美丽新世界Brave New World 第2章(2)

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　　主任搓着手。“好极了！”他说，‘简直像有意表演似的。”

　　The swiftest crawlers were already at their goal.

　　爬得最快的已经快到目标了。

　　Small hands reached out uncertainly, touched, grasped, unpetaling the transfigured roses, crumpling¹ the illuminated² pages of the books.

　　小手摇摇晃晃伸了出来，摸着，抓着，玫瑰花变了形，花瓣扯掉了，书本上有插图的书页揉皱了。

　　The Director waited until all were happily busy. Then, "Watch carefully," he said. And, lifting his hand, he gave the signal.

　　主任等待着，趁他们全都快活地忙碌着的时候，“好好地看着吧。”他说，同时举起手发出了信号。

　　The Head Nurse, who was standing³ by a switchboard at the other end of the room, pressed down a little lever.

　　站在屋子那头仪表盘边的护士长按下了一根小小的杠杆。

　　There was a violent explosion. Shriller and ever shriller, a siren shrieked⁵. Alarm bells maddeningly sounded.

　　一声猛烈的爆炸，汽笛拉了起来，声音越来越刺耳，警铃也疯狂地响着。

　　The children started, screamed; their faces were distorted with terror.

　　孩子们震惊了，尖叫了；脸儿因为恐怖而扭曲了。

　　"And now," the Director shouted (for the noise was deafening), " now we proceed to rub in the lesson with a mild electric shock."

　　“现在，”主任因为噪声震耳欲聋高叫道，“现在我们用柔和的电台来巩固一下这次的教训。”

　　He waved his hand again, and the Head Nurse pressed a second lever.

　　他再挥了挥手，护士长按下第二根杠杆。

　　The screaming of the babies suddenly changed its tone. There was something desperate, almost insane, about the sharp spasmodic yelps⁷ to which they now gave utterance⁸.

　　婴儿们的尖叫突然变了调子，发出的抽搐叫喊中有一种绝望的、几乎是疯狂的调子。

　　Their little bodies twitched⁹ and stiffened¹⁰; their limbs moved jerkily as if to the tug¹¹ of unseen wires.

　　一个个小身子抽搐着，僵直着；四肢抖动着，好像有看不见的线在扯动他们。

　　"We can electrify¹² that whole strip of floor," bawled¹³ the Director in explanation. " But that's enough," he signalled to the nurse.

　　“还可以让那片地板整个通电，”主任大声解释，“不过，就这就已经够了，”他向护士做了个手势。

　　The explosions ceased, the bells stopped ringing, the shriek⁴ of the siren died down from tone to tone into silence.

　　爆炸停止，铃声停止，警报一声声低去，终于静止。

　　The stiffly twitching¹⁴ bodies relaxed, and what had become the sob¹⁵ and yelp⁶ of infant maniacs¹⁶ broadened out once more into a normal howl of ordinary terror.

　　僵直的、抽搐的身子放松了，婴儿的已经微弱的疯狂啜泣和惊叫再次加大，变成平时受到惊吓时的一般哭嚎。

　　"Offer them the flowers and the books again."

　　“再给他们花和书。”

　　The nurses obeyed; but at the approach of the roses, at the mere¹⁷ sight of those gaily-coloured images of pussy¹⁸ and cock-a-doodle-doo and baa-baa black sheep,

　　护士们照办了。但是玫瑰花、色彩鲜艳的小猫、小鸡和咩咩叫的黑羊刚一靠近，

　　the infants shrank away in horror, the volume of their howling suddenly increased.

　　婴儿们就吓得闪躲。哭喊声突然响亮了起来。

　　"Observe," said the Director triumphantly¹⁹, "observe."

　　“注意，”主任胜利地说，“注意。”

　　Books and loud noises, fiowers and electric shocks–already in the infant mind these couples were compromisingly linked;

　　在婴儿们心里花朵跟巨大的噪声的匹配，花朵跟电击的匹配已经熔融、结合到了一起。

　　and after two hundred repetitions of the same or a similar lesson would be wedded²⁰ indissolubly.

　　像这样的或类似的课程接连进行两百次之后，两者之间就建立了无法分离的关系。

　　What man has joined, nature is powerless to put asunder²¹.

　　这种人造的联系木是自然所能够拆散的。

　　"They'll grow up with what the psychologists used to call an 'instinctive²²' hatred²³ of books and flowers.

　　“他们会带着。心理学家称之为‘本能’的对书本和鲜花的厌恶长大成人。

　　Reflexes unalterably conditioned. They'll be safe from books and botany all their lives."

　　反射的条件无可逆转地形成了。他们一辈子都不会有爱书籍和爱植物的危险了。”

　　The Director turned to his nurses. "Take them away again."

　　主任转身对护士们说，“把孩子们带走。”

　　Still yelling, the khaki babies were loaded on to their dumb-waiters and wheeled out, leaving behind them the smell of sour milk and a most welcome silence.

　　穿咔叽衣服的啼啼哭哭的婴儿被塞回车上推走了，在身后留下一些发酸的奶味和非常受欢迎的寂静。

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