雙語對照 | 書蟲二級《長池村的故事》：1.去長池村的馬車

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The Wagon to Longpuddle

去長池村的馬車

It is a Saturday afternoon in autumn, in the High Street of a well-known town. A large carrier's wagon stands outside the Town Hall, and the horses wait quietly, eating from their nose-bags. On the side of the wagon, in large yellow letters, are the words, 'BURTHEN, CARRIER TO LONGPUDDLE.'

這是秋天一個周六的下午，一個眾所周知的小鎮(zhèn)上，一輛運客的馬車正停在大路上，就在鎮(zhèn)公所門口，拉車的幾匹馬安靜地等在那里，就著馬糧袋吃東西。馬車的一側(cè)用黃色的大字寫著“伯森，去往長池村的馬車”。

It is now half-past three by the clock on the Town Hall, and the wagon will leave at four. Slowly, people begin to arrive and take their seats. First, two women climb up, and then a third, who is the postmistress at Longpuddle. At five minutes to four, more people arrive. There is Mr Profitt, the schoolteacher, and Christopher Twink, the builder, with his old father. Then come a farmer and his wife, and last of all, Mr Flaxton, the church clerk.

這會兒，鎮(zhèn)公所的大鐘指到了3點半，馬車準備4點出發(fā)。漸漸地，開始有人來搭車，各自找了座位安頓下來。最先上來的是兩位婦人，接著上來的是長池村郵局的女局長。差5分4點的時候，又來了幾位乘客，有學(xué)校教師普羅菲特先生，建筑工克里斯托弗·特溫克和他的老爹。接著又來了一個農(nóng)夫和他的老婆，最后來的是教堂執(zhí)事弗拉克斯頓先生。

By now Burthen, the carrier, is getting the horses ready, and soon he climbs up to the driving seat.

這個時候，車夫伯森正在給馬做準備，不一會兒他自己也登上了車夫的座位。

'Is everybody here?' he asks the passengers.

“都到齊了嗎?”他問乘客們。

The people who are not there do not reply, of course, and a minute or two later the wagon begins to move along the High Street. When it comes to the bridge over the river at the bottom end of the town, the postmistress suddenly calls out to the carrier.

當(dāng)然，沒到的人也沒辦法回答他，于是一兩分鐘之后馬車開始沿著大路出發(fā)了。馬車走到鎮(zhèn)子盡頭的小河，正在過橋的時候，郵局女局長突然叫住了車夫。

'Mr Burthen,' she says. 'There's a man calling you, over there by the corner. I think he wants you to stop for him.'

“伯森先生，”她說，“那邊的拐角上有個人在叫你。我想他可能想讓你等他一下。”

Burthen stops the wagon, and waits while the man comes towards them. 'Now who's that, then?' he says. 'That's not a Longpuddle man.'

伯森停下馬車，等那人趕過來。“那人是誰?”他說，“他不是長池村的人。”

'I've never seen him before,' says the schoolteacher.

“我以前從沒見過他。”學(xué)校教師說。

Then the stranger arrives. 'Can you take another passenger for Longpuddle?' he asks.

陌生人趕到馬車跟前，問：“你們能再搭一個人去長池村嗎?”

'We can take one more,' says the carrier. 'Where are you from, sir? You're not from round here, are you?'

“我們可以再搭一個人，”車夫說，“你是從哪兒來的，先生?你不是這附近的人，對吧?”

'I am,' says the stranger. 'I was born at Longpuddle, and my father and grandfather before me.'

“我是這兒的人，”陌生人說，“我就生在長池村，我的父親和祖父也都生在那里。”

The postmistress is watching him with interest. 'Oh!' she says suddenly. 'I know who you are! You're John Lackland's son — he who went to America thirty years ago with his wife and family.'

郵局女局長饒有興趣地打量著他。“哦!”她突然說，“我知道你是誰了!你是約翰·拉克蘭的兒子，他30年前帶著老婆孩子去了美國。”

'That's right,' says the stranger, smiling. 'John Lackland was my father. And now I've come home to have a look at the old village, and find some old friends. Are the same families still living there?'

“沒錯，”陌生人笑著說，“約翰·拉克蘭是我父親。現(xiàn)在我回家來看看老村子，拜訪幾位老朋友。過去的那些人家還住在那兒吧?”

'Many of them are,' says the church clerk. 'Which names do you remember?'

“許多人家都還在，”教堂執(zhí)事說，“你都記得哪些名字?”

'There was a boy called Tony Kytes, I remember.'

“我記得過去有個男孩叫托尼·凱茨。”

'Oh yes,' says the clerk. 'Tony Kytes is a married man now. Lives over at Mellstock, I think.'

“哦，是的，”教堂執(zhí)事說，“托尼·凱茨現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)結(jié)了婚。我想他搬到麥爾斯托克去了。”

'And he nearly got married to three women,' laughs the carrier. 'There's a good story about Tony and all his young women.'

“而且他差點兒娶了三個老婆，”車夫哈哈大笑起來，“托尼和他那幾個姑娘可有一段兒不錯的故事。”

'Tell me about it,' says John Lackland's son.

“跟我說說。”約翰·拉克蘭的兒子說。

And this is the carrier's story.

于是，車夫講起了這個故事。