Hiroshima ---- The "Liveliest" City in Japan(excerpts)
广岛--日本“最有活力”的城市(节选) by Jacques Danvoir 雅各•丹瓦
“Hiroshima! Everybody off!” That must be what the man in the Japane stationmaster's uniform shouted, as the fastest train in the world slipped to a stop in Hiroshima Station. I did not understand what he was saying. First of all, becau he was shouting in Japane. And condly, becau I had a lump in my throat and a lot of sad thoughts on my mind that had little to do with anything a Nippon railways official might say. The very act of stepping on this soil, in breathing this air of Hiroshima, was for me a far greater adventure than any trip or any reportorial assignment I'd previously taken. Was I not at the scene of the crime?
“广岛到了!大家请下车!”当世界上最快的高速列车减速驶进广岛车站并渐渐停稳时，那位身着日本火车站站长制服的男人口中喊出的一定是这样的话。我其实并没有听懂他在说些什么，一是因为他是用日语喊的，其次，则是因为我当时心情沉重，喉咙哽噎，忧思万缕，几乎顾
不上去管那日本铁路官员说些什么。踏上这块土地，呼吸着广岛的空气，对我来说这行动本身已是一套令人激动的经历，其意义远远超过我以往所进行的任何一次旅行或采访活动。难道我不就是在犯罪现场吗?
The Japane crowd did not appear to have the same preoccupations that I had. From the sidewalk outside the station, things emed much the same as in other Japane cities. Little girls and elderly ladies in kimonos rubbed shoulders with teenagers and women in western dress. Serious looking men spoke to one another as if they were oblivious of the crowds about them, and bobbed up and down repeatedly in little bows, as they exchanged the ritual formula of gratitude and respect: "Tomo aligato gozayimas." Others were using little red telephones that hung on the facades of grocery stores and tobacco shops.
这儿的日本人看来倒没有我这样的忧伤情绪。从车站外的人行道上看去，这儿的一切似乎都与日本其他城市没什么两样。身着和嘏的小姑娘和上了年纪的太太与西装打扮的少年和妇女摩肩接豫;神情严肃的男人们对周围的人群似乎视而不见，只顾着相互交淡，并不停地
点头弯腰，互致问候：“多么阿里伽多戈扎伊马嘶。”还有人在使用杂货铺和烟草店门前挂着的小巧的红色电话通话。
"Hi! Hi!" said the cab driver, who door popped op李玲蔚
en at the very sight of a traveler. "Hi", or something that sounds very much like it, means "yes". "Can you take me to City Hall?" He grinned at me in the rear-view mirror and repeated "Hi!" "Hi! ’ We t off at top speed through the narrow streets of Hiroshima. The tall buildings of the martyred city flashed by as we lurched from side to side in respon to the driver's sharp twists of the wheel.
“嗨!嗨!”出租汽车司机一看见旅客，就砰地打开车门，这样打着招呼。“嗨”，或者某个发音近似“嗨”的什么词，意思是“对”或“是”。“能送我到市政厅吗?”司机对着后视镜冲我一笑，又连声“嗨!”“嗨!”出租车穿过广岛市区狭窄的街巷全速奔驰，我们的身子随着司机手中方向盘的一次次急转而前俯后仰，东倒西歪。与此同时，这座曾惨遭劫难的城市的高楼大厦则一座座地从我们身边飞掠而过。
Just as I was beginning to find the ride long, the taxi screeched to a halt, and the
driver got out and went over to a policeman to ask the way. As in Tokyo, taxi drivers in Hiroshima often know little of their city, but to avoid loss of face before foreigners, will not admit their ignorance, and will accept any destination without concern for how long it may take them to find it.
正当我开始觉得路程太长时，汽车嘎地一声停了下来，司机下车去向警察问路。就像东京的情形一样，广岛的出租车司机对他们所在的城市往往不太熟悉，但因为怕在外国人面前丢脸，却又从不肯承认这一点。无论乘客指定的目的地在哪里，他们都毫不犹豫地应承下来，根本不考虑自己要花多长时间才能找到目的地。
At last this intermezzo came to an end, and I found mylf in front of the gigantic City Hall. The usher bowed deeply and heaved a long, almost musical sigh, when I showed him the invitation which the mayor had nt me in respon to my request for an interview. "That is not here, sir," he said in English. "The mayor expects you tonight for dinner with other foreigners on the restaurant boat. See? This is where it is.” He sketched a little map for me on the back of my invitation.
这段小插曲后来终于结束了，我也就不知不觉地突然来到了宏伟的市政厅大楼前。当我出示了市长应我的采访要求而发送的请柬后，市政厅接待人员向我深深地鞠了一躬，然后声调悠扬地长叹了一口气。“不是这儿，先生，”他用英语说道。“市长邀请您今天晚上同其他外宾一起在水上餐厅赴宴。您看，就是这儿。”他边说边为我在请柬背面勾划出了一张简略的示意图。
Thanks to his map, I was able to find a taxi driver who could take me straight to the canal embankment , where a sort of barge with a roof like one on a Japane hou was moored . The Japane build their traditional hous on boats when land becomes too expensive. The rather arresting spectacle of little old Japan adrift amid beige concrete skyscrapers is the very symbol of the incessant struggle between the kimono and the miniskirt.
幸亏有了他画的图，我才找到一辆出租车把我直接送到了运河堤岸，那儿停泊着一艘顶篷颇像一般日本房屋屋顶的大游艇。由于地价过于昂贵，日本人便把传统日本式房屋建到了船上。漂浮在水面上的旧式日本小屋夹在一座座灰黄色摩天大楼之间，这一引人注目的景观正象征着和服与超短裙之间持续不断的斗争。
At the door to the restaurant, a stunning, porcelain-faced woman in traditional costume asked me to remove my shoes. This done, I entered one of the low-ceilinged rooms of the little floating hou, treading cautiously on the soft matting and experiencing a twinge of embarrassment at the prospect of meeting the mayor of Hiroshima in my socks.
在水上餐厅的门口，一位身着和服、面色如玉、风姿绰防校园欺凌
约的迎宾女郎告诉我要脱鞋进屋。于是我便脱下鞋子，走进这座水上小屋里的一个低矮的房间，蹑手蹑脚地踏在柔软的榻榻米地席上，因想到要这样穿着袜子去见广岛市长而感到十分困窘不安。
The introductions were made. Most of the guests were Japane, and i大瀑布
t was difficult for me to ask them just why we were gathered here. The few Americans and Germans emed just as inhibited as I was. "Gentlemen," said the mayor, "I am happy to welcome you to Hiroshima."
到场的宾客们被互相介绍了一番。他们大多数都是日本人，我也不好开口去问为什么要请我们来这儿聚会。在场的少数几位美国人和德国人看来也同我一样有些局促不安。“先生们，
”市长开言道，“我很高兴欢迎你们到广岛来。”
"Gentlemen, it is a very great honor to have you here in Hiroshima."
“先生们，你们光临广岛是我们的极大荣幸。”
There were fresh bows, and the faces grew more and more rious each time the name Hiroshima was repeated. "Hiroshima, as you know, is a city familiar to everyone,” continued the mayor.
大家又开始鞠躬。随着广岛这一名字的一次次重复，大家的面容变得越来越严肃起来。“广岛，大家知道，是一座大家都很熟悉的城市，”市长接着说道。
