诗翁彼豆故事集 第9期:好运泉(4)

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号：tingroom，领取免费英语资料大礼包。

　　'The Fountain of Fair Fortune' is a perennial¹ favorite, so much so that it was the subject of the sole attempt to introduce a Christmas pantomime to Hogwarts' festive² celebrations. 《好运泉》是一个长久以来深受喜欢的故事，竟然前所未有地在霍格沃茨的节目庆祝活动中被排成了一部圣诞节的哑剧。

　　Our then Herbology master, Professor Herbert Beery, (Note1: Professor Beery eventually left Hogwarts to teach at W.A.D.A. (Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts) , where, he once confessed to me, he maintained a strong aversion to mounting performances of this particular story, believing it to be unlucky. ) 我们那时的草药课教师，赫伯特·比尔利教授（注释一：赫伯特·比尔利最后离开霍格华兹去教授魔法学院的戏剧艺术，在那里，他曾向我坦白他对增加这一特殊故事的表演感到十分厌恶，并认为这是很不吉利的。）

　　an enthusiastic devotee of аmаteur dramatics, proposed an adaptation of this well-beloved children's tale as a Yuletide treat for staff and students. 是一位十分热心的戏剧业余爱好者，他提出要把这个深爱的孩子们喜爱的故事改编成一个圣诞节的演出节目，供师生们欣赏。

　　I was then a young Transfiguration teacher, and Herbert assigned me to 'special effects', which included providing a fully³ functioning Fountain of Fair Fortune and a miniature grassy⁴ hill, up which our three heroines and hero would appear to march, while it sank slowly into the stage and out of sight. 我当时是一位年轻的变形课教师，赫伯特分配我负责“特技效果”，包括提供一个功能齐全的好运泉，以及一个小型的草坡，我们三个女主人公和一位男主人公做出往上爬的样子，然后草坡慢慢沉入舞台下面不见了。

　　I think I may say, without vanity, that both my Fountain and my Hill performed the parts allotted⁵ to them with simple goodwill⁶. 我认为，我可以毫不自夸地说，我的好运泉和草坡都认真负责地完成了分配给它们的任务。

　　Alas⁷, that the same could not be said of the rest of the cast. 唉，然而剧组的其他成员就不是这样了。

　　Ignoring for a moment the antics of the gigantic 'Worm' provided by our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Silvanus Kettleburn, the human element proved disastrous⁸ to the show. 我们暂且不说神奇动物保护课教师西尔瓦努斯·凯特尔伯恩提供的那条巨大“蠕虫”古怪滑稽，因为最后证明是人为因素破坏了整台演出。

　　Professor Beery, in his role of director, had been dangerously oblivious⁹ to the emotional entanglements¹⁰ seething¹¹ under his very nose. 比尔利教授作为导演，竟然没有察觉到发生在他鼻子底下的感情纠葛，这就很危险了。

　　Little did he know that the students playing Amata and Sir Luckless had been boyfriend and girlfriend until one hour before the curtain rose, at which point 'Sir Luckless' transferred his affections to 'Asha'. 他不知道扮演阿玛塔的学生和扮演倒霉爵士的学生一直是一对恋人，而就在大幕拉开的一个小时前，“倒霉爵士”移情别恋，爱上了“阿莎”。

　　Suffice it to say that our seekers after Fair Fortune never made it to the top of the Hill. 只要说一句就够了：我们那几个寻找好运泉的人始终没能到达山顶。

　　The curtain had barely risen when Professor Kettleburn's 'Worm' – now revealed to be an Ashwinder (Note 2: See Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them for a definitive¹² description of this curious beast. 大幕刚刚拉开，凯特尔伯恩教授的“蠕虫”——大家这才看出是一条被施了肥胖咒的火灰蛇（注释二：参见《怪兽及其产地》。

　　It ought never to be voluntarily introduced into a wood-panelled room, nor have an Engorgement Charm placed upon it. ) 它从不会自愿进入一个木质房间，更别提还被施了暴食咒。）

　　-with an Engorgement Charm upon it – exploded in a shower of hot sparks and dust, filling the Great Hall with smoke and fragments of scenery. ——突然爆炸，炽热的火星和灰尘四处散落，使大礼堂里充满了烟雾和布景碎片。

　　While the enormous fiery¹³ eggs it had laid at the foot of my Hill ignited the floorboards, 'Amata' and 'Asha' turned upon each other, dueling¹⁴ so fiercely that Professor Beery was caught in the crossfire¹⁵, and staff had to evacuate¹⁶ the Hall, as the inferno¹⁷ now raging onstage threatened to engulf¹⁸ the place. 当我山脚下放置的那些巨大的火蛋点燃地板时，“阿玛塔”和“阿莎”正在相互厮杀，打斗的十分激烈，以至于把比尔利教授也被卷进了她们的交战。浓烈的大火席卷了舞台，眼看就要吞噬整个大礼堂，师生们不得不从礼堂撤离。

　　The night's entertainment concluded with a packed hospital wing; it was several month? before the Great Hall lost its pungent¹⁹ aroma²⁰ of wood smoke, and even longer before Professor Beery's head reassumed its normal proportions, and Professor Kettleburn was taken off probation²¹. 那天晚上演出的结果是医院里人满为患，过了好几个月，大礼堂里那股刺鼻的焦木头味儿才逐渐散 去，过了更长的时间，比尔利教授的脑袋才恢复了正常的比例，凯特尔伯恩教授才结束了他的试用期。

分享到：