雙語|現(xiàn)代散文:余光中 西歐的夏天

Summer in Western Europe 西歐的夏天

◎ Yu Guangzhong ◎ 余光中

Light-hearted as he seems，a traveler is in fact under great stress．Though on vacation，he is nevertheless subject to the restraint of time．He can do whatever he likes on the trip，but he has to keep the expenditure within the limits of his pocket．Wherever he goes，he has to take with him his cumbersome hand luggage．He faces the most horrible possibility of losing his money and credentials，which will reduce himself to a pauper of unknown background．And，besides，he can never be sure of the weather.

旅客似乎是十分輕松的人，實際上卻相當(dāng)辛苦。旅客不用上班，卻必須受時間的約束；愛做什么就做什么，卻必須受錢包的限制；愛去哪里就去哪里，卻必須把幾件行李蝸牛殼一般帶在身上。旅客最可怕的噩夢，是錢和證件一起遺失，淪為來歷不明的乞丐。旅客最難把握的東西，便是氣候。

That's what I'm like now．I've traveled all the way from the southern tip of Spain to the northern tip of England，experiencing a variety of climates until I've become apathetic to the elements．I'm now sitting in a medieval castle turned hotel，writing an article for my readers．The day is just dawning．In Central Scotland，there lies under the grey wet clouds a wild wooded region，beyond which a green mountain stands faintly visible．In the chilly air of the early morning，I have to be dressed in a woolen sweater while sitting on a stone wall one foot in thickness．But I need，in addition，an outer garment to keep me warm in case I come down the spiral staircase—the intestines of the castle—to take a stroll along an unfrequented path down the mountain slope in search of secluded places of quiet beauty.

我現(xiàn)在就是這樣的旅客。從西班牙南端一直旅行到英國的北端，我經(jīng)歷了各樣的氣候，已經(jīng)到了寒暑不侵的境界。此刻我正坐在中世紀(jì)古堡改裝的旅館里，為讀者寫稿，剛剛黎明，濕灰灰的云下是蘇格蘭中部荒莽的林木，林外是隱隱的青山。曉寒襲人，我坐在厚達(dá)尺許的石墻里，穿了一件毛衣，如果要走下回旋長梯像走下古堡之腸，去坡下的野徑漫步尋幽，還得披上一件夠厚的外套。

By Taiwan standards，Western Europe has practically no summer at all．Summer in Taiwan is characterized by man's copious perspiration as well as daytime chirping of cicadas and nightly croaking of frogs while in big European cities，like Paris and London，the mid-July temperature is so moderate and comfortable that none sweat even in the sun．Hotels and cars in Western Europe are usually not air-conditioned because hot days are so few that people don't bother about having a cooler．The cars I hired for long-distance driving in Spain，F(xiàn)rance and England had fans，but no air-conditioning.

從臺灣的定義講來，西歐幾乎沒有夏天。晝蟬夜蛙，汗流浹背，是臺灣的夏天。在西歐的大城，例如巴黎和倫敦，7月中旬走在陽光下，只覺得溫暖舒適，并不出汗。西歐的旅館和汽車，例皆不備冷氣，因為就算天熱，也是幾天就過去了，值不得為避暑費事。我在西班牙、法國、英國等地租車長途旅行，其車均無冷氣，只能扇風(fēng)。

The climate of Paris in summer is like that of Taipei at night．When you go out on an early morning or late evening，your woolen sweater will be hardly warm enough to keep out the nip in the air．When you walk along the Seine，where it is even chillier due to the strong wind coupled with the cold waters，you have to wear a windcheater．Then，all you need is just an unlined garment in the afternoon when it is warm，but you'll feel like putting on more when you are under the shade of buildings or trees．That's all for things aboveground．Now things underground．The subway of Paris is better than that of New York，London or Madrid，but it is so hot and stuffy that you feel like taking off your woolen sweater．Consequently you'll be annoyed by having to don or doff your clothes now and then，depending on whether you're aboveground or underground．In July，Parisians in the open are seen dressed in the clothes of all seasons，ranging from young girls' vests and short skirts to elderly women's thick overcoats．In July，Paris has sunny weather almost every day．Sometimes the sky is blue and cloudless for days on end and，when night comes，it never turns pitch dark，but remains a deep blue．There are no mountains in its vicinity and few high-rises in the city proper．Montmartre in the north of the city is a mere hillock．As the sun never sinks below the horizon until 9:30 pm，the days seem even longer and the nights even shorter．And the afternoons seem to last endlessly．Nevertheless，sometimes a thunderbolt also comes from the clear sky．On the morning of July 14，F(xiàn)rench National Day，when President Mitterrand was presiding over the review of a massive military parade on Champs Elysées，it suddenly started raining in torrents．The President and the military band，caught in the downpour，found themselves in a very awkward situation．TV viewers even saw the bandmaster bend down quickly to pick up the baton he had dropped onto the ground in a flurry.

巴黎的所謂夏天，像是臺北的深夜，早晚上街，涼風(fēng)襲肘，一件毛衣還不足御寒。如果你走塞納河邊，風(fēng)力加上水氣，更需要一件風(fēng)衣才行。下午日暖，單衣便夠，可是一走到樓影或樹陰里，便嫌單衣太薄。地面如此，地下卻又不同。巴黎的地車比紐約、倫敦、馬德里的都好，卻相當(dāng)悶熱，令人穿不住毛衣。所以地上地下，穿穿脫脫，也頗麻煩。7月在巴黎的街上，行人的衣裝，從少女的背心短褲到老嫗的厚大衣，四季都有。7月在巴黎，幾乎天天都是晴天，有時一連數(shù)日碧空無云，入夜后天也不黑下來，只變得深洞洞的暗藍(lán)。巴黎附近無山，城中少見高樓，城北的蒙馬特也只是一個矮丘，太陽要到九點半才落到地平線上，更顯得晝長夜短，有用不完的下午。不過晴天也會突來霹靂：7月14日法國國慶那天上午，密特朗總統(tǒng)在香熱里榭大道主持閱兵盛典，就忽來一陣大雨，淋得總統(tǒng)和軍樂隊狼狽不堪。電視的觀眾看得見雨氣之中，樂隊長的指揮杖竟失手落地，連忙俯身拾起。

In Northern and Central France lie boundless level plains with varying climates．Rouen，which is a one-hour ride to the north of Paris，is cooler while the central reaches of the Loire River，which is a two-hour ride to the southwest of Paris，is much warmer．The latter becomes very hot in the afternoon，but cooler at night with the bright moon and stars in the sky.

法國北部及中部地勢平坦，一望無際，氣候卻有變化。巴黎北行一小時至盧昂，就覺得冷些；西南行二小時至羅瓦河中流，氣候就暖得多，下午竟頗燠熱，不過入夜就涼下來，星月異常皎潔。

Down in Spain，the climate is arid and warm．Madrid is located in the center of a plateau．Its noontime temperature in July is not sultry，and you have to wear a woolen sweater towards the evening．In Southern Spain，when driving in the Andalucia region and along the Costa del Sol，I found everything dry and hot．The grass was turning yellow and the rocks were dry．The earth was like a pancake roasting under the deep blue firmament．Alarmingly，the roadside grass often started burning by itself．Unlike Taiwan which is humid，Southern Spain is hot and dry and so people there don't sweat at all.

再往南行入西班牙，氣候就變得干暖。馬德里在高臺地的中央，七月的午間并不悶熱，入夜甚至得穿毛衣。我在南部安達(dá)露西亞地區(qū)及陽光海岸開車，一路又干又熱，枯黃的草原，干燥的石堆，大地像一塊烙餅，攤在酷藍(lán)的天穹之下，路旁的草叢常因干燥而起火，勢頗驚人。可是那是干熱，并不令人出汗，和臺灣的濕悶不同。

England is at the other extreme，being overcast and wet with a low temperature．It was gloomy all the time and kept drizzling intermittently during the three days when I stayed in the River Embankment area of London．Sometimes the morning sun made its brief appearance at daybreak，but the sky turned overcast soon after breakfast．While crossing Waterloo Bridge with Wocun against the July wind blowing from the River Thames，a nip in the air sent shivers down my spine，forcing me to turn up my fur collar．We drove up north through Oxford with its dreamy spires，Ludlow with its illusory old castles and Chester with its ancient bridge and solitary ferry crossing．Rain clouds continued to hang over our car and raindrops remained intact on its windows．After entering the Lake District，Cumbria，we found rivers and lakes everywhere and the sky full of rain clouds．Occasionally a speck of light blue would appear over the horizon only to be soon blotted out by dark grey rain clouds．I could not help complaining against Wordsworth for grudging me a sunny scene of the beautiful Lakeland as described in his poems．In Hawkshead，I put up for one night at a small inn．Looking out of its window，I saw all trees around the lakes wet with rain and all mountains shrouded by clouds．How I longed to tell the great poet[1] lying in Grasmere Churchyard that in ancient China there was also a great poet[2] domiciled in a region of rivers and lakes！

英國則趨于另一極端，顯得陰濕，氣溫也低。我在倫敦的河堤區(qū)住了三天，一直是陰天，下著間歇的毛毛雨。即使破曉時露一下朝暾，早餐后天色就陰沉下來了。與我存走過滑鐵盧橋，7月的河風(fēng)吹來，水氣陰陰，令人打一個寒噤，把毛的翻領(lǐng)拉起。我們開車北行，一路上經(jīng)過塔尖如夢的牛津，城樓似幻的勒德洛，古橋野渡的蔡斯特，雨云始終罩在車頂，雨點在車窗上也未干過。進(jìn)入步布瑞亞的湖區(qū)之后，遍地江湖，滿空云雨，偶見天邊綻出一角薄藍(lán)，立刻便有更多的灰云挾雨遮掩過來。真要怪華茲華斯的詩魂小氣，不肯讓我一窺他詩中的晴美湖光。在我一夕投宿的鷹頭小店棧樓窗望出去，沿湖一帶，樹樹含雨，山山帶云，很想告訴格拉斯米教堂墓地里的詩翁，我國古代有一片云夢大澤，也出過一位水氣逼人的詩宗。

《西歐的夏天》的作者是臺灣著名詩人、散文家、學(xué)者余光中。他祖籍閩南，生于江蘇南京。1947年入金陵大學(xué)外語系。1949年隨父母遷香港，次年赴臺。1952年畢業(yè)于臺灣大學(xué)外語系。1959年獲美國愛荷華大學(xué)藝術(shù)碩士學(xué)位。曾先后任教于臺灣若干大學(xué)。