英譯現(xiàn)代散文●困水記 ◎ 何為

困水記

Stranded in a Flood

◎　何為

◎　He Wei

本月上旬，相隔僅一天，我家老房子先后遭逢兩次水災(zāi)。舊筑地處繁華市區(qū)的低洼地，多年來(lái)常為積水所困，但水漫廚房乃至客廳，登堂入室，以今年這兩次最為嚴(yán)重，尤其是第二次。

Early last month, my old house was twice flooded within three days. Situated in a low-lying part of the busy downtown area, it has for years been subject to floods. But the worst flood occurred this year, especially after the second rain, with our kitchen, sitting room and even bedrooms all covered with water.

是日，上午十點(diǎn)許，出門上街到對(duì)馬路的醫(yī)院治眼疾。不久就聽(tīng)到雨聲雷聲，頃刻間窗外白茫茫的雨水混沌一片。百年罕見(jiàn)的特大暴雨，狂瀉如瀑布，如山洪暴發(fā)。雨水的急驟猛烈，雨量之大，真是驚心動(dòng)魄。

On the morning of that day, I went to the hospital on the other side of the street at about 10 o'clock to see an eye-doctor. Soon a fierce thunderstorm broke out and I saw a vast expanse of foamy floodwater outside the window. It was an exceptionally serious rainstorm, dashing down like a cataract or mountain torrents. What a scary scene!

治病購(gòu)藥完畢，只能在候診大廳呆等，病人都被突如其來(lái)的狂風(fēng)暴雨困住了。坐在我旁邊的一位七十多歲病者，為坐困水城頻頻嘆氣。此公聽(tīng)說(shuō)多年前我住過(guò)的羈旅之地，頓時(shí)眉飛色舞提高嗓門，大說(shuō)其福州話，原來(lái)他是福州人。說(shuō)起當(dāng)?shù)氐囊贿B串風(fēng)味小吃，兩人都如數(shù)家珍，談得津津有味。

The patients were stranded by the sudden downpour. All we could do was sit in the big hospital waiting room after having the prescriptions filled. Sitting by my side was a patient in his seventies. He kept sighing over the nasty weather. Learning that I had been a dweller of Fuzhou many years ago, he brightened up at once and began to speak the Fuzhou dialect loudly. He turned out to be a native of Fuzhou. We began to chat with relish about the typical local delicacies of Fuzhou like we were enumerating our family treasures.

話一停，發(fā)現(xiàn)外面的陸地成了海洋，于是只能坐下來(lái)再談榕城風(fēng)情，借以消磨時(shí)間。

Then, during a break in the conversation, we found the streets submerged by water, so we had to sit down and resume chatting about Fuzhou so as to while away the time.

暴雨來(lái)勢(shì)雖猛，其實(shí)時(shí)間并不太長(zhǎng)，由于苦等心焦，感到這場(chǎng)雨像是沒(méi)完沒(méi)了。終于有人試探地?fù)沃鴤阆蛴杲肿呷?，我也跟著起步踏上歸程。

The violent storm did not last long at all. But it seemed interminable due to my impatience. At last, as I saw someone venture into the wet street under an umbrella, I just followed suit.

醫(yī)院的邊門距我家不過(guò)一箭之遙，過(guò)馬路不遠(yuǎn)就是我家的弄堂口。這一段路歷年來(lái)不知翻修過(guò)多少次，無(wú)奈下大雨積水為患，始終沒(méi)有解決。這一天路面更是大水泛濫，水深及膝，我別無(wú)選擇，只能穿著皮鞋在澤國(guó)中小心翼翼地蹣跚而行。

It's only a stone's throw from the hospital to my home, which is situated at the entrance of a lane across the street. The section of the street here has undergone repair I don't know how many times, yet it still floods whenever there is a rain. Now, on that day, it was flooded knee-deep because of an especially heavy rain. All I could do was stagger along cautiously in the deep water in my leather shoes.

偏偏最近又在修路，通行的只是一半馬路，路上坑坑洼洼高高低低，過(guò)馬路又必須從丁字路口繞道過(guò)去。行人很少。我顫巍巍地涉水步行，忽然想起自己的年齡。小時(shí)候，總感到年齡屬于七老八十的長(zhǎng)輩們，與自己無(wú)關(guān)。我的祖父六十歲時(shí)早已蓄須，不免顯得老態(tài)，那時(shí)我只有十歲?，F(xiàn)在我年已八十，在渾濁的水中，有如滾滾浪潮中的一葉孤舟。我閃避汽車開(kāi)過(guò)的泥水飛濺，艱難地過(guò)馬路，進(jìn)弄堂，推入家門，廚房里滿地積水，過(guò)道上也是積水，甚至地面較高的客堂后間也浸滿大水。除了冰箱已提前移開(kāi)，家具都被水淹，我只有望洋興嘆。

It happened that the street was under repair with only half of it for free passage, but full of bumps and hollows. One had to make a detour at a T-juncture. There were few pedestrians. As I tottered through the water, I suddenly thought of my age. When I was a kid, I used to think that age had nothing to do with me and associated it instead only with my elders in their sixties or eighties. When I was ten, my grandpa, at sixty, looked quite old for his age because of the beard he was wearing. Now, as an octogenarian, I was like a solitary small boat drifting at the mercy of a large flow of muddy water. I barely managed to cross the street, taking care to dodge the muddy water splashed over by cars. At last I entered the lane and, pushing open the door of my house, I found the kitchen, the passageway and even the place behind the drawing room all flooded. All furniture, except the fridge that had been previously moved elsewhere, was soaking wet. I felt simply helpless.

這次去醫(yī)院不足三小時(shí)，大部分時(shí)間都在歸途上蕩漾的水中度過(guò)。上了年紀(jì)，老年性疾病相繼襲來(lái)，生活中不少時(shí)光都消耗在醫(yī)院里。兩個(gè)月前不慎傷腳，竟纏上石膏。“石膏長(zhǎng)靴”剛除去，現(xiàn)在又遇水災(zāi)。一個(gè)目力不濟(jì)的八十老翁，無(wú)人扶持，不用拐杖，搖搖晃晃在大水中跋涉，似乎有幾分勇敢，也有幾分悲壯。

Altogether, it took me less than three hours to see the doctor, but a greater part of the time was spent in wading through the floodwater on my way home. People advanced in age are liable to various kinds of senile diseases. That's why they spend a lot of time in going to hospital. Two weeks ago, I had one of my legs in plaster after injuring it through carelessness. Now, with the plaster cast removed, I was harassed by a flood. It seemed a bit of an act of bravery for me, an 80-year-old man with impaired eyesight, to totter through the floodwater without a helping hand or a walking stick. And it's something of a stirring tragedy too.

被無(wú)情的歲月推入老齡社會(huì)的眾多老者，過(guò)著凡夫俗子的生活，惟有自勉自勵(lì)，加強(qiáng)自我保護(hù)意識(shí)，堅(jiān)強(qiáng)地在人生道路上向前走去，否則又如何?

Many who have been forced into the ageing society by inexorable time are now living the life of common people. They need more self-encouragement and more awareness of self-protection, and should live on with a strong will. What else can they do?

《困水記》是散文家何為寫于2001年8月的一篇小品。作者年老多病，孤居鬧市，住房累累水淹，傾訴苦楚，并鼓勵(lì)廣大老齡人加強(qiáng)自我保護(hù)意識(shí)，堅(jiān)強(qiáng)生活下去。