牛津書蟲系列 弗蘭肯斯坦 03

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For seventeen years my life was very happy. Then the first sad thing happened. My mother became very ill，and soon she knew that she was dying. Just before she died，she asked Elizabeth and me to go to her room. She held our hands and said：

在17年的生命歷程中我都很幸福。后來第一件悲傷的事發(fā)生了。我母親病得很厲害，不久她便知道自己將不久于人世。就在她去世之前，她把伊麗莎白和我叫到她的房間。她抓住我們的手說道：

‘My children， I am very happy because you love each other，and because one day you will get married. Everyone in the family loves you， Elizabeth. Will you take my place in the family， my dear? I can die happy if you will look after them when I have gone.’

“孩子們，你們彼此相愛并且將會結婚，我因此非常高興。家里的每個人都很愛你，伊麗莎白。你愿意取代我在家中的位置嗎，親愛的?如果你在我走后能照顧他們，我將會走得很幸福。”

My mother died， and we were very sad， because we loved her dearly Elizabeth was brave and helped us; her sweet smile gave us some happiness in the unhappy days after my mother's death.

我母親死了，我們都非常傷心，因為我們非常愛她。伊麗莎白很勇敢并幫著我們;她那甜美的微笑在母親死后的那些不快的日子里給我們帶來了一些快樂。

The time came for me to go to university.I did not want to leave my sad family， but we all knew that I should go. It was hard to leave， too， because the parents of my good friend Henry Clerval would not let him go to university with me. And so I had to go alone.

到了我該上大學的時候了。我不想離開我那悲傷的家，可我們都知道我應該去。離別也是很難的，因為我的好朋友克勒沃的父母不讓他和我一起去上大學。這樣我只能獨自一人去了。

On my first day at the university I met my teacher， Professor Waldman， who was one of the greatest scientists in the world. He gave a wonderful talk to all the students who were starting at the university. He ended his talk by saying：‘Some of you will become the great scientists of tomorrow. You must study hard and discover everything that you can. That is why God made you intelligent—to help other people.’

大學的第一天我遇到了我的老師沃得曼教授，他是世界上最偉大的科學家之一。他給我們所有開始大學生活的學生做了一次精彩的演講。他在結束講話時說：“你們中的一些人將成為明天的科學家。你們必須努力學習并且去揭示你們所能揭示的事物。這就是上帝為什么給了你們智慧——去幫助他人。”

After the professor's talk，I thought very carefully.I remembered the storm when I was fifteen. I remembered how the lightning had destroyed the tree.I wanted to use electricity to help people， and I wanted to discover the secrets of life.I decided to work on these two things. I did not know then that my work would destroy me and the people that I loved.

教授演講過后，我進行了非常認真的思考。我想起了我15歲時的那場暴風雨。我記得那次的閃電是如何摧毀了那棵樹的。我想利用電去幫助人們，我還想去揭示生命的奧秘。我決心去從事這兩項工作。我當時沒有想到我的工作會毀了我還有我所愛的人們。

I started work the next day. I worked very hard and soon Professor Waldman and I realized that I could learn to be a very good scientist.

第二天我就開始了工作。我工作非常努力，我和沃得曼教授不久便意識到我可以通過學習成為一名出色的科學家。

The professor helped me very much， and other important scientists who were his friends helped me，too. I was interested in my work and I did not take one day's holiday during the next two years. I did not go home， and my letters to my family were very short.

教授幫了我很多的忙，那些是教授的朋友的、重要的科學家們也幫助過我。我對我的工作很感興趣，在接下來的兩年里我沒有休過一天假。我沒有回過家，給家里寫的信也非常短。

After two years I had discovered many things and I built a scientific machine that was better than anything in the university. My machine would help me answer the most important question of all. How does life begin? Is it possible to put life into dead things? To answer these questions about life I had to learn first about death.I had to watch bodies from the moment when they died and the warm life left them. In the hospital and in the university， I watched the dying and the dead.Day after day， month after month， I followed death.It was a dark and terrible time.

兩年后我發(fā)現(xiàn)了很多的事物并建造了一臺比大學里的任何機器都好的科學機器。我的機器能幫助我回答最重要的問題。生命是如何開始的?可以把生命注入無生命的東西中去嗎?要回答有關生命的這些問題我首先得了解死亡。我得從他們剛死、滾熱的生命離開人體的那一剎那起進行觀察。在醫(yī)院里和大學里，我觀察著垂死的人和已死的人。日復一日、月復一月，我都在跟蹤死亡。那是黑暗和恐懼的日子。

Then one day， the answer came to me. Suddenly I was sure that I knew the secret of life. I knew that I could put life into a body that was not alive.

后來有一天我得到了答案。我突然間確信自己懂得了生命的奧秘。我知道我能將生命注入一個無生命的身體中去。

I worked harder and harder now. I slept for only a short time each night， and I did not eat much food.I wrote to my family less often. But they loved me and did not stop writing to me.They said they understood how busy I was. They did not want me to stop work to write or to see them. They would wait until I had more time. They hoped to see me very soon.

現(xiàn)在我工作越來越努力。每天晚上我只睡很短的時間，吃的東西也很少。我給家里寫的信更加少了。但是家里的人愛我，他們沒有停止給我寫信。他們說他們理解我有多忙。他們不想讓我停止工作而去給他們寫信或是去看望他們。他們愿意等到我有時間的時候再說。他們希望很快見到我。

The professors realized that I was doing very important work， and so they gave me my own laboratory. There was a small flat above the laboratory， where I lived， and sometimes I stayed inside the building for a week and did not go out.

教授們意識到我在從事一項重要的工作，因而給了我一間實驗室。實驗室的上面有一個小的套房，我就住在里面;有時候我一個星期都呆在那座建筑物里不出去。

Above the laboratory I built a very tall mast. It was 150metres high， and higher than the tallest building in the city.The mast could catch lightning and could send the electricity down to my machine in the laboratory. I had never forgotten the lightning that had destroyed the tree. There had been so much power in the electricity of that lightning. I believed I could use that electricity to give life to things that were dead.

我在實驗室的上方建起了一個很高的桿子。它有150米高，比全城最高的建筑物都要高。那個桿子能夠“捕獲”閃電并把電送到我實驗室的機器上。我從未忘記摧毀那棵樹的閃電。那次閃電中的電曾有那么大的力量。我相信我可以利用電給無生命的東西注以生命。

I will say no more than that. The secret of my machine must die with me. I was a very clever scientist， but I did not realize then what a terrible mistake I was making.

我不想再多說什么了。我的機器的秘密必須隨我一起消亡。我是個很聰明的科學家，可我那時沒有意識到我在犯多么可怕的錯誤。