第二冊第19篇：海德公園里的竊賊

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L.G. Alexander L.G.亞歷山大

Loud shouting in the distance made us look up. This was nothing unusual for Hyde Park, for many people come here on a Sunday to air their views, and shouting is the only means by which they can make themselves heard. We had become part of a large crowd which moved from speaker to speaker to hear what each one had to say. So far, we had listened to political speeches, serious debates, and lonely singers wailing dolefully to themselves. Now the newcomer attracted our attention, mainly because of the extreme loudness of his voice.

遠處的大聲叫嚷引起我們抬頭看望。這在海德公園是很尋常的事，因為有許多人星期天來這里發(fā)表自己的觀點，而只有大聲叫喊才能使別人聽清楚他們講話。我們隨著人群在一個又一個演講者的跟前擁過去，聽他們各自要說些什么。到這時為止，我們已經(jīng)聽了一些政治演說，嚴肅的辯論以及孤獨的歌唱者自悲自嘆的哀唱。忽然，一個新來者引起了我們的注意，這主要是因為他的嗓門特別高。

We soon discovered that the cause of all this commotion was certainly the ugliest fellow we had ever seen. He was completely bald and his face was painted red and blue so that he looked rather like a Red Indian chieftain. When a reasonable crowd had gathered, the man quietened down, surveyed everybody with some contempt, and proceeded to undo his shirt. Soon he was displaying a huge, coloured tattoo which covered the whole of his back and chest. When the man was satisfied that he had produced the desired effect on the crowd, he explained quite plainly that he was a burglar and wanted to say a few words about his trade. He commenced by criticizing the police severely tor impeding him in his work. Policemen, he explained, were ungrateful to him, because it was people like himself who kept them busy. These remarks so astonished the crowd, that it drew round him closer, anxious to hear more. The man began describing the art of getting through a closed window at night, when a formidable old lady shook her umbrella at him and said that if he did not go away, she would call a policeman. The burglar calmly pointed out that the police were his friends, and only took an interest in him when he was about his 'lawful' work(2). Glaring at the crowd, he said that if anyone else had any further comments to make, he would be glad to meet him in the dark(3). The crowd laughed uneasily, but the old lady stalked off(4) angrily to fetch a policeman. We waited expectantly to see what would happen as the burglar continued to explain how easy it was to pick a lock(5) with a hairpin.

我們不久就發(fā)覺，引起這場騷動的，肯定是那個我們有生以來所見到的第一號丑漢。他完全禿了頂，滿臉涂著紅藍兩色，看上去活象一個印第安人的酋長。當一個相當大的人群匯攏以后，他便安靜下來，用帶有幾分輕蔑的目光打量了一下每個人，接著開始脫襯衣。不一會，他向眾人展示了滿布他前胸和后背的彩色文身。當他相信在群眾中已經(jīng)產(chǎn)生了預期的效果時，便很坦率地表明自己是個撬竊賊，想就自己所干的那一行談一些想法。他一開始就嚴厲地批評警察妨礙他的工作。他解釋道，警察對他忘恩負義，因為正是象他這種人才使警察忙忙碌碌。他的這一番話使周圍的人感到驚訝，就朝他靠得更近，急于想聽聽下文。那人開始描述他深夜撬窗入室的竅門，而就在那時，一個威風凜凜的老太婆朝他揮舞著雨傘，并且說，要是他不離開的話，她就要去叫警察。竊賊若無其事地向她指出;警察都是他的朋友，只有當他在干他的"法定的"工作時，他們才對他感興趣。竊賊虎視眈眈地望著人群說，假若有什么人還有意見要發(fā)表的話，他將樂意與他秘密會談。人群中發(fā)出了不自然的笑聲，而那個老太婆卻憤然大踏步離開了人群去叫警察。當竊賊接下去講述用發(fā)夾撬開一把鎖是如何輕而易舉的時候，我們倒很想瞧一瞧結(jié)局將會怎樣。

英文注釋：

(1) Hyde Park：倫敦的海德公園，因常常舉行各種政治性集會而著稱。

(2) was about his…work：在從事于自己的……工作。

(3)to meet him in the dark：與他秘密會淡。in the dark此處解作"不為人知"，"偷偷地"。

(4)stalked off;高視闊步地離去。

(5)pick a lock;撬鎖。