海倫·凱勒自傳《我的生活》第61期

　　第二十二章

　　I trust that my readers have not concluded from the preceding chapter on books that reading is my only pleasure; my pleasures and amusements are many and varied.

　　我相信我的讀者們并不會(huì)從前面的章節(jié)中得出這樣的結(jié)論——閱讀是我唯一的快樂(lè)。事實(shí)上，我的快樂(lè)和興趣是廣泛而多樣的。

　　More than once in the course of my story I have referred to my love of the country and out-of-door sports. When I was quite a little girl, I learned to row and swim, and during the summer, when I am at Wrentham, Massachusetts, I almost live in my boat. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to take my friends out rowing when they visit me. Of course, I cannot guide the boat very well. Some one usually sits in the stern and manages the rudder while I row. Sometimes, however, I go rowing without the rudder. It is fun to try to steer by the scent of watergrasses and lilies, and of bushes that grow on the shore. I use oars with leather bands, which keep them in position in the oarlocks, and I know by the resistance of the water when the oars are evenly poised. In the same manner I can also tell when I am pulling against the current. I like to contend with wind and wave. What is more exhilarating than to make your staunch little boat, obedient to your will and muscle, go skimming lightly over glistening, tilting waves, and to feel the steady, imperious surge of the water!

　　在講述自己故事的過(guò)程中，我不止一次地提到了我對(duì)鄉(xiāng)間和戶(hù)外運(yùn)動(dòng)的熱愛(ài)。當(dāng)我還是一個(gè)小姑娘的時(shí)候，我就學(xué)會(huì)了劃船和游泳。在馬薩諸塞州的蘭瑟姆過(guò)暑假期間，我?guī)缀跽兆≡谖业拇稀Ｓ信笥褋?lái)訪時(shí)，再?zèng)]有什么能比帶他們出去劃船更令我快樂(lè)的事了。當(dāng)然，我并不能很好地掌握行船方向。在通常情況下，當(dāng)我劃船的時(shí)候，就會(huì)有人坐在船尾為我掌舵。然而，有時(shí)候不靠舵手我也能劃。憑借著水草和百合花，以及岸邊灌木叢的氣味辨別方向是十分有趣的一件事。我使用的是用皮革捆綁的船槳，這樣就能把槳固定在槳架上。當(dāng)船槳處于平穩(wěn)狀態(tài)時(shí)，我可以通過(guò)水的阻力來(lái)感知航行狀態(tài)。用同樣的方式，我也能說(shuō)出船在什么時(shí)候正處于激流之中。我喜歡同風(fēng)浪較量一番。你讓忠實(shí)的小船聽(tīng)命于自己的意愿和力量;你讓它輕輕地掠過(guò)波光瀲滟的水面;你感受著或平穩(wěn)，或洶涌的波浪——還有什么能比這更令人興奮的事情呢!

　　I also enjoy canoeing, and I suppose you will smile when I say that I especially like it on moonlight nights. I cannot, it is true, see the moon climb up the sky behind the pines and steal softly across the heavens, making a shining path for us to follow; but I know she is there, and as I lie back among the pillows and put my hand in the water, I fancy that I feel the shimmer of her garments as she passes. Sometimes a daring little fish slips between my fingers, and often a pond-lilypresses shyly against my hand. Frequently, as we emerge from the shelter of a cove or inlet, I am suddenly conscious of the spaciousness of the air about me. A luminous warmth seems to enfold me. Whether it comes from the trees which have been heated by the sun, or from the water, I can never discover. I have had the same strange sensation even in the heart of the city. I have felt it on cold, stormy days and at night. It is like the kiss of warm lips on my face.

　　我也喜歡劃獨(dú)木舟。我想，當(dāng)你們聽(tīng)說(shuō)我尤其喜歡月夜泛舟時(shí)，你們一定會(huì)莞爾相視的。坦白地講，我無(wú)法看見(jiàn)月亮爬上松樹(shù)的枝頭，一邊悄悄地在天際間穿行，一邊為路人鋪就發(fā)光的小徑。但是，我知道她(月亮)就在那里。當(dāng)我仰面躺在枕頭上，并且把手放在水中時(shí)，我就幻想著觸摸到了她微光閃爍的“外衣”。有時(shí)候，一條勇敢的小魚(yú)會(huì)從我的手指間滑過(guò)，而睡蓮則害羞地?cái)D壓著我的手掌。最常發(fā)生的情況是，當(dāng)我們一從小河灣里劃出來(lái)，我就會(huì)立刻覺(jué)察到周?chē)_(kāi)闊的空間。一團(tuán)明亮的暖意似乎將我圍裹其中，無(wú)論這股暖意是來(lái)自被陽(yáng)光曬熱的林木，還是來(lái)自水面，我都無(wú)法尋覓其蹤。甚至在城市的核心地帶，我也會(huì)產(chǎn)生這種奇怪的感覺(jué)。我已經(jīng)在夜晚和暴風(fēng)驟雨來(lái)臨的時(shí)刻觸摸到了它的氣息，這就好似溫暖的雙唇吻在臉上的感覺(jué)。

　　My favourite amusement is sailing. In the summer of 1901 I visited Nova Scotia, and had opportunities such as I had not enjoyed before to make the acquaintance of the ocean. After spending a few days in Evangeline’s country, about which Longfellow’s beautiful poem has woven a spell of enchantment, Miss Sullivan and I went to Halifax, where we remained the greater part of the summer. The harbour was our joy, our paradise. What glorious sails we had to Bedford Basin, to McNabb’s Island, to York Redoubt, and to the Northwest Arm! And at night what soothing, wondrous hours we spent in the shadow of the great, silent men-of-war. Oh, it was all so interesting, so beautiful! The memory of it is a joy forever.

　　我尤其喜愛(ài)的娛樂(lè)活動(dòng)是坐船航行。1901年夏天的時(shí)候，我去諾瓦斯科夏游覽，這使我第一次有了同海洋親密接觸的機(jī)會(huì)。在伊萬(wàn)杰琳的家鄉(xiāng)——一個(gè)美得如同朗費(fèi)羅筆下的詩(shī)歌般迷人的地方——盤(pán)桓幾日后，我和蘇立文小姐來(lái)到了哈利法克斯，我們?cè)谶@里度過(guò)了幾乎整個(gè)夏天。可以說(shuō)，這座海港城市是我們的快樂(lè)源泉，也是我們的天堂。駕船航行在貝德福德海灣，麥克奈布斯島，約克堡，一直到西北軍(駐地)——這是一次多么偉大而光榮的航行啊!到了夜晚，我們會(huì)一連好幾個(gè)小時(shí)置身在巨大戰(zhàn)艦的陰影之下，那的確是一種愜意而奇妙的感覺(jué)。哦，周?chē)囊磺卸际悄敲葱缕娑利?它給我留下了難以磨滅的愉快回憶。