美麗新世界 Brave New World 第1章(1)
第一章
A squat grey building of only thirty-four stories.
一幢灰白色的大樓，矮矮的，只有三十四層。
Over the main entrance the words, central londonhatchery and conditioning centre, and, in a shield,the World State'smotto,community,identity,stability.
門口大書：中央倫敦孵化與條件設(shè)置中心，盾式的圖案上是世界國的格言：社會，本分，穩(wěn)定。
The enormous room on the ground floor faced towards the north.
底樓的巨大廳堂面對著北方。
Cold for all the summer beyond the panes, for all the tropical heat of the room itself, a harshthin light glared through the windows,
盡管對夏天而言窗戶外已經(jīng)很冷，室內(nèi)卻熱得像赤道。薄薄一道森嚴的光耀眼地射進了窗戶，
hungrily seeking some draped lay figure, some pallid shape of academic goose-flesh, butfinding only the glass and nickel and bleakly shining porcelain of a laboratory.
渴望搜索出什么蒼白的、長雞皮疙瘩的穿便衣的非專業(yè)人員的形象，卻只找到了實驗室的玻璃器、鍍鎳柜櫥和閃著凄涼的光的陶瓷。
Wintriness responded to wintriness. The overalls of the workers were white, their hands glovedwith a pale corpse-coloured rubber.
對荒涼的反應(yīng)還是荒涼。工人穿的大褂是白色的，手上戴的橡膠手套死尸般煞白。
The light was frozen, dead, a ghost.
光線凍住了，凍死了，成了幽靈，
Only from the yellow barrels of the microscopes did it borrow a certain rich and livingsubstance,
只有在顯微鏡黃色的鏡頭下，才找到了某種豐腴的有生命的物質(zhì)。
lying along the polished tubes like butter, streak after luscious streak in long recession downthe work tables.
那東西在鏡頭下濃郁得像奶油，躺在實驗桌一排排擦得銀亮的漂亮的試管里，向遼遠處伸展開去。
"And this," said the Director opening the door, "is the Fertilizing Room."
“這里，”主任開了門說，“就是孕育室。”
Bent over their instruments, three hundred Fertilizers were plunged, as the Director ofHatcheries and Conditioning entered the room,
孵化與條件設(shè)置中心主任進屋時三百個孕育員身子都俯在儀器上。
in the scarcely breathing silence, the absent-minded, soliloquizing hum or whistle, ofabsorbed concentration.
有的不聲不氣，全神貫注，幾乎大氣不出;有的則。已不在焉地自語著，哼著，吹著口哨。
A troop of newly arrived students, very young, pink and callow, followed nervously, ratherabjectly, at the Director's heels.
一群新來的學生低聲下氣地跟在主任身后，有些緊張。他們?nèi)挤浅Ｄ贻p，紅撲撲的臉蛋，乳臭未干。
Each of them carried a notebook, in which, whenever the great man spoke, he desperatelyscribbled. Straight from the horse's mouth.
每個人都拿著一個筆記本，那大人物說一句他們就拼命地記一句——從“大人物那里”直接受教是一種難得的特權(quán)。
It was a rare privilege. The D. H. C. for Central London always made a point of personallyconducting his new students round the various departments.
中央倫敦孵化與條件設(shè)置中心主任對親自帶領(lǐng)新生參觀各個部門特別重視。
"Just to give you a general idea," he would explain to them.
“這只是給你們一個全局的印象。”他向他們解釋。
For of course some sort of general idea they must have, if they were to do their workintelligently–though as little of one, if they were to be good and happy members of society, aspossible.
因為既然需要他們動腦筋工作，就得讓他們了解一些全局，盡管他們?nèi)绻氤蔀榱己玫纳鐣蓡T過幸福的日子，還是知道得越少越好。
For particulars, as every one knows, make for virture and happiness; generalities areintellectually necessary evils.
具體細節(jié)通向品德與幸福，而了解全局只是必不可少的邪惡，這個道理凡是聰明人都是明白的。
Not philosophers but fretsawyers and stamp collectors compose the backbone of society.
因為形成社會脊梁的并不是哲學家，而是細木工和玩集郵的人。
"To-morrow," he would add, smiling at them with a slightly menacing geniality, "you'll besettling down to serious work.
“明天”主任總對他們微笑，親切而略帶威脅他說，“你們就要安下心來做嚴肅的工作了。
You won't have time for generalities.
你們不會有多少時間了解全局的。而同時……。”
Meanwhile …" Meanwhile, it was a privilege. Straight from the horse's mouth into the notebook.
而同時，從大人物的嘴直接到筆記本也是一種特權(quán)。
The boys scribbled like mad.
孩子們發(fā)狂地記著筆記。
Tall and rather thin but upright, the Director advanced into the room.
主任往屋里走去。他身材修長，略顯瘦削，身板挺直。
He had a long chin and big rather prominent teeth, just covered, when he was not talking, byhis full, floridly curved lips.
長長的下巴，相當突出的大門牙，不說話時兩片嘴唇勉強能包住，嘴唇豐滿，曲線好看。
Old, young? Thirty? Fifty? Fifty-five? It was hard to say.
他究竟是老還是年輕?是三十歲還是五十歲?或是五十五歲?很難講。
And anyhow the question didn't arise; in this year of stability, A. F. 632, it didn't occur to youto ask it.
不過，在這個安定的年代，福帝紀元六三二年，并沒有誰會想到去問一問。
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