Neighbour Rosicky (Excerpt X)《邻居罗西基》（节选十）

Moreover， he had what he called a happy home life. Very near the tailor shop was a small furniture-factory， where an old Austrian， Loeffler， employed a few skilled men and made unusual furniture， most of it to order， for the rich German housewives uptown. The top floor of Loeffler’s five-storey factory was a loft， where he kept his choice lumber and stored the old pieces of furniture left on his hands. One of the young workmen he employed was a Czech， and he and Rosicky became fast friends. They persuaded Loeffler to let them have a sleeping-room in one corner of the loft. They bought good beds and bedding and had their pick of the furniture kept up there. The loft was low-pitched， but light and airy， full of windows， and good-smelling by reason of the fine lumber put up there to season. Old Loeffler used to go down to the docks and buy wood from South America and the East from the sea captains. The young men were as foolish about their house as a bridal pair. Zichec， the young cabinet-maker， devised every sort of convenience， and Rosicky kept their clothes in order. At night and on Sundays， when the quiver of machinery underneath was still， it was the quietest place in the world， and on summer nights all the sea winds blew in. Zichec often practised on his flute in the evening. They were both fond of music and went to the opera together. Rosicky thought he wanted to live like that for ever.

此外他还享有一种他所谓的“幸福家庭生活”。紧挨着服装厂是一家小家具厂，家具厂老板是个叫勒夫勒的奥地利人，勒夫勒雇了几个熟练工做特种家具，那些式样独特的家具大多是由住宅区那些有钱的德国主妇订购。家具厂有五层楼，顶层是阁楼，是勒夫勒存放上等木料和待售家具的地方。几名熟练工中有个捷克小伙子，他和罗西基很快就成了好朋友。他们说服勒夫勒让他俩把阁楼的一角当成卧室。他们买来舒适的卧床和床上用品，家具则从存放在那里的货物中挑喜欢的用。阁楼的斜屋顶很低，但窗户很多，所以采光通风都不错，而且存放在那儿风干的上等木材散发出一股清香。老板勒夫勒经常去码头，从船上购买从南美和东方运来的木材。两个年轻人像新婚夫妇那样傻里傻气地布置他们的卧室，那个叫齐赫克的年轻木匠设计并制作了各种各样家庭便利用具，罗西基则把他们的衣服收拾得整整齐齐。每到晚上或周末，当楼下机器的震动平息之后，那里就成了世界上最安静的地方，夏夜更有海风吹入。齐赫克经常在傍晚时分吹奏长笛。他俩都喜欢音乐，常一起去听歌剧。那时候罗西基以为，他希望永远像那样生活下去。

But as the years passed， all alike， he began to get a little restless. When spring came round， he would begin to feel fretted， and he got to drinking. He was likely to drink too much of a Saturday night. On Sunday he was languid and heavy， getting over his spree. On Monday he plunged into work again. So he never had time to figure out what ailed him， although he knew something did. When the grass turned green in Park Place， and the lilac hedge at the back of Trinity churchyard put out its blossoms， he was tormented by a longing to run away. That was why he drank too much; to get a temporary illusion of freedom and wide horizons.

但随着时光的流逝，一切都还是老样子，他开始感到一丝不安。春天一来，他便开始觉得烦躁，于是就去喝酒。星期六晚上他有可能喝多，到星期天都会头重脚轻，没精打采，难以恢复。星期一他又一头扎进工作。所以，虽然他知道自己烦躁总有原因，但却没有时间来思考那原因到底是什么。当公园广场的草坪变绿的时候，当三一教堂后院的丁香树篱开花的时候，他会被逃离纽约的渴望苦苦折磨。这就是他当时酗酒的原因：在杯中觅得片刻梦幻，在酒中获得无垠自由。

Rosicky， the old Rosicky， could remember as if it were yesterday the day when the young Rosicky found out what was the matter with him. It was on a Fourth of July afternoon， and he was sitting in Park Place in the sun. The lower part of New York was empty. Wall Street， Liberty Street， Broadway， all empty. So much stone and asphalt with nothing going on， so many empty windows. The emptiness was intense， like the stillness in a great factory when the machinery stops and the belts and bands cease running. It was too great a change， it took all the strength out of one. Those blank buildings， without the stream of life pouring through them， were like empty jails. It struck young Rosicky that this was the trouble with big cities; they built you in from the earth itself， cemented you away from any contact with the ground. You lived in an unnatural world， like the fish in an aquarium， who were probably much more comfortable than they ever were in the sea.

罗西基，这个年老的罗西基，还能清楚地记得，年轻的罗西基发现是什么使他烦恼的那天，那天仿佛就是昨天。那是一个独立日的下午，他坐在公园广场上晒太阳。当时纽约下城区空空荡荡，华尔街、自由街和百老汇都空无人影，纵横交错的大街小巷没有了车辆人流，密密麻麻的窗户眼都那么空茫。空虚感是如此强烈，就像突然没有了机器轰鸣和皮带转动的大工厂里的那种死寂。这种变化太大，能抽干一个人的全部力量。没有生命之潮涌进涌出，那些空空的大厦就像没有囚犯的监狱。年轻的罗西基猛然发现，这就是生活在大都市的烦恼，大都市用高楼把你与泥土分开，用水泥把你与土地隔绝。人们生活在一个非自然的世界，就像生活在水族馆的鱼，尽管鱼生活在水族馆也许比生活在海洋中更为安逸。

【背景知识】 《邻居罗西基》是美国女作家薇拉·凯瑟（1873—1947）于1830年发表的一篇重要短篇小说。小说通过回忆和追述的手法，讲述了波希米亚移民罗西基朴素而充实的一生，展现了拓荒者及其后代善良、朴素、勤劳、热爱生活、眷念土地的可贵品质。小说主题深刻，结构匀称，笔触细腻，文字优美，人物性格刻画清晰，翻译时应注意描摹。

【第1段】 此段故事娓娓道来，不难翻译。但初学翻译者需要注意两点：一是此段中两个人名的翻译，家具厂老板是奥地利人，所以他的名字Loeffler应该按德语姓名翻译成“勒夫勒”，而不能像有些人那样照英语名习惯翻译成“罗弗勒”，年轻木匠是捷克人，其名字Zichec应按捷克姓名翻译成“齐赫克”，而非“契柴克”；二是注意第七句末尾的不及物动词season的意思是to dry lumber until ready for use（风干木材）。

【第2段】 注意would用于第三人称可表示在特定条件下会产生的结果，这时would可译成“就”或“便”，如把“he would begin to feel fretted”译成“他便开始觉得烦躁”。有人把此段末句分号后的“to get a temporary illusion…”翻译成“以寻求一种自由自在、广阔无垠的梦幻”。请将这句译文与参考译文进行比较，辨析各自的可取之处。

【第3段】 这段原文用四个empty和一个emptiness来描写外景的空荡，实际上是在烘托主人公罗西基内心的空虚。要再现这段原文所营造的外景氛围和主人公的内心感受，译者首先要讲究遣词选字，例如参考译文把so many empty windows翻译成“密密麻麻的窗户眼都那么空茫”（用“密密麻麻”对应so many，用“窗户眼”对应windows，用“空茫”对应empty，这样更能引起读者的联想，更能让外景与内情交织融合）。其次要讲究音韵节奏的跌宕起伏，例如参考译文“大都市用高楼把你与泥土分开”这句中的“分开”开始用的是“分离”，但译完后一读，觉得此句末尾用“阴平”更好，更能让读者感受到节奏上的张弛。

【小结】 本次译析指出了英译汉译者容易忽略的外国人名翻译问题，提醒翻译外国人名要注意不同的国别，不能一概根据英语发音（建议译者手边备一部《世界人名翻译大辞典》或《世界姓名译名手册》）。首次强调了译文要讲究遣词选字，讲究音韵节奏。朱光潜先生曾在《谈翻译》一文中说：“文字传神，大半要靠声音节奏……对于文学作品无论是阅读或是翻译，如果没有抓住它的声音节奏，就不免把它的精华完全失去。”（商务印书馆1984年版《翻译论集》第451页）