伊恩·麦克尤恩的《梦想家彼得》

唐书哲

作家简介：伊恩·麦克尤恩（lan McEwan）是当代英国文坛最具影响力的作家之一。他1948年出生于伦敦西南部的小镇奥尔德肖特（Aldershot），父亲是一位军人，曾参加过敦刻尔克战役。童年的麦克尤恩曾跟随父亲辗转于东亚、德国和北非等地，1959年返回英国，在一所寄宿学校读书，同学大都来自破碎的家庭，粗鲁而残暴。在孤寂的中学时代，麦克尤恩沉浸于文学的世界，大量阅读格雷厄姆·格林（Graham Greene）和艾丽丝·默多克（lris Murdoch）等作家的作品，希望通过文学改变自己的命运。1967年，麦克尤恩进入苏塞克斯大学（University of Sussex）学习，主修英语和法语，广泛涉猎弗洛伊德的作品并开始进行文学创作，毕业后进入东英吉利大学（University of East Anglia）攻读创作硕士学位。1975年，麦克尤恩的短篇小说集《最初的爱情、最后的仪式》（First Love，Last Rites，1975）出版，在欧美文坛引起强烈反响，一举成名。迄今为止，麦克尤恩已经发表了20余部作品，奠定了他在英国文坛的地位。2008年，麦克尤恩被《泰晤士报》（The Times）评为英国自1945年以来最伟大的50位小说家之一。

作品简介：麦克尤恩是一位多产的作家，迄今共创作了13部长篇小说、3部短篇小说集、2部儿童小说、2部剧作和3部电影剧本，有不少作品已经被改编成了电影。麦克尤恩的小说直指现代人内心的焦虑和恐惧，探讨暴力、死亡和善恶等永恒的主题，文笔冷峻犀利、细腻幽默。余华对麦克尤恩的创作给予了高度评价，他认为麦克尤恩“在写下希望的时候也写下了失望，写下恐怖的时候也写下了安慰，写下寒冷的时候也写下了温暖，写下荒诞的时候也写下了逼真，写下暴力的时候也写下了柔弱，写下理智冷静的时候也写下了情感冲动”。麦克尤恩较有代表性的作品有《水泥花园》（The Cement Garden，1978），《无辜者》（The Innocent，1990），《阿姆斯特丹》（Amsterdam，1998）和《赎罪》（Atonement，2001）等。

内容提要：彼得（Peter）是一个爱做白日梦的孩子。10岁的彼得常常在幻想中离开现实，沉迷于自己迷梦般的世界：他和猫交换灵魂，让母亲和妹妹消失，惩治学校恶霸，机智地抓住小偷……每一次，彼得都被家人从白日梦中唤醒。在《梦想家彼得》（The Daydreamer，1994）这部儿童文学作品中，麦克尤恩抛弃了一贯的黑色叙事，向我们呈现了一个孩子梦幻的世界。选文中，彼得第一次送妹妹上学，产生了小小男子汉强烈的自豪感，在公交车上想象自己在山口和狼群斗智斗勇，保护妹妹凯特，在危机之中点燃了枯枝落叶，吓走了狼群。下车后的彼得依然沉浸在白日梦中，以为忘记从山口把妹妹带回，又开始拼命追赶公交车，被追赶上来的妹妹凯特唤醒，累得瘫倒在草地上，差点弄了一身狗粪。

The Daydreamer（An Excerpt）

Not long after his tenth birthday，Peter was told to take his seven-year-old sister，Kate，to school.Peter and Kate went to the same school.It was a fifteen-minute walk or a short bus ride away.Usually they walked there with their father who dropped them off on his way to work.But now the children were thought old enough to make it to school by themselves on the bus，and Peter was in charge.

It was only two stops down the road，but the way his parents kept talking about it，you might have thought that Peter was taking Kate to the North Pole.He was given instructions the night before.When he woke up he had to listen to them again.Then his parents repeated them all through breakfast.As the children were on their way out the door，their mother，Viola repeated the rules one last time.Everyone must think I'm stupid，Peter thought.Perhaps I am.He was to keep hold of Kate's hand at all times.They were to sit downstairs 1，with Kate nearest the window.They were not to get into conversations with mad or wicked people.Peter was to tell the bus conductor the name of his stop in a loud voice，without forgetting to say"please".He was to keep his eyes on the route.

Peter repeated this back to his mother，and set off for the bus stop with his sister.They held hands all the way.Actually，he didn't mind this because the truth was he liked Kate.He simply hoped that none of his friends would see him holding a girl's hand.The bus came.They got on and sat downstairs.It was ridiculous sitting there holding hands，and there were some boys from the school around，so they let go of each other.Peter was feeling proud.He could take care of his sister anywhere.She could count on him.Suppose they were alone together on a mountain pass 2 and came face to face with a pack 3 0f hungry wolves，he would know exactly what to do.Taking care not to make any sudden movement，he would move away with Kate until they had their backs to a large rock.That way the wolves would not be able to surround them.Then he takes from his pocket two important things he has remembered to bring with him-his hunting knife and a box of matches.He takes the knife from its sheath and sets it down on the grass，ready in case the wolves attack.They are coming closer now.They are so hungry that they are drooling 4 and growling 5.Kate is sobbing，but he cannot comfort her.He knows he has to concentrate on his plan.Right at his feet there are some dry leaves and twigs 8.Quickly and skillfully，Peter gathers them up into a small pile.The wolves are coming closer.He has to get this right.There is only one match left in the box.They can smell thewolves' breath-a terrible rotten meat stench 7.He bends down，cups his hand and lights the match.There is a gust of wind，the flame fjickers 8，but Peter holds it close in to the pile，and then first one leaf，then another，then the end of a twig catch fire，and soon the little pile and larger sticks.Kate is getting the idea and helping him.The wolves are backing off.Wild animals are terrified of fire.The flames are leaping higher and the wind is carrying the smoke right into their drooling jaws.Now Peter takes hold of the hunting knife and...

Ridiculous！It was daydreams like this that could make him miss his stop if he wasn't careful.The bus had come to a halt.The kids from his school were already getting off.Peter leaped to his feet and just managed to jump to the pavement as the bus was starting off again.It was more than fifty yards down the road when he realized he had forgotten something.Was it his satchel 9？No！It was his sister！He had saved her from the wolves，and left her sitting there.For a moment he couldn't move.He stood watching the bus pull away up the road."Come back，"he murmured."Come back."

One of the boys from his school came over and thumped him on the back."Hey，what's up？Seen a ghost？"Peter's voice seemed to come from far away."Oh，nothing，nothing.I left something on the bus."And then he started to run.The bus was already a quarter of a mile away and beginning to slow down for its next stop.Peter sprinted.He was going so fast that if he spread his arms far apart，he would probably have been able to take off.Then he could skim along the top of the trees and...But no！He wasn't going to start daydreaming again.He was going to get his sister back.Even now，she would be screaming in terror.Some passengers had got off，and the bus was moving away again.He was closer than before.The bus was crawling behind a truck.If he could just keep running，and forget the terrible pain in his legs and chest，he would catch up.As he drew level with the bus stop，the bus was no more than a hundred yards away."Faster，faster，"he said to himself.A kid standing by the bus shelter called out to Peter as he passed."Hey，Peter，Peter！"Peter didn't have the strength to turn his head."Can't stop，"he panted，and ran on."Peter！Stop！It's me.Kate！"Clutching 10 at his chest，he collapsed 11 on the grass at his sister's feet."Mind that dog mess，"she said calmly as she watched her brother fighting for his breath."Come on now.We'd better walk back or else we are going to be late.You'd better hold my hand if you're going to stay out of trouble."So they walked to school together，and Kate very decently promised-in return for Peter's Saturday pocket money-to say nothing about what had happened when they got home.

1.此处的downstairs指的是公交车的下层，英国伦敦的公交车多为双层巴士（double-decker bus）。伦敦的红色双层公交车已经成了英国文化的一部分，许多外国游客都喜欢乘坐双层巴士游览伦敦的风光。

2.pass（n.）关隘；山口。例：The Spartan soldiers held the army back for a long time at a mountain pass.

3.此处的pack是量词，a pack of wolves指的是一群狼。类似的表达有：a cake of soap一块香皂，a school of fish一群鱼等。

4.drool（vi.）垂涎；流口水。例：The foreigner couldn't help drooling when he saw the spicy Mapo Toufu.

5.growl（vi.）怒吠；咆哮。例：I kicked the sleeping dog.It suddenly sprung up and growled ferociously at me.

6.twig（n.）树枝；枝桠。例：In some villages，people still gather twigs for firewood.

7.stench（n.）恶臭；臭气。例：The stench of the rotten fish made me sick.

8.flicker（v.）闪动；摇动。例：He gazed upon the flickering fiames in the fireplace and was lost in his memory.

9.satchel（n.）书包。例：He carried a lot of Jin Yong's novels in his school satchel.

10.clutch（v.）抓住；紧握。例：John jumped up to clutch at the branch，but missed.

11.collapse（vi.）倒塌；崩溃。例：If you work too hard，your health may collapse.

作品简评

在《梦想家彼得》中，麦克尤恩放弃了以往小说中的黑色叙事，把注意力放在了孩子的童真世界上。彼得是个爱幻想、有正义感的孩子，他常常在幻想中离开现实，做出一件件英勇之事——他与狼群斗智斗勇保护妹妹，他抓住小偷，惩治校霸，可是每次的“壮举”都被家人从梦中唤醒。选文中，彼得接受爸妈的任务，护送妹妹上学，自豪感油然而生，可是却在与狼群搏斗的白日梦中忘记了现实，结果却成了妹妹的保护对象，最后用自己的零花钱来“收买”了凯特，让她不要把这件糗事告诉父母。可以说作品中的七个故事，包括引言都充满了天真和童趣，书中的彼得有点像《哆啦A梦》中的大雄，善良正直，但又缺乏行动能力，总是喜欢耽于幻想。这本书虽说是写给孩子的，可是成人看起来也会有颇多感触，在生存压力越来越大，生活节奏越来越快的现代社会，做做白日梦似乎已经成了奢侈的事情，童年的美好与天真已然一去不复返了。其实，正如麦克尤恩本人在序言中说的那样“我们之所以喜欢儿童书，是因为我们的孩子读这些书时的快乐，这跟文学关系少一点，而跟爱关系多一点。在写作和大声朗读《梦想家彼得》的初期，我开始觉得这样做也许更好：忘了我们伟大的儿童文学传统，为成年人写本关于儿童的书，用的是儿童也能理解的语言……我希望它的主题——想象力本身——对那些拿起一本书的人来说，都有所参与”。

[True or False]：Read the passage and mark the following statements T（true）or F（false）.

1.Peter's father constantly reminded Peter to take care of Kate.____

2.Peter felt proud that he could protect his sister.____

3.In his daydream， Peter brought two things with him-a knife and a rope.____

4.Peter didn't get off the bus when it arrived at his school.____

5.Kate promised to keep silent about the incident if Peter gave her his pocket money.____

[Completion]：Fill in the following blanks with the phrases given to you.Change the form where necessary.

in charge of，count on，face to face，slow down，bend down，in return，back off，concentrate on，in case，or else

1.You can't____Johnny，because he often breaks his promise.

2.I sent her a bottle of wine____for her helping me with the family chores.

3.Stop smoking now and forever，____your health will be ruined.

4.He was left____the grocery store when the manager was away.

5.Save every copy of your important files____the computer breaks down.

[Cloze]：Read the passage and fill in the blanks with suitable words.The initial letters have been given to you.

The Daydreamer comprises seven stories about a young boy named Peter Fortune whose daydreams place him into various fantastic situations.He discovers a cream that makes people vanish and makes his family d__l__；conquers a bully on the thought that life was a dream s__2__he had nothing to lose but to wake up；t__3__into a cat and fights off a new tabby stray；changes into his baby cousin and e__4__the joys of being a toddler，a doll and gets his arm and leg ripped off to match a mangled doll，and，in the last story，an adult in which he discovers how boring adults are c__5__to kids.The novel was first published by Jonathan Cape and has been t__6__into several languages.It is c__7__to be his first book for children.McEwan read the stories to his children as he wrote them.In an interview he compared his child to Peter，saying he was"quiet，pale，dreamy"and was someone w__8__preferred having close friends.Robert Winder calls the novel a lovely children's book t__9__depicts the gulfs between children and grown-ups vividly.The book was marketed as an adult book in ItaIy and was a__10__for BBC Radio in 2008.

[Translation]：Translate the following sentences from the passage into Chinese.

1.It was only two stops down the road，but the way his parents kept talking about it，you might have thought that Peter was taking Kate to the North Pole.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

2.Suppose they were alone together on a mountain pass and came face to face with a pack of hungry wolves，he would know exactly what to do.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

3.There is a gust of wind，the flame flickers，but Peter holds it close in to the pile，and then first one leaf，then another，then the end of a twig catch fire，and soon the little pile is blazing.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

4.He was going so fast that if he spread his arms far apart，he would probably have been able to take off.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

5.So they walked to school together，and Kate very decently promised-in return for Peter's Saturday pocket money-to say nothing about what had happened when they got home.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

[Writing]：With the rapid development of information technology，online learning is becoming more and more popular.What do you think are the advantages of online learning？Please write an essay to list some of the advantages of online learning.You should write atleast 100 words.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Culture Bridge]：All the foHowing sentences are English translations of some famous lines from Tang poems.Read them and identify the original Chinese text.

1.Looking up，I find the moon bright；Bowing，in homesickness I'm drowned.

2.The Yellow River reaches high beyond the clouds；Amid the massive mountains lies the solitary of a town.

3.The rising moon startles the mountain birds；Which twitter fitfully in the spring gully.

4.In the dusk of the evening where's hometown there's no way to know；Only the misty river's seen in its saddening flow.

5.Awakening from slumber to a morn of spring；I hear the birds everywhere beautifully sing.

【Keys】

【True or False】1.F 2.T 3.F 4.F 5.T

【Completion】1.count on 2.in return 3.or else 4.in charge of 5.in case

【Cloze】1.disappear 2.so 3.transforms 4.experiences 5.compared 6.translated 7.considered 8.wh0 9.that 10.adapted

【Translation】1.只用坐两站路就到学校了，可是父母一再叮咛的样子，别人会以为彼得要带凯特去北极呢。2.假如只有他们两个人到了一个山口，跟一群饿狼狭路相逢，他完全知道该怎么做。3.-阵风吹来，火苗闪动，可是彼得拿着火柴靠近那堆树叶和小树枝，先是一片树叶点燃了，然后又是一片树叶，然后是一根小树枝的一头，很快，那一小堆枝叶燃烧了起来。4.彼得跑得飞快，要是他张开双臂，他也许都能飞起来了。5.他们一起走回了学校，凯特慷慨地应允只要彼得把周六零花钱给她，她就不把今天发生的糗事告诉父母。

【Writing】Online learning can benefit learners in a variety of ways. To begin with，e-learning can improve their performance.A research by the US Department of Education found that students in online learning generally perform better than those in face-to-face courses.E-Iearning can also increase students' access to instructors of the highest caliber.Distinguished teachers can share their knowledge with students through the Internet.For example，the MIT Open Course Ware program has made substantial portions of that university's curriculum and lectures available to online students.Convenience and flexibility are also advantages of online learning.In many countries，online learning is self-paced and the learning sessions are available for 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.In this way，learners are not bound to a specific time to attend classes.They can also pause learning sessions at their convenience.The advantages of online learning have made it a desirable way of learning for people who want to study.

【Culture Bridge】1.举头望明月，低头思故乡。2.黄河远上白云间，一片孤城万仞山。3.月出惊山鸟，时鸣春涧中。4.日暮乡关何处是，烟波江上使人愁。5.春眠不觉晓，处处闻啼鸟.