英語哲理散文賞析

英語散文的發展歷程十分曲折,散文大家風格多變,兼之中英語言個性殊異,若要成功地把英語散文大家的作品翻譯到中文,既須瞭解英語散文發展的概況,又須注意保證氣韻邏輯通暢,文氣沛然,才能傳神譯出,曲盡其妙,令漢語讀者獲得相同或相近的審美感受。下面本站小編爲大家帶來英語哲理散文賞析，歡迎大家閱讀!

When my husband and I celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary at our favorite restaurant, Lenny, the piano player, asked, "How did you do it?"

當我和丈夫在我們最喜歡的飯館慶祝結婚38週年紀念日時，那個彈鋼琴的萊尼過來問道：“你們是怎麼過過來的?”

knew there was no simple answer, but as the weekend approached, I wondered if one reason might be our ritual of breakfast in bed every Saturday and Sunday.

我知道，對於這個問題無法簡簡單單地來回答。但隨着週末一天天的臨近，我開始在想：或許其中的一個原因就是我們每逢星期六和星期天都在牀上吃早餐。

It all started with the breakfast tray my mother gave us as a wedding gift. It had a glass top and slatted wooden side pockets for the morning paper e kind you used to see in the movies. Mother loved her movies, and although she rarely had breakfast in bed, she held high hopes for her daughter. My adoring bridegroom took the message to heart.

一切都是從那個早餐托盤開始的，我媽把它作爲結婚禮物送給我們。盤面是玻璃的，兩邊各有一個細長的木製側袋用來放晨報——就像過去常常在電影中見到的那樣。我媽很喜歡那些電影，儘管她自己很少在牀上用早餐，卻非常希望女兒能這樣。深愛着我的新郎把我母親的話牢記在心裏。

Feeling guilty, I suggested we take turns. Despite grumblings -- "hate crumbs in my bed" ---Sunday morning found my spouse eagerly awaiting his tray. Soon these weekend breakfasts became such a part of our lives that I never even thought about them. I only knew we treasured this separate, blissful time read, relax, forget the things we should remember.

出於心裏感覺有些愧疚，我提議由我們兩個輪流準備早餐。星期天早上，雖然他嘴裏嘟嘟囔囔地抱怨着——“我討厭飯渣弄到牀上。”——但我還是見到丈夫在急切地等候他的早餐。週末早餐不久就成爲我們生活中的一部分，習以爲常也就不去想它了。我只知道我倆都很珍視這段與其他時間有別的幸福時光——看看報、放鬆一下自己，忘記那些本該記在心裏的事情。

Sifting through the years, I recalled how our weekends changed,but that we still preserved the ritual. We started our family (as new parents, we slept after breakfast more than we read), but we always found our way back to where we started, just two for breakfast, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.

細想逝去的歲月，我回憶起我們週末生活的諸多變化，但這個老習慣卻依舊保留下來。我們建立起了這個家庭(初爲父母時，早飯後的時間我們多半是睡一會兒，而不是閱讀)，但是我們總能夠找到歸路，返回起點——只是兩個人的早餐，星期六一次，星期天一次。

When we had more time, my tray became more festive. First it was fruit slices placed in geometric pattern; then came flowers from our garden metimes just one blossom sprouting from a grapefruit half. This arranger of mine had developed a flair for decorating, using everything from amaryllis to the buds of a maple tree. My husband said my cooking inspired him. Mother would have approved. Perhaps it was the Saturday when the big strawberry wore a daisy hat that I began to think, how can I top this? One dark winter night I woke with a vision of a snowman on a tray. That Sunday I scooped a handful of snow and in no time had my man made. With a flourish I put a miniature pinecone on his head.

當我們有了更多的時間，我的早餐托盤上就變得更加具有喜慶色彩。開始時是以幾何圖形排列的水果片，隨後便是從自家花園裏摘來的鮮花——有時候只是一朵，開在一半的葡萄柚當中。沒想到這竟激發出我在裝飾、點綴方面的天賦，各種各樣的東西，從孤挺花到楓樹的葉芽，都成爲我手下的裝飾材料。丈夫說我做的早餐啓發了他，媽媽也會贊同他的說法。或許是在那個星期六，在一個大草莓上放一個雛菊做帽子之後，我開始在想：我怎麼才能夠超過它?在一個漆黑的冬夜，我從夢中醒來，眼前彷彿看到有一個雪人站在托盤上。就在那個星期天，我鏟來了一捧雪，很快就做好了一個雪人。我輕輕地把一個微型松果按在雪人的頭上。

As I delivered the tray, complete with a nicely frozen snowman, I waited for a reaction. There was none but as I headed down the stairs I heard a whoop of laughter and then, "You've won! Yes, sir, you've won the prize!"

我端着早餐上樓，盤面上放着那個凍結實的小雪人，我期待着他的反應——什麼也沒有——但就在我下樓時，我聽到他放聲大笑起來，緊接着，他說道：“你贏了!毫無疑問，你得獎了!”

Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.

幾年前，一個農場主在大西洋沿岸擁有一塊土地，他經常貼廣告僱傭人手。可是，很多人都不願意在大西洋岸邊的農場幹活，他們害怕大西洋上空劇烈的風暴會破壞房屋和莊稼。所以當這個農場主招工面試時，收到的是一連串堅定的拒絕。

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farmhand?" the farmer asked him.

最後，有一個個頭不高、略顯瘦弱、已過中年的男人來到農場主面前。“你是個幹農活的好手嗎?”農場主問他。

"Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.

“是的，起風的時候我可以睡覺，”那個矮個男人回答道。

Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.

儘管農場主對他的回答有點迷惑，可苦於沒有幫手，於是僱傭了他。那個矮個男人在農場幹活很賣力，從天亮一直忙到天黑，因此農場主對他的工作很滿意。

Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!"

一天晚上，海面上颳起了咆哮的大風，農場主從牀上跳了起來，抓起燈籠就向旁邊僱工住的地方衝去。他晃着那個矮個男人喊道：“起來!颳風暴了!快把東西繫好，別刮跑了!”

The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."

那個矮個男人在牀上翻了一下身，平靜地說道：“不，先生，我告訴過你，颳風的時候我可以睡覺。”

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away.

農場主被他的回答激怒了，氣得真想當場把他解僱。不過，還是趕緊跑出去應付暴風雨吧。然而，令他驚奇的是，他發現所有的乾草垛已經蓋好了防水油布，牛在牲口棚裏面，小雞在雞籠裏，門閂好了，百葉窗也關緊了，一切都栓牢了，什麼東西都刮不走了。

The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

此刻，農場主才明白了僱工那句話的意思，於是，風颳起來的時候，他也回自己的牀上睡覺了。