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【给孩子的中英文现代诗】《电视》

 新用户75021kDM 2021-06-01

他今天我们读英国诗人罗尔德.达尔(Roald Dahl)的诗: 《电视》

电视

关于孩子,我们学到的

最重要的事

是永远、永远、永远不要让

他们靠近你的电视–

或者最好,干脆别安装

那个蠢东西。

几乎我们去过的每一户人家

我们都看到他们张嘴傻看着屏幕。

歪着、趴着、靠着,

一直盯到眼球掉出来。

(上周在一个人家里我们看到

地板上有十二只眼球。)

他们坐着盯着,盯着坐着

直到不可自拔

直到完全沉醉

在那些耸人听闻的垃圾里。

哦,是的,我们知道电视让他们安静,

他们不爬出窗台,

他们从来不打、不踢、不揍,

让你有时间做午饭,

洗水槽里的碗盘--

但你有没有停下来想过

你心爱的小家伙到底在经受什么。

思维腐烂!

想象消逝!

头脑堵塞!

它让孩子如此沉闷盲目

他再不能理解

童话、仙境!

他的大脑变得像奶酪一样软!

他的思考力生锈僵冻!

他不能思考 –只会看!

“好吧!”你会喊。“好吧!”你会说,

“如果我们把电视拿开,

我们让亲爱的孩子们

玩什么?请解释!“

回答这个问题我们问你,

“以前的孩子们做什么?

他们以前怎样自娱自乐

在这个怪物发明之前?

你忘了吗?你不知道?

我们要缓慢大声的说:

他们。。过去。。读书!他们读啊、读啊

读啊读,然后继续读

更多!啊呀!天哪!

他们半辈子都读书!

托儿所书架上摆满书!

地板上堆满书!

卧室、床边

更多书等着被读!

如此奇妙、美好、超凡的故事

有龙、吉普赛人、女王、鲸鱼

藏宝岛、和遥远海岸

那里走私船闷声划桨

还有穿紫色裤子的海盗

和帆船、大象

和食人族围蹲在锅旁

搅拌热气腾腾的食物

(闻起来真香。是什么呢?

天啊,是珀涅罗珀1!)

更小的孩子有毕翠克丝.波特2

陶德先生,那个脏兮兮的坏家伙

松鼠纳特金、小猪布兰德

温克尔夫人、还有

《骆驼怎么有了驼峰》、

《猴子怎么没了屁股》

还有蛤蟆先生,我的天!

还有老鼠先生、鼹鼠先生

哦,书啊!他们过去读的那些书,

那些很久之前的孩子们!

所以请你,哦!请你,我们恳请、我们祈求

你去扔掉你的电视机。

在空出的地方,在墙上

装一个可爱的书架。

把它填满书,

不要管那些难看的表情,

尖叫、怒吼、咬和踢

还有孩子们用棍子打你。

别怕,因为我们保证

一两周内

没有其他事干,

他们会开始感觉

要读点什么。

一旦他们开始,啊呀!啊呀!

瞧吧,喜悦慢慢盛开

充满他们内心。他们会变得敏锐无比。

他们会疑惑他们在

那个可笑的机器里都看了什么,

那个恶心、讨厌、肮脏

令人反感的电视屏幕!

然后,每一个孩子

都会因为你的行动更爱你。

备注 1. 珀涅罗珀是荷马史诗中奥德赛的妻子,20多年等待丈夫回家。

2. 毕翠克丝.波特是英国童话作家,后面的童话人物和书名都来自她的作品。

翻译/ 素玲

这首诗的原文是:

Television

The most important thing we've learned,

So far as children are concerned,

Is never, NEVER, NEVER let

Them near your television set --

Or better still, just don't install

The idiotic thing at all.

In almost every house we've been,

We've watched them gaping at the screen.

They loll and slop and lounge about,

And stare until their eyes pop out.

(Last week in someone's place we saw

A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)

They sit and stare and stare and sit

Until they're hypnotised by it,

Until they're absolutely drunk

With all that shocking ghastly junk.

Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,

They don't climb out the window sill,

They never fight or kick or punch,

They leave you free to cook the lunch

And wash the dishes in the sink --

But did you ever stop to think,

To wonder just exactly what

This does to your beloved tot?

IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!

IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!

IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!

IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND

HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND

A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!

HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!

HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!

HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES!

'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,

'But if we take the set away,

What shall we do to entertain

Our darling children? Please explain!'

We'll answer this by asking you,

'What used the darling ones to do?

'How used they keep themselves contented

Before this monster was invented?'

Have you forgotten? Don't you know?

We'll say it very loud and slow:

THEY... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ,

AND READ and READ, and then proceed

To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!

One half their lives was reading books!

The nursery shelves held books galore!

Books cluttered up the nursery floor!

And in the bedroom, by the bed,

More books were waiting to be read!

Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales

Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales

And treasure isles, and distant shores

Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,

And pirates wearing purple pants,

And sailing ships and elephants,

And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,

Stirring away at something hot.

(It smells so good, what can it be?

Good gracious, it's Penelope.)

The younger ones had Beatrix Potter

With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,

And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,

And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-

Just How The Camel Got His Hump,

And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,

And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,

There's Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole-

Oh, books, what books they used to know,

Those children living long ago!

So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,

Go throw your TV set away,

And in its place you can install

A lovely bookshelf on the wall.

Then fill the shelves with lots of books,

Ignoring all the dirty looks,

The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,

And children hitting you with sticks-

Fear not, because we promise you

That, in about a week or two

Of having nothing else to do,

They'll now begin to feel the need

Of having something to read.

And once they start -- oh boy, oh boy!

You watch the slowly growing joy

That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen

They'll wonder what they'd ever seen

In that ridiculous machine,

That nauseating, foul, unclean,

Repulsive television screen!

And later, each and every kid

Will love you more for what you did.

--

这首诗有没有让你连连点头?如果我们把电视换成手机,这首诗会像今天我们面临的问题:孩子在手机上被动接受信息和感官刺激,而失去想象力和主动思考的能力。如果我们把屏幕换成书籍,孩子们会慢慢体会思考和想象的快乐,会头脑活跃思维敏锐。

这首诗的英文原文是押韵的,读起来非常流畅可爱。我试图在翻译中保留押韵,但是为了押韵,译文会不得不用生僻或和原文有出入的词,所以最后的中文翻译没有押韵,只是尽量译出作者的口吻。

--

罗尔德.达尔(1916-1990)是英国著名作家,他的作品销售了2亿5千多万本,被翻译成60多种语言,他的代表作有:《查理和巧克力工厂》《马提尔达》、《BFG》等。他出生在英国威尔士,父母来自挪威,并以第一个到达南极的挪威人的名字命名他。他童年时父亲和姐姐去世,从小热爱读书,尤其喜欢英雄和冒险故事,母亲也给他讲了很多挪威传说。母亲非常注重他的教育,送他去寄宿学校,但他不喜欢寄宿学校里体罚的风气。他长大后,近2米高,热爱旅行,非常勇敢。他在二战中入伍,成为一名杰出的战斗机飞行员,后来还做过间谍,30多岁时开始发表作品,成为世界最有影响力的儿童文学作家之一。

英国由苏格兰(Scotland)、英格兰(England)、威尔士(Wales)和北爱尔兰(Northern Ireland)组成,下面英国地图,你能找到罗尔德的出生地区吗?

--

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