《大學(xué)英語教程》第三冊(cè)課文翻譯

/Unit1TextATherewasonceatownintheheartofAmericawherealllifeseemedtoliveinharmonywithitssurroundings.Thetownlayinthemidstofacheckerboardofprosperousfarms,withfieldsofgrainandhillsidesoforchardswhere,inspring,whitecloudsofbloomdriftedabovethegreenfields.Inautumn,oakandmapleandbirchsetupablazeofcolorthatflamedandflickeredacrossabackdropofpines.Thenfoxesbarkedinthehillsanddeersilentlycrossedthefields,halfhiddeninthemistsofthefallmornings.從前在美國(guó)中心有一個(gè)小鎮(zhèn)，那里的萬物看上去都與其四周的環(huán)境融洽相處。小鎮(zhèn)的四周是像棋盤交錯(cuò)的生意盎然的農(nóng)莊，還有一塊塊的田地和一座座遍布山坡的果園。春天來了，白色的鮮花云彩般地漂浮在田野上；秋天到了，橡樹、楓樹和樺樹色彩斑斕，在一片松樹林間火焰般地燃燒與跳躍。小山上狐貍吠叫，田野間小鹿靜靜地躍過，所有的一切都在秋天清晨的薄霧中半隱半現(xiàn)。Alongtheroads,laurel,viburnumandalder,greatfernsandwildflowersdelightedthetraveler'seyethroughmuchoftheyear.Eveninwintertheroadsideswereplacesofbeauty,wherecountlessbirdscametofeedontheberriesandontheseedheadsofthedriedweedsrisingabovethesnow.Thecountrysidewas,infact,famousfortheabundanceandvarietyofitsbirdlife,andwhenthefloodofmigrantswaspouringthroughinspringandfallpeopletraveledfromgreatdistancestoobservethem.Otherscametofishthestreams,whichflowedclearandcoldoutofthehillsandcontainedshadypoolswheretroutlay.Soithadbeenfromthedaysmanyyearsagowhenthefirstsettlersraisedtheirhouses,sanktheirwells,andbuilttheirbarns.在路的兩旁，一年中許多時(shí)候，月桂樹、莢蓮、榿木、蕨類植物和各樣的野花都能讓過往的行人賞心悅目。即使是冬天，路邊的景色依舊是美不勝收，那里無數(shù)的小鳥來覓取漿果莓和露在雪地上的枯枝上的種子。事實(shí)上，這鄉(xiāng)村正是由于鳥類的數(shù)量和種類之繁多而出名的。在候鳥群潮涌而來的春秋季節(jié)，人們從大老遠(yuǎn)的地方慕名前來欣賞。還有的人來這里的小溪垂釣。清冽的溪水從山中流出，溪水中有許多鱒魚藏身的背陰的水潭。所以，從許多年前開始，第一批居住者就在這里蓋房挖井，搭起了自己的谷倉。Thenastrangeblightcreptovertheareaandeverythingbegantochange.Someevilspellhadsettledonthecommunity:mysteriousmaladiesswepttheflocksofchickens;thecattleandsheepsickenedanddied.Everywherewasashadowofdeath.Thefarmersspokeofmuchillnessamongtheirfamilies.Inthetownthedoctorshadbecomemoreandmorepuzzledbynewkindsofsicknessappearingamongtheirpatients.Therehadbeenseveralsuddenandunexplaineddeaths,notonlyamongadultsbutevenamongchildren,whowouldbestrickensuddenlywhileatplayanddiewithinafewhours.后來，一種奇怪的摧毀力悄然襲擊了這個(gè)地區(qū)，所有的一切都開始變了。某種邪惡的符咒籠罩了這個(gè)社區(qū)：神秘的疾病攻擊了雞群，牛、羊也紛紛病死，到處都有一層死亡的陰影。農(nóng)夫們談?wù)撝抑械脑S多疾病；鎮(zhèn)上的醫(yī)生也越來越因病人中出現(xiàn)的新的病癥而感到迷惑。在成人和孩子中發(fā)生了好幾起突發(fā)的不明其由的死亡，那些孩子在玩耍中突然病倒，幾小時(shí)后就死去了。Therewasastrangestillness.Thebirds,forexample-wherehadtheygone?Manypeoplespokeofthem,puzzledanddisturbed.Thefeedingstationsinthebackyardsweredeserted.Thefewbirdsseenanywhereweremoribund;theytrembledviolentlyandcouldnotfly.Itwasaspringwithoutvoices.Onthemorningsthathadoncethrobbedwiththedawnchorusofrobins,catbirds,doves,jays,wrens,andscoresofotherbirdvoicestherewasnownosound;onlysilencelayoverthefieldsandwoodsandmarsh.這里是一派奇怪的寂靜。就說鳥兒們吧它們都去哪兒了？許多人說起鳥兒的時(shí)候都充滿了迷惑與不安。他們后院的飼養(yǎng)站已經(jīng)沒有鳥兒光顧了。隨處能見到的幾只鳥都奄奄一息。他們猛烈地顫抖，卻飛不起來。這是一個(gè)無聲的春天。曾經(jīng)是震動(dòng)著畫眉鳥、貓鳥、鴿子、樫鳥、歐鷦和許多鳥兒的黎明合唱聲的清晨如今卻寂然無聲。田野間、樹林中和沼澤地里也是一片寂靜。Onthefarmsthehensbrooded,butnochickshatched.Thefarmerscomplainedthattheywereunabletoraiseanypigs-thelittersweresmallandtheyoungsurvivedonlyafewdays.Theappletreeswerecomingintobloombutnobeesdronedamongtheblossoms,sotherewasnopollinationandtherewouldbenofruit.在農(nóng)莊，母雞下蛋卻孵不出小雞。農(nóng)夫們抱怨無法養(yǎng)豬，因?yàn)閯偵碌呢i崽太小了，小豬也只能活幾天的功夫。蘋果樹開花了，可是沒有蜜蜂在花叢中嗡嗡地采蜜，沒有蜜蜂的授粉，也就沒有任何果子。Theroadsides,oncesoattractive,werenowlinedwithbrownedandwitheredvegetationasthoughsweptbyfire.These,too,weresilent,desertedbyalllivingthings.Eventhestreamswerenowlifeless.Anglersnolongervisitedthem,forallthefishhaddied.曾經(jīng)是如此迷人的路旁如今卻鋪著黑黑的枯干的草木，仿佛是被一場(chǎng)大火燒過一般。那里也是一片寂靜，因?yàn)樗械纳锒歼z棄了它。即使是溪流中也沒有了生命。因?yàn)樗械聂~都已經(jīng)死了，垂釣者也就不再來了。Intheguttersundertheeavesandbetweentheshinglesoftheroofs,awhitegranularpowderstillshowedafewpatches;someweeksbeforeithadfallenlikesnowupontheroofsandthelawns,thefieldsandstreams.在屋檐下的天溝里，屋頂?shù)哪就咧g仍舊可見幾片白色的粒狀的粉末。幾個(gè)星期之前，它像白雪一樣灑在了屋頂上、草地上、田野里和溪流里。Nowitchcraft,noenemyactionhadsilencedtherebirthofnewlifeinthisstrickenworld.Thepeoplehaddoneitthemselves.在這個(gè)遭受襲擊的地球上，沒有巫術(shù)，也沒有敵人的行動(dòng)抑制了新生命的復(fù)蘇；這一切都是人自身造成的。Sincethemid-1940's,over500basicchemicalshavebeencreatedforuseinkillinginsects,weeds,rodents,andotherorganismsdescribedinthemodernvernacularas"pests",andtheyaresoldunderthousanddifferentbrandnames.自20世紀(jì)40年代中期起，人們制造了500多種基本的化學(xué)藥品來殺死在現(xiàn)代語言中被稱作"害蟲"的昆蟲、雜草、嚙齒動(dòng)物和其他的生物體，以幾千種的品牌名稱來出售它們。Thesesprays,dusts,andaerosolsarenowappliedalmostuniversallytofarms,gardens,forests,andhomes-nonselectivechemicalsthathavethepowertokilleveryinsect,the"good"andthe"bad,"tostillthesongofbirdsandtheleapingoffishinthestreams,tocoattheleaveswithadeadlyfilm,andtolingeroninsoil-allthisthoughtheintendedtargetmaybeonlyafewweedsorinsects.Cananyonebelieveitispossibletolaydownsuchabarrageofpoisonsonthesurfaceoftheearthwithoutmakingitunfitforalllife?這些液體噴劑、粉末和霧狀噴劑現(xiàn)在幾乎普遍使用于農(nóng)莊、花園、森林和家庭。非選擇性的化學(xué)藥品能殺死每只昆蟲（不管是"好"的還是"壞"的），能使鳥兒不再歌唱，溪流中的魚兒不再跳躍，能在樹葉上覆蓋一層致命的薄膜，并能存留在土地中。而造成這一切的預(yù)定的目標(biāo)可能僅僅是一些雜草和昆蟲。難道真的有人認(rèn)為，我們?cè)诘厍虻谋砻嫒鱿氯绱硕嗟亩舅帲瑫r(shí)還能使它繼續(xù)成為一個(gè)任何生命都能存活的地方嗎？Thistowndoesnotactuallyexist,butitmighteasilyhaveathousandcounterpartsinAmericaorelsewhereintheworld.IknowofnocommunitythathasexperiencedallthemisfortunesIdescribe.Yeteveryoneofthesedisastershasactuallyhappenedsomewhere,andmanyrealcommunitieshavealreadysufferedasubstantialnumberofthem.Agrimspecterhascreptuponusalmostunnoticed,andthisimaginedtragedymayeasilybecomeastarkrealityweallshallknow.這個(gè)小鎮(zhèn)事實(shí)上并不存在，但是在美國(guó)或地球的別的地方我們能輕易地找到一千個(gè)與它對(duì)應(yīng)的地方。我知道沒有一個(gè)社區(qū)經(jīng)歷了我所描述的所有不幸，但是其中的每一個(gè)災(zāi)難都已經(jīng)在某個(gè)地方發(fā)生了，許多社區(qū)已經(jīng)遭受了相當(dāng)多的災(zāi)難。一個(gè)冷酷的幽靈幾乎是在不經(jīng)意間已悄悄向我們走來了，而這個(gè)想像的悲劇也許很容易就成為一個(gè)我們都應(yīng)該知道的嚴(yán)酷的事實(shí)。TextBWatermustalsobethoughtofintermsofthechainsoflifeitsupports-fromthesmall-as-dustgreencellsofthedriftingplantplankton,throughtheminutewaterfleastothefishesthatstrainplanktonfromthewaterandareinturneatenbyotherfishesorbybirds,mink,raccoons-inanendlesscyclictransferofmaterialsfromlifetolife.Weknowthatthenecessarymineralsinthewateraresopassedfromlinktolinkofthefoodchains.Canwesupposethatpoisonsweintroduceintowaterwillnotalsoenterintothesecyclesofnature?我們考慮水的時(shí)候必須想到它所維持的生命鏈：從一個(gè)漂浮著的浮游植物塵土般微小的綠色細(xì)胞，通過細(xì)小的水蚤進(jìn)入到那些將浮游生物從水中濾出的魚，它們自身又被其他的魚或者鳥、貂、浣熊所吃，這就是一個(gè)無止境的從生命到生命的物質(zhì)的循環(huán)傳輸。既然我們知道水中必需的礦物質(zhì)是從食物鏈中的一環(huán)傳給一環(huán)的，我們?cè)跄苷J(rèn)為投入水中的毒藥不會(huì)也進(jìn)入這些自然的循環(huán)中呢？TheansweristobefoundintheamazinghistoryofClearLake,California.ClearLakeliesinmountainouscountrysome90milesnorthofSanFranciscoandhaslongbeenpopularwithanglers.Thenameisinappropriate,foractuallyitisaratherturbidlakebecauseofthesoftblackoozethatcoversitsshallowbottom.Unfortunatelyforthefishermenandtheresortdwellersonitsshores,itswatershaveprovidedanidealhabitatforasmallgnat,Chaoborusastictopus.Althoughcloselyrelatedtomosquitoes,thegnatisnotabloodsuckerandprobablydoesnotfeedatallasanadult.However,humanbeingswhoshareditshabitatfounditannoyingbecauseofitssheernumbers.Effortsweremadetocontrolitbuttheywerelargelyfruitlessuntil,inthelate1940s,thechlorinatedhydrocarboninsecticidesofferednewweapons.ThechemicalchosenforafreshattackwasDDD,acloserelativeofDDTbutapparentlyofferingfewerthreatstofishlife.答案就在位于加利福尼亞州的清水湖的令人驚異的歷史中。清水湖位于舊金山北大約90英里處的山村，很久以來一直很受垂釣者的歡迎。不過，這名字并不恰當(dāng)，因?yàn)樗鋵?shí)是個(gè)相當(dāng)混濁不清的湖，淺淺的湖底鋪滿了黑色的軟泥漿。但是對(duì)于漁民和居住在岸邊的度假勝地的人來說不幸的是，湖水為一種名叫幽靈蚊的小昆蟲提供了理想的棲息處。這種昆蟲雖然與蚊子緊密相關(guān)，但是它并不吸血，而且成年后可能就不攝入食物了。然而，與它共處一地的人類還是僅僅因?yàn)檫@種蟲子的數(shù)量驚人而感到惱火。雖然他們使用了各種方法來控制，但是基本上都是毫無成效。直到20世紀(jì)40年代末，氯化碳?xì)浠衔餁⑾x劑提供了新的武器。他們選擇作為新一輪進(jìn)攻的化學(xué)藥品叫DDD，它是DDT的一個(gè)近親，但是對(duì)魚類的生存威脅似乎小些。Thenewcontrolmeasuresundertakenin1949werecarefullyplannedandfewpeoplewouldhavesupposedanyharmcouldresult.Thelakewassurveyed,itsvolumedetermined,andtheinsecticideappliedinsuchgreatdilutionthatforeverypartofchemicaltherewouldbe70millionpartsofwater.Controlofthegnatswasatfirstgood,butby1954thetreatmenthadtoberepeated,thistimeattherateofonepartofinsecticidein50millionpartsofwater.Thedestructionofthegnatswasthoughttobevirtuallycomplete.1949年采取的新的控制措施事先經(jīng)過了仔細(xì)的計(jì)劃，很少有人認(rèn)為它會(huì)造成什么傷害。人們勘查了湖泊，測(cè)定了體積，又將殺蟲劑在水中經(jīng)過了70，000，000:1的大比例的稀釋后才付諸使用。這對(duì)小昆蟲的控制一開始不錯(cuò)，但是到了1954年這種處理不得不再重復(fù)一次，而這一次則是按50，000，000:1的比例使用的。如此，人們認(rèn)為對(duì)昆蟲的摧毀已基本告成了。Thefollowingwintermonthsbroughtthefirstintimationthatotherlifewasaffected:thewesterngrebesonthelakebegantodie,andsoonmorethanahundredofthemwerereporteddead.AtClearLakethewesterngrebeisabreedingbirdandalsoawintervisitant,attractedbytheabundantfishofthelake.Itisabirdofspectacularappearanceandbeguilinghabits,buildingitsfloatingnestsinshallowlakesofwesternUnitedStatesandCanada.Itiscalledthe"swangrebe"withreason,foritglideswithscarcelyarippleacrossthelakesurface,thebodyridinglow,whiteneckandshiningblackheadheldhigh.Thenewlyhatchedchickisclothedinsoftgraydown;inonlyafewhoursittakestothewaterandridesonthebackofthefatherormother,nestledundertheparentalwingcoverts.接下來的冬季使人們第一次意識(shí)到其他生命也受到影響了：湖上的西開始死去，不久又有一百多只死了。西被清水湖中大量的魚吸引，在此繁殖，冬天又來此棲息。這種鳥有著漂亮的外觀和迷人的習(xí)性，在美國(guó)西部和加拿大的淺水湖中筑造它們漂浮的巢。它被稱作"燕子"是有道理的，因?yàn)樗^湖面時(shí)幾乎不漾起一點(diǎn)微波，身體壓得低低的，脖頸潔白，油黑發(fā)亮的頭高高地?fù)P著。剛剛孵出的小鳥渾身披著柔軟的灰色絨毛，幾個(gè)小時(shí)以后它就喜歡上了湖水，伏在爸爸媽媽的背上，依偎在它們的翅膀底下。Followingathirdassaultontheever-resilientgnatpopulation,in1957,moregrebesdied.Ashadbeentruein1954,noevidenceofinfectiousdiseasecouldbediscoveredonexaminationofthedeadbirds.Butwhensomethoughttoanalyzethefattytissuesofthegrebes,theywerefoundtobeloadedwithDDDintheextraordinaryconcentrationof1600partspermillion.接著，對(duì)總是能恢復(fù)原數(shù)目的小昆蟲發(fā)動(dòng)了第三次攻擊后，1957年，更多的西死去了。正如1954年的情況一樣，對(duì)死鳥的檢查中，沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)傳染病的證據(jù)。但是當(dāng)有人想到要對(duì)它們的脂肪組織進(jìn)行分析時(shí)，卻在那兒找到了1600:1，000，000的高濃度的DDD。Themaximumconcentrationappliedtothewaterwas1/50partpermillion.Howcouldthechemicalhavebuiltuptosuchprodigiouslevelsinthegrebes?Thesebirds,ofcourse,arefisheaters.WhenthefishofClearLakealsowereanalyzedthepicturebegantotakeform-thepoisonbeingpickedupbythesmallestorganisms,concentratedandpassedontothelargerpredators.Planktonorganismswerefoundtocontainabout5partspermillionoftheinsecticide(about250timesthemaximumconcentrationeverreachedinthewateritself);plant-eatingfisheshadbuiltupaccumulationsrangingfrom40to300partspermillion;carnivorousspecieshadstoredthemostofall.One,abrownbullhead,hadtheastoundingconcentrationof2500partspermillion.Itwasahouse-that-Jack-builtsequence,inwhichthelargecarnivoreshadeatenthesmallercarnivores,thathadeatentheherbivores,thathadeatentheplankton,thathadabsorbedthepoisonfromthewater.投放湖水中的最高濃度是1/50:1，000，000，那藥品又是如何在西體中積累到如此高的濃度呢？這些鳥當(dāng)然是食魚的。當(dāng)人們又分析了清水湖中的魚類后，實(shí)情開始變得清晰了：最小的有機(jī)體攝入了毒藥，集中后又傳給更大的捕食動(dòng)物。浮游生物有機(jī)體的體中大約含有5:1，000，000的殺蟲劑（這數(shù)字大約是投放水中的最高濃度的250倍）；食草的魚類體中積累到40:1，000，000到300:1，000，000；食肉魚類的體中積累了最多的殺蟲劑成分。一次，一條牛頭魚體中發(fā)現(xiàn)了2500:1，000，000的驚人的濃度。這是一個(gè)連環(huán)套：大的食肉動(dòng)物吃小的食肉動(dòng)物，小的食肉動(dòng)物吃食草動(dòng)物，食草動(dòng)物吃浮游生物，浮游生物從水中吸收毒藥。Evenmoreextraordinarydiscoveriesweremadelater.NotraceofDDDcouldbefoundinthewatershortlyafterthelastapplicationofthechemical.Butthepoisonhadnotreallyleftthelake;ithadmerelygoneintothefabricofthelifethelakesupports.Twenty-threemonthsafterthechemicaltreatmenthadceased,theplanktonstillcontainedasmuchas5.3partspermillion.Inthatintervalofnearlytwoyears,successivecropsofplanktonhadfloweredandfadedaway,butthepoison,althoughnolongerpresentinthewater,hadsomehowpassedfromgenerationtogeneration.Anditlivedonintheanimallifeofthelakeaswell.Allfish,birds,andfrogsexaminedayearafterthechemicalapplicationshadceasedstillcontainedDDD.Theamountfoundinthefleshalwaysexceededbymanytimestheoriginalconcentrationinthewater.AmongtheselivingcarrierswerefishthathadhatchedninemonthsafterthelastDDDapplication,grebes,andCaliforniagullsthathadbuiltupconcentrationsofmorethan2000partspermillion.Meanwhile,thenestingcoloniesofthegrebesdwindled-frommorethan1000pairsbeforethefirstinsecticidetreatmenttoabout30pairsin1960.Andeventhethirtyseemtohavenestedinvain,fornoyounggrebeshavebeenobservedonthelakesincethelastDDDapplication.后來的發(fā)現(xiàn)更是奇特：在向湖水投放最后一次藥品以后不久，水中并沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)絲毫的DDD的痕跡，但是這毒藥并沒有真正離開清水湖，它只不過是進(jìn)入了靠湖水維持的生命結(jié)構(gòu)里面。在停止用藥23個(gè)月以后，浮游生物仍舊含有5.3:1，000，000濃度的藥品。在那段將近兩年的時(shí)間里，浮游生物花開花謝，但是在水中不再存在的毒藥卻不知為什么，在浮游生物中一代一代地傳了下來。同樣，它也存活在湖中的動(dòng)物生命體中。在停止用藥一年后，所有被檢查的魚、鳥、和青蛙都含有DDD，而且在它們的體中發(fā)現(xiàn)的含量總是高出原來向湖中投放的濃度的許多倍。在這些活載體中有上一次投放DDD九個(gè)月后孵出的魚、西，而在加利福尼亞海鷗的體中積累了高于2，000:1，000，000濃度的藥品。與此同時(shí)，在此作巢的西群從第一次投放殺蟲劑前的1，000多對(duì)減少到1960年的30對(duì)左右，而即使這30對(duì)似乎也是徒然作巢，因?yàn)樽詮纳弦淮问褂肈DD以后，湖上就再也沒有看到小西了。Thiswholechainofpoisoning,then,seemstorestonabaseofminuteplantswhichmusthavebeentheoriginalconcentrators.Butwhatoftheoppositeendofthefoodchain-thehumanbeingwho,inprobableignoranceofallthissequenceofevents,hasriggedhisfishingtackle,caughtastringoffishfromthewatersofClearLake,andtakenthemhometofryforhissupper?WhatcouldaheavydoseofDDD,orperhapsrepeateddoses,dotohim?這一連串的中毒似乎是取決于最先積聚毒性的細(xì)小植物，然而對(duì)于位于食物鏈的另一端的人類又將會(huì)怎么樣呢？他可能根本不知道這一系列的事件，他裝備了魚具，從清水湖中釣起了一串魚，帶回家煎了做晚餐。大劑量的DDD，或者是反復(fù)的劑量，對(duì)他又會(huì)造成什么后果呢？AlthoughtheCaliforniaDepartmentofPublicHealthprofessedtoseenohazard,neverthelessin1959itrequiredthattheuseofDDDinthelakebestopped.Inviewofthescientificevidenceofthevastbiologicalpotencyofthischemical,theactionseemsaminimumsafetymeasure.ThephysiologicaleffectofDDDisprobablyuniqueamonginsecticides,foritdestroyspartoftheadrenalgland-thecellsoftheouterlayerknownastheadrenalcortex,whichsecretesthehormonecortin.Thisdestructiveeffect,knownsince1948,wasatfirstbelievedtobeconfinedtodogs,becauseitwasnotrevealedinsuchexperimentalanimalsasmonkeys,rats,orrabbits.Itseemedsuggestive,however,thatDDDproducedindogsaconditionverysimilartothatoccurringinmaninthepresenceofAddison'sdisease.RecentmedicalresearchhasrevealedthatDDDdoesstronglysuppressthefunctionofthehumanadrenalcortex.Itscelldestroyingcapacityisnowclinicallyutilizedinthetreatmentofararetypeofcancer,whichdevelopsintheadrenalgland.雖然加利福尼亞州的公共衛(wèi)生部門曾聲稱沒有任何危險(xiǎn)，但在1959年，它仍然要求停止向清水湖投放DDD。鑒于這種藥品經(jīng)科學(xué)證明具有巨大的生物效力，這種措施看起來是起碼的安全措施。在殺蟲劑中，DDD的生理效果可能是獨(dú)一無二的，因?yàn)樗輾Я瞬糠帜I上腺，就是分泌皮質(zhì)荷爾蒙的腎皮質(zhì)的外層細(xì)胞。自1948年這種摧毀力為人們所知以來，它起初被認(rèn)為只限于作用在狗身上，因?yàn)樗诤镒印⒗鲜?、兔子這樣的實(shí)驗(yàn)動(dòng)物身上并沒有體現(xiàn)出來。然而DDD在狗身上造成了一種與人患有阿狄森氏病非常相似的癥狀，這是很有啟發(fā)性的。最近的醫(yī)學(xué)研究表明DDD確實(shí)具有強(qiáng)烈抑制了人類腎上皮質(zhì)的作用，它的這種摧毀細(xì)胞的能力已經(jīng)在治療一種生于腎上腺的罕見癌癥上得到臨床使用。Unit2TextAItwasaveryhappyfuneral,agreatsuccess.EventhesunshonethatdayforthelateHenryGround.Lyinginhiscoffin,hewasprobablyenjoyinghimselftoo.Oncemore,andforthelasttimeonthisearth,hewasthecentreofattention.Yes,itwasaveryjollyaffair.Peoplelaughedandtoldeachotherjokes.Relativeswhohadnotspokenforyearssmiledateachotherandpromisedtostayintouch.And,ofcourse,everyonehadafavouritestorytotellaboutHenry.這是一個(gè)非常歡快的葬禮，一個(gè)巨大的成功。就連天上的太陽都為剛剛過世的亨利·格蘭德燦爛地照耀著。躺在棺材里的亨利或許也在欣賞自己。在這個(gè)世界里最后一次，他，亨利又一次成為人們關(guān)注的中心。是的，這真是一件非常愉快的事情。人們笑著，彼此講著笑話。多少年不來往的親戚們相互微笑著，承諾今后保持聯(lián)絡(luò)。并且，當(dāng)然，每個(gè)人都有自己最為得意的關(guān)于亨利的笑話。"Iwasoncehavingdinnerwithhiminaposhrestaurant.Whenthewine-waiterbroughtthewine,hepouredadropintoHenry'sglassandwaitedwithasuperiorexpressiononhisface,asiftosay'Tasteit,youpeasant.It'sclearthatyouknownothingaboutwine.'SoHenry,insteadoftastingit,thewayanynormalpersonwoulddo,dippedhisthumbandforefingerintothewine.Thenheputhishandtohisearandrolledhisforefingerandthumbtogetherasifhewerelisteningtothequalityofthewine!Thenhenoddedtothewine-waitersolemnly,asiftosay'Yes,that'sfine.Youmayserveit.'Youshouldhaveseenthewine-waiter'sface!AndhowHenrymanagedtokeepastraightface,I'llneverknow!""有一次我們倆在一家豪華的飯店吃飯。送酒的服務(wù)生走過來，倒了一點(diǎn)酒到亨利的杯子里，然后等在一旁，滿臉高人一等的表情，仿佛在說：'嘗嘗吧，鄉(xiāng)巴佬。很顯然你根本不了解葡萄酒。'亨利沒有去嘗酒，在這種場(chǎng)合人們通常都會(huì)嘗一下。而他卻用拇指和食指在酒里沾了一下，接著把手放到耳邊，捻動(dòng)起食指和拇指，仿佛在聆聽酒的質(zhì)量。之后他朝送酒的服務(wù)生嚴(yán)肅地點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭，仿佛在說：'是的，不錯(cuò)。你可以上酒了。'你真該去看一看那個(gè)服務(wù)生的臉！真不知道亨利怎么能繃著臉忍住不笑的。""Yes,oldHenrylovedtopullpeople'slegs.Once,whenhewasinvitedtoanexhibitionofsomeabstractmodernpainter'slatestwork,hemanagedsomehowtogetinthedaybeforeandturnallthepaintingsupsidedown.Theexhibitionranforfourdaysbeforeanyonenoticed!"..."是啊，老亨利就是愛捉弄人。有一次，他被邀請(qǐng)去參觀一個(gè)現(xiàn)代抽象派畫家的近期作品展覽，他居然設(shè)法提前一天進(jìn)入展覽館，把所有的畫都顛倒過來。結(jié)果畫展進(jìn)行了四天，楞沒有人發(fā)現(xiàn)?！?Thestorieswentonevenwhilethecoffinwasbeingloweredintothegrave.Peopleheldhandkerchiefstotheireyes,buttheirtearsweretearsoflaughter,notsadness.Afterwards,therewasafuneralbreakfast,byinvitationonly.ItwasattendedbytwelveofHenry'sclosestfriends.HenryGroundhadaskedhisbrother,Colin,toreadouthiswillduringthefuneralbreakfast.EveryonewascuriousaboutHenryGround'swill.Henryhadbeenindebtallhislife,hadn'the?Whatcouldhepossiblyhavetoleaveinawill?笑話一個(gè)接著一個(gè)，連棺材被放入墓穴時(shí)都沒有停止。人們拿手帕去擦臉、擦眼睛，擦掉的不是悲傷的眼淚，而是笑出的眼淚。稍后，是葬禮早餐，只有接到請(qǐng)柬的人能夠參加。出席者是亨利的十二位最好的朋友。亨利·格蘭德曾囑咐弟弟柯林在葬禮早餐上宣讀他的遺囑。每個(gè)人都想知道亨利的遺囑會(huì)是什么內(nèi)容。亨利可是一輩子債臺(tái)高筑，不是嗎？他的遺囑里還能留什么東西？Colinclearedhisthroat."Ahem!Ifyouareready,ladiesandgentlemen."Everyonesettleddownexpectantly.Colinopenedthewill,andbegantoreaditoutinasingsongvoice.柯林清了清嗓子，"呃哼！你們都準(zhǔn)備好了吧，女士們，先生們。"每個(gè)人都安靜下來，期待著?？铝执蜷_遺囑，開始一板一眼地大聲宣讀："I,HenryGround,beingofsoundmind...lastwillandtestament...doherebybequeath...""我，亨利·格蘭德，心智正?！亓⑦z囑……將此傳與……"Thelegalphrasesrolledonandon,andtheaudiencegrewimpatienttogettotheimportantpart.Itcamesoonenough.WhenColinannouncedthatHenryGround,despitehisreputationasagood-for-nothing,hadinvestedhismoneyverywisely,andwasinfactworthatleastthree-quartersofamillion,everyonegasped.Butwhowasgoingtogetit?Eyesnarrowedandthroatswentdry.法律術(shù)語滾滾而來，聽眾有些不耐煩，急著聽關(guān)鍵的部分。很快就到了。當(dāng)柯林宣布亨利·格蘭德雖然聲名不好，一直被認(rèn)為游手好閑，一事無成，但卻聰明地將錢做了投資，現(xiàn)在實(shí)際上有價(jià)值至少七十五萬的遺產(chǎn)時(shí)，每個(gè)人都倒吸了一口氣。不過，誰將得到這筆錢呢？所有人的眼睛都瞇起來，喉嚨開始發(fā)干。"Youareallsuchdearfriendsofmine,"Colinwenton,readingoutHenryGround'swordsinamonotone,which,inothercircumstances,wouldhavesenteveryonetosleep,"thatIcannotdecidewhichofyoutoleavemymoneyto."Colinpaused.Inthesilence,youcouldhaveheardapindrop.Heresumed."So,dearfriends,Ihavesetyoualittlecompetition.Eachofyouinturnmusttellthefunniestjokeheorshecanthinkof,andtheonewhogetsthemostlaughterwillinheritmyfortune.Colinwillbethesolejudgeofthebestjoke.""你們都是我這么好的朋友，"柯林接著往下讀著亨利·格蘭德的遺言，那種單調(diào)的語調(diào)，換任何別的場(chǎng)合早叫人聽得睡著了。"我真無法決定該將我的錢留給你們當(dāng)中的哪一個(gè)。"柯林停頓了一下。周圍一片沉寂，要是有根針掉到地上也能聽得見。他接著念道，"所以，親愛的朋友們，我給你們?cè)O(shè)立了一場(chǎng)小小的比賽。你們每個(gè)人都要輪流講一個(gè)你認(rèn)為最滑稽的笑話。誰的笑話得到的笑聲最多，誰將繼承我的財(cái)產(chǎn)。柯林將作為惟一裁判，遴選出最佳笑話。""So,ladiesandgentlemen,"saidColin,puttingthewilldownonthetable,"it'suptoyounow.Whowillgofirst?MayIsuggestthatyougoinalphabeticalorderofsurnames?""所以，女士們，先生們，"柯林把遺囑放在桌上，說道，"現(xiàn)在全看你們的了。誰第一個(gè)講呢？我可不可以建議你們按姓氏字母順序進(jìn)行呢？"ThefirstpersonstoodupandtoldaveryfunnyjokeaboutanEnglishmanwhofellinlovewithhisumbrella.Whenhefinished,hewasintearsoflaughter,forhealwayslaughedathisownjokes.Therestofthecompanyremainedabsolutelysilent.Youcouldtellfromtheirredfacesandtheirscrewed-upeyesthattheyfoundthejokefunny,butnotoneofthemwaspreparedtolaugh,andgivehimthechancetowinthecompetition.Thesecondtoldastoryaboutathree-leggedpig,whichwassogoodthat,someyearslater,MGMmadeacartoonofit.Whenshesatdown,theothersburiedtheirfacesintheirhandkerchiefs,coughed,pretendedtosneeze,droppedpencilsunderthetable,anythingtocoveruptheirlaughter.Andsoitwenton,jokeafterwonderfuljoke,thesortofjokesthatmakeyoursidesache.Andnobodydaredtolaugh!第一個(gè)人站起來，他講的是一個(gè)英國(guó)人愛上自己的雨傘的笑話。笑話很滑稽。講完以后，他笑得眼淚直流，因?yàn)樗偸菍?duì)自己的笑話大笑不已。周圍的人保持著絕對(duì)的安靜。從他們漲紅的臉膛和上翻的眼睛你可以看出，他們覺得這個(gè)笑話可笑極了。但是沒有一個(gè)人準(zhǔn)備笑，他們決不會(huì)給他贏得比賽的機(jī)會(huì)。第二個(gè)人講的是一只三條腿的豬的笑話。這個(gè)笑話棒極了，幾年后米高梅公司根據(jù)這個(gè)笑話整理了一部卡通片。她坐下后，其他人都把臉埋進(jìn)手帕里，咳嗽，假裝打噴嚏，有的裝作到桌子下面找鉛筆，凡此種種用以遮掩自己的笑聲。于是，情形就這樣繼續(xù)著，一個(gè)笑話接著一個(gè)笑話，都是能讓人笑痛肚子的笑話，可是沒有一個(gè)人笑出聲來。Youknowwhatit'slikewhenyouwanttolaugh,butcannot.Ithappensinclassroomsallthetime.Somebodystartstogiggle,andthentriestostop.Immediatelythreeorfourotherswillwanttogiggle.Thedesiretolaughspreadslikeaninfection,andsoontheentireclassischoking,whiletheteacherlooksroundbaffled,wonderingwhatallthesnufflingnoisesare.你知道想笑但又不能笑是怎樣一種情景。教室里經(jīng)常發(fā)生這樣的事。開始一個(gè)人咯咯兩聲，接下來拼命想憋住不笑。馬上就會(huì)有三四個(gè)人也想笑出聲來。想笑的欲望就像傳染病一樣，很快整個(gè)班里一片吭哧之聲。而老師則四處張望，不知道那一片抽鼻子的聲音是怎么回事。Well,bythetimethelastjokehadbeentold,everyoneofthetwelvewassittingperfectlystill,desperatelyholdinginthelaughterwhichwasburstingtogetout.Theirsuppressedlaughterhadbuiltupsuchapressure:itwaslikeavolcanoreadytoerupt.不過，到最后一個(gè)笑話講完，全體十二個(gè)人都靜靜地坐著，拼命憋著隨時(shí)可以迸發(fā)的笑聲。他們壓抑的笑聚集成一種巨大的壓力：就像一座隨時(shí)準(zhǔn)備噴發(fā)的火山。Silence.Painfulsilence.沉默，痛苦的沉默。Suddenly,Colinsneezed.Aperfectlyordinarysneeze.Atishoo.Thenhetookoutaridiculouslylargespotted-redhandkerchiefandblewhisnose.Bbbrrrrrrppp.突然，柯林打了個(gè)噴嚏。一個(gè)再平常不過的噴嚏了。啊……嚏……接著他拿出一塊巨大無比的紅點(diǎn)手帕揩鼻子。哼……?！璗hatwasenough.Someoneburstoutlaughing,unabletoholditinanylonger.Thatstartedtheothersoff.Innotime,everyonewasdoubledup,tearsstreamingfromtheireyes,theirshouldersheavingaswaveafterwaveoflaughtereruptedlikelavafromavolcano.Ofcourse,theywerenotjustlaughingatthesneeze,norevenatthetwelvejokes.No,theywerelaughingatthemselvesasitdawnedonthemthatHenryGroundhadledthemintohislast,andfunniest,practicaljoke,settingtheirneedtolaughagainsttheirgreedformoney.這就夠了。有一個(gè)人再也憋不住突然大笑起來，其他人全都跟著笑了。頃刻之間，大家笑彎了腰，眼淚順著臉頰流淌下來。隨著一波一波的笑聲，他們的肩膀起伏著。那笑聲就像火山的熔巖一般不停地噴發(fā)著。當(dāng)然，大家笑的不是柯林的噴嚏，甚至也不是他們那十二個(gè)笑話。不，他們?cè)谛ψ约?，因?yàn)樗麄兌济靼琢?，亨利·格蘭德把他們拉進(jìn)了他一生中最后的也是最滑稽的惡作劇，讓他們用自己對(duì)笑的需求來抵御對(duì)金錢的貪欲。When,atlonglast,thelaughterdieddown,Colinclearedhisthroatoncemore."Forgivemylittlepieceoftheatre,"hesaid,hiseyestwinkling."Ihavebeenpractisingthatsneezeforaweekormore."Hefoldedtheenormoushandkerchiefandstuffeditintohispocket."Henry'sidea,ofcourse,"headded,unnecessarily:alltwelveguestsrealisedtheyhadbeensetupbeautifully.過了很久，終于，笑聲平息下來，柯林又清了清嗓子。"請(qǐng)?jiān)徫疫@個(gè)小小的戲劇表演，"他說著，眨了眨眼睛，"這個(gè)噴嚏我練了一個(gè)星期了。"他把那塊巨大的手帕疊起來，塞回到口袋里。"亨利的主意，"他補(bǔ)充說。其實(shí)這個(gè)補(bǔ)充已經(jīng)沒有必要了，所有十二個(gè)客人都明白：他們這次又被老亨利漂漂亮亮地耍了一把。"Ahem!MayIreadyoutherestofthewillnow?"Colinasked."嗯哼！請(qǐng)?jiān)试S我將遺囑的剩余部分讀完，好嗎？"柯林問道。"Myfriends,"thelastparagraphbegan,"forgiveme,butIcouldn'tresistplayingonelastlittlejokeonyou.It'sgoodtoknowthatyourloveoflaughterfinallyovercameyourloveofmoney.""我的朋友，"最后一段開始了，"原諒我，但我實(shí)在忍不住要跟你們開最后一個(gè)小小的玩笑。知道你們對(duì)笑的熱愛最終戰(zhàn)勝了你們對(duì)金錢的熱愛，這真是好極了。"Colinpaused,lettingthemeaningofthewordssinkin.ThenhereadoutthefinalpartofthelateHenryGround'slastwillandtestament.柯林頓了頓，讓人們慢慢地領(lǐng)悟這句話的意思。接著他大聲讀出剛剛過世的亨利·格蘭德遺囑的最后一部分。"Myfriends,thankyouforlettingmehavethelastlaugh.Asforthemoney:becauseIloveyouall,myfortunewillbedividedequallyamongyou.Enjoyyourshare,andthinkofmewheneveryouhearlaughter.""我的朋友們，感謝你們讓我聽到這最后的笑聲。至于錢，因?yàn)槲覑勰銈兠恳粋€(gè)人，我的財(cái)產(chǎn)將平分給你們。享受你自己的一份，并記住在每次聽到笑聲時(shí)想想我吧。"Thecompanyfellsilent.Forthefirsttimethatday,therewasafeelingofsadnessintheair.大家一片沉寂。那一天里第一次，空氣中漫起了一絲悲傷。TextBThepolicemanonthebeatmoveduptheavenueimpressively.Theimpressivenesswashabitualandnotforshow,forspectatorswerefew.Thetimewasbarely10o'clockatnight,butchillygustsofwindwithatasteofraininthemhadwell-neighdepeopledthestreets.巡邏的警察沿著大街莊嚴(yán)地巡視著。那種莊嚴(yán)是習(xí)慣性的，并不是為了炫耀，因?yàn)榻稚闲腥撕苌?。時(shí)間差不多是晚上十點(diǎn)鐘了。一陣陣寒風(fēng)夾雜著細(xì)雨使得街上幾乎空無一人。Tryingdoorsashewent,twirlinghisclubwithmanyintricateandartfulmovements,turningnowandthentocasthiswatchfuleyesadownthepacificthoroughfare,theofficer,withhisstalwartformandslightswagger,madeafinepictureofaguardianofthepeace.Thevicinitywasonethatkeptearlyhours.Nowandthenyoumightseethelightsofacigarstoreorofanall-nightlunchcounter;butthemajorityofthedoorsbelongedtobusinessplacesthathadlongsincebeenclosed.警察一邊走一邊推一推各家的門（看是否關(guān)緊）。手里的警棍不停地轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)著，玩出各種復(fù)雜的花樣。他不時(shí)地將警覺的眼睛投向這條平靜的大街。這名警察，用他高大結(jié)實(shí)的身形和昂首挺胸的神態(tài)，塑造了一位和平衛(wèi)士的形象。周圍這片地方的人們喜歡早起早睡。偶爾你或許會(huì)看到某個(gè)煙店或通宵食品柜臺(tái)還亮著燈。但是商業(yè)區(qū)里的大部分門都早已關(guān)上了。Whenaboutmidwayofacertainblockthepolicemansuddenlyslowedhiswalk.Inthedoorwayofadarkenedhardwarestoreamanleaned,withanunlightedcigarinhismouth.Asthepolicemanwalkeduptohimthemanspokeupquickly.走到某個(gè)街區(qū)中間的時(shí)候，警察突然放慢了腳步。在一家已關(guān)了燈的五金店門口倚靠著一名男子，嘴上叼著一支沒有點(diǎn)燃的香煙。警察朝他走過去，這個(gè)人立刻響亮地說："It'sallright,officer,"hesaid,reassuringly."I'mjustwaitingforafriend.It'sanappointmentmadetwentyyearsago.Soundsalittlefunnytoyou,doesn'tit?Well,I'llexplainifyou'dliketomakecertainit'sallstraight.Aboutthatlongagothereusedtobearestaurantwherethisstorestands-'BigJoe'Brady'srestaurant.""警官，沒事，"口氣中帶著安慰。"我在這兒等一位朋友。是二十年前約好的。怎么，你覺得有點(diǎn)滑稽，是吧？喔，好吧，如果你真想弄清楚我是不是說了實(shí)話，請(qǐng)聽我一一說來。大約那么長(zhǎng)時(shí)間以前，在現(xiàn)在這家小店這個(gè)地方曾經(jīng)有一家飯店就是'大喬'布雷德飯店。""Untilfiveyearsago,"saidthepoliceman."Itwastorndownthen.""一直到五年前，"警察說，"那時(shí)它被拆掉了。"Themaninthedoorwaystruckamatchandlithiscigar.Thelightshowedapale,square-jawedfacewithkeeneyes,andalittlewhitescarnearhisrighteyebrow.Hisscarfpinwasalargediamond,oddlyset.門口站的人劃著火柴，點(diǎn)著香煙?；鸸饫镉吵龅氖且粡埳n白的方形臉膛，一雙敏銳的眼睛，右邊眉毛上一條小小的白色傷疤。領(lǐng)帶夾上是一顆大大的鉆石，式樣很古怪。"Twentyyearsagotonight,"saidtheman,"Idinedhereat'BigJoe'Brady'swithJimmyWells,mybestchum,andthefinestchapintheworld.HeandIwereraisedhereinNewYork,justliketwobrothers,together.IwaseighteenandJimmywastwenty.ThenextmorningIwastostartfortheWesttomakemyfortune.Youcouldn'thavedraggedJimmyoutofNewYork;hethoughtitwastheonlyplaceonearth.Well,weagreedthatnightthatwewouldmeethereagainexactlytwentyyearsfromthatdateandtime,nomatterwhatourconditionsmightbeorfromwhatdistancewemighthavetocome.Wefiguredthatintwentyyearseachofusoughttohaveourdestinyworkedoutandourfortunesmade,whatevertheyweregoingtobe.""二十