文/余潔
樂觀勇敢逆境求生
——《魯濱遜漂流記》簡介
文/余潔
責(zé)任編輯:李丁文
Part 1
I was born in the year 1632,in the city of York,of a good family,though not of that country, my father being a foreigner of Bremen,who settled first at Hull.He got a good estate by merchandise, and leaving off his trade,lived afterwards at York, fromwhencehehadmarriedmymother,whose relations were named Robinson,a very good family inthatcountry,andfromwhomIwascalled Robinson Kreutznaer;but,by the usual corruption of words in England,we are now called-nay we call ourselves and write our name–Crusoe;and so my companions always called me.
I had two elder brothers,one of whom was lieutenant-colonel to an English regiment of foot in Flanders,formerly commanded by the famous Colonel Lockhart,and was killed at the battle near Dunkirk against the Spaniards.What became of my secondbrother I never knew,any more than my father or mother knew what became of me.
Being the third son of the family and not bred to any trade,my head began to be filled very early with rambling thoughts.My father,who was very ancient,had given me a competent share of learning, as far as house-education and a country free school generally go,and designed me for the law;but I would be satisfied with nothing but going to sea;and my inclination to this led me so strongly against thewill,nay,thecommandsofmyfather,and againstalltheentreatiesandpersuasionsofmy mother and other friends,that there seemed to be something fatal in that propensity of nature,tending directly to the life of misery which was to befall me.
My father,a wise and grave man,gave me seriousandexcellentcounselagainstwhathe foresaw was my design.He called me one morning into his chamber,where he was confined by the gout,and expostulated very warmly with me upon this subject.He asked me what reasons,more than amerewanderinginclination,Ihadforleaving father’s house and my native country,where I might be well introduced,and had a prospect of raising my fortune by application and industry,with a life of ease and pleasure.He told me it was men of desperatefortunesononehand,orofaspiring, superiorfortunesontheother,whowentabroad upon adventures,to rise by enterprise,and make themselves famous in undertakings of a nature out of the common road;that these things were all either too far above me or too far below me;that mine was the middle state,or what might be called the upper station of low life,which he had found,by long experience,was the best state in the world,the most suited to human happiness,not exposed to the miseries and hardships,the labour and sufferings of the mechanic part of mankind,and not embarrassedwith the pride,luxury,ambition,and envy of the upper part of mankind.He told me I might judge of the happiness of this state by this one thing-viz, that this was the state of life which all other people envied;thatkingshavefrequentlylamentedthe miserable consequence of being born to great things, and wished they had been placed in the middle of the two extremes,between the mean and the great; that the wise man gave his testimony to this,as the standard of felicity,when he prayed to have neither poverty nor riches.
第1章
1632年,我生在約克市一個上流社會的家庭。我們不是本地人。父親是德國不來梅市人。他移居英國后,先住在赫爾市,經(jīng)商發(fā)家后就收了生意,最后搬到約克市定居,并在那兒娶了我母親。母親娘家姓魯濱遜,是當(dāng)?shù)氐拿T望族,因而給我取名叫魯濱遜·克羅伊茨內(nèi)。由于英國人一讀“克羅伊茨內(nèi)”這個德國姓,發(fā)音就走樣,結(jié)果大家就叫我們“克羅索”,以至連我們自己也這么叫,這么寫了。所以,我的朋友們都叫我克羅索。
我有兩個哥哥。大哥是駐佛蘭德的英國步兵團(tuán)中校。著名的洛克哈特上校曾帶領(lǐng)過這支部隊(duì)。大哥是在敦刻爾克附近與西班牙人作戰(zhàn)時陣亡的。至于二哥的下落,我至今一無所知,就像我父母對我后來的境況也全然不知一樣。
我是家里的小兒子,父母親沒讓我學(xué)謀生的手藝,因此從小只是喜歡胡思亂想,一心想出洋遠(yuǎn)游。當(dāng)時,我父親年事已高,但他還是讓我受了相當(dāng)不錯的教育。他曾送我去寄宿學(xué)校就讀,還讓我上免費(fèi)學(xué)校接受鄉(xiāng)村義務(wù)教育,一心一意想要我將來學(xué)法律。但我對一切都沒有興趣,只是想航海。我完全不顧父愿,甚至違抗父命,也全然不聽母親的懇求和朋友們的勸阻。我的這種天性,似乎注定了我未來不幸的命運(yùn)。
我父親頭腦聰明,為人謹(jǐn)慎。他預(yù)見到我的意圖必然會給我?guī)聿恍?,就時常嚴(yán)肅地教導(dǎo)我,并給了我不少有益的忠告。一天早晨,他把我叫進(jìn)他的臥室。因?yàn)?,那時他正好痛風(fēng)病發(fā)作,行動不便。他十分懇切地對我規(guī)勸了一番。他問我,除了為滿足我自己漫游四海的癖好外,究竟有什么理由要離棄父母,背井離鄉(xiāng)呢?在家鄉(xiāng),我可以經(jīng)人引薦,在社會上立身。如果我自己勤奮努力,將來完全可以發(fā)家致富,過上安逸快活的日子。他對我說,一般出洋冒險的人,不是窮得身無分文,就是妄想暴富;他們野心勃勃,想以非凡的事業(yè)揚(yáng)名于世。但對我來說,這樣做既不值得,也無必要。就我的社會地位而言,正好介于兩者之間,即一般所說的中間地位。從他長期的經(jīng)驗(yàn)判斷,這是世界上最好的階層,這種中間地位也最能使人幸福。他們既不必像下層大眾從事艱苦的體力勞動而生活依舊無著,也不會像那些上層人物因驕奢淫逸、野心勃勃和相互傾軋而弄得心力交瘁。他說,我自己可以從下面的事實(shí)中認(rèn)識到,中間地位的生活確實(shí)幸福無比;這就是,人人羨慕這種地位,許多帝王都感嘆其高貴的出身給他們帶來的不幸后果,恨不得自己出生于貧賤與高貴之間的中間階層。明智的人也證明,中間階層的人能獲得真正的幸福。就像《圣經(jīng)》中的智者也曾祈禱:“使我既不貧窮,也不富裕。”
Tips for learning:
1.He got a good estate by merchandise,and leaving off his trade,lived afterwards at York,from whence he had married my mother,whose relations were named Robinson,a very good family in that country,and from whom I was called Robinson Kreutznaer。(翻譯見原文)
1)leave off意為“停止”,常見的與leave有關(guān)的短語包括:leave for動身去……;leave on留住……;leave over剩下;留下。如:Tom and Sam are leaving for next destination the following morning.(第二天早上湯姆和山姆準(zhǔn)備動身去下一個目的地。)
2)whose relations were named Robinson是一個由“whose+名詞”引導(dǎo)的定語從句,whose是關(guān)系代詞,指my mother,作定語。如:It’s said that there is a boy whose father is a famous actor in our class.(據(jù)說,班上有個男孩的父親是一位著名的演員。)
2.I had two elder brothers,one of whom was lieutenant-colonel to an English regiment of foot in Flanders,formerly commanded by the famous Colonel Lockhart,and was killed at the battle near Dunkirk against the Spaniards.(翻譯見原文)
1)elder是old的比較級,僅用于同一家庭成員的比較。作名詞,有“長者;長輩”等意思。作形容詞,意為“年長的”。如:I am six years elder than my brother.
2)one of whom was lieutenant-colonel to an English regiment of foot in Flanders中,one of whom表示所屬關(guān)系。在定語從句中表示所屬關(guān)系,先行詞為人時,用“名詞/代詞/數(shù)詞+of+whom”結(jié)構(gòu);先行詞為物時,用“名詞/代詞/數(shù)詞+of+which”結(jié)構(gòu),of前表示部分,of后表示整體。如:There are 20 teachers in this school,five of whom are women teachers./The book contains 50 poems,most of which were written in the 1930’s.
3.I would be satisfied with nothing but going to sea.(翻譯見原文)
1)satisfied是形容詞,意為“感到滿意的”,常用搭配有:be satisfied with。With是介詞,可接名詞、代詞或動名詞。如:Though he lived in the hotel for the first time,he was satisfied with their service.
2)but除了“但是”之外,還有“除……以外”的意思。
《魯濱遜漂流記》(Robinson Crusoe)為英國啟蒙時期現(xiàn)實(shí)主義小說的奠基人、被譽(yù)為歐洲“小說之父”“英國小說之父”和“英國報(bào)紙之父”的丹尼爾·笛福所著。在其代表作《魯濱遜漂流記》中,樂觀又勇敢的魯濱遜通過努力,靠智慧和勇氣戰(zhàn)勝了困難,表現(xiàn)了當(dāng)時追求冒險、倡導(dǎo)個人奮斗的社會風(fēng)氣。
魯濱遜·克羅索出生于一個體面的商人家庭,渴望航海,一心想去海外見識一番。他偷偷瞞著父親出海,到了倫敦,從那購買了一些假珠子、玩具等到非洲做生意。第四次航海時,船在途中遇到風(fēng)暴觸礁,船上同伴全部遇難,唯有魯濱遜幸存,只身漂流到一個荒無人煙的孤島上。他用沉船的桅桿做了木筏,一次又一次地把船上的食物、衣服、槍支彈藥等運(yùn)到岸上,并在小山邊搭起帳篷,定居下來。接著他用削尖的木樁在帳篷周圍圍上柵欄,在帳篷后挖洞居住。他用簡單的工具制作桌、椅等家具,獵野味為食,飲溪里的淡水,度過了最初遇到的困難。
他開始在島上種植大麥和稻子,自制木臼、木杵、篩子,加工面粉,烘出了粗糙的面包。他捕捉并馴養(yǎng)野山羊,讓其繁殖。還在荒島的另一端建了鄉(xiāng)間別墅和養(yǎng)殖場。即使如此,魯濱遜也一直沒有放棄尋找離開孤島的機(jī)會。他砍倒一棵大樹,花了五六個月的時間做成了一只獨(dú)木舟。但船實(shí)在太重,無法拖下海去,他前功盡棄,只好重新另造一只小船。魯濱遜在島上獨(dú)自生活了15年后,一天,他發(fā)現(xiàn)島邊海岸上有一個腳印。不久,他又發(fā)現(xiàn)人骨和生過火的痕跡,原來外島的一群野人曾在這里舉行過人肉宴。魯濱遜驚愕萬分。此后,他便一直保持警惕,更加留心周圍的事物。直到第24年,島上又來了一群野人,帶著準(zhǔn)備殺死并吃掉的俘虜。魯濱遜發(fā)現(xiàn)后,救出了其中的一個。因?yàn)槟且惶焓切瞧谖?,所以魯濱遜把被救的俘虜取名為“星期五”。此后,星期五成了魯濱遜忠實(shí)的仆人和朋友。接著,魯濱遜帶著星期五救出了一個西班牙人和星期五的父親。不久,有條英國船在島附近停泊,船上水手叛亂,把船長等三人拋棄在島上。魯濱遜與星期五幫助船長制服了那幫叛亂水手,奪回了船只。他把那幫水手留在島上,自己帶著星期五和船長等離開荒島回到英國。此時魯濱遜已離家35年(在島上住了28年)。他在英國結(jié)了婚,生了三個孩子。妻子死后,魯濱遜又一次出海經(jīng)商,路經(jīng)他住過的荒島,這時留在島上的水手和西班牙人都已安家,繁衍生息。魯濱遜又送去一些新的移民,將島上的土地分給他們,并留給他們各種日用必需品,滿意地離開了小島。
余潔:畢業(yè)于中南大學(xué),獲管理學(xué)學(xué)士學(xué)位、英語語言文學(xué)學(xué)士學(xué)位和英語語言文學(xué)碩士學(xué)位?,F(xiàn)于武漢大學(xué)外國語學(xué)院攻讀博士學(xué)位。