Neighbour Rosicky (Excerpt IX)《邻居罗西基》（节选九）

Mary very soon got into town to see Doctor Ed， and then she had a talk with her boys and set a guard over Rosicky. Even John， the youngest， had his father on his mind. If Rosicky went to throw hay down from the loft， one of the boys ran up the ladder and took the fork from him. He sometimes complained that though he was getting to be an old man， he wasn’t an old woman yet.

玛丽很快就到镇上见过了埃德医生，回来后跟孩子们谈过一次话，叫他们时时盯住罗西基。就连最小的约翰也把父亲挂在心上。一见罗西基从谷仓楼上往下叉干草，就有孩子急步爬上楼梯从他手中夺过草叉。他不时会抱怨两句，说自己虽然上了点年纪，但毕竟不是老太太。

That winter he stayed in the house in the afternoons and carpentered， or sat in the chair between the window full of plants and the wooden bench where the two pails of drinking-water stood. This spot was called “Father’s Corner，” though it was not a corner at all. He had a shelf there， where he kept his Bohemian papers and his pipes and tobacco， and his shears and needles and thread and tailor’s thimble. Having been a tailor in his youth， he couldn’t bear to see a woman patching at his clothes， or at the boys’. He liked tailoring， and always patched all the overalls and jackets and work shirts. Occasionally he made over a pair of pants one of the older boys had outgrown， for the little fellow.

那年冬天罗西基没出家门，下午就在屋里做些木工活，或是坐在窗户和木凳之间的一把椅子上，窗台上满是花草，木凳上并排放着两个盛饮水的木桶。那里被孩子们叫做“老爸角落”，尽管那儿压根儿就不是个角落。他在那儿立了个木架子，上面放着他订阅的波希米亚文报纸，还有他的烟斗、烟草、剪刀、针线和顶针。他年轻时当过裁缝，所以不忍心看一个女人替自己和孩子们缝缝补补。他喜欢做针线活，家里所有的工装裤、夹克衫和衬衫都由他缝补，有时还把某个大孩子嫌小的裤子改给小孩子穿。

While he sewed， he let his mind run back over his life. He had a good deal to remember， really; life in three countries. The only part of his youth he didn’t like to remember was the two years he had spent in London， in Cheapside， working for a German tailor who was wretchedly poor. Those days， when he was nearly always hungry， when his clothes were dropping off him for dirt， and the sound of a strange language kept him in continual bewilderment， had left a sore spot in his mind that wouldn’t bear touching.

干缝补活时他爱回忆过去。实际上他有许多值得回忆的往事，毕竟他一生闯荡过三个国家。对他青年时代的生活，他最不愿回想的是在伦敦度过的那两年，在齐普赛街为一个穷途潦倒的德国裁缝当帮工的那两年。那时他常常忍饥挨饿，没有换洗衣服，而且异国语言的声音总令他感到困惑。那些日子在他心中留下了一个他不愿去触碰的痛处。

He was twenty when he landed at Castle Garden1 in New York， and he had a protector who got him work in a tailor shop in Vesey Street， down near the Washington Market. He looked upon that part of his life as very happy. He became a good workman， he was industrious， and his wages were increased from time to time. He minded his own business and envied nobody’s good fortune. He went to night school and learned to read English. He often did overtime work and was well paid for it， but somehow he never saved anything. He couldn’t refuse a loan to a friend， and he was self-indulgent. He liked a good dinner， and a little went for beer， a little for tobacco; a good deal went to the girls. He often stood through an opera on Saturday nights; he could get standing-room for a dollar. Those were the great days of opera in New York， and it gave a fellow something to think about for the rest of the week. Rosicky had a quick ear， and a childish love of all the stage splendour; the scenery， the costumes， the ballet. He usually went with a chum， and after the performance they had beer and maybe some oysters somewhere. It was a fine life; for the first five years or so it satisfied him completely. He was never hungry or cold or dirty， and everything amused him： a fire， a dog fight， a parade， a storm， a ferry ride. He thought New York the finest， richest， friendliest city in the world.

他到达纽约城堡花园那年才二十岁。那年他遇上了一位保护人，那人替他在一家服装厂谋了份差事，那家服装厂位于华盛顿市场附近的维希街。他觉得那段日子过得很快活。他成了一名出色的工人，工作勤奋，工资不断增加。他专心于自己的工作，从不羡慕别人的好运。他上夜校学英语。他经常加班，加班费也不少，但不知咋的就是存不下钱。他没法拒绝借钱给朋友，自己花钱也很随意。他喜欢吃可口的饭菜，喜欢喝点酒，抽点烟，还喜欢花许多钱去找姑娘玩。星期六晚上，他常花一美元买张站票，站着听完整场歌剧。当时正值歌剧风靡纽约的日子，听一场歌剧能让人回味一个星期。罗西基对音乐有双敏锐的耳朵，对舞台上的灯光、服装、布景有种孩子气的迷恋，而且还喜欢芭蕾。他通常都会带上一个密友，听完歌剧后便去喝啤酒，也许还会吃一顿牡蛎。那真是一种美好的生活，所以他到纽约后的头五年完全心满意足，不再受冻挨饿，不再衣着邋遢，所见所闻都令他开心：一场烟火、一场斗狗，一场游行、一场暴雨，甚至乘一次渡轮都觉得有趣。那时候他认为，纽约是天底下最美丽、最富有、最友善的城市。

【背景知识】《邻居罗西基》是美国女作家薇拉·凯瑟（1873—1947）于1830年发表的一篇重要短篇小说。小说通过回忆和追述的手法，讲述了波希米亚移民罗西基朴素而充实的一生，展现了拓荒者及其后代善良、朴素、勤劳、热爱生活、眷念土地的可贵品质。小说主题深刻，结构匀称，笔触细腻，文字优美，人物性格刻画清晰，翻译时应注意描摹。

【第1段】注意三点：（1）译文省略了第一句中第一个and后的人称代词she，意思依然清楚，语句更加清爽；（2）译文把had a talk with her boys翻译成“跟孩子们谈过一次话”，而非“跟她的孩子们谈过一次话”（省略了原文中的物主代词her）；（3）不要一见if就对应“如果”，须知if还有whenever的意思。例如：If I feel any doubt， I inquire. 我一有疑惑就随时问人。（《英汉大词典》第2版第939页）又如：She glares at me if I go near her desk. 我一走近她的办公桌，她就对我瞪眼。（《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》第9版第1082页）

【第2段】有人把“Father’s Corner”译成了“爸爸的角落”，比较参考译文“老爸角落”。

【第3段】有人把第二句翻译成了“年轻时代的生活他最不愿提及的是在伦敦，在齐普赛街度过的，给一个穷途潦倒的德国裁缝帮佣的那两年”。请将此句与参考译文比较。参考译文把先行词the two years（那两年）重复了一遍，把后面较长的定语从句分为两截，分别置于两个“那两年”前面，使译文句子和原文一样清爽（关于这种译法，可参见商务印书馆2013年版《英汉翻译二十讲》第234—235页）。

【第4段】有人把Castle Garden翻译成“堡垒园”，且未加注释，这可能会给不少译文读者造成困惑。加注说明“纽约城堡花园”是美国第一个移民接纳中心，不仅避免了这种困惑，而且与后文的叙述吻合。我曾在《译者的注释意识和译文的注释原则》一文中说“译者的注释意识取决于译者对翻译目的之认识，译文的注释原则取决于译者对译文读者之认知语境和认知能力的正确判断”，并总结了为译文添加注释的六条原则，其中第一条就是“当注必注，不偷懒懈怠”（参见商务印书馆2013年版《英汉翻译二十讲》第72—80页）。

【小结】本次译析再次强调了英译汉时应注意省略译文中不宜出现的人称代词和物主代词；再次介绍了翻译英语长定语的一种方法（重复先行词，然后把原文长定语按层次划分成若干截，再把划分后的定语分别置于被重复的先行词前面）；首次强调了为译文添加必要注释的重要性，因为正如吕叔湘先生所说：“必要的注释应该包括在翻译工作之内。”（商务印书馆1984年版《翻译论集》第530页）

1美国第一个移民接纳中心，位于纽约曼哈顿岛南端的炮台公园（Battery Park），从1855年至1890年，这里共接纳了800万移民，其功能后来被埃利斯岛（Ellis Island）接替。