07年“高级英语”课文逐句翻译（6）

　　lesson6

　　一个好机会

　　Lesson Six A Good Chance

　　我到鸭溪时，喜鹊没在家，我和他的妻子阿米莉亚谈了谈。

　　When I got to Crow Creek， Magpie was not home. I talked to his wife Amelia.

　　“我要找喜鹊，”我说，“我给他带来了好消息。”我指指提着的箱子，“我带来了他的诗歌和一封加利福尼亚大学的录取通知书，他们想让他来参加为印第安人举办的艺术课。”

　　“I need to find Magpie，” I said. “I've really got some good news for him.” I pointed to the briefcase I was carrying. “I have his poems and a letter of acceptance from a University in California where they want him to come and participate in the Fine Arts Program they have started for Indians.”

　　“你知道他还在假释期间吗？”

　　“Do you know that he was on parole？”

　　“这个，不，不大清楚。”我犹豫着说，“我一直没有和他联系，但我听说他遇到了些麻烦。”

　　“Well， no， not exactly，” I said hesitantly， “I haven't kept in touch with him but I heard that he was in some kind of trouble.

　　她对我笑笑说：“他已经离开很久了。你知道，他在这儿不安全。他的假释官随时都在监视他，所以他还是不到这儿来为好，而且我们已经分开一段时间了，我听说他在城里的什么地方。”

　　She smiled to me and said， “He's gone a lot. It's not safe around here for him， you know. His parole officer really watches him all the time and so sometimes it is just better for him not to come here. Besides， we haven't been together for a while. I hear he's in town somewhere.”

　　“你是指他在钱柏林？”

　　“Do you mean in Chamberlain？”

　　“对。我和他姐姐住在这儿，她说前一段时间她在那儿见过他。不过喜鹊不会去加利福尼亚的。即使你见到他并和他谈此事，他现在也决不会离开这儿。”

　　“Yes， I live here with his sister and she said that she saw him there， quite a while ago. But Magpie would not go to California. He would never leave here now even if you saw him and talked to him about it.”

　　“可他以前去过，”我说，“他去过西雅图大学。”

　　“But he did before，” I said， “He went to the University of Seattle.”

　　“是的，但……但是，那是以前，”她说，似乎不想再谈这个话题。

　　“Yeah， but…well， that was before，” she said， as though to finish the matter.

　　“你难道不希望他去吗？”我问道。

　　“Don't you want him to go？” I asked.

　　“哦，这不是我说了算的。我们现在已经分开了。我只是告诉你，你一定会失望的。像你这样的人希望他需要那些，可他已经不再需要了。”她很快答道，语气非常肯定。

　　Quickly， she responded， “Oh， it's not up to me to say. He is gone from me now. I'm just telling you that you are in for a disappointment. He no longer needs the things that people like you want him to need，” she said positively.

　　当她意识到我不喜欢她用“像你这样的人”的字眼时，她停了一下，然后把手放在我的胳膊上，“听着，”她说，“喜鹊现在终于快乐了。他情绪很好，英俊倜傥，自由自在而又意志坚强。他和兄弟们一起坐在皮鼓前唱歌，他现在一切都很好。以前，每当发表那些反政府和反对美国印第安人事务委员会的言论时，他总会越发气愤，充满怨恨。我曾为他担忧，但现在我不再担心了。你为什么不让他独自呆着呢？”

　　When she saw that I didn't like her reference to “people like you”， she stopped for a moment and then put her hand on my arm. “Listen，” she said， “Magpie is happy now， finally. He is in good spirits， handsome and free and strong. He sits at the drum and sings with his brothers： he's okay now. When he was saying all those things against the government and against the council， he became more and more ugly and embittered and I used to be afraid for him. But I'm not now.

　　我和赛利娜坐在一家咖啡馆里。

　　I was sitting at the café with Salina.

　　她突然说道：“我不知道喜鹊在哪儿，我已经4天没见到他了。”

　　Abruptly she said， “I don't know where Mapie is. I haven't seen him in four days.”

　　“我把他的诗也带来了。”我说，“他有机会进入加利福尼亚的艺术学院，但是我必须和他谈一谈，还要让他填一下这些表格。我相信他一定会感兴趣的。”

　　“I've got his poems here with me，” I said. “He has a good change of going to a Fine Arts school in California， but I have to talk with him and get him to fill out some papers. I know that he is interested.”

　　“不，他不会的，”她打断了我，“他根本就不再做这些没用的、愚蠢的梦了。”

　　“No， he isn't，” she broke in. “He doesn't have those worthless， shitty dreams anymore.”

　　“别这样说，赛利娜，这对他真的是个好机会。”

　　“Don't say that， Salina. This is a good chance for him.”

　　“好了，你爱怎么想就怎么想吧，可最近你跟他谈过吗？你知道他如今怎么样吗？”

　　“Well， you can think what you want， but have you talked to him lately？ Do you know him as he is now？”

　　“我知道他情况很好，我也知道他有这个天分。”

　　“I know he is good. I know he has such talent.”

　　“他是一个印第安人，这次他回到这里是要住下来。”

　　“He is Indian， and he's back here to stay this time.”

　　“你和我一起开车去钱柏林，好吗？”我问道。

　　“Would you drive into Chamberlain with me？” I asked.

　　她一言不发。

　　She said nothing.

　　“如果他是你所说的那种印第安人，不管那是什么意思，如果他这次回来是要住下来，如果他自己亲口对我说出来，我就打消这个念头。但是，赛利娜，”我极力说服道，“我一定要跟他谈谈，问问他想要做什么。你知道我的意思，不是吗？”

　　“If he is Indian as you say， whatever that means， and if he is back here to stay this time and if he tells me that himself， I'll let it go. But Salina，” I urged， “I must talk to him and ask him what he wants to do. You see that， don't you？”

　　“是的， 我知道了，” 她 终于说道， “他有权知道这一切， 但你会明白。”

　　“Yes，” she said finally. “He has a right to know about this， but you'll see…”

　　我们离开时，她的高跟鞋在咖啡屋前的人行道上发出清脆的响声，当她又谈及喜鹊时，变得焦虑不安。

　　Her heels clicked on the sidewalk in front of the café as we left， and she became agitated as she talked.

　　“他在卡司特抗议时，因为法院被烧，惹了麻烦，被判入狱1年。他现在还在假释期间，他的假释期还有5年，可他们连任何对他不利的证据都没有找到。5年呀！你能相信吗？现在连谋杀罪的人都没有判这样重。”

　　“After all that trouble he got into during that protest at Custer when the courthouse was burned， he was in jail for a year. He's still on parole and he will be on parole for another five years – and they didn't even prove anything against him！ Five years！ Can you believe that？ People these days can commit murder and not get that kind of a sentence.”

　　我们驱车行使在钱柏林的大街上，埃尔吉正站在银行附近的拐角处，我和赛利娜都心照不宣，这个喜鹊的好朋友肯定知道他在哪儿。

　　Elgie was standing on the corner near the Bank as we drove down the main street of Chamberlain， and both Salina and I knew without speaking that this man， this good friend of Magpie's， would know of his whereabouts.

　　我们停了车，埃尔吉走了过来，舒服地靠坐在车的后排座位上。

　　We parked the car， Elgie came over and settled himself in the back seat of the car.

　　车慢慢地驶到了我们停车的街角处，假释官目不转睛地盯着我们3人，而我们却假装没看见。

　　A police car moved slowly to the corner where we were parked and the patrolmen looked at the three of us intently and we pretended not to notice.

　　巡逻车在空荡荡的街道上慢慢前行。我小心谨慎地转向埃尔吉。

　　The patrol car inched down the empty street and I turned cautiously toward Elgie.

　　我还没来得及开口，赛利娜说，“她给喜鹊拿了些表格。他有可能进入加利福尼亚的一所作家学院读书。”

　　Before I could speak， Salina said， “She is got some papers for Magpie. He has a chance to go to a writer's school in California.”

　　总是不太想让别人清楚地了解他的想法的埃尔吉说道，“是吗？”可赛利娜却不想让他就这么不