【有道晨读】《小王子》第十五章

有道晨读 周一至周日每日更新

《小王子》第十五章

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The sixth planet was ten times larger than the last one.

第六个星球比上一个大了十倍。

It was inhabited by an old gentleman who wrote voluminous books.

上面住着一位撰写大部头书的老先生。

'Oh, look! Here is an explorer!' he exclaimed to himself when he saw the little prince coming.

“瞧！来了一位探险家！”当他看到小王子的时候叫道。

The little prince sat down on the table and panted a little.

小王子在桌子旁边坐下，有点气喘。

He had already traveled so much and so far!

他已经旅行了这么久、这么远！

'Where do you come from?' the old gentleman said to him.

“你从哪里来呀？”老先生问。

'What is that big book?' said the little prince. 'What are you doing?'

“这本厚书写些什么？”小王子问。“您在这里做什么？”

'I am a geographer,' the old gentleman said to him.

“我是个地理学家。”老先生说。

'What is a geographer?' asked the little prince.

“什么是地理学家？”小王子问。

'A geographer is a scholar who knows the location of all the seas, rivers, towns, mountains, and deserts.'

“就是知道所有海洋、河流、城镇、山脉和沙漠在什么地方的学者。”

'That is very interesting,' said the little prince. 'Here at last is a man who has a real profession!'

“太有意思了，”小王子说，“这才是一份真正的职业！”

And he cast a look around him at the planet of the geographer.

他环顾了一下地理学家的星球。

It was the most magnificent and stately planet that he had ever seen.

之前他还从未见过这么壮观的星球呢。

'Your planet is very beautiful,' he said. 'Has it any oceans?'

“您的星球真漂亮。这里有海洋吗？”

'I couldn't tell you,' said the geographer.

“我不清楚，”地理学家说。

'Ah!' The little prince was disappointed. 'Has it any mountains?'

“啊！”小王子很失望。“这里有高山吗？”

'I couldn't tell you,' said the geographer.

“我不清楚，”地理学家说。

'And towns, and rivers, and deserts?'

“有城镇、河流和沙漠吗？”

'I couldn't tell you that, either.'

“这些我也不清楚，”地理学家说。

'But you are a geographer!'

“可您是地理学家呀！”

'Exactly,' the geographer said. 'But I am not an explorer.

“不错，”地理学家说，“但我不是探险家啊。

I haven't a single explorer on my planet. It is not the geographer who goes out to count the towns, the rivers, the mountains, the seas, the oceans, and the deserts.

我倒是真缺探险家。应该去搞清楚城镇、河流、山脉、海洋和沙漠数目的不是地理学家。

The geographer is much too important to go loafing about.

地理学家太重要了，不应该到处闲逛。

He does not leave his desk. But he receives the explorers in his study.

他不离开他的办公室，但他会在办公室里接待探险家们。

He asks them questions, and he notes down what they recall of their travels.

他咨询他们，并把他们的见闻记录下来。

And if the recollections of any one among them seem interesting to him, the geographer orders an inquiry into that explorer's moral character.'

如果对其中某个人的见闻感兴趣，地理学家就会让人调查这位探险家的品德。”

'Why is that?'

“为什么？”

'Because an explorer who told lies would bring disaster on the books of the geographer. So would an explorer who drank too much.'

“因为探险家如果说谎，会给地理学书籍造成灾难性后果。还要，酒喝得太多的探险家也不行。”

'Why is that?' asked the little prince.

“为什么”小王子问道。

'Because intoxicated men see double. Then the geographer would note down two mountains in a place where there was only one.'

“因为喝醉了的人会把一个看成两个，地理学家就有可能把一座山记录成两座。”

'I know someone,' said the little prince, 'who would make a bad explorer.'

“我认识一个人，”小王子说，“他要当探险家的话可能会很差劲。”

'That is possible. Then, when the moral character of the explorer is shown to be good, an inquiry is ordered into his discovery.'

“那很有可能。所以，如果这个探险家看上去品德良好，人们就会对他的发现进行调查。”

'One goes to see it?'

“人们去实地查看吗？”

'No. That would be too complicated. But one requires the explorer to furnish proofs.

“不是，那太麻烦了。人们只是要求探险家提供证据。

For example, if the discovery in question is that of a large mountain, one requires that large stones be brought back from it.'

譬如说，如果他发现了一座高山，人们就要求他带回一些大石头。”

The geographer was suddenly stirred to excitement.

地理学家突然兴奋起来。

'But you-- you come from far away! You are an explorer! You shall describe your planet to me!'

“对了，你不是来自远方么！你又是探险家！你可以给我描述一下你的星球！”

And, having opened his big register, the geographer sharpened his pencil.

地理学家翻开他的笔记本，削了削他的铅笔。

The recitals of explorers are put down first in pencil. One waits until the explorer has furnished proofs, before putting them down in ink.

人们先用铅笔把探险家的叙述记下来，等探险家提供了证据之后再用墨水记。

'Well?' said the geographer expectantly.

“那么？”地理学家充满期待地问。

'Oh, where I live,' said the little prince, 'it is not very interesting.

“噢，我住的地方，”小王子说道，“不大会令人感兴趣的。

It is all so small. I have three volcanoes. Two volcanoes are active and the other is extinct. But one never knows.'

它很小。我有三座火山。两座活火山，一座死火山。不过谁也不知道它会发生什么事。”

'One never knows,' said the geographer.

“是没法确定。”地理学家说。

'I have also a flower.'

“我还有一朵花。”

'We do not record flowers,' said the geographer.

“花儿我们可不记。”地理学家说。

'Why is that? The flower is the most beautiful thing on my planet!'

“为什么？她可是最漂亮的！”

'We do not record them,' said the geographer, 'because they are ephemeral.'

“花儿我们不记下来，”地理学家说，“因为花朵的生命稍纵即逝。”

'What does that mean-- 'ephemeral'?'

“‘稍纵即逝’是什么意思？”

'Geographies,' said the geographer, 'are the books which, of all books, are most concerned with matters of consequence. They never become old-fashioned.

“地理书籍是所有书籍中最严肃的，永远也不会过时。

It is very rarely that a mountain changes its position. It is very rarely that an ocean empties itself of its waters. We write of eternal things.'

一座山的位置很少会发生改变，一个海洋里的水很少会完全干涸。我们只记录永恒的东西。”

'But extinct volcanoes may come to life again,' the little prince interrupted. 'What does that mean-- 'ephemeral'?'

“但是死火山是有可能再苏醒的，”小王子打断了他的话。“‘稍纵即逝’是什么意思？”

'Whether volcanoes are extinct or alive, it comes to the same thing for us,' said the geographer.

“火山是死的还是活的，对我们来说都一样，”地理学家说。

'The thing that matters to us is the mountain. It does not change.'

“对我们来说，重要的是山。它不会改变。”

'But what does that mean-- 'ephemeral'?' repeated the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question, once he had asked it.

“但是什么叫‘稍纵即逝’？”小王子重复道。他平生只要提出问题，就永远不会放弃。

'It means, 'which is in danger of speedy disappearance.''

“意思是‘面临很快消亡的威胁’。”

'Is my flower in danger of speedy disappearance?'

“我的花儿也面临很快消亡的威胁？”

'Certainly it is.'

“当然。”

'My flower is ephemeral,' the little prince said to himself,

“我的花儿是稍纵即逝的，”小王子心想，

'and she has only four thorns to defend herself against the world. And I have left her on my planet, all alone!'

“而且她只有四根刺来保护自己，对抗整个世界！我却把她孤零零地留在我的星球上！”

That was his first moment of regret. But he took courage once more.

这是他第一次后悔自己的离开。但他又再度鼓起勇气。

'What place would you advise me to visit now?' he asked.

“您会建议我现在去哪里访问呢？”他问道。

'The planet Earth,' replied the geographer. 'It has a good reputation.'

“地球，”地理学家答道，“它的名声不错……”

And the little prince went away, thinking of his flower.

于是小王子离开了，心中惦念着他的花儿。

朗诵：迪新

翻译：李思

背景音乐：电影《小王子》原声Finding the Rose & Growing up

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