英譯現(xiàn)代散文●再寄小讀者 ◎ 冰心

再寄小讀者

Another Letter to Young Readers

◎　冰心

◎　Bing Xin

親愛的小朋友：

Dear Little Friends,

4月12日，我們在微雨中到達意大利東海岸的威尼斯。

On April 12, we arrived, amidst a gentle rain, in Venice, a city on the eastern coast of Italy.

威尼斯是世界聞名的水上城市，常有人把它比作中國的蘇州。但是蘇州基本上是陸地上的城市，不過城里有許多河道和橋梁。威尼斯卻是由一百多個小島組成的，一條較寬的曲折的水道，就算是大街，其余許許多多縱橫交織的小水道，就算是小巷。三四百座大大小小的橋，將這些小島上的一簇一簇的樓屋，穿連了起來。這里沒有車馬，只有往來如織的大小汽艇，代替了公共汽車和小臥車;此外還有黑色的、兩端翹起、輕巧可愛的小游船，叫做Gondola，譯作“共渡樂”，也還可以諧音會意。

Venice is a world-famous aquatic city, often compared to China's Suzhou. But, while Suzhou is primarily a land-based city with many rivers and bridges, Venice is a port composed of more than 100 small islands cut by a broad winding waterway serving as its avenue and numerous small crisscross water courses serving as its alleys. And clusters of buildings on the small islands are linked by some 400 bridges of various sizes. There are no motor vehicles. In place of buses and motor cars, motorboats of various descriptions speed to and fro on the congested waterways. Also on the waterways are lovely black small pleasure boats with curved ends, known as gondola, a term that has been translated into the Chinese homonym gondule meaning“share the joy of river-crossing.”

這座小城，是極有趣的!你們想象看：家家戶戶，面臨著水街水巷，一開起門來，就看見蕩漾的海水和飛翔的海鷗。門口石階旁邊，長滿了厚厚的青苔，從石階上跳上公共汽艇，就上街去了。這座城里，當然也有教堂，有宮殿，和其他的公共建筑，座座都緊靠著水邊。夜間一行行一串串的燈火，倒影在顫搖的水光里，真是靜美極了!

The small town of Venice is very interesting. Imagine how every building stands directly facing a waterway instead of a street or lane, and the residents, as soon as they open the door, come face to face with nothing but undulating sea waves and seagulls circling in the air. Walk down a flight of mossy stone steps at their door, and they will be able to get on a public waterboat bound for town. The city also has its own churches, palaces and other public buildings, all situated on the water front. What a wonderful sight it is when strings of their lights are reflected in the quivering water at nights!

威尼斯是意大利東海岸對東方貿易的三大港口之一，其余的兩個是它南邊的巴利和北邊的特利斯提。在它在繁盛的時代，就是公元后十三世紀，那時是中國的元朝，有個商人名叫馬可波羅曾到過中國，在揚州作過官。他在中國住了二十多年，回到威尼斯之后，寫了一本游記，極稱中國文物之盛。在他的游記里，曾仔細地描寫過蘆溝橋，因此直到現(xiàn)在，歐洲人還把蘆溝橋稱作馬可波羅橋。

Venice is one of the three big ports on Italy's eastern coast doing trade with Eastern countries, the other two being Bari to its south and Trieste to its north. In its heyday, that is, during China's Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century AD, an Italian merchant named Marco Polo visited China and became an official in Yangzhou. After 20 years in China, he returned to Venice and wrote Travels of Marco Polo in which he speaks highly of China's rich cultural relics. He makes a detailed description of Lugouqiaoin his travel notes. That is why Europeans today still refer to Lugouqiao as Marco Polo Bridge.

國際間的貿易，常常是文化交流的開端，精美的商品的互換，促進了兩國人民相互的愛慕與了解。和平勞動的人民，是歡迎這種“有無相通”的。近幾年來，中意兩國間的貿易，由于人為的障礙，大大地減少了。這幾個港口的冷落，使得意大利的工商業(yè)者，渴望和中國重建邦交，暢通貿易，這種熱切的呼聲，是我們到處可以聽到的。

International cultural exchange usually begins with international trade. The exchange of top-quality commodities promotes mutual love and understanding between nations. Peace-loving working people welcome“mutual supply of what the other party needs.”In recent years, due to man-made barriers, Sino-Italian trade has dropped sharply. In the face of the declining business of the above-mentioned ports, Italian industrial and business circles long for re-establishment of relations and smooth development of business with China. The same urgent voice is heard throughout the country.

這幾天歐洲的氣候，真是反常!昨天在帕都瓦城，遇見大雪，那里本已是桃紅似錦，柳碧如茵，而天空中的雪片，卻是搓棉扯絮一般，紛紛下落。在雪光之中，看到融融的春景，在我還是第一次!

These few days, the weather in Europe has been unusually bad indeed. Yesterday, snow fell in large flakes on Padova when the city was at the height of its beauty with pink peach blossoms and green willows. It was the first time for me to see a warm snow-covered spring scene.

昨晚起雪化成雨，涼意逼人，現(xiàn)在我的窗外呼嘯著嗚嗚的海風，風聲中夾雜著悠揚的鐘聲;回憶起二十幾年前的初春，我也是在陰雨中游了威尼斯，它的明媚的一面，我至今還沒有看到!今天又是星期六，在寂靜的時間中，我極其親切地想起了你們。住學校的小朋友們，現(xiàn)在都該回到家里了吧?燈光之下，不知你們和家里人談了些什么?是你們學習的情況，還是國家建設?又有幾天沒有看到祖國的報紙，消息都非常隔膜了。出國真不能走得太久，思想跟不上就使人落后!小朋友一定會笑我又“想家”了吧?——同行的人都冒雨出去參觀，明天又要趕路，我獨自留下，抽空再寫幾行，免得你們盼望，遙祝你們好好地度一個快樂的星期天!

There has been a chill in the air since last night, snow having turned into rain. The sound of howling sea wind outside my window is mingled with the melodious sound of bells. I remember that in an early spring of 20 years ago, it also rained when I first visited Venice. Therefore, I haven't as yet seen the city in bright sunshine. Today is Sunday again, and I'm thinking of you warmheartedly. Little friends, those of you who are boarders must now be back at home for the weekend. I wonder what you are talking about with your folks at home in the lamplight. Is it about your studies or about our national construction? Having had no access to up-to-date newspapers from China for several days, I'm ill-informed about things at home. It's probably inadvisable for one to stay abroad for too long, for he may otherwise lag behind ideologically. Little friends, you must be laughing at me for being“homesick”again. Now my fellow travelers are all gone out visiting places in spite of the rain, for tomorrow they will have to push on with the journey. I'm the only one left alone, so I manage to find time to write you a few lines so as to keep you from worrying about me. I wish you from afar a happy Sunday!

你的朋友　冰心

Your friend,

Bing Xin

1958年4月12日夜意大利，威尼斯

— Written on the evening of April 12, 1958, in Venice, Italy

冰心這篇通訊記述她在雨中游訪威尼斯的情況。她在走訪這座著名水上城市時，身在異邦，情系故鄉(xiāng)，不忘給祖國和祖國的兒童寄來一份溫馨的報導。