Chapter 13-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《小王子The Little Prince》

13 The fourth planet belonged to a businessman.This man was so much occupied that he did not even raise his head at the little prince's arrival. “Good morning,”the little prince said to him.“Your cigarette③has gone out.” "Three and two make five.Five and seven make twelve.Twelve and three make fifteen.Good morning.Fifteen and seven make twenty-two. Twenty-two and six make twenty-eight.I haven't time to light it again. Twenty-six and five make thirty-one.Phew!Then that makes five- hundred-and-one million,six-hundred-twenty-two thousand,seven-hundred- thirty-one.” "Five hundred million what?"asked the little prince. "Eh?Are you still there?Five-hundred-and-one million-I can't stop...I have so much to do!I am concerned with matters of consequence. I don't amuse myself with balderdash Two and five make seven..." "Five-hundred-and-one million what?"repeated the little prince,who never in his life had let go of a question once he had asked it. ·078· 13 Dbusinessman /biznismon/n. 第四个行星是属于一个商人的。他实在太忙了， 商人 所以当小王子抵达的时候，他甚至连抬头的时间也 ②occupy/pkjupar/g占用， 占领 没有。 ③cigarette/sIg'ret/n香烟， “早安。”小王子对他说，“你的香烟已经灭 纸烟 了。” “三加二等于五，五加七等于十二，十二加三等 于十五。早安。十五加七等于二十二，二十二加六 ④light /lart/点着，变亮 等于二十八。我实在没时间将香烟再点燃了。二十 六加五等于三十一。哎呀！合计是五亿零一百六十 二万二千七百三十一。” “五亿什么？”小王子问。 “哦？你还在这里啊？五亿零一百万—我不能 休息…我还有很多事要做！我正忙着重要的事。 我从不说无关紧要的话来娱乐我自己。二加五等于 ⑤concern with使关心 ⑥amuse /a'mju:z,使发笑， 七.” 使愉快 “五亿零一百万什么？”小王子追问。他是一个 balderdash /bo:ldodae[/n. 胡言乱语，梦呓 一旦提出问题，就不肯善罢甘休的人。 ⑧once /wAns/conj.-旦 ·079· The Little Prince The businessman raised his head. "During the fifty-four years that I have inhabited this planet,I have been disturbed only three times.The first time was twenty-two years ago,when some giddy goose fell from goodness knows where.He made the most frightful noise that resounded all over the place,and I made four mistakes in my addition.The second time,eleven years ago, I was disturbed by an attack of rheumatism5.I don't get enough exercise. I have no time for loafing.The third time-well,this is it!I was saying,then,five-hundred-and-one million-" “Millions of what??” The businessman suddenly realized that there was no hope of being left in peace until he answered this question. “Millions of those little objects,”he said,“which one sometimes sees in the sky.” “Flies?” “Oh,no.Little glittering⑦objects.” “Bees?” "Oh,no.Little golden objects that set lazy men to idle dreaming.As for me,I am concerned with matters of consequence.There is no time for idle dreaming in my life." “Ah！You mean the stars?” “Yes,that'sit.The stars.” "And what do you do with five-hundred million of stars?" "Five-hundred-and-one million,six-hundred-twenty-two thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one.I am concerned with matters of consequence.I am accurate®” "And what do you do with these stars?" ·080 小王子 商人拾起头来。 “我在这个行星住了有五十四年之久，在这期间 我只被打扰过三次。第一次是在二十二年前，有一 ①gidd妙y"gdla.眼花缭乱 只呆头鹅不知道从什么地方跑出来，横冲直撞的， 的，头晕的，轻率的 到处发出恼人的噪音，吵得我算错四个地方。第二 ②goose/gu:s/n鹅 ③goodness knows天晓得 次则在十一年前，我饱受风湿症之苦，中断了工 ④resound/r1'zaund/.使回 作，这是因为缺乏运动，没有时间散步的缘故。至 响：使…充满声响 于第三次一—啊，也就是这一次了！刚刚我才说到 ⑤rheumatism 'ru:matizam/n.风湿，风 五亿零一百万个—” 湿病 “几亿个什么？” ⑥loaf /lauf/游荡，闲连 商人突然明白，若是不回答他的问题，他是不 能静下心来工作的。 “几亿个那种小东西。”他说，“那种有时可以在 天上看到的小东西。” “是苍蝇？” “哦，不是。是会发光的小东西。” ⑦glitter/glta/闪闪发光， “是蜜蜂？” 闪烁，闪光 “哦，不是。是那种会使懒惰的人做荒唐梦的金 色的小东西。至于我呀，正忙着重要的事。我可没 有工夫去做白日梦。” “哦！你是说星星吗？” “是的。就是星星。” “可你要五亿颗星星做什么呢？” “五亿一百六十二万二千七百三十一。我所忙的 都是重要的事，我的计算都是很精准的。” “你用这些星星做什么呢？” “我用它们做什么？” ⑧accurate /akjurit/a.正确 的，精确的 “是的。” ·081· The Little Prince “What do I do with them?” “Yes.” “Nothing.Iown①them.” “You own the stars?" “Yes.” “But I have already seen a king who--” “Kings do not own,they reign②over.It is a very different matter..” “And what good does it do you to own the stars?” “It does me the good of making me rich③，” “And what good does it do you to be rich?” "It makes it possible for me to buy more stars,if any are discovered.” “This man,”the little prince said to himself,“reasons a little like my poor tippler...” Nevertheless,he still had some more questions. “How is it possible for one to own the stars??” "To whom do they belong?"the businessman retorted,peevishly “Idon't know.To nobody.” "Then they belong to me,because I was the first person to think of it." “Is that all that is necessary?” "Certainly.When you find a diamond that belongs to nobody,it is yours.When you discover an island that belongs to nobody,it is yours. When you get an idea before any one else,you take out a patent on it,it is yours.So with me,I own the stars,because nobody else before me ever thought of⑨owning them.” “Yes,that is true,”said the little prince.“And what do you do with them?” ·082- 小王子 “不做什么。我拥有它们。” “你拥有这些星星？” ①own/aUn/拥有，自认， “是啊。” 承认 “可是，我曾遇见一位国王，他一” “国王不是拥有，而是统治。这两者之间差异 很大。” ②reign /remn/统治，支配， “拥有这些星星对你有什么好处？” 占优势 “它们使我富裕呀。” “富裕有什么用呢？” ③make sb rich使某人发财 “如果有人发现什么新的星星，我就可以买下更 多的星星了。” “这个人，”小王子自语道，“他思考的方式可真 像那个可怜的酒鬼…” 不过，他还有更多的疑问。 “一个人怎么可能拥有星星呢？” nevertheless/inevao'les/ “那星星是属于谁的呢？”商人很不高兴地反 co然而，不过 驳他。 ⑤retort/'tot/y反驳，反 “我不知道。它们应该不属于谁。” 击，回报 ⑥peevishly /pi:vifl/ad.易 “既然如此，星星就属于我，因为我是第一个想 怒地，恼怒地 到这个的人。” “这样就行了吗？” “当然。当你发现一颗钻石并不属于任何一个人 时，那钻石就是你的了。当你发现一座岛屿不属于 任何一个人，那岛屿就是你的。也就是说，当你想 ⑦take out拿出，取出，取得， 抵充 到别人未曾想到的事时，你就可以申请专利，这专 团patent/'peitant/n专利权， 利权就是你的。所以，我拥有星星，因为在我之前 执照，专利品 没有人想过要拥有它们。” ⑨hink of考虑，关心，有 的看法 “噢，那倒是！”小王子说，“可你要它们做什 么呢？” ·083· The Little Prince “I administer them,”replied the businessman.“I count②them and recount them.It is difficult.But I am a man who is naturally interested in matters of consequence." The little prince was still not satisfied. “If I owned a silk scarf,”he said,“I could put it around my neck and take it away with me.If I owned a flower,I could pluck that flower and take it away with me.But you cannot pluck the stars from heaven...” “No.But I can put them in the bank.” “Whatever⑦does that mean?” "That means that I write the number of my stars on a little paper. And then I put this paper in a drawer and lock it with a key." “And that is all?” “That is enough,”said the businessman. “It is entertaining,”thought the little prince..“"It is rather poetic⑧. But it is of no great consequence." On matters of consequence,the little prince had ideas which were very different from those of the grown-ups. "I myself own a flower,"he continued his conversation with the businessman,"which I water every day.I own three volcanoes,which I clean out every week for once,I also clean out the one that is extinct; one never knows when it would erupt.It is of some use to my volcanoes,and it is of some use to my flower,that I own them.But you are of no use to the stars..." The businessman opened his mouth,but he found nothing to say in answer.And the little prince went away. “The grown-ups are certainly altogether extraordinary⑨，”he said simply,talking to himself as he continued on his journey. ·084· 小王子 administer /ad'minista/v. “我要管理它们，”商人回答，“反反复复去计算 管理，给予，执行 它们的数量。这可不是简单的事，可是我生来就是 ②count/kaunt/.数，计算， 计算在内 对重要的事特别感兴趣。” ③recount'ri:kaont/v.重新 小王子还是不甚满意。 计算 “假如我有一条丝绸围巾，”他说，“我会把它围 ④naturally /naetfarol/ad自 然地：天生地 在脖子上带走。如果我有一朵花，我会将花摘下带 ⑤scarf/ska:f/n围巾，头 走。可是你不能将星星从天上摘下来呀” 巾，领巾 ⑥pluck /plAk/,拔去（鸡、鸭 “不错。但是，我可以将它们全部都存放在银行 等)毛：采集，摘（花） 里呀。” “到底什么意思？” ⑦whatever /wpt'ev/a.无 论怎样的，无论哪一种的， “也就是说，我将星星的数目写在一张小纸条 什么也 上，然后把纸条放进抽屉里锁上。” “这样就行了？” “这样就行了。”商人说。 “真有趣。”小王子心想，“虽然很有诗意，但却 毫无意义。” ⑧poetic /pau'etrk/a诗欧的 至于有意义的事，小王子的想法和大人们可真 是大相径庭。 “我自己拥有一朵花，”他继续和商人说着话， “我每天为她浇水。我有三座火山，每个星期都清扫 一遍：我也清扫死火山，因为没有人能预测它何时会 爆发。我对火山和花都有用处，所以我才拥有它们。 然而，你对星星们却一点用处都没有啊…” 商人膛目结舌，却无言以对。小王子便又离开了。 “大人们的确非常奇 怪。”小王子喃喃自语，又 继续他的下一段行程。 ⑨extraordinary k'str:dmar/a.不平常 的，不普通的 ·085·