elder brother. “Peanuts are so cheap,” said I, “that anyone can afford to eat them. Peanuts are everyone’s favourite. That’s why we call peanuts good.” “It’s true that peanuts have many uses,” said father, “but they’re most beloved in one respect. Unlike nice-looking apples, peaches and pomegranates, which hang their fruit on branches and win people’s admiration with their brilliant colours, tiny little peanuts bury themselves underground and remain unearthed until they’re ripe. When you come upon a peanut plant lying curled up on the ground, you can never immediately tell whether or not it bear any nuts until you touch them.” “That’s true,” we said in unison. Mother also nodded. “So you must take after peanuts,” father continued, “because they’re useful though not great and nice- looking.” “Then you mean one should be useful rather than great and nice-looking,” I said. “That’s what I except of you,” father concluded. We kept chatting until the party broke up late at night. Today, though nothing is left of the goodies made of peanuts, father’s words remain engraved in my mind.
注釋:
本文是許地山（1892-1941）的名篇。作者回憶自己童年時(shí)代一個(gè)小小片斷，以樸實(shí)無華、
清新自然的筆調(diào)，從花生的平凡而有用，談到做人的道理，富于哲理，反映他身處舊社會(huì)的污泥
濁流而潔身自好、不慕虛名的思想境界。
(1)原句也可譯為why not have them planted here或why not make a peanut plot of it，但現(xiàn)譯更
直截了當(dāng)，且避免在同一句中重復(fù)peanuts一詞。
(2)“幾姊弟”在下文將涉及，為防累贅，譯為children。
(3)“做一個(gè)收獲節(jié)”不宜直譯為hold a harvest festival，現(xiàn)取意譯。
(4)“食品”也可譯為food，但不如goodies 貼切；goodies指“好吃的東西”，常用于口語。
(5)“那晚上底天色不大好”譯為It looked like rain that evening, 符合原意和英語習(xí)慣。
(6)“這小小的豆”譯為tiny little peanuts。英語中常把tiny和little用在一起，有“小得可憐
（愛）”等含意。
(7)“鮮紅嫩綠”不宜直譯，譯brilliant colours即可。
(8)“瑟縮”意即“蜷曲而不舒展”，故有現(xiàn)譯。
(9)“你們要像花生”譯為you must take after peanuts，其中take after 是成語，意即take……as an example（學(xué)習(xí)……的榜樣）。
不要拋棄學(xué)問(1)
胡適
諸位畢業(yè)同學(xué)，你們現(xiàn)在要離開母校了，我沒有什么禮物送給你們，只好送你們一句話罷。
這一句話是：“不要拋棄學(xué)問。”以前的功課也許有一大部分是為這張文憑，
不得已而做的，從今而后，你們可以依自己的心愿去自由研究了(2)。趁現(xiàn)在年富力強(qiáng)
的時(shí)候，努力做一種學(xué)問。少年是一去不復(fù)返的，等到精力衰時(shí)，努力做學(xué)問(3)也來
不及了。即為吃飯計(jì)，學(xué)問決不會(huì)辜負(fù)人的(4)。吃飯而不求學(xué)問，三年五年后，你們
都江堰市要被后來少年淘汰掉的。到那時(shí)再想做點(diǎn)學(xué)問來補(bǔ)救，恐怕已太晚了。
有人說：“出去做事之后，生活問題急需解決，哪有工夫去讀書？即使要做學(xué)
問，既沒有圖書館，又沒有實(shí)驗(yàn)室，哪能做學(xué)問？”
我要對你們說：凡是要等到有了圖書館才讀書的，有了圖書館也不肯讀書。凡
是要等到有了實(shí)驗(yàn)室才做研究的，有了實(shí)驗(yàn)室也不肯做研究。你有了決心要研究一個(gè)
問題，自然會(huì)撙衣節(jié)食(5)去買書，自然會(huì)想出來法子來設(shè)置儀器。
至于時(shí)間，更不成問題(6)。達(dá)爾文一生多病，不能多作工，每天只能做一點(diǎn)鐘的
工作。你們看他的成績！每天花一點(diǎn)鐘看10頁有用的書，每年可看3600多頁書，30
年可讀11萬頁書。
諸位，11萬頁書可以使你成一個(gè)學(xué)者了，可是，每天看三種小報(bào)也得費(fèi)你一點(diǎn)
鐘的工夫，四圈麻將也得費(fèi)你一點(diǎn)半鐘的光陰?？葱?bào)呢，還打麻將呢？還是努力做
一個(gè)學(xué)者呢？全靠你們自己的選擇(7)！
易卜生說：“你的最大責(zé)任是把你這塊材料鑄造成器。”
學(xué)問便是鑄器的工具。拋棄了學(xué)問便是毀了你們自己。
再會(huì)了！你們的母校眼睜睜地要看(8)你們十年之后成什么器。
Never Give Up the Pursuit of Learning
Hu Shih
Dear students of the Graduating Class,
As you are leaving your alma mater, I have nothing to offer you as a gift except a
word of advice.
My advice is, “Never give up the pursuit of learning.” You have perhaps finished
your college courses mostly for obtaining the diploma, or, in other words, out of sheer necessity.
However, from now you are free to follow your own bent in the choice of
studies. While you are in the prime of life, why not devote yourselves to a special field of
study? Youth will soon be gone never to return. And it will be too late for you to go into
scholarship when in your declining years. Knowledge will do you a good turn even as a
means of subsistence. If you give up studies while holding a job, you will in a couple of
years have had yourselves replaced by younger people. It will then be too late to remedy
the situation by picking up studies again.
Some people say, “Once you have a job, you’ll come up against the urgent problem
of making a living. How can you manage to find time to study? Even if you want to, will it
be possible with no library or no laboratory available?”
Now let me tell you this. Those who refuse to study for lack of a library will most
probably continue to do so even though there is a library. And those who refuse to do
research for lack of a laboratory will most probably continue to do so even though a
laboratory is available. As long as you set your mind on studies, you will naturally cut
down on food and clothing to buy books or do everything possible to acquire necessary
instruments.
Time is no object. Charles Darwin could only work one hour a day due to ill health.
Yet what a remarkable man he was! If you spend one hour a day reading 10 pages of a
book, you can finish more than 3600 pages a year, and 110000 pages in 30 years.
Dear students, 110000 pages will be quite enough to make a learned man of man. It
will take you one hour to read three tabloids a day, and one and half hours to finish four
rounds of mah-jong a day. Reading tabloids, playing mah-jong or striving to be a learned
man, the choice lies with you.
Henrik Ibsen says, “it is your supreme duty to cast yourself into a useful implement.”
Learning is the casting mould. Forsake learning, and you will ruin yourself.
Farewell! Your alma mater is watching eagerly to see what will become of you ten
years from now.
注釋：
本文是胡適1928-1930年在上海任中國公學(xué)校長時(shí)為畢業(yè)生所作贈(zèng)言，至今仍有參考價(jià)值。
(1)“不要拋棄學(xué)問”在這里的意思是“不要放棄對學(xué)問的追求”，因此不能直譯為Never Give
up Learning，必須加字：Never Give up the Pursuit of Learning。
(2)“你們可以依自己的心愿去自由研究了”譯為you are free to follow your personal bent in the
choice of studies，其中to follow one’s bent 是成語，和to follow one’s inclination同義，作“做自己感興趣或愛做的事”解。
(3)“做學(xué)問”譯為to go into scholarship, 等于to engage in learning。
(4)“學(xué)問決不會(huì)辜負(fù)人的”譯為Knowledge will do you a good turn，其中to do one a good turn
是成語，作“做對某人有益的事”解.
(5) “撙衣節(jié)食”即“省吃省穿”，現(xiàn)譯為 cut down on food and clothing, 其中 to
cut down on 是成語，與 to economize on 同義，作“節(jié)約”解。又，上語也可譯為 to
live frugally。
(6)“至于時(shí)間，更不成問題”譯為Time is no object,其中no object是成語，等于no problem，作“不成問題”或“不在話下”解。
(7)“全靠你們自己的選擇”譯為the choice lies with you或it is up to you to make the choice。
(8)“你們的母校眼睜睜地要看……”中的“眼睜睜地”通常的意思是“無可奈何地”，現(xiàn)
在這里作“熱切地”解，故譯為eagerly。
Passage3 我之于書(1)
夏丐尊
二十年來，我的生活費(fèi)中至少十分之一二是消耗在書上的(2)。我的房子里(3)比較
貴重的東西就是書。
我一向沒有對于任何問題作高深研究的野心，因之所以買的書范圍較廣，宗教、
藝術(shù)、文學(xué)、社會(huì)、哲學(xué)、歷史、生物，各方面差不多都有一點(diǎn)。最多的是各國文學(xué)
名著的譯本，與本國古來的詩文集，別的門類只是些概論等類的入門書而已。
我不喜歡向別人或圖書館借書。借來的書，在我好像過不來癮似的(4)，必要是自
己買的才滿足。這也可謂是一種占有的欲望。買到了幾冊新書，一冊一冊在加蓋藏書
印(5)記，我最感到快悅的是這時(shí)候。
書籍到了我的手里，我的習(xí)慣是先看序文，次看目錄。頁數(shù)不多的往往立刻通讀
(6)，篇幅大的，只把正文任擇一二章節(jié)略加翻閱，就插在書架上。除小說外，我少有
全體讀完的大部的書，只憑了購入當(dāng)時(shí)的記憶，知道某冊書是何種性質(zhì)，其中大概有
些什么可取的材料而已。什么書在什么時(shí)候再去讀再去翻，連我自己也無把握，完全
要看一個(gè)時(shí)期一個(gè)時(shí)期的興趣。關(guān)于這事，我常自比為古時(shí)的皇帝，而把插在架上的
書籍諸列屋而居的宮女(7)。
我雖愛買書，而對于書卻不甚愛惜。讀書的時(shí)候，常在書上把我認(rèn)為要緊的處所
標(biāo)出。線裝書竟用紅鉛筆劃粗粗的線。經(jīng)我看過的書，統(tǒng)計(jì)統(tǒng)體干凈的很少。
據(jù)說，任何愛吃糖果的人，只要叫他到糖果鋪中去做事，見了糖果就會(huì)生厭。自
我入書店以后，對于書的貪念也已消除了不少了，可不免要故態(tài)復(fù)萌(8)，想買這種，
想買那種。這大概因?yàn)樘枪米烊コ?，擺存毫無意義，而書則可以買了不看，任其
只管插在架上的緣故吧。
Books and I
Xia Mianzun
For twenty years past, books have eaten into at least 10-20 percent of my pocket. Now
the only things of some value under my roof, if any, are my books.
Since I have never entertained ambition for making a profound study of any subject,
the books I have acquired cover almost everything--religion, art, literature, sociology,
philosophy, history, biology, etc. Most of them are Chinese translations of literary works
by famous foreign writers and anthologies of Chinese poetry and prose through the ages.
The rest, often called an outline or introduction, are merely on rudiments of various
subjects.
I never care to borrow books from other people or a library. It seems that books
bought can better satisfy my bibliomania than books borrowed. You may also attribute this
to some sort of desire for personal possession. Whenever I have some new acquisitions, it
always gives me great pleasure and satisfaction to stamp my ex-libris on them one by one.
As soon as a new book comes to hand, I always read the preface first and then the
table of contents. If it happens to be a thin one, I often finish reading it at one sitting.
Otherwise, I often browse through one or two chapters or sections before putting it onto
my bookshelf. I seldom read a thick book from cover to cover unless it is a novel. By dint
of the first impression it made on me at the time of buying, I have a rough idea of what a
book is about and what useful materials in it are available to me. But I have little idea
which book is to be read or looked over again at what time. It is completely subject to the
whims of the moment. This often prompts me to liken myself and the books on my shelves
respectively to an ancient emperor and his concubines housed separately in a row of
adjoining rooms.
Much as I love books, I take little care of them. In doing my reading, I often mark out
what I regard as important in a book. If it is a thread-bound Chinese book, I use a writing
brush to draw small circles as markings. Otherwise, I use a red pencil to draw heavy
underlines. Consequently, the books I have read are rarely clean.
It is said that those who have a great liking for candies will sicken to see them when
later they happen to work in a candy store. Likewise, ever since I began to work in a
bookstore, my obsession with books has been very much on the decline. Nevertheless, I
still can not help slipping back into the same old rut, eager to buy this and that book. This
is probably because candies are to be eaten with the mouth and not worth keeping as
knick-knacks while books can be bought without being read and just left on a shelf.
注釋：
夏丐尊（1886-1946）浙江上虞人，著名文學(xué)家、教育家、出版家。他的文學(xué)創(chuàng)作以散文為主，多隨筆、雜感，內(nèi)容積極，風(fēng)格平淡樸素。此文于1933年11月發(fā)表在《中學(xué)生》雜志上。
(1)“我之于書”譯為 Books and I ，比 I and Books 符合英語習(xí)慣，讀音也較順口。
(2)“我的生活費(fèi)中至少十分之一二是消耗在書上的”譯為books have eaten into at least 10-20 percent of my pocket，其中成語 to eat into 作“耗盡”或“花費(fèi)”解，意同 to use up 或 to spend gradually；pocket 作“腰包”解。
(3)“我的房子里”譯為 under my roof ,意同 in my house。
(4)“好像過不來癮似的”中的“癮”指“藏書癖”，故譯為bibliomania，意即 desire or passion for collecting books。
(5)“藏書印”譯為 ex-libris，為專用語。
(6)“往往立刻通讀”譯為 I often finish reading it at one sitting，其中at one sitting（亦作at a sitting）為成語，作“坐著一口氣”或“一下子”解。
(7)“宮女”本可譯為court ladies或palace maids，但原文實(shí)際上指的是“妃子”，故譯為concubines。
(8)“故態(tài)復(fù)萌”譯為slipping back into the same old rut，或relapsing into my old habit。
Passage4 中年人的寂寞
夏丐尊
我已是一個(gè)中年的人。一到中年，就有許多不愉快的現(xiàn)象，眼睛昏花了，記憶
力減退了，頭發(fā)開始禿脫(1)而且變白了，意興，體力，什么都不如年青的時(shí)候，常不
禁會(huì)感覺到難以名言的(2)寂寞的情味。尤其覺得難堪的是知友的逐漸減少(3)和疏遠(yuǎn)，
缺乏交際上的溫暖的慰藉。
不消說，相識的人數(shù)是隨了年齡增加的，一個(gè)人年齡越大，走過的地方當(dāng)過的
職務(wù)越多，相識的人理該越增加了?？墒窍嘧R的人并不就是朋友。我們和許多人相識，
或是因了事務(wù)關(guān)系，或是因了偶然的機(jī)緣(4)——如在別人請客的時(shí)候同席吃過飯之
類。見面時(shí)點(diǎn)頭或握手，有事時(shí)走訪或通信，口頭上彼此也“朋友”，筆頭上有時(shí)或
稱“仁兄”，諸如此類，其實(shí)只是一種社交上的客套，和“頓首”“百拜”同是儀式
的虛偽(5)。這種交際可以說是社交，和真正的友誼相差似乎很遠(yuǎn)。
真正的朋友，恐怕要算“總角之交”或“竹馬之交”了(6)。在小學(xué)和中學(xué)的時(shí)代
容易結(jié)成真實(shí)的友誼，那時(shí)彼此尚不感到生活的壓迫，入世未深，打算計(jì)較的念頭也
少，朋友的結(jié)成全由于志趣相近或性情適合，差不多可以說是“無所為”的(7)，性質(zhì)
比較純粹。二十歲以后結(jié)成的友誼，大概已不免攙有各種各樣的顏色分子在內(nèi)；至于
三十歲四十歲以后的朋友中間，顏色分子愈多，友誼的真實(shí)成分也就不免因而愈少了。
這并不一定是“人心不古”(8)，實(shí)可以說是人生的悲劇。人到了成年以后，彼此都有
生活的重?fù)?dān)須負(fù)，入世既深，顧忌的方面也自然加多起來，在交際上不許你不計(jì)較，
不許你不打算，結(jié)果彼此都“勾心斗角”(9)，像七巧板似地只選定了某一方面和對方
接合(10)。這樣的接合當(dāng)然是很不堅(jiān)固的，尤其是現(xiàn)代這樣什么都到了尖銳化的時(shí)代。
在我自己的交游中，最值得系念的老是一此少年時(shí)代以來的朋友。這些朋友本
來數(shù)目就不多，有些住在遠(yuǎn)地，連相會(huì)的機(jī)會(huì)也不可多得。他們有的年齡大過了我，
有的小我?guī)讱q，都江堰市是中年以上的人了，平日各人所走的方向不同。思想趣味境
遇也都不免互異，大家晤談起來，也常會(huì)遇到說不出的隔膜的情形。如大家話舊，舊
事是彼此共喻的，而且大半都江堰市是少年時(shí)代的事，“舊游如夢”，把夢也似的過
去的少年時(shí)代重提，因談話的進(jìn)行，同時(shí)會(huì)聯(lián)想起許多當(dāng)時(shí)的事情，許多當(dāng)時(shí)的人的
面影，這時(shí)好象自己仍回歸到少年時(shí)代去了(11)。我常在這種時(shí)候感到一種快樂，同
時(shí)也感到一種傷感，那情形好比老婦人突然在抽屜里或箱子里發(fā)見了她盛年時(shí)的影
片。
逢到和舊友談話，就不知不覺地把話題轉(zhuǎn)到舊事上去，這是我的習(xí)慣。我在這
上面無意識地會(huì)感到一種溫暖地慰藉?？墒沁@些舊友一年比一年減少了，本來只是屈
指可數(shù)的幾個(gè)，少去一個(gè)是無法彌補(bǔ)的。我每當(dāng)聽到一個(gè)舊友死去的消息，總要惆悵
多時(shí)。
學(xué)校教育給我們的好處不但只是灌輸知識，最大的好處恐怕還在給與我們求友
的機(jī)會(huì)上。這好處我到了離學(xué)校以后才知道，這幾年來更確切地體會(huì)到，深悔當(dāng)時(shí)毫
不自覺，馬馬虎虎地過去了。近來每日早晚在路上見到兩兩三三的攜了手或挽了肩膀
走著的青年學(xué)生，我總艷羨他們有朋友之樂，暗暗地要在心中替他們祝福。
Mid-life Loneliness
Xia Mianzun
I am already a middle-aged man. At middle age, I feel sad to find my eyesight and
memory failing, my hair thinning and graying, and myself no longer mentally and
physically as fit as when I was young. I often suffer from a nameless loneliness. The most
intolerable of all is the lack of friendly warmth and comfort due to the gradual passing
away and estrangement of more and more old pals.
Needless to say, the number of acquaintances increases with one’s age. The older one
gets, the more widely traveled one is and the more work experience one has, the more
acquaintances one is supposed to have. But not all acquaintances are friends. We come to
know many people either in the way of business or by mere chance –say, having been at
the same table at a dinner party. We may be on nodding or hand-shaking terms, call each
other “friend”, sometimes write to each other with the salutation of “Dear So-and-So”, etc.,
etc. All these are, in fact, nothing but civilities of social life, as hypocritical as the polite
formula dunshou (kowtow) or baibai (a hundred greetings) used after the signature in
old-fashioned Chinese letter-writing. We may call them social intercourse, but they seem
to have very little in common with genuine friendship.
Real friendship between two persons originates perhaps from the time of life when
they were children playing innocently together. Real friendship is easily formed in primary
or middle school days when, being socially inexperienced and free from the burden of life,
you give little thought to personal gains or losses, and make friends entirely as a result of
similar tastes and interests or congenial disposition. It is sort of “friendship for friendship’s
sake” and is relatively pure in nature. Friendship among people in their 20's, however, is
more or less coloured by personal motives. And friendship among those aged over 30
becomes correspondingly still less pure as it gets even more coloured. Though this is not
necessarily due to "degeneration of public morality", I do have good reasons to call it the
tragedy of life. People at middle age, with the heavy burden of life and much experience in
the ways of the world, have more scruples about this and that, and can not choose but
become more calculating in social dealings till they start scheming against each
other. They always keep a wary eye, as it were, on each other in their association. Such
association is of course fragile, especially in this modern age of prevailing sharp conflicts.
Of all my friends, those I have known since child-hood are most worthy of
remembrance. They are few in number. Some of them live far away and we seldom have
an opportunity to see each other. Some of them are older than I am, and some a few years
younger. But all of us are in late mid-life. Since we have each followed a different course
in life, our ways of thinking, interests and circumstances are bound to differ, and often we
lack mutual understanding somehow or other in our conversation. Nevertheless, when we
talk over old times, we will always agree on things in the past--mostly about things in our
childhood days. While we retell the dream-like childhood days in the course of our
conversation, numerous scenes and persons of bygone days will unfold again before our
eyes, and we will feel like reliving the old days. Often at this moment, I'll feel at once
happy and sad--like an old lady suddenly fishing out from her drawer or chest a photo of
her taken in the bloom of her youth.
When chatting away with my old friends, I am in the habit of unwittingly channeling
the topic of conversation toward things of former days. From that I unknowingly derive
some sort of warm solace. But old friends are dwindling away year by year. They are
originally few in number, so the disappearance of any of them is an irreparable loss to me.
The news of any old pal's death will invariably make me sad in my heart for a long, long
time.
The imparting of knowledge is not the sole advantage of school education. Its greatest
advantage is perhaps the opportunity it affords us for making friends. It was not until I had
already left school that I began to realize this advantage. And in recent years I have come
to understand it even more deeply. I much regret having carelessly frittered away my
school days without making many friends. Recently, every morning or evening, whenever
I see school kids with satchels walking in twos and threes, hand in hand or shoulder to
shoulder, I always envy them for enjoying happy friendship, and inwardly offer them my
best wishes.
注釋：
本文發(fā)表在1934年11月的《中學(xué)生》雜志上，文章用平淡的語言訴說了中年人的苦惱，感嘆“真實(shí)的友誼”不可多得，字里行間流泄出對當(dāng)時(shí)現(xiàn)狀的不滿。
(1)“頭發(fā)開始禿脫”指頭發(fā)開始變稀，也可譯為 my head balding。 今譯 my hair thinning ，以 hair 取代head，是為了照顧下面的graying一字。
(2)“難以名言的”譯為nameless，意同indescribable，但nameless常用來指不好的事物，如：a nameless fear、nameless atrocities。
(3)“逐漸減少”在原文指逐漸作古，如直譯為 the gradual dwindling away 則未能明確表達(dá)“死去”的意思。故譯為gradual passing away.
(4)“我們和許多人相識，或是因?yàn)槭聞?wù)關(guān)系，或是因了偶然的機(jī)緣……”譯為We come to know
many people either in the way of business or by mere chance…，其中in the way of 是成語，作“為了”解。成語in the way of可有若干不同的意思，如“關(guān)于”、“以……的方法”，“為了”等，須由上下文來決定。
(5)“和‘頓首’‘百拜’同是儀式的虛偽”譯為as hypocritical as the polite formula dunshou (kowtow) or baibai (a hundred greetings) used after the signature in old-fashioned Chinese letter-writing。其中 kowtow, a hundred greetings 以及 used after the signature in old fashioned Chinese letter-writing 均為譯者的補(bǔ)充說明，屬一種釋義譯法。
(6)“真正的朋友，恐怕要算‘總角之交’或‘竹馬之交’了”譯為 Real friendship between two persons originates perhaps from the time of life when they were children playing innocently together，其中“總角之交”和“竹馬之交”合而為一，用意譯法處理。
(7)“差不多可以說是‘無所為’的”譯為It is sort of “friendship for friendship’s sake”，其中sort of （有幾分）用來表達(dá)“差不多可以說”。又“無所為”意即“無其它目的”或“無條件的”，故譯為friendship for friendship’s sake（為友誼而友誼的）。
(8)“這并一定是‘人心不古’”譯為Though this is not necessarily due to “degeneration of public
morality”。也可考慮采用另一譯法：Though this should not be ascribed exclusively to “degeneration of public morality”。
(9)“結(jié)果彼此都‘勾心斗角’”譯為till they start scheming against each other。注意其中till的一種特殊用法。它在這里指“結(jié)果”，意即so that、finally或and at last，不作“直到……為止”解。
(10)“像七巧板似地只選定了某一方面和對方接合”不宜直譯?，F(xiàn)按“人們在交往中互相提防，互存戒心”的內(nèi)涵，用意譯法處理：They always keep a wary eye, as it were, on each other in their association，其中插入語as it were作“似乎”、“可以說”等解。
(11)“這時(shí)好像自己仍回歸到少年時(shí)代去了”譯為and we feel like reliving the old days，其中to relive作“（憑想象）重新過……的生活”(to experience…again, especially in imagination)解。
Passage5 背 影
朱自清
我與父親不相見已二年余了，我最不能忘記的是他的背影。那年冬天，祖母死了，
父親的差使也交卸了，正是禍不單行的日子，我從北京到徐州，打算跟著父親奔喪回
家。到了徐州見著父親，看見滿院狼藉的東西，又想起祖母，不禁簌簌地流下眼淚。
父親說：“事已如此，不必難過，好在天無絕人之路！”
回家○1變賣典質(zhì)，父親還了虧空；又借了錢辦了喪事。這些日子，家中光景很是
慘淡，一半為了喪事，一半為了父親的賦閑○2
。喪事完畢，父親要到南京謀事，我也
要回到北京念書，我們便同行。
到南京時(shí)，有朋友約去游逛，勾留了一日；第二日上午便須渡江到浦口，下午上
車北去。父親因?yàn)槭旅?，本已說定不送我，叫旅館里一個(gè)熟識的茶房○3陪我同去。他
再三囑咐茶房，甚是仔細(xì)。但他終于不放心，怕茶房不妥貼，頗躊躇了一會(huì)。其實(shí)那
年我已二十歲，北京來往過兩三次，是沒有甚么要緊的了。他躊躇了一會(huì)，終于決定
還是自己送我去。我兩三回勸他不必去○4；他只說，“不要緊，他們?nèi)ゲ缓谩?！”
我們過了江，進(jìn)了車站。我買票，他忙著照看行李。行李太多了，得向腳夫行些
小費(fèi)○6，才可過去。他便又忙著和他們講價(jià)錢。我那時(shí)真是太聰明過分○7，總覺得他
說話不大漂亮○8，非得自己插嘴不可。但他終于講定了價(jià)錢；就送我上車。他給我揀
定了靠車門的一張椅子；我將他給我做的紫毛大衣鋪好坐位。他囑我路上小心，夜里
要警醒些，不要受涼。又囑托茶房好好照應(yīng)我。我心里暗笑他的迂○9；他們只認(rèn)得錢，
托他們直是白托！而且我這樣大年紀(jì)的人，難道還不能料理自己嗎？唉，我現(xiàn)在想想，
那時(shí)真是太聰明了10！
我說道，“爸爸，你走吧。”他望車外看了看，說，“我買幾個(gè)橘子去。你就在
此地，不要走動(dòng)。”我看那邊月臺的柵欄外有幾個(gè)賣東西的的等著顧客。走到那邊月
臺，須穿過鐵道，須跳下去又爬上去。父親是一個(gè)胖子，走過去自然要費(fèi)些事。我本
來要去的，他不肯，只好讓他去。我看見他戴著黑布小帽。穿著黑布大馬褂11，深青
布棉袍，蹣跚在走到鐵道邊，慢慢探身下去，尚不大難。可是他穿過鐵道，要爬上那
邊月臺，就不容易了。他用兩手攀著上面，兩腳再向上縮；他肥胖的身子向左微傾，
顯出努力的樣子。這時(shí)我看見他的的背影，我眼淚很快地流下來了。我趕緊拭干了淚，
怕他看見，也怕別人看見。我再向外看時(shí)，他已抱了朱紅的橘子往回走了。過鐵道時(shí)，
他先將橘子散放在地上，自己慢慢爬下，再抱起橘子走。到這邊時(shí)，我趕緊去攙他。
他和我走到車上，將橘子一股腦兒放在我的皮大衣上。于是撲撲衣上泥土，心里很輕
松似的，過了一會(huì)說，“我走了；到那邊來信！”我望著他走出去。他走了幾步，回
過頭看見我，說，“進(jìn)去吧，里邊沒人12。”等他的背影混入來來往往的人里，再找
不著了，我便進(jìn)來坐下，我的眼淚又來了。
近幾年來，父親和我都是東奔西走13，家中的光景是一日不如一日。他少年出外
謀生，獨(dú)力支持，做了許多大事。那知老境卻如此頹唐！他觸目傷懷，自然不能自己
14。情郁于中，自然要發(fā)之于外；家庭瑣屑便往往觸他之怒。他待我漸漸不同往日15。
但最近兩年的不見，他終于忘卻我的不好，只是惦記著我，惦記著我的兒子。我北來
后，他寫了一信給我，信中說道，“我身體平安，惟膀子疼痛利害，舉箸提筆，諸多
不便，大約大去16之期不遠(yuǎn)矣。”我讀到此處，在晶瑩的淚光中，又看見那肥胖的，
青布馬褂的背影。唉！我不知何時(shí)再能與他相見！
The Sight of Father’s Back
Zhu Ziqing
It is more than two years since I last saw father, and what I can never forget is the
sight of his back. Misfortunes never come singly. In the winter of more than two years
ago, grandma died and father lost his job. I left Beijing for Xuzhou to join father in
hastening home to attend grandma’s funeral. When I met father in Xuzhou, the sight of the
disorderly mess in his courtyard and the though of grandma started tears trickling down my
cheeks. Father said, “Now that things’ve come to such a pass, it’s no use crying.
Fortunately, Heaven always leaves one a way out.”
After arriving home in Yangzhou, father paid off debts by selling or pawning things.
He also borrowed money to meet the funeral expenses. Between grandma’s funeral and
father’s unemployment, our family was then in reduced circumstances. After the funeral
was over, father was to go to Nanjing to look for a job and I was to return to Beijing to
study, so we started out together.
I spent the first day in Nanjing strolling about with some friends at their invitation,
and was ferrying across the Yangtse River to Pukou the next morning and thence taking a
train for Beijing on the afternoon of the same day. Father said he was too busy to go and
see me off at the railway station, but would ask a hotel waiter that he knew to accompany
me there instead. He urged the waiter again and again to take good care of me, but still did
not quite trust him. He hesitated for quite a while about what to do. As a matter of fact,
nothing would matter at all because I was then twenty and had already travelled on
Beijing-Pukou Railway a couple of times. After some wavering, he finally decided that he
himself would accompany me to the station. I repeatedly tried to talk him out of it, but he
only said, “Never mind! It won’t do to trust guys like those hotel boys!”
We entered the railway station after crossing the River. While I was at the booking
office buying a ticket, father saw to my luggage. There was quite a bit of luggage and he
had to bargain with the porter over the fee. I was then such a smart aleck that I frowned
upon the way father was haggling and was on the verge of chipping in a few words when
the bargain was finally clinched. Getting on the train with me, he picked me a seat close to
the carriage door. I spread on the seat the brownish fur-lined overcoat he had got tailor
made for me. He told me to be watchful on the way and be careful not to catch cold at
night. he also asked the train attendants to take good care of me. I sniggered at father for
being so impractical, for it was utterly useless to entrust me to those attendants, who cared
for nothing but money. Besides, it was certainly no problem for a person of my age to look
after himself. Oh, when I come to think of it, I can see how smarty I was in those days!
I said, “Dad, you might leave now.” But he looked out of window and said, “I’m
going to buy you some tangerines. You just stay here. Don’t move around.” I caught sight
of several vendors waiting for customers outside the railings beyond a platform. But to
reach that platform would require crossing the railway track and doing some climbing up
and down. That would be a strenuous job for father, who was fat. I wanted to do all that
myself, but he stopped me, so I could do nothing but let him go. I watched him hobble
towards the railway track in his black skullcap, black cloth mandarin jacket and dark blue
cotton-padded cloth long gown. He had little trouble climbing down the railway track, but
it was a lot more difficult for him to climb up that platform after crossing the railway track.
His hands held onto the upper part of the platform, his legs huddled up and his corpulent
body tipped slightly towards the left, obviously making an enormous exertion. While I was
watching him from behind, tears gushed from my eyes. I quickly wiped them away lest he
or others should catch me crying. The next moment when I looked out of the window again,
father was already on the way back, holding bright red tangerines in both hands. In
crossing the railway track, he first put the tangerines on the ground, climbed down slowly
and then picked them up again. When he came near the train, I hurried out to help him by
the hand. After boarding the train with me, he laid all the tangerines on my overcoat, and
patting the dirt off his clothes, he looked somewhat relieved and said after a while, “I must
be going now. Don’t forget to write me from Beijing!” I gazed after his back retreating out
of the carriage. After a few steps, he looked back at me and said, “go back to your seat.
Don’t leave your things alone.” I, however, did not go back to my seat until his figure was
lost among crowds of people hurrying to and fro and no longer visible. My eyes were again
wet with tears.
In recent years, both father and I have been living an unsettled life, and the
circumstances of our family going from bad to worse. Father left home to seek a livelihood
when young and did achieve quite a few things all on his own. To think that he should now
be so downcast in old age! The discouraging state of affairs filled him with an
uncontrollable feeling of deep sorrow, and his pent-up emotion had to find a vent. That is
why even mere domestic trivialities would often make him angry, and meanwhile he
became less and less nice with me. However, the separation of the last two years has made
him more forgiving towards me. He keeps thinking about me and my son. After I arrived in
Beijing, he wrote me a letter, in which he says. “I’m all right except for a severe pain in my
arm. I even have trouble using chopsticks or writing brushes. Perhaps it won’t be long now
before I depart this life.” Through the glistening tears which these words had brought to
my eyes I again saw the back of father’s corpulent form in the dark blue cotton-padded
cloth long gown and the black cloth mandarin jacket. Oh, how I long to see him again.
注釋:
《背影》是朱自清（1898-1948）影響最大的抒情名篇之一，寫于1925年10月。作者用的提煉的口語，文筆秀麗，細(xì)膩縝密，讀來有一種親切婉轉(zhuǎn)、娓娓動(dòng)聽的感覺。但它的巨大藝術(shù)魅力主要來自它飽含的真摯感情。
(1)“回家”指作者和父親一起從徐州回?fù)P州奔喪。英譯時(shí)有必要交代清楚揚(yáng)州是他們的老家，所以采用加字法：After arriving home in Yangzhou。
(2)“一半為了喪事，一半為了父親的賦閑”譯為Between Grandma’s funeral and father’s
unemployment，其中Between…and…等于What with …and (what with)…，作“半因……，半因……”或“由于……的共同影響“解。
(3)“茶房”舊時(shí)指旅館、餐館、輪船等內(nèi)的服務(wù)員，可譯為waiter、attendant、boy等。
(4)“我兩三回勸他不必去”譯為I repeatedly tried to talk him out of it，比I repeatedly tried to
dissuade him from accompanying me to the station通俗簡潔。
(5)“他們?nèi)ゲ缓?#8221;中的“他們”指“茶房”，全句意譯為It won’t do to trust guys like those hotel
boys。如直譯為It won’t do to let one of the hotel boys go with you，也無不可，但未能把“對茶房缺乏信任感”的意思表達(dá)出來。
(6)“小費(fèi)”在這里不指按規(guī)定價(jià)格付費(fèi)之外另給的“賞金”，不能用tip表達(dá)，現(xiàn)譯為fee。
(7)“我那時(shí)真是聰明過分”中的“聰明”是反話，現(xiàn)全句譯為I was then such a smart aleck，
其中smart aleck意即“自以為是的人”或“自以為樣樣懂的人”。
(8)“總覺得他說話不大漂亮”意即嫌父親不會(huì)講價(jià)錢，現(xiàn)全句譯為I frowned upon the way
father was haggling，其中frowned upon作“表示不贊同”解。
(9)“迂”在這里作“不切實(shí)際”或“沒有見識”解，現(xiàn)結(jié)合上下文譯為impractical。
(10)“那時(shí)真是太聰明了”也是反語，現(xiàn)譯為how smarty I was in those days，其中smarty和
smart aleck同義。
(11)“馬褂”為舊時(shí)男子穿在長袍外的對襟短褂，通常譯為mandarin jacket。
(12)“里邊沒人”不宜按字面直譯，現(xiàn)譯為Don’t leave your things alone。
(13)“父親和我都是東奔西走”不宜按字面直譯，現(xiàn)意譯為both father and I have been living an
unsettled life。
(14)“他觸目傷懷，自然情不能自己”意即“他看到家庭敗落，情不自禁為之悲傷”，現(xiàn)譯
為The discouraging state of affairs filled him with an uncontrollable feeling of deep sorrow。
(15)“他待我漸漸不同往日”意即“他待我漸漸不如過去那么好”，故譯為he became less and
less nice with me。
(16)“大去”為舊時(shí)用語，意即“與世長辭”，現(xiàn)譯為depart this life。
Passage 6 匆 匆
朱自清
燕子去了，有再來的時(shí)候；楊柳枯了，在再青的時(shí)候；桃花謝了，有再開的時(shí)候
1。但是，聰明的，你告訴我，我們的日子為什么一去不復(fù)返呢？——是有人偷了他
們罷：那是誰？又藏在何處呢？是他們自己逃走了罷：現(xiàn)在又到了那里呢2？
我不知道他們給了我多少日子3；但我的手確乎是漸漸空虛了4。在默默里算著，
八千多日子已經(jīng)從我手中溜去5；像針尖上一滴水滴在大海里，我的日子滴在時(shí)間的
流里，沒有聲音，也沒有影子。我不禁頭涔涔而淚潸潸了6。
去的盡管去了，來的盡管來著；去來的中間，又怎樣地匆匆呢？早上我起來的時(shí)
候，小屋里射進(jìn)兩三方7斜斜的太陽。太陽他也有腳啊，輕輕悄悄地挪移8了；我也茫
茫然跟著旋轉(zhuǎn)。于是——洗手的時(shí)候，日子從水盆里過去；吃飯的時(shí)候，日子從飯碗
里過去；默默時(shí)，便從凝然的雙眼前過去。我覺察他去的匆匆了，伸出手遮挽時(shí)，他
又從遮挽著的手邊過去，天黑時(shí)，我躺在床上，他便伶伶俐俐在從我身上跨過，從我
腳邊飛去了。等我睜開眼和太陽再見，這算又溜走了一日。我掩著面嘆息。但是新來
的日子的影兒又開始在嘆息里閃過了。
在逃去如飛的日子里，在千門萬戶的世界里的我能做些什么呢？只有徘徊罷了，
只有匆匆罷了；在八千多日的匆匆里，除徘徊外，又剩些什么呢？過去的日子如輕煙，
被微風(fēng)吹散了，如薄霧，被初陽蒸融了；我留著些什么痕跡呢？我何曾留著像游絲樣
的痕跡呢？我赤裸裸來到這世界，轉(zhuǎn)眼間也將赤裸裸的回去罷？但不能平的9，為什
么偏要白白走這一遭??？
你聰明的，告訴我，我們的日子為什么一去不復(fù)返呢？
Transient Days
Zhu ziqing
If swallows go away, they will come back again. If willows wither, they will turn
green again. If peach blossoms fade, they will flower again. But, tell me, you the wise, why
should our days go by never to return? Perhaps they have been stolen by someone. But
who could it be and where could he hide them? Perhaps they have just run away by
themselves. But where could they be at the present moment?
I don’t know how many days I am entitled to altogether, but my quota of then is
undoubtedly wearing away. Counting up silently, I find that more than 8000 days have
already slipped away through my fingers. Like a drop of water falling off a needle point
into the ocean, my days are quietly dripping into the stream of time without leaving a trace.
At the thought of this, sweat oozes from my forehead and tears trickle down my cheeks.
What is gone is gone, what is to come keeps coming. How swift is the transition in
between! When I get up in the morning, the slanting sun casts two or three squarish
patches of light into my small room. The sun has feet too, edging away softly and
stealthily. And, without knowing it, I am already caught in its revolution. Thus the day
flows away through the sink when I wash my hands; vanishes in the rice bowl when I have
my meal; passes away quietly before the fixed gaze of my eyes when I am lost in reverie.
Aware of its fleeting presence, I reach out for it only to find it brushing past my
outstretched hands. In the evening, when I lie on my bed, it nimbly strides over my body
and flits past my feet. By the time when I open my eyes to meet the sun again, another day
is already gone. I heave a sigh, my head buried in my hands. But, in the midst of my sighs,
a new day is flashing past.
Living in this world with its fleeting days and teeming millions, what can I do but
waver and wander and live a transient life? What have I been doing during the 8000
fleeting days except wavering and wandering? The bygone days, like wisps of smoke, have
been dispersed by gentle winds, and, like thin mists, have been evaporated by the rising
sun. What traces have I left behind? No, nothing, not even gossamer-like traces. I have
come to this world stark naked, and in the twinkling of an eye, I am to go back as stark
naked as ever. However, I am taking it very much to heart: why should I be made to pass
through this world for nothing at all?
O you the wise, would you tell me please: why should our days go by never to return?
注釋：
本文是朱自清的早期散文，寫于1922年7月28日。文章充滿詩意，對時(shí)光的消失深表感嘆
和無奈，流露出當(dāng)時(shí)青年知識分子的苦悶和憂傷情緒。
(1) 原文開頭三個(gè)句子結(jié)構(gòu)類似，譯文采用三個(gè)相應(yīng)的句式，力求形似。同時(shí)，每句均以if
從句為首，使人想起英國詩人雪萊(Shelley)的名句If Winter comes, can Spring be far away，有助于烘托原文的韻味。
(2) “現(xiàn)在又到了那里呢”譯為But where could they be at the present moment，其中at the
present moment等于now，也可用at the moment或at the moment in time等表達(dá)。
(3) “我不知道他們給了我多少日子”譯為I don’t know how many days I am entitled to
altogether，其中entitled to相當(dāng)于qualified for，作“能有……”或“有權(quán)得到……”解。此句也可譯為I don’t know how many days been given to live。
(4) “但我的手確乎是漸漸空虛了”不宜逐字直譯，現(xiàn)以意譯法處理：but my quota of them is
undoubtedly wearing away，其中quota of them的意思是“一定數(shù)額的日子”，也即“壽命的預(yù)期數(shù)額”。也可用my allotted span 代替my quota of them。
(5) “八千多日子已經(jīng)從我手中溜去”譯為more than 8000 days have already slipped away
through my fingers，其中to slip away through one’s fingers是英語習(xí)語。
(6) “我不禁頭涔涔而淚潸潸了”的譯文中添加了At the thought of this（一想到這兒），承
上啟下，原文雖無其字而有其意。
(7) “兩三方”譯為two and three squarish patches，其中squarish的意思是“似方形的”比
square模糊些，似較可取。
(8) “挪移”在此有“慢慢離開”的含義，現(xiàn)以英語短語動(dòng)詞(phrasal verb) to edge away表
達(dá)。注意原文第三段中若干表示動(dòng)作的詞語在譯文中均挑選恰當(dāng)?shù)挠⒄Z短語動(dòng)詞表達(dá)，效果較好。如：“從……（雙眼前）過去”譯為to pass away before…；“伸出手遮挽……”譯為to reach out for…；“從……（手邊）過去”譯為to brush past…；“從……（身上）跨過”譯為to stride over…；
“從……（腳邊）飛去了”譯為to flit past…；“閃過去了”譯為to flash past。
(9) “不能平的”意即“為之耿耿于懷”或“為之想不開”，現(xiàn)譯為Iam taking it very much
to heart，其中to take…to heart是英語成語，作“為……煩惱”或“為……想不開”解。
