《远方山林》（节选二）

文/琼·克雷格黑德·乔治译析/吴文安

《远方山林》（节选二）

文/琼·克雷格黑德·乔治译析/吴文安

手腕一翻，他把头罩套到“惊悚”头上，然后用牙和另一只空闲的手系紧了拉绳。我看得出来，他的确是一个驯鹰手，而且是好手。我的膝盖发软。

With a twist of his wrist he slips a hood over her head and tightens the drawstrings with his teeth and free hand. He is a falconer, I see, and a good one. My knees feel rubbery.

[2]“惊悚”安静地待着。她看不见，就不动，这就是为什么要给她戴头套。猎鹰戴了头套，就不会扇动翅膀乱动，也就是说它不会飞离你的拳头，头朝下挂在脚带上，扇动翅膀让自己受伤。

“你要拿她怎么办？”我问。

“你抓到她的时候她多大？”

“出生后大约10天。”

“既然这样我不能放她。你是她的第一印象。如果你从小养一只鸟，它会认为你是它的妈妈，它就像你。这样的鸟不会跟同类配对，因为它把人看作同类。如果放生，对于它们种群的延续没什么意义。而延续种群生存是保护濒危动物的首要目的——让它们繁殖并增加种群数量。”

[2] Frightful sits quietly. She cannot see, so she does not move, which is the reason for a hood. If a falcon is hooded she will not bate, that is, she won’t fl y off your fi st and hang head down by her jesses, beating her wings and hurting herself.

“What will you do with her?” I ask.

“How old was she when you got her?”

“About ten days.”

“Then I can’t let her go. She is imprinted on you. If you raise a bird from a chick, it thinks you’re its mother and that it looks like you. Such a bird won’t mate with its kind, because it sees people as its kind. Set free it is worthless as far as the perpetuation of the species is concerned. And perpetuation of the species is what protecting endangered animals is all about—to let them breed and increase their kind.”

[3]“没有饥饿纹，”他把手上的“惊悚”转过来，打量了一番，“我必须得说，作为一个孩子你把鸟儿照顾得很好。”鸟儿初长羽毛的时候，如果吃不上恰当的食物，尾巴和翅膀上就会有饥饿纹。

[3] “No hunger streaks,” he comments as he turns Frightful on his fi st and looks her over. “I must say, you take good care of your bird for a kid.” Hunger streaks appear in tail and wing feathers if a bird does not get the right food during the time the feathers are growing in.

[4]我在想该做什么。朗布里奇先生把脚带紧紧缠在手上，开始往前走。

我走在他旁边，拼命想着救“惊悚”的办法。

我先试试同情心。“先生，我太需要这只鸟了。我和她一起打猎。她给我的餐桌提供食物。”

“附近的德里有个超市。”他说，边说边加快了脚步。我也快步跟上。

我再试试礼貌的恳求。“求你了，先生，放了她吧。”

“刚才都跟你说清楚了。”

[4] I am thinking what to do. Mr. Longbridge has wrapped the leash tightly around his hand and now begins to move.

I walk beside him, desperately working out a plan to save her.

I try pity. “Sir, I need that bird badly. I hunt with her. She provides food for my table.”

“There’s a supermarket in Delhi,” he says, hurrying along. I hurry along too.

I try politeness. “Please, Sir, let her go.”

“You heard me.”

[5]这时天空的雾气消散，太阳出来，我可以更清楚地看到他的脸。他两颊瘦削，鼻子很长，眉毛粗重，眼角的眼袋深暗而显眼。

我再试着跟他理论一番。“先生，你说你不放她因为她不能繁殖。如果她没什么用，不如让我养着她。她对我很有用。”

“笼养期间她会繁殖的。”

“但怎么可能？如果她不会配对的话？”

“人工授精。大学里有一个很成功的人工繁殖项目，就是为濒危猛禽准备的。”这时他端着“惊悚”的手往外伸出来；我伸手去抓“惊悚”。他看到我的动作，就把“惊悚”拽回他的胸口。我够不着了。

[5] The sun now shines out of a hazeless sky, and I can see his face more clearly. He has bony cheeks, a long nose, and heavy brows. Dark crow’sfeet mark the corners of his eyes.

I try reason. “Sir, you say you can’t let her go because she won’t breed. If she is useless, I might as well keep her. She’s useful to me.”

“She’ll be bred in captivity.”

“But how, if she won’t mate?”

“Artificial insemination. The university has a very successful arti fi cial breeding program for endangered birds of prey.” He is holding Frightful out from his body; I reach out to grab her. He sees me move and draws Frightful against his chest. I can’t reach her.

[6]我又试着用哲学来说服他。“但关起来的鸟儿不是真正的鸟儿。一只鸟儿只有成为山林和天空的一部分才算完整。 ”

[6] I try philosophy. “But captive birds are not really birds. A bird must be part of the landscape and sky to be complete.”

【背景知识】冒牌的保护区官员欺骗山姆，把猎鹰没收。山姆并不知道这位官员是冒牌货，只能千方百计把猎鹰要回来。山姆用尽各种办法，想让这位“官员”回心转意，殊不知这位倒卖保护动物的假官员绝不会轻易罢手。

【第一段】第二句中的插入语“我看得出来”移至句首，更符合中文习惯。短语a good one的译文明确为“好手”。山姆看得出这位“官员”是驯鹰好手，觉得不好对付，于是腿发软。

【第二段】动词bate很特殊，专指鹰躁动不安扇动翅膀，需要用比较大的词典才能查到。短语about ten days（直译：大约十天）需要添加“出生后”，意思才更清楚。而短语be imprinted on在这里的意思也较为特殊，指鸟儿由人工饲养，从小见到的就是山姆，算是鸟儿的第一印象。假官员在此编造理由，哄骗山姆。后来山姆把“惊悚”放生，它仍然找到了伴侣。

【第三段】此处的“饥饿纹”也是专业术语，专指鸟儿初长羽毛时如果营养不良会发生的现象。

【第四段】山姆脑筋急转，尝试了几种方法营救“惊悚”。一是抢夺，二是激发同情心，再就是哀求，但都没用。最后一句you heard me，如果直译会是“你听到我了”，这在中文里意思不明，于是转译为“刚才都跟你说清楚了”。最后两句描写假官员的相貌，显然不是一个和善的人。

【第五段】短语in captivity意思是“俘虏、囚禁、圈养”等，因为猎鹰是鸟，所以选择“笼养”一词。山姆一边跟“官员”理论，一边想抢夺猎鹰，还是做不到。假官员满口谎言，还随时提防山姆抢夺猎鹰。山姆毕竟是少年，对付不了假官员。

【第六段】山姆又想到了哲学说理方法，不过终究都没有用，因为这位假官员是倒卖动物赚钱谋生，唯利是图，根本不会考虑少年的心情和动物的安全。

【小结】这一选段有一些专业术语，需要深入查证，以免理解错误。另外，此处心理独白和对话很多，译文要考虑少年口语的特征，不宜过于成人化和书面化。同时，山姆的语气和假官员的话语也要有所区别。一些排比句式（比如I try pity/politeness/reason/philosophy）的译文应该既体现原文句式特征，也要表意清楚。 □

On the Far Side of the Mountain(Excerpt II)

ByJean Craighead George