美丽新世界Brave New World 第6章(10)

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　　“真的？”

　　"My dear young lady, I do say so."

　　“我亲爱的小姐，真的。”

　　Six times twenty-four–no, it would be nearer six times thirty-six.

　　六乘以二十四——不，差不多已是六乘以三十六了。

　　Bernard was pale and trembling with impatience¹. But inexorably the booming continued.

　　伯纳苍白了脸，着急得发抖。可那个嗡嗡的声音还在无情地继续着。

　　"… about sixty thousand Indians and half-breeds … absolute savages² … our inspectors³ occasionally visit …

　　“……大约有六万印第安人和混血儿……绝对的野蛮人……我们的检查官有时会去访问……

　　otherwise, no communication whatever with the civilized⁴ world … still preserve their repulsive⁵ habits and customs …

　　除此之外跟文明世界就没有任何往来……还保留着他们那些令人厌恶的习惯和风俗……

　　marriage, if you know what that is, my dear young lady; families … no conditioning … monstrous⁶ superstitions⁷ …

　　婚姻，如果你知道那是什么的话，亲爱的小姐；家庭……没有条件设计……骇人听闻的迷信……

　　Christianity and totemism and ancestor worship … extinct languages, such as Zu.i and Spanish and Athapascan …

　　基督教、图腾崇拜还有祖先崇拜……死去的语言，比如祖尼语和西班牙语，阿塔帕斯坎语……

　　pumas⁸, porcupines⁹ and other ferocious¹⁰ animals … infectious diseases … priests … venomous lizards¹¹ …"

　　美洲豹、箭猪和其他的凶猛动物……传染病……祭司……毒蜥蜴……”

　　"You don't say so?"

　　“真的吗？”

　　They got away at last. Bernard dashed to the telephone.

　　他们终于走掉了。伯纳冲到电话面前。

　　Quick, quick; but it took him nearly three minutes to get on to Helmholtz Watson.

　　快，快，可是光跟赫姆霍尔兹接通电话就费了他几乎三分钟时间。

　　"We might be among the savages already," he complained. "Damned incompetence¹²!"

　　“我们已经好像在野蛮人中了，”他抱怨道，“没有效率，他妈的！”

　　"Have a gramme," suggested Lenina.

　　“来一克吧。”列宁娜建议。

　　He refused, preferring his anger.

　　他拒绝了，宁可生气。

　　And at last, thank Ford¹³, he was through and, yes, it was Helmholtz; Helmholtz, to whom he explained what had happened, and who promised to go round at once, at once, and turn off the tap, yes, at once, but took this opportunity to tell him what the D.H.C. had said, in public, yesterday evening …

　　最后，谢谢福帝，接通了，是赫姆霍尔兹。他向赫姆霍尔兹解释了已经发生的事，赫姆霍尔兹答应立即去关掉龙头，立即去，是的，立即去。但是赫姆霍尔兹却抓住机会告诉了他主任在昨天夜里会上的话……

　　"What? He's looking out for some one to take my place?" Bernard's voice was agonized¹⁴.

　　“什么？他在物色人选取代我的工作？伯纳的声音很痛苦。

　　"So it's actually decided¹⁵? Did he mention Iceland? You say he did? Ford! Iceland …"

　　“那么已经决定了？他提到冰岛没有？你是说提到了？福帝呀！冰岛……”

　　He hung up the receiver and turned back to Lenina. His face was pale, his expression utterly¹⁶ dejected.

　　他挂上听筒转身对着列宁娜，面孔苍白，表情绝对沮丧。

　　"What's the matter?" she asked.

　　“怎么回事？”她问。

　　"The matter?" He dropped heavily into a chair. "I'm going to be sent to Iceland."

　　“怎么回事？”他重重地跌倒在椅子里。“我要给调到冰岛去了。”

　　Often in the past he had wondered what it would be like to be subjected (soma-less and with nothing but his own inward resources to rely on) to some great trial, some pain, some persecution¹⁷; he had even longed for affliction.

　　他以前曾经多次设想过，不用吞唆麻而全靠内在的才能来接受某种严重的考验，体验受到某种痛苦、某种迫害是怎么回事；他甚至渴望过苦难。

　　As recently as a week ago, in the Director's office, he had imagined himself courageously¹⁸ resisting, stoically accepting suffering without a word.

　　就在一周以前，在主任的办公室里他还曾想象自己做了英勇的反抗，像苦行僧一样默默承受过苦难。

　　The Director's threats had actually elated him, made him feel larger than life.

　　主任的威胁实际上叫他得意，让他觉得自己比实际高大了许多。

　　But that, as he now realized, was because he had not taken the threats quite seriously, he had not believed that,

　　可他现在才明白，他并不曾严肃地考虑过威胁。

　　when it came to the point, the D.H.C. would ever do anything.

　　他不相信主任到时候真会采取任何行动。

　　Now that it looked as though the threats were really to be fulfilled, Bernard was appalled¹⁹.

　　可现在看来那威胁好像真要实行了。伯纳吓坏了。

　　Of that imagined stoicism, that theoretical courage, not a trace was left.

　　他想象中的苦行主义和理论上的勇气已经报销光了。

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