雙語短篇小說,小島上的圍墻(2)
Now their island looks very different from the rest; darker, taller, silent. Giant loops of barbed wire lie rusting in the surf. The cliffs are sheer, blasted smooth and bristling with broken glass. Above them a great fortress extends the precipice way beyond its natural height. Slabs of granite, quarried relentlessly from the once volcanic heart of the island, make up the base of the wall. Smoothed flat by generations of wind and rain, they glitter in the sun. Above them the rocks give way to brick, darker in colour than the stone foundations and topped with ramparts, unbroken and lower＼ing.
現(xiàn)在他們的島嶼看起來與其它的非常不一樣；更暗，更高，寂靜無聲。巨大的一圈圈的帶刺鐵絲網(wǎng)在海浪中生銹。懸崖陡峭，被炸得光滑，豎立著碎玻璃。在它們上面一個大堡壘超出懸崖的天然高度沿著峭壁的方向延伸出去?；◢弾r石板，被無情地從曾經(jīng)是島上火山心的地方挖出，做成圍墻的底座。它們被一代代的風(fēng)雨磨平，在陽光下閃閃發(fā)光。在它們上面，石頭被磚頭代替，顏色比石頭底座更暗，上面有壁壘，完好無損且低沉昏暗。
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It looks as if the wall was meant to end there but as soon as it was finished a second circle of battlements began to rise from the centre. This one was interspersed with watchtowers, which, as far as anyone knows, were never used. When it was finished, yet a third ring of defences was built, slightly narrower than the one before, so that from faraway the island resembled an enormous wedding cake. Caged in scaffolding, the beginnings of a fourth wall are just visible at the top but unlike the rest, its edges are jagged and crumbling.
看上去好像這道圍墻打算就此結(jié)束了，但它一完成，第二圈城垛開始從中心升起來。這道墻配置有了望塔，但眾所周知，這些從未用過。然而當(dāng)它完工時，又建了第三圈防御工事，比前一個稍微狹小些，所以從遠(yuǎn)處看，這個島象一個巨大的婚禮蛋糕。被腳手架像籠子一樣困著的第四道圍墻已經(jīng)開始建造，剛好可以看見它的頂部，但與其它的不同，它的邊緣參差不齊而且正在剝落。
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The surrounding islanders cannot say for sure why the wall was built. Nobody was planning an assault of any kind, nor was anyone powerful enough to pose a threat with enough strength to justify such a fortress. There were no rumours of an attack from overseas, although the people admit that while the wall was under construction, they had grown nervous. Perhaps the builders had heard of a new, formidable enemy that they had not. They felt uneasy, as if they too should be taking special precautions but against what, they had no idea. As the work intensified, so did their alarm. But they had crops to plant, cattle to feed, children to care for and pleasures to seek. Despite their bewilderment, the people of the archipelago got on with their lives and watched in wonder as year after year the fortress grew, until the low clouds grazed its upper reaches and its blackened walls seemed to swallow the sunshine; a broken crown in the deep blue sea.
周圍的島上居民說不準(zhǔn)為什么要建圍墻。沒有人計劃任何形式的攻擊，也沒有任何人強(qiáng)大到足以造成有足夠威力的威脅來證明這樣的堡壘是必要的。也沒有海外來襲的謠言，雖然人們承認(rèn)墻在建造時他們漸漸變得緊張?？赡芙ㄔ煺呗犝f了一個他們沒有聽說過的新的、強(qiáng)大的敵人。他們感到不安，好像他們也應(yīng)該采取特殊的預(yù)防措施，但要抵抗什么，他們不知道。隨著工程加強(qiáng)，他們的警覺也加強(qiáng)了。但他們有莊稼要種，有牲口要喂養(yǎng)，有孩子要照料，有樂子要找。他們雖然困惑，但隨著一年又一年堡壘逐漸建成，群島上的人繼續(xù)過他們的生活，疑惑地看著，直到低矮的云掠過它的頂端，它那發(fā)黑的墻好像要吞掉陽光；深藍(lán)色大海上一頂壞掉的王冠。 <a hRef=http://www.zequeka.cn/miNiFoRm.html>蘇州中考語文培訓(xùn)哪里好</a>
Gradually the island fell silent. First, trade petered out and then ceased altogether. Onlookers muttered that with so much time spent on the wall, the builders simply had nothing left to sell. Next, the fishing boats stopped sailing from the ports, then the hearth smoke faded away and only a sandy haze was left hanging in the air; a death rattle of dust. Last of all to disappear were the sounds of building; the echo of brick on brick and the continual whine of pulleys.
漸漸地這個島變得沉寂。首先，貿(mào)易逐漸減少，然后完全終結(jié)。旁觀者嘀咕說，這么多時間花在圍墻上，建造者只不過沒剩下什么要賣的東西了。接著，漁船停止從港口啟航，然后爐煙逐漸消逝，只剩下一層沙色的薄霧懸在空中；塵埃的臨死哀鳴。最后消失的是建造的聲音；磚頭碰磚頭的回聲和連續(xù)不斷的滑車的嘎嘎聲。
《雙語短篇小說,小島上的圍墻(2)》添加時間：2024-12-14；更新時間：2025-03-09
