Lesson 6 Mark Twain—Mirror of America(Excerpts)
全文翻譯
馬克·吐溫——美國的一面鏡子
諾埃爾·格羅夫
1.在大多數(shù)美國人的記憶中，馬克·吐溫是位偉大的作家，他描寫了哈克·費恩在其永恒的童年所做的田園詩般的旅行，以及湯姆·索亞在那無盡的夏日里自由自在的歷險故事。的確，這位美國最受人喜愛的作家，完全如人們所想象的那樣，充滿了冒險精神、愛國情懷、浪漫氣質(zhì)和幽默感。但我發(fā)現(xiàn)了另外一個馬克·吐溫——由于深受人生悲劇的打擊而變得憤世嫉俗、尖酸刻薄的馬克·吐溫，一個為人類的弱點時常困擾而憂心忡忡，清楚地看到前途是一片黑暗的人。
2.印刷工、領(lǐng)航員、邦聯(lián)游擊隊員、淘金者、充滿幻想的樂天派、語言尖刻的諷刺家：這就是馬克·吐溫，原名塞繆爾·朗赫恩·克萊門斯，他的一生有三分之一以上的時間游歷美國各地，體驗了美國的新生活，爾后便以作家和演說家的身份與世人一道分享他的感受。他的筆名取自他在蒸汽船上做工時聽到報告的水深兩潯(12英尺)—即可以通航的深度。二十多部他的作品仍在印刷發(fā)行，譯文版本也在世界各地被廣泛閱讀，這一事實足見其享譽(yù)程度。
3.在馬克·吐溫早年時期，美國的地理中心是密西西比河流域，而密西西比河是這個年輕國家中部的交通大動脈。龍骨船、平底船和大木筏運載著最重要的商品。木材、玉米、煙草、小麥以及皮毛制品通過這些運載工具順流而下，被運送到河口三角洲地區(qū)，而蔗糖、糖漿、棉花和威士忌酒等貨物則被運送到北方。19世紀(jì)50年代，在西部領(lǐng)土開發(fā)高潮到來之前，遼闊的密西西比河流域占美國已開發(fā)領(lǐng)土面積的四分之三。
4.1857年，年輕的馬克·吐溫踏上了這片土地，當(dāng)時他在一艘蒸汽船上做見習(xí)領(lǐng)航員。在這個新的工作崗位上，他得以接觸到各式各樣的人物——這里儼然是一個多姿多彩的大千世界。他全身心地投入到這種生活當(dāng)中，經(jīng)常在操舵室里聽人們談?wù)撁耖g爭斗、海盜劫掠、濫用私刑、游醫(yī)賣藥以及河邊的一些化外民居的故事。所有這一切，都被他那留聲機(jī)般的準(zhǔn)確可靠的記憶，隨后連同他那豐富多彩的語言一起，在其作品中得以再現(xiàn)。
5.汽船的甲板上不僅擠滿了富有開拓精神的人們，而且也混雜著妓女、賭徒和惡棍。從這些形形色色的人身上，馬克·吐溫對人類的本性有了敏銳的認(rèn)識，也認(rèn)識到了人們言行之間的差距。他在蒸汽船上工作的四年半時間是他真正接受教育的開端，而且也是影響最為深遠(yuǎn)的教育。到了晚年，烏克吐溫坦言是密西西比河讓他了解了各色各樣的人類的本性。這種生活體驗對他的全部創(chuàng)作都起了促進(jìn)作用，然而他描寫得最為成功的還是那些密西西比河上的人物。
6.隨著鐵路運輸?shù)陌l(fā)展，社會上對汽船領(lǐng)航員的需求日漸減少，而美國內(nèi)戰(zhàn)的爆發(fā)又使貿(mào)易被暫時中斷，于是馬克·吐溫便離開了密西西比河流域。他在南方邦聯(lián)游擊隊的一支雜牌軍里當(dāng)了兩個星期的兵，那支隊伍總是想方設(shè)法避免與敵軍交戰(zhàn)。發(fā)現(xiàn)“我比那些發(fā)明撤退的人更懂得如何撤退”之后，馬克·吐溫便離開了部隊。
7.他乘驛站馬車來到西部，受到內(nèi)華達(dá)州的華蘇地區(qū)淘金熱的誘惑。那些巨大的財富原本只屬于那些既幸運而又鍥而不舍的人，三心兩意的馬克·吐溫在同這筆財富打了八個月交道之后慘遭失敗。破產(chǎn)與灰心之余，他接受了為弗吉尼亞市《領(lǐng)土開發(fā)報》當(dāng)記者的工作，這一決定獲得了文學(xué)界永久的感激。
8.自從他因淘金失敗而感到心灰意冷之后，馬克·吐溫便開始努力工作，希望能在當(dāng)?shù)爻蔀橐幻∮忻麣獾膱笊缬浾吆陀哪骷?。雖說從事新聞報道工作不可能像淘金一樣一夜暴富，但單就掙錢而言，他的筆桿比他的鋤鎬要有效得多。1864年春季，在他加盟《領(lǐng)土開發(fā)報》還不到兩年的時候，他又乘驛站馬車前往舊金山，那兒在當(dāng)時和現(xiàn)在都是有前途的青年作家成長的搖籃。
9.馬克·吐溫在那兒磨煉并嘗試了一下他新的寫作技能，但是，由于他寫了一些言辭尖銳的專欄文章，不得不暫時離開這座城市。他就虐待華人等一類問題對市政府進(jìn)行了猛烈抨擊，惹怒了政府官員們，所以只好逃到薩克拉門托山谷的金礦區(qū)暫避風(fēng)頭。他對那兒拓荒者的描寫，在今天那些習(xí)慣于由西海岸引領(lǐng)流行趨勢的人們看來，依然倍感親切?！斑@兒的人們可真是了不起——因為所有那些笨手笨腳、無精打采、呆頭呆腦的懶漢在家呆著……正是這些人為加利福尼亞贏得了這樣的聲譽(yù)：當(dāng)他們立志開創(chuàng)一番宏偉大業(yè)時，他們會不計代價、不顧后果，以一種豪邁的氣概和闖勁勇往直前，一干到底。加利福尼亞人至今仍保持著這樣的聲譽(yù)，因此，每當(dāng)他們采取任何新的舉措時，那些素來穩(wěn)重的人便會像往常一樣微笑著說：“瞧，這就是加利福尼亞的風(fēng)格?！?/span>
10.1864年與1865年之交的那個陰郁的冬天，馬克·吐溫是在安吉爾斯礦區(qū)度過的。在這段沉悶的日子里，他記了一本筆記。在雜亂無章的有關(guān)天氣情況和乏味無趣的有關(guān)礦區(qū)飯食情況的記錄中，有一條記錄敘述了他當(dāng)天聽到的一則故事—這條記錄決定了他一生事業(yè)的發(fā)展方向：“科爾曼用他的跳蛙——與陌生人賭50美元——陌生人沒有跳蛙，科爾曼去給他弄來一只——陌生人利用這段時間將科的跳蛙肚子灌滿鉛彈，這樣一來，科的跳蛙便跳不起來了。陌生人的跳蛙獲勝?！?/span>
11.經(jīng)過馬克·吐溫的生花妙筆改寫之后，這個故事刊登在美國各地的報紙上，成為家喻戶曉的“卡拉韋拉斯縣馳名的跳蛙”。至此，馬克·吐溫被公認(rèn)為“太平洋海岸的狂放派幽默大師”,其聲望已在全國范圍內(nèi)牢固確立起來了。
12.兩年之后，他得到了一次以美國人獨有的眼光去觀察歐洲舊大陸的機(jī)會。在紐約市，“費城號”的蒸汽船準(zhǔn)備進(jìn)行一次到歐洲和圣地的觀光航行。這是有史以來美國人第一次組織這么大規(guī)模的觀光旅游——這也可以算是美國發(fā)展史上的一個里程碑。馬克·吐溫作為加州一家報社的記者被委派隨同觀光團(tuán)采訪。如果讀者們期望能讀到有關(guān)這次旅行見聞的生動描述的話，那他們就只有倍感意外了。
13.舉例來說，他對土耳其的蘇丹王印象不佳，于是在報道中這樣寫：“……你可以在隨便什么地方設(shè)個陷阱，一夜工夫就能逮到一打比他能干的人。”他更是漫不經(jīng)心地揭穿受人景仰的藝術(shù)家和藝術(shù)珍品，還言辭尖銳地將宗教圣地批評了一番。回國以后，越來越多的報紙開始刊登他的文章，整個美國都同他一起舒心大笑。他剛剛回到美國，這些游記集結(jié)的單行本《傻瓜出國記》立刻成為暢銷書。
14.三十六歲時，馬克·吐溫開始在康涅狄格州的哈特福德鎮(zhèn)定居下來，他的最優(yōu)秀的作品全是在這段時期內(nèi)問世的。
15.早在1870年，馬克·吐溫就嘗試著寫過一篇關(guān)于一個男孩的童年歷險故事，他將這個男孩起名叫比利·羅杰斯。兩年后，他又將主人公的名字改為湯姆，并著手將故事改編成劇本。直到1874年他才開始認(rèn)真地擴(kuò)展故事情節(jié)。1876年《湯姆·索亞》出版之后，很快成為美國兒童故事的經(jīng)典之作。湯姆的頑皮、勇敢、機(jī)智以及他對貝琪·撒切爾天真純潔的感情，讓這部小說幾乎像《獨立宣言》一樣成了今天美國學(xué)校里的必讀之物。
16.馬克·吐溫本人的獨立宣言卻是通過另一個人物體現(xiàn)出來的。在《湯姆·索亞》第六章里，他引出了“村里的流浪少年，鎮(zhèn)上酒鬼的兒子哈克貝利·費恩”。哈克不習(xí)慣在清教徒道格拉斯募婦家過上等人的體面生活，便從那里逃了出來，事后他向朋友湯姆·索亞抱怨說：“我試過了，還是不行；不行啊，湯姆。”那不是我過的日子……那寡婦家按點吃飯，按點睡覺，按點起床——總之，干什么事情都得規(guī)規(guī)矩矩，簡直叫人受不了?！?/span>
17.《湯姆·索亞》風(fēng)靡美國九年之后，哈克被賦予獨立的生命，他在這部小說中通常被認(rèn)為是最成功地描寫美國人的作品。他同一個逃跑出來的奴隸一起乘坐木筏沿著密西西比河順流而下，他們的漂流航程生動地展現(xiàn)了美國社會生活的全貌。
18.通過對密西西比河，尤其是對哈克·費恩這一人物的描寫，馬克·吐溫將希望從那束縛著自己并常常令自己苦惱的生活步調(diào)中擺脫出來，從生活的各種清規(guī)戒律以及為了事業(yè)成功而進(jìn)行的艱苦掙扎中解放出來的愿望表達(dá)得淋漓盡致。
19.馬克·吐溫認(rèn)為，美國人的理想中缺少了一種成分。他說：“如果我們能偶爾地躺下來好好放松休息一下，使我們的棱角始終保持鋒利，那么我們將有可能成為一個多么朝氣蓬勃的民族，一個多么富有思想的民族啊!”
20.馬克·吐溫的一生都籠罩在悲劇的陰影之中，他的親人接連離他而去：他的父親在他十二歲那年死于肺炎，他的兄弟亨利在一次汽船爆炸事故中喪命；他的兒子朗頓才十九個月大便天折了；他的大女兒蘇茜死于脊膜炎；他的妻子在佛羅倫薩死于心臟?。欢男∨畠阂惨虬d癇病發(fā)作溺死在樓上的浴缸里。
21.痛苦噬咬著這個曾經(jīng)讓世界歡笑的人。他早期作品中的說教包裹著幽默的外衣，而現(xiàn)在，他脫去了幽默的外衣，換成了辛辣的諷刺。對于美軍在一個火山口上瘋狂屠殺六百名菲律賓摩洛人的行徑，他沒有直接進(jìn)行抨擊，而是假裝為之高唱贊歌。在《神秘的陌生人》一書中，他堅持認(rèn)為，人類應(yīng)該拋棄宗教幻想，依靠自己而不是上帝的力量去創(chuàng)造一個更加美好的世界。
22.他自己的最后一個幻想到后來似乎也破滅了。在他晚年口述其自傳的時候，他曾無比絕望地談到人從塵世的苦難中得以最終的解脫：“………他們從世界上消失了，在這個世界上他們無足輕重，一事無成；甚至他們的存在本身就是個錯誤，是個失敗，是件愚蠢的事。這個世界上也沒有留下表明他們曾存在過的痕跡——這個世界將會為他們哀悼一日，然后永遠(yuǎn)地將他們遺忘?！?/span>
(摘自《國家地理》,1975年9月)
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練習(xí)答案
Ⅱ.
A.
1.The other Mark Twain the author found was a man who grew cynical,biter,and saddened by the profound personal tragedies?and a man who became obsessed with the frailties of the human race and saw clearly ahead a black wall?of night.
2.He became a pilot on a steamboat in 1857 and stayed there for four and a half years.There he saw almost every type of human?nature and gained a keen perception of the human race.This experience immensely enriched his writing,as is shown in his novels.
3.The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.
4.Because the book centered on satirizing the old traditions of Europe and the Holy Land,it arose intense interest among Americans.
5.Because it is a classic tale of American boyhood describing Tom's mischievous daring,ingenuity,and the sweet innocence of his?affection for Becky Thatcher.
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,Twain best expressed the desire to escape from the place one lived,from life's regular?activities,and from energy-consuming desire for success.And he also suggested that some important elements were missing?in the?American ambition and American people should keep their vitality and enterprise.
6.According to Twain,American people would be strong and vigorous and become?a?nation of thinkers if they occasionally relaxed,rested,and stayed away from all this crazy struggle for success occasionally and kept their minds sharp.That is,American people?should maintain their vitality and enterprise.
7.Many of his loved ones:his brother,son,two daughters and wife,died.Profound personal tragedies and the death of his?beloved family members made him become bitter late in life.
8.“…they vanish from a world where they were of no?consequence;where they achieved nothing;where they were a mistake and a?failure and a foolishness;where they have left ho sign that they had existed-a world which will?lament them a day and forget them?forever."He dictated his autobiography late in life and commented with a crushing sense of despair on men's final release from心earthly struggles.
9.Since Mark Twain lived a colorful?life,doing a great variety of jobs and traveling extensively,he met all?kinds of people whom he?later depicted in his works.With such colorful and abundant life experience,Mark Twain's life and work can reflect the truth of?American society at that time,so the writer calls Mark Twain “a mirror of America”.
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B.
1.Paragraph one serves as a general introduction to the passage.And readers can have their own concepts of the great American?writer-Mark Twain from two aspects:He was not only adventurous,patriotic,romantic,and humorous,but also cynical,biter and?unhappy.
2.The second paragraph mainly describes that Mark Twain tried various means to make a living and traveled extensively before?becoming a writer and lecturer and introduces his real name and how his pen name was adopted.
3.The author first introduced the geographical importance of Missisippi River and commerce carried on the river.t is on this river?that Mark Twain worked as a young steamboat pilot on the river and met all sorts of people,which equipped him with a sharp and?intense understanding of the human race and provided rich material for his works.In short,for Mark Twain,the life during this?period of time was both instructive and interesting.
4.The author successfully combined the geographical locations of Twain's life with his career development in paragraph 7-11.
1)The author first takes the reader to travel with Mark Twain to Nevada's Washoe region where Twain accepted a job as reporter?with the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise due to his mining failures.
2)Twain began digging his way to regional fame as a newspaper reporter and humorist since world literature is forever grateful to?this turn of events.
3)Then the reader travels with Mark Twain to San Francisco,where is a hotbed of hopeful young writers and to the goldfields in the?Sacramento Valley.There in Angels Camp,Mark Twain kept a notebook from which his first successful short story "The Celebrated?Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"was born.Mark Twain's national reputation as "the wild humorist of the Pacific slope"was well?established.
5.Paragraph 12 and 13 mainly described that Twain as a correspondent for a California newspaper,had an opportunity to travel with?a group of Americans to the Old World and the Holy Land.He showed contempt for the Sultan of Turkey and exposed the?pretensions of respected artists and the false glamour of the art treasures.Upon his return,the book version of his travels,The?Innocents Abroad,became an instant best-seller.
6.The author quotes from Huck in paragraph 16 to show that Huck is simple and honest with little education.
7.1)The last three paragraphs mainly described that haunted by his personal tragedies,Twain became mercilessly bitter and satirical.His illusions crumbled and he commented on men's final release from earthly struggles?with?an?overwhelming sense of despair.
2)The end of the essay is closely related to the beginning of the essay where the?author presents another aspect of Mark Twain who?was saddened by the profound personal tragedies.In the end,the author shows the reader how Mark Twain felt hopeless with his?illusions crumbing.
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Ⅲ.
1.Mark Twain is known to most Americans as the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn.Huck Finn is noted for his simple and pleasant journey)through his boyhood which seems eternal and Tom Sawyer is famous?for his free roam of the country and his adventure?in one summer which seems never to end.The youth and summer are eternal?because this is the only age and time we knew them)They are frozen in that age/season for all readers.
2.The stream boat was a miniature of the boundless universe that it enabled Mark Twain to meet all kinds of people when worked?as a river pilot on it.
3.All would reappear in his books,written in the colorful language that he seemed to be able to remember and record as accurately?as a phonograph.
4.Steamboat decks were filled with people who explored and prepared the way for others and also lawless people or social outcasts?such as hustlers,gamblers and thugs.
5.He took a horse-drawn public vehicle and went west to Nevada,following the flow of people in the Gold Rush.
6.Mark Twain began working hard to get well known locally as a newspaper reporter and humorist.
7.Those who came pioneering out west were energetic,courageous and reckless people,because those who stayed at home were?the slow,dull and lazy people.
8.That's typical of California.
9.If we relaxed,rested or stayed away from all his crazy struggle for success occasionally and kept the daring and enterprising spirit,
we would be able to remain strong and healthy and continue to produce great thinkers.
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At the end of his life,he lost the last bit of his positive view of man and the world.
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IV.
A.
1.starry-eyed:romantic,dreamy;with the eyes sparkling in a glow of wonder?acid-tongued:sharp,sarcastic in speech
2.medicine shows:shows given by entertainers who travel from town to town,accompanied by quacks and fake Indians,selling?care-alls,snake-bite medicine etc.
3.flirt:originally meaning pretending love without serious intention,here meaning trying but not hard or persistently enough
4.strike:the sudden discovery of some mineral ores
5.hotbed:a place that fosters rapid growth or extensive activity,often used of something evil
6.ring:to produce,as by sounding,a specified impression on the hearer trend setting:taking the lead in starting a new trend or new?ways of doing things
7.project:to propose or make plan for
8.entry:an item in his notebook
9.shot:quantity of tiny balls of lead used in a sporting gun against birds or small animals
10.sorely:greatly or extremely
11.shots:critical remarks
12.bowl:a hollow land formation
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B.
1.romantic意為“浪漫的”;sentimental意為“感情脆弱的”或“易感傷的”。例：She has romantic notions about becoming a?famous actress.她心里充滿幻想，總希望有一天會成為著名演員。He has a sentimental attachment to his birth place.他對自己的出生之地又眷戀之情。humorous意為“幽默詼諧的”;witty意為“機(jī)智靈敏的”。
2.cynic意為“憤世嫉俗者”,指的是對他人的自私行為表示不滿；critic意為“批評家，評論家”,可以指對任何事情的評論。例：She was a cynic in her ways.她行為乖戾。He has a reputation for being a forthright critic.他是以直率著稱的批評家。
3.在美國英語中，lumber指大量的在鋸木廠和刨制廠生產(chǎn)的木制品，timber往往指森林中已經(jīng)成材的樹木。在英國英語里，這兩個詞意思相同。
4.proclaim多用于官方場合，指重大事件的宣布或聲明；claim多指根據(jù)規(guī)定，對某項權(quán)利提出的要求或主張。Did you claim?on the insurance after your car accident.出了車禍后，你向保險公司要求賠償了么?The president proclaimed an emergency?when the war came.當(dāng)戰(zhàn)爭來臨時總統(tǒng)宣布進(jìn)入緊急狀態(tài)。
5.demand本為經(jīng)濟(jì)術(shù)語，意為“需求量”,與supply相對。need為通用詞，意為“需要”。halt比stop更具體，暗指暫?；蛑袛?。如：The soldiers halted for a rest.士兵們停下來休息。
6.mistreatment指錯誤地對待，不公平的待遇；ill-treatment指虐待，常用于對動物或囚犯的虐待。
7.consequence常指不良后果或結(jié)果；result為中性詞，不帶有感情色彩。
8.a pleasure cruise=a cruise for pleasure指乘船是為了觀光游覽，強(qiáng)調(diào)目的，但不一定船上的人都玩得高興；a pleasant?cruise指一次愉快的乘船旅行，強(qiáng)調(diào)旅行感受。
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9.reporter是泛稱，指通訊記者；corespondent指隨軍記者或駐外記者。本題中Twain是歐洲旅途中的記者，用correspondent更恰當(dāng)。
10.despair是普通用詞，指因災(zāi)難等因素而喪失希望和信心，陷入沮喪絕望的境地。desperation語氣強(qiáng)烈，指因絕望而使人采取無所顧忌的瘋狂行動。例：He give up the attempt in despair.她絕望之下放棄了努力。She pleaded with the attackers in?desperation.絕望之下，她向攻擊者哀求。
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C.
1.metaphor
2.metaphor
3.metaphor
4.metaphor
5.metonymy
6.metaphor
7.alliteration
8.alliteration
9.personification
10.antithesis
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V.
A.
1.Tom was every bit as intelligent as the top one in?his class.
2.He was obsessed with fear of poverty.
3.Dongting Lake teems with fish and shrimps.
4.Under pressure,he had no choice but quit.
5.At that time many children succumbed to small pox.
6.Much to his horror,he found the cabin flooded.
7.Not until midnight did the surgeon finish the operation.
8.That's Peter all over.
9.The history course has acquainted me with ancient civilizations.
10.The pursuit and anxiety of young people find expression in the newly-staged play.
B.
1.這就是馬克·吐溫，原名塞繆爾·朗赫恩·克萊門斯，他的一生有三分之一以上的時間游歷美國各地，體驗了美國的新生活，爾后便以作家和演說家的身份與世人一道分享他的感受。
2.所有這一切，都被他那留聲機(jī)般的準(zhǔn)確可靠的記憶，隨后連同他那豐富多彩的語言一起，在其作品中得以再現(xiàn)。
3.汽船的甲板上不僅擠滿了富有開拓精神的人們，而且也混雜著妓女、賭徒和惡棍。
4.從這些形形色色的人身上，馬克·吐溫對人類的本性有了敏銳的認(rèn)識，也認(rèn)識到了人們言行之間的差距。
5.他對那兒拓荒者的描寫，在今天那些習(xí)慣于由西海岸引領(lǐng)流行趨勢的人們看來，依然倍感親切。
6.他更是漫不經(jīng)心地揭穿受人景仰的藝術(shù)家和藝術(shù)珍品，還言辭尖銳地將宗教圣地批評了一番。
7.“那寡婦家按點吃飯，按點睡覺，按點起床——總之，干什么事情都得規(guī)規(guī)矩矩，簡直叫人受不了。”
8.他同一個逃跑出來的奴隸一起乘坐木筏沿著密西西比河順流而下，他們的漂流航程生動地展現(xiàn)了美國社會生活的全貌。
9.“……他們從世界上消失了，在這個世界上他們無足輕重，一事無成；甚至他們的存在本身就是個錯誤，是個失敗，是件愚蠢的事。這個世界上也沒有留下表明他們曾存在過的痕跡——這個世界將會為他們哀悼一日，然后永遠(yuǎn)地將他們遺忘?！?/span>
C.
See the translation of the text.
VI.
1.The peculiar features of Huck's dialect include:
A.double negative,for example "there ain't nothing”,"there wasn't ho home",“you couldn't make nothing",
B.vivid modifiers,for example “powerful glad”,"mighty free"
C.irregular use of grammar and spelling,for example "we was free","there warn't no home like a raft".
All these features add to the vividness of the description and bring out the character of the narrator.
2.Yes,Huck's dialect is vivid and lively.
3.Huck's observations of the natural world,like the dawning of the day was so meticulous,so vivid,so real It takes one who had?the actual experience to write such a description.
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