《天蓝色的彼岸》(The Great Blue Yonder)是英国作家亚历克斯·希勒(Alex Shearer)的一部力作,在欧美和日本极为畅销。英国《收藏杂志》(Books for Keeps)这样评论此书:“这是一本富于幽默感和感人至深的书。”小说描写了小主人公哈里作为幽灵在世间游荡的经历,其间既有好笑的场景,又有感人的亲情故事。它不仅是一部小说,同时也是对死亡的“一种敏感、温柔的探讨”(The Times《泰晤士报》),是一次“温暖的关于生命和死亡的启蒙”(作家安妮宝贝)。工作小结
I felt suddenly cold inside. I wished I had some kind of ghostly coat to wrap around me. I felt cold and lonely and almost wanted to cry. And it was the first time I'd really felt like that, since I'd been dead.
会说话的眼睛 我突然感到体内升起一股寒意,真希望有一件幽灵大衣把我裹起来。我感觉又冷又孤独,几乎有种要哭的冲动。自从死了以后,我还是第一次有这种感觉。
天蓝色的彼岸 The Great Blue Yonder But I knew that whatever the feelings were, I couldn't give in to them. I had to keep a grip on mylf and not go to pieces1). Becau a ghost isn't much u to anyone at the best of times2), but a ghost who's cracked up3) and gone to pieces is no u at all.
但是我知道,无论这些是什么样的感觉,我都不能让自己屈服。我必须控制住自己,不让自己垮掉。因为一个幽灵即便在最好的情况下也不会对别人有什么用处,要是垮掉了,就彻底没用了。
I found mylf going by the cathedral4), and I looked up at the clock. The schools were emptying. The streets filled up with kids. Kids with lunch boxes, kids with satchels5), kids in uniforms, kids in jeans and trainers6).
我发现自己正经过大教堂,于是抬头看了看教堂上面的钟。这个点学校里都没人了。大街上到处都能看见小孩子:带着午餐盒的孩子,背着书包的孩子,穿着校服的孩子,穿着牛仔裤和运动鞋的孩子。
A ghostly lump7) came to my ghostly throat. I felt angry and sad and bitter and tearful all at once8). For the first time since I'd been dead I wanted to shout and scream and rage and yell out, "It's not right! It's not fair! I want my life back! I was only a kid. I shouldn't have had to die. It's all that stupid lorry's9) fault. It wasn't even as if I was to blame. It's not as if I even derved10) it! It's so unfair!"
我的幽灵喉咙突然像被什么可怕的东西哽住了。我一时之间百感交集,又气愤,又伤心,又痛苦,不禁泪盈满眶。自从死了以后,我第一次有冲动想要大声喊叫,想要怒吼发泄:“这不对!这不公平!我要活过来!我还只是个孩子。我不该死。这都是那辆笨卡车的错。根本不怪我!我完全不该死!这太不公平了!”小本创业
But then I thought,
well, who does derve it? Who does derve to have bad things happen to them? Nobody really. And I suppo that things just happen whether you derve them or not.
可我转念又想,那么,谁又该死呢?谁又活该碰上那些倒霉的事呢?谁都不该,真的。我猜,事情就是这样,不管是不是你应受的,该发生的照样发生。
It isn't fair though, I thought, as I watched all the children go by. They walked around me and through me, laughing and messing about11), fighting even, some of them, or just talking to their mates, having some fun and larking12) around.
但是当我看着所有的小孩儿从我身边经过,我心想,这还是不公平。他们或在我周围走着,或从我身上穿过。他们笑着,闹着,有些甚至还打着架,或者就跟伙伴们说着话,开开心心地互相开着玩笑。
I so wanted to be alive again. I can't tell you how much. I so, so wanted to be alive. I so wanted to be one of them. And all the ordinary things which I'd always taken for granted13)—just little things, like being able to kick a football or being able to eat a bag of crisps14)—how I misd them.
我多么想要再活过来啊!我说不出我有多想。我多么、多么想活着啊。我多想成为他们中的一个。
所有那些普通得不能再普通的事儿,那些我曾经认为理所当然的事儿——都是些很小的小事,比如能够踢踢球或者吃一包薯片——现在都可望而不可即了,我多么怀念它们。
And how I envied them. How I envied all tho children their lives! Oh, I knew they weren't all happy. I knew some of them were mirable15) or sad or getting bullied or worried about their exams or had trouble at home or were just plain16) unhappy—but still I envied them, even the unhappy ones. It's true. I did. I even envied them their unhappiness. Becau at least they were alive. And I wasn't.
我又是多么妒忌他们啊——多妒忌那些孩子们还活着。哦,是的,我知道他们并不是每个人都那么开心,我知道他们中有人痛苦,有人悲伤,有人受欺侮了,有人担心考试,有人家里有困难,还有人就是不开心,没什么理由——但我还是嫉妒他们,甚至那些不开心的,我也嫉妒。真的,我就是嫉妒。我甚至嫉妒他们能不开心。因为至少他们还活着,而我却死了。
Maybe this was why Arthur hadn't wanted to leave me down here on my own. Maybe this was what happened to you. It wasn't that anyone el was a danger to you, you were a danger to yourlf. It was what was inside you that was so dangerous and uptting. It was you.
或许,这正是阿瑟(编者注:带主人公回到人间的幽灵朋友)不想让我一个人留在这里的原因。或许,
你也曾经历过这些。危险不是来自于其他任何人,而恰恰来自你自己。让你感到危险和
不安的正是你自己的内心。你就是危险的源泉。有时我也想放弃
I walked on. I tried to ignore them, all the children passing by me. I kept my eyes down and stared at the footpath as I cut through17) the park. I could hear the sound of a football game, I could hear the squeak18) of the unoiled19) swings, I could hear the sounds of bikes riding by, I could hear the chimes20) of the ice cream van, I could hear—I could hear the voices and the laughter and—
我不停地走啊走。我试图让自己不去注意他们——所有那些走过我身边的孩子们。我抄近道穿过公园,一路上低垂眼帘,紧紧盯着脚下的小路。我能听见有人踢足球的声音,我能听见秋千缺少润滑而嘎吱作响的声音,我能听见自行车从身边经过的声音,我能听见从冰激凌车上传来的悦耳旋律,我能听见——我能听见他们说着、笑着,还有——新标准英语
Never mind. Never mind.
没关系,没关系。
I kept my eyes down, following the narrow strip of asphalt21) which snaked through the park and which would around the back of the allotments22), and which eventually took you through the old ch
urch-yard and ultimately to the lane at the back of my hou.
我继续低着头,沿着那条狭窄的柏油小路向前走。小路在公园里蜿蜒而行,绕到那些园地的后面,最终带你穿过那古老的教堂后院,走向我家屋后的那条小巷。
I walked slowly through the cemetery23) in the church-yard, going along by the graves, reading, as ever, the inscriptions24) on the stones. Then suddenly I stopped, and the thought came to me, "What about my grave? This is where I'll be buried, won't it?" And I left the path and hurried to the upper end of the cemetery where all the new plots were. I found the latest row and went along it, and there I was, fourth from the end.
我缓缓地走在教堂后院的那片墓地里,从一座座坟墓前走过,像往常一样看着墓碑上面的铭文。突然,我停了下来,一个念头进入脑海:“我的坟墓呢?我不也将被埋在这里吗?”我离开小路,急忙跑到墓地的北边,那是新坟所在的地方。我找到了最新的一排,沿路往前走去。我的坟就在那里,倒数第四个。
And there, tending to the flowers by the foot of the grave, there—
在那里,有人在照料我墓前的花儿,那是——
There was my dad.虎妞人物形象分析
那是我的爸爸。
What can I say? I can't describe it, really, so maybe there's no point in my even trying. But I'll tell you this: when you're alive and someone dies, you feel so upt that you'll never e them again, it's just awful. But when you're a ghost, and when you do e someone again, but when you know they can't e you, and that you can't talk to them, or ever walk down the road holding their hand, or have a game of football with them, or a muck-about
25) with them, or ever put your arms around them ever again ...
我能说什么呢?我无法用言语来表达,真的。也许我根本不用尝试去说点什么,因为这没有任何意义。但是我要告诉你:当你活着而别人死了的时候,你会因为再也见不到他们而感到特别难过,这的确很痛苦。但当你变成一个幽灵,当你的的确确再次见到某个人,而你又知道他们看不见你,你不能跟他们说话,也不能牵着他们的手在路上散步,再也不能跟他们踢足球,再也不能和他们玩闹,或者再也不能用你的双臂抱住他们……
给燕妮 It makes you feel pretty bad too.
这也会让你感到痛苦不已。
定期存款哪个银行利息最高 We stood there for a while, my dad and me, him staring at my headstone and me staring at him, and both of us feeling pretty bad. Then eventually he looked at his watch and decided that he had to go, and he said, "Bye then, Harry."
我们在那里站了一会儿,只有我和爸爸。他盯着我的墓碑,我盯着他,两个人都感到非常痛苦。终于,他看了看手表,决定该回去了,然后他说:“那就再见吧,哈里。”