1、War戰爭1 The passengers had had to stop at a small station in order to continue their journey by the small old-fashioned local train.旅客們不得不在一個小站停留，準備換乘老式小火車繼續他們的旅程。2 At dawn, a bulky woman in deep mourning was hoisted in almost like a shapeless bundle. Behind her, puffing and moaning, followed her hus

2、band a tiny man, thin and weakly, looking shy and uneasy.天亮時，一個深陷哀慟的大塊頭女人被架了進來差不多像一捆沒形的包袱卷。跟在她身后，喘著粗氣呻吟著的，是她的丈夫一個小個子男人，又瘦又弱，表情羞怯不安。3 Having at last taken a seat he politely thanked the passengers who had helped his wife and made room for her. The wife pulled up her collar again to her eyes, so as to

3、 hide her face.終于落了座，他彬彬有禮地感謝幫助他妻子、給她騰地兒的乘客。他妻子又扯起衣領，蓋上眼睛，把臉遮住。4 And he felt it his duty to explain to his traveling companions that the war was taking away from her her only son, a boy of 20 to whom both had devoted their entire life, even allowing him to volunteer for war and now, all of a sudden,

4、 receiving a wire saying that he was due to leave in three days time and asking them to go and see him off.他覺得有義務向旅伴們解釋：戰爭就要奪走她的獨生子，一個二十歲的小伙子，他們兩口子把一輩子的心血都花在他身上，甚至允許他自愿參戰；現在突然接到電報，說他三天之后就要開拔，要他們去為他送行。5 The woman under the big coat was feeling certain that all those explanations would not have arouse

5、d even a shadow of sympathy from those people who most likely were in the same plight as herself. One of them said:裹在大衣下面的女人確信這些解釋全然不會引起這些人哪怕一丁點兒的同情他們極有可能像她自己一樣處在同樣的痛苦當中。他們當中有人說：6 What about me? I have two sons and three nephews at the front.“我呢？我有兩個兒子和三個侄子在前線呢。”7 Maybe, but in our case it is our on

6、ly son, ventured the husband.“也許，可我們的情況是，那是我們唯一的兒子，”那位丈夫壯起膽子說。8 What difference can it make? You may spoil your only son by excessive attentions, but you cannot love him more than you would all your other children if you had any. Parental love is not like bread that can be broken to pieces and split

7、 amongst the children in equal shares. If I am suffering now for my two sons, I am not suffering half for each of them but double .“那又有什么不同呢？你可能會因為過度關心把你的獨生子慣壞，可是如果你有別的孩子，你也不可能愛他勝過愛其他孩子。父母之愛不像面包，可以掰開，平均分給孩子們。如果說現在我正在為我的兩個兒子受煎熬的話，我不是在為他們每人受一半的苦，而是加倍受苦”9 True . true . sighed the embarrassed husband, b

8、ut suppose a father has two sons at the front and he loses one of them, there is still one left to console him . while . “是啊是啊”那位丈夫尷尬地嘆息道，“可是如果一個父親有兩個兒子在前線，他失去其中的一個，還剩一個可以安慰他而”10 Yes, answered the other, a son left to console him but also a son left for whom he must survive, while in the case of the

9、 father of an only son if the son dies the father can die too and put an end to his distress.“對呀，”對方回答說，“剩下一個兒子安慰他，他也要為這個兒子活下去，而獨生子父親的情況是，如果兒子死了，父親也可以一死了卻痛苦。”11 Nonsense, interrupted another traveler, a fat, red-faced man with bloodshot eyes.“胡說，”另一位旅客插話說。這是個肥胖、紅臉的男人，眼睛里布滿血絲。12 He was panting. From

10、his bulging eyes seemed to spurt inner violence of an uncontrolled vitality which his weakened body could hardly contain.他氣喘吁吁的。一股無法控制的活力在內心激烈震蕩，似乎要從他那鼓凸的雙眼里迸發出來，他衰弱的身體幾乎控制不了他的情緒。13 Do we give life to our own children for our own benefit?“我們賦予孩子生命難道就是為了自己得到好處嗎？”14 The other travelers stared at him i

11、n distress. One of them said You are right. Our children do not belong to us, they belong to the country . 其他旅客都悲傷地盯著他。其中一位說：“你是對的。我們的孩子不屬于我們，他們屬于國家”15 Bosh, retorted the fat traveler. Do we think of the country when we give life to our children? Our sons are born because . well, because they must b

12、e born. Now, at our age, the love of our country is still great, of course, but stronger is the love of our children.“胡扯，”胖旅客反駁說?！拔覀兘o孩子生命的時候想到國家了嗎？我們的兒子出生是因為呃，因為他們必須出生?，F在，在我們這個歲數，當然，對國家的愛依然強烈，但對我們孩子的愛更強烈。”16 There was a silence all round, everybody nodding to approve.周圍一片沉默，人人都點頭贊同。17 Why then, cont

13、inued the fat man, shouldnt we consider the feelings of our children? Isnt it natural that at their age they should consider the love for their country even greater than the love for us? Everyone should stop crying; everyone should laugh or at least thank God as I do because my son sent me a message

14、 saying that he was dying satisfied at having ended his life in the best way he could have wished. That is why I do not even wear mourning .“那么，”胖男人繼續說道，“我們為什么不應該考慮孩子們的感情呢？在他們這個年紀，他們理應認為對國家的愛大于對我們的愛，這不是很自然嗎？人人都應當停止哭泣；人人都應當大笑或者至少感謝上帝像我一樣因為我兒子寄給我一封信，說他就要死了，并為能以自己所希望的最佳方式結束生命而感到滿足。這就是為什么我甚至都沒有穿喪服”18 He

15、 shook his light fawn coat as to show it; his livid lip over his missing teeth was trembling, his eyes were watery and motionless, and soon after he ended with a shrill laugh which might well have been a sob.他抖抖他那淺黃褐色大衣，好像是在展示它；他豁牙上鐵青的嘴唇在顫抖；他的雙眼濕潤、目光呆滯；很快他尖聲大笑了一下也可能是一聲抽泣，算是說完了。19 Quite so . quite so

16、 . agreed the others.“的確如此的確如此”其他人表示同意。20 The woman had tried to find in the words of her husband and her friends something to console her in her deep sorrow, something that might show her how a mother should resign herself to send her son not even to death but to a probable danger of life.那個女人一直試圖從

17、她丈夫和朋友的話里找些什么來安慰深陷憂傷的自己，以明白一個母親應該怎樣聽天由命，她并不是送兒子去死，而是送他去一個極可能有生命危險的地方。21 Yet not a word had she found amongst the many that had been said and her grief had been greater in seeing that nobody could share her feelings.然而她在人們所說的許多話里并未找到一句安慰的話。眼看沒有人可以與她分憂，她就愈發痛苦了。22 But now the words of the traveler amaz

18、ed and almost stunned her. She suddenly realized that it wasnt the others who could not understand her but herself who could not rise up to the same height of those fathers and mothers willing to resign themselves, without crying, not only to the departure of their sons but even to their death.可是現在，

19、那旅客的話讓她吃驚，幾乎讓她震驚。她忽然意識到，不是別人不理解她，而是她自己不能達到那些父母的高度；他們沒有哭泣，而是聽天由命，不僅接受兒子的離去，甚至還接受兒子的死。23 She bent over from her corner trying to listen with great attention to the details which the fat man was giving to his companions about the way his son had fallen as a hero, for his King and his country, happy and

20、 without regrets. It seemed to her that she had stumbled into a world she had never dreamt of.她從角落里欠起身來，想仔細聽清楚。那個胖男人正在給旅伴們講述他兒子如何為國王和國家戰死而成為英雄，幸福且沒有遺憾。她覺得自己跌跌撞撞走進了一個從未夢見過的世界里。24 Then suddenly, just as if she had heard nothing of what had been said and almost as if waking up from a dream, she turned to the old man, and inquired:然后突然，就好像她根本沒聽見別人說的話，仿佛剛從睡夢中醒來，她轉向那位老人，問道：25 Then