Julie’s Wolf Pack (Excerpt VIII) 《朱莉的狼群》（节选八）

琼·克雷格黑德·乔治

The border check went on for weeks. The more Kapu scent marked his territory， the stronger he felt and the more peaceful the pack became. Slowly Kapu was healing the devastating loss of the great Avalik alpha male wolf Amoraq. Social harmony was being restored as Kapu developed leadership skills. When he was truly in charge， Raw Bones would not be able to challenge him.

That glorious moment was not yet in sight. Raw Boness disposition worsened. Unable to dethrone Kapu， he began to nip at Sweet Fur Amy. Her keen sense of smell had raised her to a rank above him. She had become a second beta， equal to Zing. As father of the pups-to-be Raw Bones deeply resented this. If he could not be alpha， he must certainly be beta. At every opportunity he bared his teeth and wrinkled his forehead to threaten her into battle. But Sweet Fur Amy would not fight back， and this rendered Raw Bones annoyingly helpless.

Sweet Fur Amys talent developed. She learned to recognize sick animals not only by scent but by subtle limps， the tilt of a head， and the droop of eyes. She no longer wasted the packs time on the healthy. When she picked out a feeble animal， she signaled the news to Kapu and he let her take the lead， much to Raw Boness displeasure.

In daylight and shadow， whenever the opportunity arose， the resentful Raw Bones gave Sweet Fur Amy a painful smack with his rear end. She controlled her desire to fight. He was bigger and older. She could not possibly win.

But she did not like it. When the pack was resting， she strengthened her neck muscles by thrashing heavy caribou hides from side to side. She strengthened her leg muscles chasing the fleet-footed Zing. She ate often. Her black fur reflected blue lights， and her body grew hard and muscular. Raw Bones with all his nastiness was forcing her to become a more powerful wolf than he.

The sun stayed up longer and longer. From twelve hours above and twelve hours below the horizon at the March equinox， it was up all but a few hours in late April. During this time Sweet Fur Amys ability to find weak and sick animals dramatically increased the Avaliks hunting success. It rose from one try in ten to one in five. With abundant food they put on muscle and weight.

In the second week of May the sun stayed up night and day. Without trickle or sound most of the tundra snow vanished in vapor. The birds returned to their grassy nesting grounds by the tens of thousands. The Avaliks ran in constant sunlight. They split caribou herds into smaller groups by running through them. They checked each individual， noted the pregnant females and those with calves. They noted the healthy and pinpointed the sick and old for harvesting at some later date.

邊界检查持续了几个星期。卡普用自己气味标记的领地越多，就越觉得自己强大，而狼群也愈加平静。慢慢地，卡普正在弥补阿瓦里克河狼群毁灭性的损失，就是头狼阿马罗克的去世。卡普逐渐学会了领导技巧，随之狼群中的和谐秩序得以恢复。卡普真正掌控一切的时候，生骨就不能挑战他了。

但那个辉煌的时刻仍然没有到来。生骨的脾气越来越差。他既然不能掀翻卡普，就开始挤压香毛艾米。香毛艾米灵敏的嗅觉使得她地位高于生骨。香毛艾米成了副头狼，跟津的地位一样。然而生骨是即将出生的狼崽的父亲，他为此愤愤不平。他如果做不了头狼，那必须是副头狼。他一有机会就朝着香毛艾米龇牙咧嘴、怒目圆睁，挑衅她来决斗。但香毛艾米不愿意反击，这使得生骨无可奈何，又很烦恼。

香毛艾米的天赋又多了些新功能。她不仅学会了通过气味辨别生病的动物，还学会了通过其他方式来辨别，比如行走不便、头颅歪斜和眼睛低垂等。在她的指引下，狼群不再在健壮的猎物身上浪费时间。一旦香毛艾米发现了虚弱的动物，就告诉卡普，卡普就让她带领大家狩猎。这让生骨很不爽。

光天化日之下，或在暗处，只要有机会，满腔愤恨的生骨就会用自己的臀部狠狠地撞击香毛艾米。艾米强忍住疼痛和反击的冲动。生骨毕竟体型更大、年岁更长。她不一定能赢。

但香毛艾米不喜欢如此。狼群休息的时候，她就把沉重的北美驯鹿皮翻过来翻过去，借此增强颈部的肌肉力量。她追逐脚步如飞的津，借此增强腿部的力量。她进食次数也比以前多。慢慢地，香毛艾米变得更加健壮，黑色毛发闪着蓝光，身体更结实，肌肉更发达。卑劣的生骨逼迫香毛艾米必须变得比生骨更强壮才行。

太阳在空中停留的时间越来越长。3月春分那天，太阳有12个小时在地平线之上，12个小时在地平线之下;现在是4月末，太阳大部分时间都在空中。这段时间里，香毛艾米追踪病弱动物的能力大大提高，极大地增加了阿瓦里克河狼群狩猎的成功率，从十分之一提高到了五分之一。食物充足，因此群狼肌肉和体重都在增加。

到了5月的第二周，太阳停留在空中日夜不落。没有滴水也没有声响，冻原上的大部分积雪就蒸发得无影无踪。成千上万的鸟儿回来了，在茂密的草丛里筑巢。阿瓦里克河狼群在永昼的光芒下奔跑。他们穿插进北美驯鹿群，把鹿群分割为小的群体。他们对鹿群逐一检查，区分出怀孕的母鹿和带崽儿的母鹿。他们还区分出强健的驯鹿，并且特别留意那些老弱病残，以备来日捕猎后者。

【背景知识】狼群里有关地位的争斗永无止息。生骨是外来户，年长、有力，不甘心屈服于年轻的卡普和其他狼，总是在找机会提高自己的地位。他斗不过卡普，就转而欺负香毛艾米。香毛艾米也不甘示弱，努力让自己强壮。食物充足的夏季，狼群一边享受着大自然的赐予，一边进行着内部斗争。

【第一段】第三句原文使用了介词短语后置修饰的方式，译文也使用了补充说明的方式，说明阿马罗克的身份。第四句中的social harmony（社会和谐）不能直译，译文转化为“狼群中的和谐秩序”。

【第二段】第三句中的dethrone（掀下王座）不宜直译，简单化为“掀翻”。而nip at（小口咬）的译文也被转译为“挤压”。

【第三段】第二句译文添加了范畴词“方式”，以总括后面的列举成分。第三句根据全句的意思，译文添加了“在她的指引下”。而she signaled the news to Kapu（她把这个消息向卡普示意）如直译显得过于啰唆，译文简化为“告诉”。

【第四段】原文painful smack（令人疼痛的撞击），译文也没有直译，转化为“狠狠地撞击”，等于变换了描述对象，因为中文里很难把主体和客体合理地融入到一个句子中。而“疼痛”的概念被转移到了下一句中：“艾米强忍住疼痛。”

【第五段】第二句和第三句是排比句式，但译文都调整了语序，使之更符合中文习惯。而原文短句she ate often（她经常吃饭）的译文不宜也用短句，这样将无法理解。译文增译为“她进食次数也比以前多”。第五句的译文添加了“慢慢地，香毛艾米变得更加健壮”，等于补出原因，使得上下文更连贯，读者才会明白香毛艾米为什么“黑色毛发闪着蓝光”。

【第六段】第二句的最后部分是it was up all but a few hours in late April（四月末除了几个小时之外太阳都在空中），译文反译为“太阳大部分时间都在空中”，更加简洁一点。译文还把原文的倒数第二句并入上一句，使之更连贯。最后一句的译文补出了逻辑词“因此”，让中文更顺畅。

【第七段】译文最后一句“They noted the healthy and pinpointed the sick and old for harvesting at some later date.”中的harvesting（收获）不能直译，译文避开了这一隐喻，明晰化为“他们还区分出强健的驯鹿，并且特别留意那些老弱病残，以备来日捕猎后者”。

【小结】这一选段的练习重点是词语以及短语的适度调整和部分语序的调整。文学翻译当中，由于中外语言的不同，很多原文的词语和短语都不能简单直译，需要适度变通才能保证译文质量。原文中隐含的逻辑，在译文中可适当补出，让译文更连贯流畅。                                                                       □