《高级英语》课文逐句翻译(11)

2021年1月25日发(作者：瓜子脸)
《高级英语》课文逐句翻译（
11
）






lesson11



谈睡眠




Lesson Eleven

On Getting off to Sleep



人真是充满矛盾啊！

毫无疑问，幽默是惟一帮助我们摆脱矛盾的办法，要是没有它，
我们就会死于烦恼。




What a bundle of contradictions is a man
！

Surety
，

humour is the saving grace of us
，

for
without it we should die of vexation.



在我看来，没有什么比睡眠更能说明事物间的矛盾。




With me
，

nothing illustrates the contrariness of things better than the matter of sleep.



比如，
我打算 写一篇文章，
面前放好了笔、墨和几张白纸，准保没写几个字我就会困得
要命，无论当时是几点 都会那样。




If
，

for example
，

my intention is to write an essay
，

and 1 have before me ink and pens and
several sheets of virgin paper
，

you may depend upon it that before I have gone very far I feel an
overpowering desire for sleep
，

no matter what time of the day it is.



我瞪着那似乎在谴责我的白纸，
直到眼前一片模糊，
声音也难以辨清，
只有靠 意志力才
能勉强坚持。




I stare at the reproachfully blank paper until sights and sounds become dim and confused
，

and it is only by an effort of will that I can continue at all.



即使这时，我也会迷迷糊糊地像在做梦一样继续坚持工作。




Even then
，

I proceed half- heartedly
，

in a kind of dream.



但是当深夜躺在床上，我什么事都能干，只有睡觉无法做到。




But let me be between the sheets at a late hour
，

and I can do any-thing but sleep.



随着时钟一遍一遍的报时，我可以完成大量的文章。




Between chime and chime of the clock I can write essays by the score.



极有吸引 力的主题和崇高的思想纷纷出现在脑海，
随之而来的还有恰如其分的意象和措
辞。




Fascinating subjects and noble ideas come pell-mell
，

each with its appropriate imagery and
expression.



除了笔、墨和纸，什么也不能阻止我写出半打不朽的杰作。




Nothing stands between me and half-a- dozen imperishable masterpieces but pens
，

ink
，

and
paper.



如果，
我们的思想和主观意象对于来世的人来说真的就像我们的书本和图片一样是有形
的、摸得着的，那么我在来世会比在今生获得更高的声誉。




If it be true that our thoughts and mental images are perfectly tangible things
，

like our books
and
pictures
，

to
the
inhabitants
of
the
next
world
，

then
I
am
making
for
myself
a
better
reputation there than I am in this place.



只要我躺在床上有一两个小时睡不着觉，我就能令自己满意地解决人类一切的疑虑。




Give me a restless hour or two in bed and I can solve
，

to my own satisfaction
，

all the
doubts of humanity.



如果我有兴致的话，我可以谱写出宏伟的交响乐，描绘出壮丽的画卷。




When I am in the humour I can compose grand symphonies
，

and paint magnificent pictures.



我就是莎士比亚、< br>贝多芬和米开朗基罗。
但这一切仍无法令我满意，
因为我还是无法入
睡。




I am
，

at once
，

Shakespeare
，

Beethoven
，

and Michael Angelo
；

yet it gives me no
satisfaction
；

for the one thing I cannot do is to go to sleep.



一旦 到了上床睡觉时间，
五个摄取知识的港口就要关闭的时候，
我认识的大多数人似乎
都能 很容易就忘却了他们在尘世的作用，很快进入梦乡，而我却不能。




Once in bed
，

when it is time to close the five ports of knowledge
，

most folks I know seem
to find no difficulty in plunging their earthly parts into oblivion.



对我来说，
睡眼就像一个忸怩羞怯的情 妇，
喜欢反复无常地挑逗男人，
让男人不停地向
她求爱——“惟恐让男人得的太容易而 显得自己身价太低。
”




It
is
not
so
with
me
，

to
whom
sleep
is
a
coy
mistress
，

much
given
to
a
teasing
inconsistency
and
for
ever
demanding
to
be
wooed
—“lest
too
light
winning
make
the
prize
light”
。




我曾诧异地读过一些大肆吹捧那些好战的超人、
世界和平的巨 大威胁者，
诸如克伦威尔、
拿破仑之类的文章，
文章里说他们“钢铁般的意志”使他们 一躺下就能熟睡，并在某一特定
时间醒来，精神抖擞。




I used to read
，

with wonder
，

those sycophantic stories of the warlike supermen
，

the great
troublers of the world''s peace
，

Cromwell
，

Napoleon
，

and the like
，

who
，

thanks to their “iron
wills”
，

could
lie
down
and
plunge
themselves
immediately
into
deep
sleep
，

to
wake
up
，

refreshed
，

at a given time.



这些故事给了我很大的震动，我决心像他们那样做。
于是上床后，
我就紧咬牙关，
在黑
暗中尽可能显得意志坚定，命令睡眠立刻到来。




Taking these fables to heart
，

I would resolve to do likewise
，

and
，

going to bed
，

would
clench my teeth
，

look as determined as possible in the darkness
，

and command the immediate
presence of sleep.



但是，天哪

！高度集中的精力让我比任何时候都清醒，我不得不在折磨人的失眠中捱
过几个钟头。




But alas
！

The very act of concentration seemed to make me more wakeful than ever
，

and I
would pass hours in tormenting sleeplessness.



我忽略了拥有
“钢铁般意志”
的必要性，
我自己的意志力中很少或 干脆没有这种特殊的
金属性质。




I had overlooked the necessity of having an “iron will”
，

my own powers of will having little
or none of this peculiar metallic quality.



但是同这些具有钢铁般意志的人生活在一起会是多么不舒服啊！




But how uncomfortable it must have been living with these ironwilled folks
！




谁愿意劝告他们，与他们争辩呢？




Who would want to remonstrate and argue with them
？




那还不如用大铁锤打铁砧。




It would be worse than beating an anvil with a sledge hammer.



我承认我一直怀疑那些夸耀自己一上床就能睡着的人——那些
“头一沾枕头就睡着”
的
家伙们。