牛津書蟲系列 格列佛游記 5 A voyage to Brobdingnag

5 A voyage to Brobdingnag

5 到布羅卜丁奈格

I left Bristol on June 20th，1702，in a ship which was sailing to India.We had good sailing weather until we reached the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa， where we landed to get fresh water.We had to stay there for the winter，however，because the ship needed repairs and the captain was ill.In the spring we left Africa and sailed round the island of Madagascar into the Indian Ocean.But on 19th April the wind began to blow very violently from the west，and we were driv-en to the east of the Molucca Islands.On 2nd May the wind stopped blowing and the sea was calm.But our captain，who knew that part of the world very well，warned us that there would be a storm the next day.So we prepared the ship as well as we could，and waited.

我于1702年6月20日離開布里斯托爾，搭乘一艘駛往印度的船。直到我們到達(dá)南非好望角，天氣一直有利于航行。在好望角，我們登陸取了淡水，不過我們不得不留在那兒過冬，因為船需要維修，船長也生病了。春天里我們離開了非洲繞著馬達(dá)加斯加島進(jìn)入印度洋。4月19日起從西邊來的風(fēng)開始猛烈地刮起來了，我們被刮到了摩鹿加群島以東。5月2日風(fēng)停了，海面又恢復(fù)了平靜?？墒俏覀兊拇L警告我們，第二天還會有風(fēng)暴，他對這一部分世界了解得很清楚，所以我們盡可能把船檢修好，準(zhǔn)備迎戰(zhàn)。

The captain was right.On 3rd May the wind began to get stronger.It was a wild，dangerous wind，blowing from the south this time.We had to take down our sails as the storm hit our ship.Huge waves crashed down on to us，and the wind drove our helpless ship eastwards into.the Pacific Ocean.

船長說對了。5月3日風(fēng)勢漸猛，這是非?？駚y、危險的風(fēng)，這次從南面刮來。風(fēng)暴襲來時，我們不得不取下風(fēng)帆。巨大的海浪向我們砸來，風(fēng)把我們無助的船向東刮進(jìn)了太平洋。

For several days we struggled with the wind and waves，but at last the storm died away and the sea was calm again.Luckily，our ship was not badly damaged，but we had been driven over two thousand kilometres to the east. None of us knew exactly where we were，so the captain decided to contin-ue sailing eastwards，where we had never been before.We sailed on for another two weeks.

我們與風(fēng)浪搏斗了好幾天，最后岡暴平息，海面再次恢復(fù)平靜。幸運(yùn)的是，我們的船損壞得并不嚴(yán)重，不過我們被風(fēng)刮得向東走了2000多公里，誰也說不清我們的具體位置，船長決定繼續(xù)向東行駛，那是我們從來沒有到過的。我們向前又行駛了兩周。

Finally，on 16th June，1703，we saw a large island with a small piece of land joined to it.I later discovered that this country was called Brobdingnag.The captain sent some of his sailors in a boat to land there and bring back some fresh water.I went with them because I was interested in seeing a new country.We were delighted to be on land again，and while the men looked for a river or a lake，I walked for about a kilometre away from the beach.

最后，在1703年6月16日我們看見了一個大島，還有一小片陸地與它相連。我后來得知這個國度叫布羅卜丁奈格。船長派幾個水手乘一只小船登陸取些淡水，我和他們一起去，因為我對看看一個新國家很有興趣。再次登上陸地，大家都很興奮，在他們找河流或湖泊時，我離開岸邊向里走了大約1公里。

When I returned，to my astonishment I saw that the sailors were already in the boat.They were rowing as fast as they could towards the ship!I was going to shout to tell them they had forgotten me，when suddenly I saw a huge creature walk-ing after them into the sea.I realizea he could not catch them，because they had nearly got to the ship，but I did not wait to see the end of that adventure.I ran away from him as fast as possible，and did not stop until I found myself in some fields.The grass was about seven metres high，and the corn about thirteen metres high.It took me an hour to cross just one field，which had a hedge at least forty metres high.The trees were much taller than that.Just as I was trying to find a hole in the hedge，so that I could get into the next field，I saw an-other giant coming towards me.He seemed as tall as a moun-tain，and every one of his steps measured about ten metres.

當(dāng)我回來時，我驚訝地看見水手們已經(jīng)在船上，他們正拼命地劃向輪船!我正要大喊一聲他們落下了我，卻發(fā)現(xiàn)一個龐然大物朝他們追去。我看得出他已經(jīng)追不上他們了，因為他們已經(jīng)快到輪船，不過我并沒有等著看最后的結(jié)果。我盡快地跑開他，直到進(jìn)入某種田野才停下來。田里草有7米左右高，玉米有大約13米高。我費(fèi)了一個小時才走過一塊田地，周圍的樹籬有至少40米高，樹遠(yuǎn)比這高。正當(dāng)我要在樹籬中找個洞，以便我能進(jìn)入下一塊田地時，卻看見另一個巨人向我走來。他看起來像一座山那么高，每跨一步都有10米左右。

In fear and astonishment I hid in the corn，and hoped he would not notice me.He shouted in a voice like thunder，and seven other giants appeared.They seemed to be his servants.When he gave the order，they began to cut the corn in the field where I was hiding. As they moved towards me，I moved away，but at last I came to a part of the field where rain had knocked down the corn.There was no longer anywhere for me to hide，and I knew I would be cut to pieces by the giants'sharp knives.I lay down and prepared to die.I could not stop myself thinking of Lilliput.There， I myself had been a giant，an important person who had become famous for helping the people of that small country.Here，it was the opposite.I was like a Lilliputian in Europe，and I began to understand how a very small creature feels.

我又驚又怕，躲在玉米地里，希望他不會注意到我。他像打雷似地喊了一聲，另外7個巨人出現(xiàn)了，他們似乎是他的仆人。他發(fā)出命令后，他們就開始砍我躲的這塊地的玉米。他們向我移近，我就移開，最后我退到了雨水把玉米弄倒了的地方，再也沒處可藏，我知道我會被巨人的利刃割成碎片，我躺下等死。我不禁想起利力浦特，在那兒我自己是個巨人，舉足輕重，因為幫小國家人的忙而聞名。這里正好相反，我像是利力浦特人到了歐洲，我開始理解一個小生命的感受。

Suddenly I noticed that one of the giants was very close to me.As his huge foot rose over my head，I screamed as loudly as I could.He looked around on the ground，and finally saw me.He stared at me for a moment，then very carefully， he picked me up with finger and thumb and looked at me.I was now twenty metres up in the air，and I desperately hoped he would not decide to throw me to the ground.I did not struggle，and spoke politely to him，although I knew he did not understand any of my languages.He took me to the farmer，who soon realized that I was not an animal，but an in-telligent being.He carefully put me in his pocket and took me home to show to his wife. When she saw me，she screamed and jumped back in fear， perhaps thinking I was an insect.But in a little while she became used to me，and was very kind to me.

突然我發(fā)現(xiàn)其中一個巨人離我很近。當(dāng)他的大腳提到我的頭上時，我竭力尖叫起來。他向地上四處看，終于看見我了。他盯了我一會兒，然后非常小心地用指頭和拇指拈起我來看。我現(xiàn)在離地20米，我急切地希望他不會把我往地上摔。我沒有掙扎，而是禮貌地對他說話，雖然我知道他不會聽懂我的任何語言。他把我拿到了農(nóng)場主面前，后者很快就明白了我不是動物，而是一個智慧生命。他小心地把我放在衣袋里，把我拿回家給他妻子看。她看見我時尖叫了起來，害怕得躲了回去，也許她以為我是個昆蟲，不過一會兒后她就習(xí)慣了我，并且對我很仁慈。