英语作文：莫言获奖英语版欣赏
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| 　　My most painful memory involved going out in the collective's field with Mother to glean ears of wheat. The gleaners scattered when they spotted the watchman. But Mother, who had bound feet, she was caught and slapped so hard by the watchman, a hulk of a man, that she fell to the ground. The watchman confiscated the wheat we'd gleaned and walked off whistling. As she sat on the ground, her lip bleeding, Mother wore a look of hopelessness I'll never forget. Years later, when I encountered the watchman, now a gray-haired old man, in the marketplace, Mother had to stop me from going up to avenge her. &Son,& she said evenly, &the man who hit me and this man are not the same person.&
　　My clearest memory is of a Moon Festival day, at noontime, one of those rare occasions when we ate jiaozi at home, one bowl apiece. An aging beggar came to our door while we were at the table, and when I tried to send him away with half a bowlful of dried sweet potatoes, he reacted angrily: &I'm an old man,& he said. &You people are eating jiaozi, but want to feed me sweet potatoes. How heartless can you be?& I reacted just as angrily: &We're lucky if we eat jiaozi a couple of times a year, one small bowlful apiece, barely enough to get a taste! You should be thankful we're giving you sweet potatoes, and if you don't want them, you can get the hell out of here!& After (dressing me down) reprimanding me, Mother dumped her half bowlful of jiaozi into the old man's bowl.My most remorseful memory involves helping Mother sell cabbages at market, and me overcharging an old villager one jiao & intentionally or not, I can't recall & before heading off to school. When I came home that afternoon, I saw that Mother was crying, something she rarely did. Instead of scolding me, she merely said softly, &Son, you embarrassed your mother today.&
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桂花是很多人都喜欢的花，金秋时节，桂花香飘十里，在老远的地方，一股桂花的清香夹着清新的新鲜空气扑鼻而来，沁人心脾!下是出国留学网小编为大家精心准备的“桂花情思”，欢迎大家阅读，仅供
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今天是感恩节，请接受我最真挚的心情，愿你幸福快乐，祝你生活甜蜜。作文网小编为大家精心准备了《感恩节作文大全》，希望对大家有所帮助，如果想了解更多的写作技巧请继续关注我们出国留学网的　　莫言《月光斩》英译 （每天发布一次）　　1. 发布目的：供学习中译英的年轻人作分析、批评、借鉴的素材。正反经验都会有的。　　2. 发布方式：每天一次，每次不超过五句。每天只花你十分钟，才不会让你厌烦。　　3. 间或有简要的注解，你可以不采纳。　　下面让我们先从标题开始。　　标题：　　月光斩
The Moonlight Saber
(莫言 Mo Yan)　　（注：saber意为“军刀，马刀，（击剑时用的）尖细的轻剑。仿自电影《星球大战》里面的light saber，即“光剑”。那是除暴安良的武器，你可要读完莫言的全文才体会得到啊。）　　正文（1）：　　在县文化局工作的表弟给我发来邮件说，表哥，最近县里发生了一件大事，请看附件。　　Here’s an email from my cousin who works with the county Cultural Affairs Bureau. It reads: “Dear Cousin, something very terrible just happened in our county. Please read the attached file for the details. ” 　　(And the following is the attached file:) 这是添加翻译　　八月七日上午八点。县委办公大楼五层保密室。机要员小冯，是你的老同学冯国庆的二女儿。小冯刚上班，提着热水瓶想去打开水，听到窗户外乌鸦噪叫，探头外望，发现那棵最高的雪松顶梢悬挂着一个黑乎乎的东西。　　It was 8 in the morning of August 7. In the confidential room of the office building of the CPC county committee, when young Miss Feng, the confidential secretary who is the second daughter of your former schoolmate Feng Guoqing, was going to fetch hot drinking water in a thermos bottle as her routine to begin a workday, she suddenly heard some ragged croaking of ravens in a tree outside the room. She looked out of the window, and saw near the top of the tallest cedar there hung a black object.　　（注：hot drinking water的drinking是添加翻译；as her routine to begin a workday也是添加翻译。有在欧美待过的人才会知道这两处添加的必要性。）
楼主发言：48次 发图：0张 | 更多
　　正文（2）　　起初以为是乌鸦们在此筑了巢，心中有几分丧气，继而又见那些乌鸦竟像不畏生死的斗士轮番向那黑物攻击，心中诧异，定睛细看，是一颗人头，随即发出一声尖叫，热水瓶掉在地上，竟然没碎，也是奇迹。　　She first thought it must be a raven nest, and was sorry for having to face those ill-omened creatures early in the morning. But then she was surprised by the wild repeated assaults on the black object waged by the ravens, one after another like daredevils. She looked carefully and this time, alas, it was a dead man’s head! With a sharp scream she collapsed and dropped to the floor her thermos, which miraculously remained intact.　　(注：“心中有几分丧气”译成and was sorry for having to face those ill-omened creatures early in the morning，是解释性翻译，其中的ill-omened creatures系出于文化差异的考量。)　　正在整理文件的小许——她是你老战友的三女儿——跑到窗前往外看，发出更为夸张的尖叫。几分钟后，县委大楼朝南的窗户全部打开，县委大院乱成一个如被火燎的马蜂窝。　　Then came running up young Miss Xu, another confidential secretary who is the third daughter of your former comrade-in-arms and was then sorting out some archive files. When she knew what had happened she let out a far more highly exaggerated scream. And the next few minutes saw all the south-facing windows of the office building open, and its compound fall into great disorder like a beehive being smoked by a fire.　　(注：小许“跑到窗前往外看” 译成Then came running up young Miss Xu是故意不忠于原文。小冯“发出尖叫”后，小许只会下意识地跑向她，而不是往窗外看。)
　　正文（3）　　虽然人头已被乌鸦啄得千疮百孔，但人们还是辨认出那是县委刘副书记的面孔。他面色惨白，愈显得精心染过的头发漆黑如墨。他的眼睛已被乌鸦啄瘪，看不到他的眼神了，因此也就无法想象他临终时刻是惊惧还是愤怒，是浑然无觉还是早有准备。　　The head in the tree, though heavily damaged by the pecking ravens, was recognized as that of Vice Secretary Liu of the Party committee. Against the dreadfully pale facial skin his elaborately-dyed hair looked dazzlingly black. His eyes were no longer there so no one could read from them how he felt the moment he got killed: whether terror-s whether unaware of the catastrophe ahead or long prepared for it.　　（“他的眼睛已被乌鸦啄瘪”过于血腥，所以淡化翻译成His eyes were no longer there。）　　有人道：不一定是乌鸦所毁，很可能是罪犯所为，因为据说西方已经可以用一种特殊技术，从死者的视网膜提取信息，然后输入电脑，显示出罪犯的形象。由此判断，罪犯是一个对犯罪学相当了解的高智商者，绝不是一般的坏人。　　Some reminded that his eyes were not necessarily spoiled by the ravens but must have been removed by the murderer instead. They said that, in the Western world, information from a victim’s retina could be extracted using a special technique, and was then entered to the computer to display the image of the murderer. Thus they decided that it must be a very intelligent criminal who was well versed with criminology rather than an ordinary bad guy that had committed the murder case.
　　支持，普雷斯够昂　　
　　@loadings200
08:19:19　　支持，普雷斯够昂　　-----------------------------　　谢谢！爱胃够昂。
　　正文（4）：　　又有人说，罪犯将人头悬挂在县委大院，显然有杀鸡儆猴之意，带有明显的政治意图，因此可以排除一般的情杀或图财害命。　　Others argued that it was obviously a murder case out of political motivation since the murderer hung the head within the office building compound with an intention of killing one to warn many others, so a common murder over love affair or money and property could be ruled out.　　刘副书记是组织部长提起来的，主管干部提拔任用多年，少言寡语，为人谨慎，有良好的口碑，究竟是什么人，将这样一个好干部残忍杀害？　　Vice Secretary Liu was promoted by the head of the Party Organization Department and had long been in charge of the appointment and promotion of cadres . He was a cautious man of few words. He won himself such a good reputation that many wondered why anyone should have cruelly killed such a good cadre.
　　正文（5）：　　闻风而至的县公安局几乎所有的警车发出的刺耳尖啸把所有人的声音都淹没了。县消防中队的一辆救火车开进大院，竖起云梯，一个身穿杏黄色防护服的消防员爬上去，展开一块红绸，将人头小心翼翼地包起来。乌鸦愤怒地对他发起冲击，他举起一条胳膊护住面颊，用另一条胳膊夹着人头，迅速地爬下来。　　No sooner had the bad news reached the Public Security Department than almost all their police cars pulled in, with the deafening sirens blaring above all the shouts and screams. A fire engine from the county Fire Brigade drove into the courtyard and the scaling ladder raised a fireman in an apricot color protecting suit to reach the head. He spread a patch of red silk and wrapped the head in it carefully amid the angry assaults of the hungry ravens. He swung one arm to protect his face from the birds and rapidly went down the ladder with the head package under his other arm.　　人头被一个着白大褂的法医接过去，小心地托着，钻进警车，鸣着笛，转着灯，开走。　　The package was passed to a forensic investigator in a white gown waiting down there. He then carried it in hands very carefully and got into a police car, which hurried away with the siren blaring and the alarm light flashing all the way.
　　正文（6）：　　市里的警车与市委领导的车也赶到了，大院里无处停车，就停在了大楼前的永安大街上。县里的防暴警察和武警中队的官兵已经在大道上排开人墙，封锁了道路，成群结队的行人和自行车被封堵，形成了两个乌压压的人团，万头攒动、人声如潮。　　At that moment, the city police cars also came with leaders of the municipal Party Committee. The cars even had to be parked in the Ever-peaceful Street outside the office building as there was no more room for one. A human picket line was soon formed by the county riot policemen and armed policemen, and the roads were closed to traffic. Pedestrians and bicycle riders were held up on both ends where two huge crowds had gathered with people pushing against each other craning to see what was happening, making thunderous noises in the mean time.　　警察用电动喇叭喊话，命令人们绕道而行，但人们却一个劲地往前挤，直至公安局的马副政委对天鸣枪示警，人们才恋恋不舍地散去。　　Some policemen shouted into their electric loudspeakers ordering the people to take a detour, only to cause them to push forward harder. And it was only after Mr. Ma, the deputy political commissar of the Public Security Department, fired warning shots into the air that the people started to disperse, quite reluctantly though.
　　正文（7）：　　警笛声停止，但车顶上的警灯还在把一束束令人心寒的光芒扫来扫去。县委大楼上所有的窗户都遵命关闭，但许多人的目光还是不由自主地往外斜，即使他们目不斜视地盯着书本、文件或是压在玻璃板下的照片，但他们的脑海里，还是……　　The sirens of the police cars stopped blaring, but the lights on top of the cars kept sweeping round with fearful chilling beams of light. All windows of the office building were now closely shut by order of the authority, except that many who were behind them could not help trying to peep out through them. Even those who were fixing their eyes on documents or staring blankly at the photos under the glass panes on their desks could not but have their minds running outside …　　好了，表哥，我不想对你描绘刘副书记遇难后发生在县委大楼的事了，从表面上看，已经没有什么异常，常委们躲在五楼小会议室里开紧急会议，各办公室里的人们以比平日里严肃得多的态度工作，小头头们抓住一点鸡毛蒜皮的小事严厉地训斥部下，而部下也带着痛不欲生的表情承认错误。当然，每个人心中的想法，就只可意会不可言传了。　　Well, well, I had better quit here, Cousin, and give you no more subsequent description of the disaster. For you know, seemingly, everything had returned to normal. Members of the Party Standing Committee shut themselves in a small meeting room on the fifth floor having an emergency meeting. Office-holders now worked with much greater severity than usual. Lower officers searched for errors that their subordinates made in every trivial matter and read stern lessons on them, who, strangely enough, willingly admitted their mistakes with such a regretful expression that suggested they hardly wished to live on. However, what was truly down in the bottom of their hearts was of course quite beyond words.
　　正文（8）：　　很快就传来了消息，说在县城唯一的那家三星级饭店的一个豪华套间里，发现了刘副书记的尸体。尸体穿着深蓝色的西服，脖子上扎着紫红色的领带，端坐在沙发上，只要安上一个头就可以做报告。清扫房间的服务员怔了半天，才发现客人是无头的。　　Soon word came that Vice Secretary Liu’s headless body was found in a deluxe suite of the only three-star hotel of the county town. The body, seated rightly on the sofa, in a dark blue suit with a purplish tie round the remaining neck, could be ready to make a public speech once the head was replaced on it. It even took the chambermaid quite some time to gape at it before she discovered that it was a headless guest.　　奇怪的是，竟然没有一点血迹，米黄色的化纤地毯像是刚刚用强力吸尘器吸过一样，连一点灰尘都没有。断头处，仿佛用烙铁烙过一样平整——也有人说仿佛用速冻技术处理过一样平整。房间里没有任何的搏斗痕迹和罪犯留下的蛛丝马迹。　　But what was even more surprising was that no blood was found around and the cream-colored synthetic carpet seemed so clean as if it were just hovered by the most powerful vacuum cleaner, not even a little bit of dust could be found. And the cut in the neck seemed so smooth as if it were leveled by a soldering iron, or, as some others put it, a speed freezing technique seemed to have been used to make it so smooth. Neither signs of fighting or struggling nor the faintest indication of the criminal could be spotted in the room.
　　正文（9）：　　这样的现场，令县里和市里那些刑警挠头不止。下午，省公安厅的破案专家飞车赶来。他们看了现场，研究了被分成两截的遗体，也感到大惑不解。问题的焦点集中在：刘副书记的血流到哪里去了？罪犯使用什么样的凶器才能干出这样干净利索的活儿？　　Such a crime scene caused the criminal policemen sent there by the county and city authorities to scratch their heads continually in perplexity. In the afternoon, expert criminal investigators from the Provincial Public Security Department were rushed to the crime scene, and after carefully examining the two segments of the body they also felt very perplexed. And now they focused their query on where the blood of Liu could have gone, and what tool the criminal might have used to perform such a perfect job as that.　　当省、市、县的破案专家绞尽脑汁思索时候，一个传说，像风一样吹遍了县城的每一个角落，连永安大街上那两处爱民工程、外面用绿色马赛克里面用白色马赛克贴了墙面的公共厕所也没漏过——厕所尿池子上方白色的马赛克墙壁上，有人——也许是鬼——用彩笔写上了三个大字：月光斩——当然这传说也从县城波及到了乡村，甚至传到了外县、外省、外国。　　At the time when the criminal experts from provincial and municipal and county levels were racking their brains trying to solve the case, a rumor spread like wildfire over every corner of the county, even including the two public toilets in the Ever-peaceful Street, an exemplar of the governmental “For-the-people” Project. Inside the toilet whose outer walls were decorated with green mosaics and inner walls with white ones, on the white mosaic wall above the urinals, someone, or perhaps some ghost, wrote in color inks three big Chinese characters: Yue Guang Zhan (Moonlight Saber Decapitation). The hearsay of course spread to the rural areas around, to other counties, to other provinces and even to other countries. 　　（注：译者的理解是：这“月光斩”三个字暗含的意思是：这次的斩头行动之所以能做到如此平整而不出血，那是只有用“月光斩”这特殊的武器才能完成的。）
　　正文（10）：　　那三个字，每个都有足球般大，字迹稚拙，乍一看颇似顽皮儿童的涂鸦，但仔细研究，又像一个很有书法根基的人在扮嫩。　　The three characters, each as big as a football, were written in a clumsy, childish style, something like naughty kids’ doodles at first sight, but having taken a second look many believed it was written by a good hand who was trying to cover up his calligraphic skill purposely.　　何为月光斩？人们马上就想到了一部香港拍摄的电视连续剧的名字，剧中有个人物，手持一把寒光闪闪的宝刀，专拣明月皎皎之夜杀人。但传说中的月光斩与这部香港电视剧毫无关系。传说里说—— 　　What does “Moonlight Saber Decapitation” mean? Many people immediately referred it to a serial TV play of the same name set in Hong Kong. A character in the play has a sharp, chilling saber with which he chooses to go out only in moonlit nights to behead his enemies. But the hearsay now had nothing to do with that serial Hong Kong TV play. Instead, it goes like this:
　　一九五八年，大炼钢铁的时候，城关公社的一群机关干部，突发奇想，冲到新建的县火葬场，要用那台新安装的化尸炉炼钢。火葬场技术员向这些人解释，说化尸炉跟炼钢炉根本不是一种构造，但那批执拗的干部，任火葬场技术员磨得嘴唇起泡也不动摇。最后只好说服他们去国营天河洼农场请来两位右派，帮助改造化人炉。这两位右派，一位名叫任你行，一位名叫令狐退。　　One day in 1958, amid China’s “great steel-making” campaign, a group of cadres of the Downtown Commune, driven by a fantastic idea they had suddenly had, rushed to the county’s newly-built crematory and stuck out for the new incinerator, saying that they would use this machine to make steel. The technicians there explained to them saying that it was absolutely not designed for making steel, but failed to dissuade those obdurate cadres no matter how hard they tried. At last they had to persuade them to seek help from two men on the county’s state-run farm, saying that hopefully they might help convert the incinerator into a steelmaking furnace. The two men, named Ren Nixing and Linghu Tui, were in fact ex-experts labeled as Rightists .　　（注：文化大革命期间，县以下一级的行政单位仿1871年法国革命时期的巴黎公社命名，故某一个镇或乡便改名为某某公社。Note: During China’s Cultural Revolution (), administrative organizations next to the county level were named after the Paris Commune in the 1871 French Revolution. Thus a township was renamed So-and-so Commune.）　　(译评：县一级建火葬场是上世纪90年代后的事了。即使这么迟了，人们习惯土葬的脑筋还转不过来，以至于有个县1992年建火葬场后试烧了一条狗，5年内竟然没烧过一个死人，后来还是统一的行政命令才使火葬普及。这里莫言先生显然是来个时空穿越了。)　　任你行原是钢铁厂的副总工程师，在苏联留过学，获得过副博士学位；令狐退原是省冶金学校副校长，留德归来的材料学专家。这是两个真正的专家，与当时那拨子建土炉子炼钢的人有天壤之别。　　Ren Nixing was originally the Assistant Chief Engineer of a steel plant. He had had advanced studies in the Soviet Union and received his candidate doctorate there. Linghu Tui was originally the Assistant Principal of the provincial metallurgy college. He had studied in Germany and become an expert of material science. These two persons were true experts superior far beyond comparison to those large groups of rustic “steel-makers”. 　　（注：副博士是前苏联的一种学位，俄文是Кандидат наук，高于硕士而低于博士。）
　　正文（12）：　　如果不划成右派，我们这个小县城用八抬大轿也请不来他们，但成了右派后，一请就把他们请来了。这样两个人，别说是把化尸炉改成炼钢炉，给他们个尿罐，也能改造成可以熔化黄金的坩锅。这个由化尸炉改造成的炼钢炉，炼出了一块纯蓝的钢，就像国王的妃子抱了铜柱而受孕产下来的那块铁一样玄妙。　　Before they were labeled as Rightists, they would absolutely not come to so small a town as ours, not even if we offered to carry them here in the biggest sedan-chair. Now since they had become Rightists, they came obediently at first summons. These two men, many believed, were more than capable to turn an incinerator into a steel-making furnace. You could even expect them to turn a tin chamber pot into a gold metallurgy crucible. Then, many thought, when they produced a piece of steel flickering blue light in this incinerator-turned steel-making furnace, it would be as incredible as when a king’s concubine hugged a bronze pillar and conceived and gave birth to an iron slab.　　他们往炼钢炉里投进去一百多个破旧的日本钢盔、五十多口铁锅、一万多个从棺材上起出来的铁钉，还有一千多枚罗汉钱，但出钢时只流出不满的一勺钢水。　　（Work on the remolding soon succeeded.） They threw into the furnace as many iron and steel objects as they could secure: over a hundred battered Japanese soldiers’ steel helmets, fifty crushed iron woks, ten thousand nails they pried from many coffins, and a thousand ancient copper coins. However, all they got at last was no more than a ladle of liquid steel.　　（注：此段讲“大炼钢铁”时期的人如何解决炼钢原料生铁的不足。当时甚至动员大家把铁锅献出来，砸粹了当原料。当时的口号是要超英赶美，达到1070万吨的钢产量。This reflected all their efforts to cover the shortage of the pig iron supply in the nationwide “steel-making campaign” some families even had to “donate” their daily-used iron cooking woks which were then crushed and thrown into the furnace. ）
　　正文（13）：　　这是真正的金属的精华，七道凌厉的蓝光直冲云霄，有七颗流星沿着蓝光落到钢水勺里。它们在降落时，金光与蓝光剧烈摩擦，放射出刺目的强光，并散发出浓烈得让人昏迷的烧冰的香气——把冰凌放在火上烧，这是我们那里的坏小孩常玩的游戏——我知道这样写有悖物理学原理，但这是传说，姑妄言之姑妄听之。　　This, they thought, was the essence of metal, for at that time seven violent beams of blue light soared out of it into the sky, and seven meteors dived into the ladle reversely along their trail. When the meteors were falling down, their golden light caused violent friction with the blue light of the steel, giving out strong, blinding light and emitting dizzying aroma which suggested a smell when bad boys in our village burned ice bars in the fire in a game they played. (I know this description does go against some physics rules but as the hearsay has it this way I just had to listen to it and mention it here.)　　七星落入钢水勺后，正好齐平勺沿，那两个右派中的一个，可能是令狐退，也可能是任你行，亲手端着钢水勺子，浇灌到早就准备好的长条形钢锭模子里，他们准备了一百多个模子，但只灌了半个模子。　　When the seven meteors dived into the small ladle so that the molten steel just managed to fill it, one of the two Rightists, either Ren or Linghu, poured it into an elongate ingot mould in person. They had prepared a hundred of such moulds beforehand but now only one of them got half filled by the liquid steel.
　　正文（14）：　　这块钢——姑称为钢吧——在模子里冷却了，炼钢炉里的火也熄灭了，只有邻近火葬场的人民医院里那个土高炉还冒着火苗子。不久，人民医院的土高炉也灭了。　　When this steel slab —allow me to call it steel— cooled down in the mould, the fire in the furnace went out simultaneously, except that some flames were still licking out of the self-made “steel furnace” built by doctors of the People’s Hospital near the crematory. But soon the furnace fire also died out.　　此时，天上一轮明月，放射着浅蓝的光辉，那块钢，在模子里放出幽蓝的光芒，令在场的人心中都滋生出了庄严、神圣的感情。　　At that moment, the bright moon in the sky was shedding some light blue radiance, which seemed to act in coordination with the mysterious blue radiance from the steel slab lying in the mould. This miracle at once aroused a majestic holy feeling from the heart of everyone present.
　　（注：文化大革命期间，县以下一级的行政单位仿1871年法国革命时期的巴黎公社命名，故某一个镇或乡便改名为某某公社。Note: During China’s Cultural Revolution (), administrative organizations next to the county level were named after the Paris Commune in the 1871 French Revolution. Thus a township was renamed So-and-so Commune.）　　-------------------------------------　　这个有问题吧。人民公社不是文化革命时期才有的，是1958年的产物。
　　（注：文化大革命期间，县以下一级的行政单位仿1871年法国革命时期的巴黎公社命名，故某一个镇或乡便改名为某某公社。Note: During China’s Cultural Revolution (), administrative organizations next to the county level were named after the Paris Commune in the 1871 French Revolution. Thus a township was renamed So-and-so Commune.）　　------------------------------　　@躬耕自娱
18:02:04　　这个有问题吧。人民公社不是文化革命时期才有的，是1958年的产物。　　-----------------------------　　哦，真的是我错了。非常感谢指正！！！并向大家道歉！这段注释两个地方要改一下：1. “文化大革命期间” 改为“1958年”。 2. “During China’s Cultural Revolution ()” 改为 “Beginning from the year 1958”。
　　正文（15）：　　至于这块奇异的蓝钢的下落，有许多种说法，但每一种说法，都无从调查，因为那些炼钢的人大半作古，活着的人，只能提供一些含糊的证词，如果沿着这些证词调查，那就如同太阳的光线一样，射向四面八方，有的变成植物，有的变成气体，有的变成人类无法认识的物质。　　There were all sorts of hearsay as to the whereabouts of this steel slab afterwards. No investigation could be carried out as most of those “steel-makers” had passed away, and those few who were still living could only provide some ambiguous testimonies. To follow such testimonies to start investigations would be like to follow the radial sun rays to start a tour: the farther you go, the more different the things would appear to you, or even become something unrecognizable to the human eye.　　（注：最后一句的英译没有忠于原文，请大家体味一下。）　　但很快又有一个令人振奋的传说出现。 　　县城东门外，原有个东关村，村里有户铁匠，姓李，李铁匠六十丧妻，三个儿子，陆续成人，都无妻室，跟着父亲打铁为生。　　But soon there came another inspiring legend.　　It so happened that there was a blacksmith who lived in the Dongguan Village outside the east gate of the county town. His family name was Li so people called him Blacksmith Li. Master Li lost his wife at the age of sixty. All his three sons had gradually grown up into adults. They were also wifeless and had to live by working as blacksmiths like their widowed father.
　　正文（16）：　　父子都是文盲，春节时，请村里一位曾经当过私塾先生的人写对联，那人好谑，提笔写道：一门四光棍，父子八大锤。横批不合规矩，只有三个字：硬碰硬。此联大为有名，县城的人都知道。　　None of father or sons could read or write so when the Spring Festival came and people of every household posted red couplets on their front gate as a propitious sign, they had to ask a teacher of a local private school to do the job. The teacher, quite mischievous, wrote such a couplet: 　　Four bare-sticks propping up one roof　　Eight hammers along with father’n son　　Usually a four-character horizontal scroll should also be posted on the lintel, but somehow the teacher wrote only three characters: 　　Rigidity versus rigidity. 　　This couplet soon became so well-known that everyone in town knew about such a thing.　　（注：父子四人有四根大锤就够了，怎么有八大锤呢？这里就有个低俗的暗示和比喻，而接着的“硬碰硬”也一样。The four men were supposed to use only four hammers, so the other four hammers constituted a vulgar metaphor, which made the whole couplet a vulgar one.）　　新的传说与这户铁匠有关。说“文化大革命”期间的一个傍晚，铁匠炉封了火，苞米粥的香气弥漫全室。铁匠们的饭量极大，一个比芭斗还大的双耳锅吊在铁匠炉上方，锅里的金黄的粥倒出来足有一桶。兄弟三个围着锅站立每人捧着一个粗大碗，喝得十分香甜。满室粥响，夹杂着老铁匠的哼哼。老铁匠病了，缩在墙角的地铺上，盖着一张烂羊皮。　　The latest hearsay was related to this well-known blacksmith family. It told what was happening one day during the “Cultural Revolution” period. That evening the blacksmiths stopped their daily work and were drawn to the good smell of their hominy meal that filled the whole house. They were all big eaters and to manage a big bucketful of golden corn porridge would prove no hard job for them. The three sons, large coarse pottery bowl in hand, stood around the big pot that hung over the smithy chimney enjoying their superb cuisine, filling the whole house with their pleasant mouth sounds amid the groaning of their old father, who was ill and curled up on the mat on the corner floor, covered with a shabby old sheep fur.
　　正文（17）：　　炉里飘游不定的蓝色火苗不时照亮老铁匠铜色的干巴脸，然后便敛了，房子又沉入黑暗。心比较细的老三嘴里有粥，含含糊糊地问：爹，你还是喝一碗吧，人是铁，饭是钢，一顿不吃饿得慌！老铁匠咳嗽一阵，喘息着问：粮食市上的苞米，涨到多少钱一斤啦？　　The erratic blue flame in the furnace flickered across his thin, shriveled face before it dimmed out, and the house was again in complete dark. The alert youngest son asked his father, the porridge in his mouth causing his voice unclear, “Dad, won’t you have a bowl of it? A furnace can’ a man can’t go without food. You will be very hungry if you don’t eat.” The old blacksmith coughed for a while and then said, panting, “The price of corn in the black market rises all the time. What’s the price now? ”　　老大瓮声瓮气地说：管他多少钱一斤，水涨船高，粮食价涨，咱的工钱也跟着涨。老二道：这年头，还不知怎么闹腾呢，吃了今日就别去管明日啦！　　“Who cares?” answered the eldest son in a low, muffled voice. “Let them raise the price and we shall raise our pay too —A ship rises with the tide.” The elder son murmured, “So many disturbances these years.Seems no end to them. Just mind our bowls today and forget our tomorrow’s.”
　　正文（18）：　　老铁匠喘息着说：今晚上加班，把“井冈山”红卫兵那批扎枪头子打出来，收一笔钱准备着，世道乱了，好往关外逃。三儿子道：你以为关外就不乱了吗？你没听到大喇叭里吆喝？五湖四海一片红啦！　　“Let’s work overnight and get all the spearheads ready for the ‘Jinggang-Mountain Red Guards,’” the old man replied, panting, “and then we’ll have some money. When things get worse, we might flee to the Northeast. ” 　　“No disturbance in the Northeast?” the youngest son rebutted, “Don’t you hear from the loudspeakers? ‘All lands are now reddened throughout the country’!”　　（注：1. “井冈山红卫兵”： The Jinggang Mountain is the first rural revolutionary base for the CPC. Some Red Guards loved to name their groups after the mountain to show esteem to Chairman Mao who was one of the founders of the base.　　2. “扎枪头子”：即梭镖头。“梭镖”又叫“红缨枪”，是文革时期红卫兵拿着“保卫伟大领袖毛主席”的“武器”。 During China’s Cultural Revolution, Red Guards, mostly young students who presumed that they were the true revolutionaries, used to hold spears in their hands on some occasions as a symbolic action to “safeguard the great leader Chairman Mao Zedong”.
　　3. “五湖四海一片红”：当时流行的说法是“全国山河一片红”，指文革动乱时期各省成立“革委会”，用来代替原来的省政府。“红”就是所谓的“革命化”。China’s Cultural Revolution caused great turbulences and anarchical chaos across the mainland, so beginning September 1968 twenty-nine province-level “Revolutionary Committees” were set up one after another in the mainland to replace the provincial governments. “To be reddened” means “to be revolutionized”. With this, the Cultural Revolution deepened but the turbulences were not alleviated until the overthrowal of the Gang of Four in 1976.）　　爷们儿正说着，喝着，听着县城里传出来的阵阵呐喊和火车的凄厉笛声、感受着火车进站时引起的地皮震颤，就有一个人影轻悄悄地，犹如一匹金钱豹子闪了进来。正好又有一个罂粟花般大小的蓝色火苗从封住的火炉上飘起来，悬浮着，久久不逝，照亮了来者。　　While father and sons were eating and chatting, listening to waves upon waves of loud revolutionary slogans from the downtown streets and the chilling sirens of trains amid the shudders of the ground beneath, a soul stole in quietly, in the way a panther approaches its prey. A blue flame in the furnace, as big as a poppy flower, revived in time and flickered in the air for quite some time to light up the incomer’s face.
　　正文（19）：　　那是一个年约十五六岁的姑娘，身穿一套草绿色的仿制军装，腰里扎着一条奇宽的牛皮腰带，使她的身材显得有几分英武。她头上扎着两根小辫，浓眉大眼，蒜头鼻子，长嘴厚唇，有点儿傻气。当然，她的胳膊上还套着一个红色的袖标。最重要的是，她怀里抱着一个黑色的包裹，看上去十分沉重，不知道里边是什么东西。　　It was a girl of fifteen or sixteen. She wore an imitative virid army uniform with a very wide oxhide belt round her waist, which made her look somewhat smart and valiant. She had two pigtails on the head, with big eyes and thick eyebrows in the face, but her bulbous nose and thick lips betrayed her, making her look kind of childish and silly, except for the red armband on her arms which indicated that she was a Red Guard. But most importantly, she was holding a black package in her arms. It seemed very heavy, with something unknown in it.　　(“胳膊上还套着一个红色的袖标”添加了一个解释性的翻译：which indicated that she was a Red Guard，其用意望读者能体味。)　　铁匠兄弟都是正当盛年的光棍，来者虽是一个小丫头，但毕竟是女性，所以他们都用热情的眼光上下打量着她，姑娘把怀中的包裹扔在地上，发出沉闷的响声，使地皮都颤抖。　　The three brothers were all single males at their prime ages, so when there entered a girl, still green yet a feminine being after all, they all looked her up and down with warm, thirsty eyesight. The girl dropped the package to the ground, making a dull thud which seemed to shake the floor under it.
　　正文（20）：　　你是“井冈山”的吗？老三说，你们那批扎枪明天才能打出来。老二道：回去告诉你们的头头，一手交钱，一手交货!老大道：苞米涨价了，煤也涨价了，我们的扎枪头也涨了，每个两块！　　“Are you a ‘Jinggang-Mountain’ Red Guard?” asked the youngest brother. “Your spears won’t be ready until tomorrow.” The elder brother said, “Go back and tell your head: Cash on delivery!” And the eldest brother added, “Corn has become more expensive, and so has coal, and of course your spears. Two yuan for one!” 　　姑娘直起腰，把双手的拇指与食指插进腰带，捋捋衣服，又往下抻抻衣角，挺起胸膛，冷冷地说：我既不是“井冈山”的，也不是“东方红”的，我是“独立大队”。老三笑道：蒙谁呀？县城里根本就没有这么个红卫兵组织。　　The girl straightened her waist, thrust her thumbs and forefingers under the belt to smooth the upper part of the uniform, and pulled the lower part to its full length. Then with her breast out she said coldly, “I don’t belong to ‘Jinggang-Mountian’, nor to ‘The-East-Is-Red’. I belong to the ‘Independent Brigade’!”　　“‘Independent Brigade’?” laughed the youngest brother. “Stop inventing a story. No such Red Guard group in our town at all.”　　(注：The East Is Red is the name of a song singing high praise of Mao Zedong, chairman of the CPC and the initiator of the Cultural Revolution. Some young people also loved to name their Red Guard groups after the song to show esteem to Mao.)
　　@英语好爱者
07:08:29　　老三笑道：蒙谁呀？县城里根本就没有这么个红卫兵组织。　　-----------------------------　　"蒙谁呀" 译成 Stop inventing a story 是意译，基本可以，但显得文绉绉的，建议译成 Fancy you could fool us? 不知你觉得如何?
　　@英语好爱者
07:08:29　　老三笑道：蒙谁呀？县城里根本就没有这么个红卫兵组织。　　-----------------------------　　@躬耕自娱
09:01:15　　"蒙谁呀" 译成 Stop inventing a story 是意译，基本可以，但显得文绉绉的，建议译成 Fancy you could fool us? 不知你觉得如何?　　-----------------------------　　Fancy you could fool us?(你以为蒙骗得了我们吗?)太好了！更口语化了。完全接受！非常感谢！！
　　呵呵，好帖，好好看看，dJ85　　
　　正文（21）：　　姑娘道：我不跟你们废话，我有一块好钢，请你们帮我打一把刀。老三道：什么好钢，拿出来瞧瞧。于是，姑娘蹲在地上，解开地上的包裹。先是一层黑布，继是一层蓝布，然后是一层红布，最后是一层白布。　　“Well cut out all our nonsense,” the girl suggested. “I have a good piece of steel. And I hope you will make it into a ber for me.” 　　“A good piece of steel?” said the youngest brother. “Better let us have a look.”　　The girl then went down to unwrap the package. She first took off the black cover, then a blue cloth, then a red piece, till they saw the last white cover.　　当那层白布解开时，炉子上方那个飘游的火苗像胆怯的小鼠一般，倏地钻进了煤堆。被烟熏火燎得黝黑的铁匠铺子，顿时被一种幽蓝的光芒照亮，四面的墙壁和房顶，仿佛都刷了一层明亮的釉彩，焕发出动人的光芒。　　When the white package was at last opened, the wandering flame in the furnace withdrew into the coals in just a twinkle like a shy, little mouse . Meanwhile, the olden smithy that had long been blackened by smoke was now lit up with a mysterious blue light. And the walls and the roof seemed to be gilded with a layer of glaze giving out an appealing radiance.
　　And I hope you will make it into a ber for me.” 　　-------------------------　　上面的 ber 应为 saber。
　　谢谢！楼主提供！好样的eSe　　
　　正文（22）：　　铁匠兄弟们都忘记了喝粥，捧着碗，张大嘴，眼睛直愣愣地瞪着那块钢。那块钢，安静地躺在白布上，仿佛一条远古时代的鱼，女孩伸出一个手指，轻轻地触摸了一下那块钢，然后疾速缩回，仿佛那块钢奇冷又仿佛那块钢奇热。　　The brothers now forgot their corn porridge. Bowl in hand they stood there dumbfounded, staring at the steel blankly. The steel, lying quietly in the white cloth, looked as if it were a white fish belonging to the remote ancient past. The girl stretched one finger to touch the steel softly, only to pull back abruptly, as if the steel were extremely cold or extremely hot.　　她用挑战的口吻说：看到了吧？就是这样一块钢，我想请你们打一把刀，样子我也带来了，但不知你们有没有这个本事。她说着，从衣兜里摸出一张折叠成儿童玩的纸炮形状的纸片，展开，举给就近的老三：就照着这样子打。老三接过纸片，借着那钢的光，看着纸上的图。　　“See?” said the girl with challenge. “Here’s the piece of steel, and I want you to make it into a saber.”　　“I’ll let you have my design right now,” she added, “but I wonder if you have the skill.” With this she produced from a pocket a piece of paper, one that was folded into a paper cannon as a kid’s toy. She spread it flat and handed it to the youngest brother who was nearby her, and said, “This is the very pattern for it.” The youngest brother looked at the design in the light of the blue steel.
　　@英语好爱者
08:04:57　　正文（16）：　　一门四光棍，父子八大锤。　　Four bare-sticks propping up one roof，Eight hammers along with father ’n son.　　-----------------------------　　“一门四光棍”译成 Four bare-sticks propping up one roof，不错。比原文更生动。但“光棍”译成bare sticks 是中式英语，最好要注释。　　“父子八大锤”译成 Eight hammers along with father ’n son，along with 有其含义，但跟上联的propping up 不对应，能否把along with改成 accompanying？
　　总的能否改成：Four
eight hammers with father’n son.
　　@躬耕自娱
11:59:45　　总的能否改成：Four
eight hammers with father’n son.　　-----------------------------　　答复： 1. “光棍”原来有注释： a single male. 2. Four stags under one roof 非常好。eight hammers with father’n son 的with 比较没有味道。　　非常感谢！
　　正文（23）：　　那是一把古老样式的刀，刀把是个圆环，刀背弧线流畅，宛如妙龄女子的腰背，刀尖与刀背吻合部形成一个钝角，刀刃线条凸起，犹如鱼的肚腹。这样的刀，倒也不难锻打，老三说着，将纸片递给老二，老二看罢，又递给老大。老大道：不知这位姑娘能出多少加工费？　　That was the drawing of an ancient styled saber. Beginning with a ring attached to the handle, it had the smooth arced back, like the beautiful waist curve of a female at her prime age. The back joined the tip to form an obtuse angle, with the blade bumping up shaped like the belly of a fish. The youngest brother figured that it could not be a hard job. Still, he handed the design to his elder brother. The elder brother had a look at it and passed it to the eldest brother, who said to the girl, “Well, then. How much could you offer?”　　姑娘冷笑一声，道：只要你们能将这块钢，锻打成这样一把刀，加工费嘛，要多少就是多少。老大说道：小姑娘，别说大话，你爹不是银行行长，即便你爹是银行行长，那些钱也不是你们家的对不对？告诉你，我打铁三十年了，我爹打铁六十年了，什么样的钢没见过？什么样的铁没砸过？你想用这块抹了一层荧光粉的铁来胡弄我们吗？　　“As much as you would take,” the girl replied, sneering, “so long as you can make this steel into the saber I want.”　　“None of your brags, little girl,” said the eldest brother. “I guess your daddy is no head of a bank. If by any chance he is, the money is not necessarily yours, right?”　　“To be frank,” he added, “I have been a blacksmith for thirty years, and my dad sixty. We have seen all sorts of steel, and have struck all sorts of iron. Think that you can fool us with an iron block coated with a layer of phosphor powder?”
　　正文（24）：　　姑娘冷笑着，一探身夺回纸片，装进衣兜，然后便蹲下，包裹那块蓝钢。这时，一直缩在墙角的老铁匠气喘吁吁地说：姑娘，慢着点包裹。老三，扶我起来，让我见识见识。老三上前，扶起老铁匠，颤颤巍巍地过来，一低头，眼睛里立即生出光彩，脸上的肌内也猛然紧张起来，仿佛片刻之间变成了另外的一个人。　　The girl sneered again, leant out to seize back the paper, put it into her pocket, and then crouched down to wrap the steel.　　At that moment, the old blacksmith, who had been curling up in the corner, struggled to open his mouth, and said, panting, “Before you wrap it, girl.” And turning to his youngest son he continued, “Help me up, help me up. Let me have a look.” The young man helped him to his feet and supported him as he staggered along towards the steel. Now the old man had his first look down at the steel, which, all of a sudden, seemed to have turned him into another person: his eyes beamed
his facial muscles tensed from sudden excitement.　　他蹲下，抬头看看姑娘，低头看看蓝钢；抬头，低头；抬，低。然后伸手触了一下蓝钢。然后又触了一下。又触。每一下都像蜻蜒点水。然后，站起来，双手抱拳，作一个长揖，小心翼翼地说：姑娘，儿子们出语无状，多有得罪。我们是些土铁匠，锻打个锨、镢、镰、锄，混碗苞谷粥糊口罢了。这样的宝物，您还是另请高明吧。　　He crouched down for a closer look at the steel, then looked up at the girl, then bent down again, and looked up again. This he repeated several times before he reached out to touch that steel, once, twice, thrice, each touch so soft like a dragonfly touching the water surface. Then he rose to his feet, made a long salute to the girl with both hands joined before his chest, and said to her, deeply reverent and religious, “Sorry, Girl. Please don’t take offence for my sons’ ignorant rude remarks. But we vulgar workmen can only make some daily farming tools, like spades and pickaxes and sickles and hoes, to earn some corn for a humble living. For treasure like this, I beg you to go and seek some worthy artisan.”
　　正文（25）：　　姑娘叹一口气，说：都说李铁匠家祖上是为康熙大帝打过屠龙宝刀的御用铁匠，原来不过尔尔。说罢，用无比失望的眼光扫视了一遍铁匠父子，蹲下身，包裹起那钢，艰难地抱起，趔趔趄趄向外走去。　　“So that’s what they call the family of Blacksmith Li?” the girl responded with a deep sigh. “Fancy your ancestors having been hired to make superb swords for Emperor Kangxi the Great!” With this she glanced at the father and sons, one by one with a look of deep disappointment, and then crouched down to wrap the steel, and, as if lifting a great weight, she rose to her feet and staggered towards the door. 　　（注：康熙大帝，名爱新觉罗 . 玄烨，清朝第四位皇帝。Emperor Kangxi the Great，named Aisin Gioro Hiowan Yei (), was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty. ）　　房子里顿时又沉入黑暗，那蓝色火苗浮起，照耀着铁匠父子的脸，犹如四尊尴尬的泥神。姑娘的身影，犹如金钱豹子，即将在门口消失那一刹那，老铁匠用悲凉的声音问：姑娘，你到哪里去？——我把这块钢，扔到南湾里去，让它沉没到淤泥中，永远不见天日——回来，姑娘，老铁匠说，这是我的命，逃是逃不过的。　　Now the room was dark again, and the blue flame in the furnace lost no time to emerge from among the coals, lighting the faces of the four men who stood there embarrassed like four clay idols.　　The girl turned and headed for the door like a panther creeping on tiptoes. Just when she was to disappear out into the dark, the old man stopped her and asked desolately, “Where are you going, Girl?”　　“To the South River-bend,” she said, “and throw this to the bottom of the deep silt. That’ll be its perfect grave forever.”　　“Before you go, Girl,” the old man pleaded and then murmured, half to himself, “It’s fate. … and no way to outrun….”
　　正文（26）：　　——你决定要征服它了吗？姑娘的身影又如金钱豹子，一闪便回到了铁匠炉旁。她的目光里闪烁着惊喜，道，我知道你们不会放过它的，一个好铁匠，总是盼望着这样的钢出世，然后，用奇特的方式，使它服从自己的意志，变成一把宝刀。　　“So you’ve decided to conquer it?” Retreating to the furnace place like the tiptoe-creeping panther, the girl lit up with pleasant surprise, and said, “I know you people won’t let go of it. A good blacksmith lives for the birth of such superb steel, and will work on it with his peculiar expertise to make it follow his own will, and turn it into a treasured saber.”　　铁匠脱下身上的破褂子，露出瘦骨嶙峋的胸膛，从水桶里舀起一瓢冷水，咕咕地灌下去，然后一抹嘴，腰板挺直，仿佛年轻了二十岁，或者三十岁，雄赳赳地说：儿子们，生起火来!!!生起火来啊升起来火!!生起火来!
　　The old blacksmith took off his ragged sleeveless tight shirt exposing his bony chest. He ladled some cold water from a bucket and let it rumble through the throat into his stomach. Then he wiped the lips and straightened his waist, only to feel as if twenty or thirty years younger. “My sons,” he valiantly declared, “Fire up!!! Oh, fire up!! Fire up!”
　　正文（27）：　　老铁匠的二儿子用铁钩子捅开煤壳，拉动风箱，呱嗒呱嗒，白烟上冲，直冲房顶，火星四窜，火苗紧接着出现。老铁匠从姑娘怀中接过那包裹，放在屋子正北方向的祖先牌位前，跪地，行三跪九叩之大礼。　　The elder brother removed the ashes on the coals with a long iron hook and began to pump the bellows, making a series of clip-clops. In no time the flame came out amid the soaring white smoke with sparks dashing in all directions. The old blacksmith took the package from the girl and placed it rightly on the desk before the spiritual tablets of his ancestors set due north of the house. Then he went down on both kneels to start the great ceremony by repeatedly kneeling and kowtowing.　　(注：In ancient China, seats located due north at court or in a hall were reserved for honorable men or spirits.)　　礼毕，将包裹解开，悲切切地说：列祖列宗，保佑吧!祝毕，将右手中指塞进嘴巴，咬破，在那蓝光的映照下他的血也成了蓝色，滴滴下落到那钢上，先发出叮叮咚咚的声响，仿佛珍珠落到冰上，然后又咬破左手中指，将血滴上去，又发出滋滋啦啦的声响，仿佛那钢是灼热的。　　When the ceremony ended, he unwrapped the package as he wistfully uttered some prayers pleading his ancestors to bless them. Next, he put the middle finger of his right hand into his mouth and bit it till it bled. In the blue light of the steel his blood gave out a blue color too, and, strangely enough, the blood drops, when dripping onto the steel, gave out some crisp sounds like when beads fall onto the surface of ice. Again he bit the middle finger of his left hand and dropped the blood onto the other side of the steel. This time the blood boiled with frizzling sounds as if the steel was scorching hot.
　　@英语好爱者
07:12:19　　放在屋子正北方向的祖先牌位前，跪地，行三跪九叩之大礼。　　and placed it rightly on the desk before the spiritual tablets of his ancestors set due north of the house. 　　-----------------------------　　due north of the house 似乎应为 due north in (或 inside）the house
　　@英语好爱者
07:12:19　　放在屋子正北方向的祖先牌位前，跪地，行三跪九叩之大礼。　　and placed it rightly on the desk before the spiritual tablets of his ancestors set due north of the house.　　-----------------------------　　@躬耕自娱
10:26:57　　due north of the house 似乎应为 due north in (或 inside）the house　　-----------------------------　　太正确了！！！是屋内而非屋外啊！
　　不错。值得学习啊，顶一个　　
　　正文（28）：　　铁匠的儿子们嗅到了古怪的香气，与那用荷叶包裹着的人血馒头放至灶火烧烤时的香气颇为接近。血祭完毕，那钢的蓝色浅了，淡了，不似初时那坚硬与凌厉，增添了些许温柔，与深秋时节的满月光辉有几分相似。然后，也不包扎手指，搬起那钢，如抱着一个五世单传的婴孩，塞进了熊熊的炉火之中。　　In the mean time, the sons all smelt a queer fragrance, a smell roughly resembling that of roasted “bun and human blood” in a lotus leaf. When the “blood consecration” completed, the steel turned from bright blue to light blue and seemed to have restrained some of its inherent rigidity, and gained some gentleness like the radiance of the bright full moon in the late autumn sky. The old man, without bothering to bandage his fingers, lost no time to lift the steel, if as carrying his only baby son got after five successive generations, and sent it into the blazing furnace fire.　　(注： 1. “人血馒头”典出鲁迅短篇小说《药》。The term “bun”, also translated into English as steamed bun or steamed bread, is a typical Chinese main food made of leavened dough.
2. “人血馒头” 据英文 bread and jam ---- 涂果酱的面包 ---- 而译成bun and human blood。The term roasted “bun and human blood” was first used by Lu Xun (), the most outstanding and influential Chinese critical and realistic writer of the 20th century, in his short story Medicine (1919) to sternly criticize the congenital national defect of many Chinese who would look with folded arms in face of the decapitation of revolutionary heroes executed by the dictatorial authority and even rush to buy their blood to roast with buns hoping to cure some of their diseases. )　　用了比烧透一般钢铁十倍的时间，才将那块蓝钢烧透。当爷儿们把那蓝钢用头号大钳抬到铁砧子上时，铁匠铺里变成了一个冰一样透明的世界，屋子里的人和物，都仿佛远古时的物体，被凝固在一块浅蓝的琥珀里。此时，只有凝神观察，才能看到那鱼一样形状的钢，活泼泼地躺在砧子上，浑身抖动不止，不知是痛苦还是兴奋。　　It took ten times as much time to heat this blue steel for the hammer as to do an ordinary piece. When father and sons carried the steel onto the anvil with a large-size pincers, the smithy suddenly became crystal clear like a world of ice. All persons and objects in the house seemed to be set in a stationary state inside a piece of amber from the remote ancient times. At this moment, only a very attentive observer could perceive the vitality of the fish-shaped steel lying on the anvil, feeling its continual restlessness without knowing whether it was pain-stricken or excited.
　　正文（29）：　　老铁匠操着小锤，与其说是打，毋宁说是抚摸了一下那蓝钢，三个如狼似虎的儿子，各操着十八磅的大锤，各打了一锤。接下来，老铁匠的小锤便如鸡啄米一样迅疾地敲打下去，三个儿子手中的大锤，挟带着狂热与激昂，如同奔驰中的烈马之蹄，迅速无比但又节点分明地砸下去。　　Small hammer in hand, the old blacksmith struck, or rather, stroked the body of the blue steel. That was the call to charge so the three sons, vigorous and valorous like three tigers, each gave his first violent strike with their eighteen-pound hammers. And the next moment saw the old man’s small hammer striking so swiftly and promptly like a chicken pecking rice grains, and the three young men’s large hammers striking with frenzy and infuriation, so nimbly and rhythmically like hooves of galloping steeds hitting the grassland.　　奇怪的是竟然没有声音。往常这父子四人打铁时发出的声响半条街上都能听到，连火车的汽笛声都被盖住，但现在，这锻打，这劳动，剧烈之极，但墙角蟋蟀的呜叫都声声入耳，让人感觉到深秋之悲凉，生命之短暂。　　But it was strange that no sound were produced. Usually the sounds of striking in this smithy could be heard over half of the street, even drowning out the siren blaring of the passing trains. But now, all the sounds of the laborers and their striking, though extremely violent, had given way to complete tranquility, amid which the chirping of crickets in the corners could be heard so clearly as a reminder of the late autumn melancholy and the short span of human lives.
　　一起交流！楼主给咱们提供机会了如果有哥哥的话 可以加我的徽信：ttbp88 聊聊　　
　　正文（30）：　　那个小姑娘呢？那个姑娘缩在墙角里，双手捧着腮，眯缝着眼睛，犹如食后蹲在大树上休息的金钱豹子。奇怪的是如此猛烈的锻打，竟然没有半点的火星溅出，往常这父子四人打铁时，火星四溅，碰到墙壁反弹回来，发出扑簌簌的声响，远远看过来，宛如礼花绽放。　　Now the girl: she was seen to huddle herself up in the corner, cheeks in hands and eyes narrowed, like a panther reposing itself in a giant tree after a predation. Yet she also wondered why such violent forging should cause not a single spark. Usually when father and sons struck iron in this smithy, sparks would shoot at the walls and bounce back giving out rustling sounds made by the iron slag, and when seen in the distance, would be as spectacular as the setting off of fireworks. But not now!　　这样的锻打持续了足有半个时辰。三个儿子身上热气腾腾，犹如三根刚从油锅里夹出来的油条，但那老铁匠，却连一滴汗珠都没流。老铁匠手中的小锤慢了下来，儿子们手中的大锤跟着慢下来。小锤更慢了，东一下，西一下，宛如一只吃饱了的鸡，在米堆里拣虫吃。　　The forging lasted a whole hour. The three sons were steaming hot, looking like chips just out of a frying pan. But their old father did not sweat at all. He now slowed down the striking rhythm of his small hammer, guiding the sons to slow that of their big hammers. Next, the small hammer further slowed down, touching only here and there like a well-fed chicken pecking for worms out of a heap of paddy rice.
　　正文（31）：　　老铁匠歪着头，眯着眼，神情和姿态都与一只黑色的老公鸡相似。更慢了。当当，小锤声；哐哐，大锤声。当，哐，当，哐。小锤扔在地上，站立着，柄儿摇晃，终于静止。三个儿子如同三株朽木，瘫倒在地上，只有老铁匠还站着。　　The old blacksmith tilted his head, squinting, with the look and pose like that of a black old rooster. He struck in even slower rhythm with his small hammer, first with dual clangs, then mono ones, and the sons followed suit till at last the father threw onto the floor his hammer, which stood with the handle up, tottering, and finally came to a stop. The three sons collapsed simultaneously like three rotten logs lying on the ground. Only the old blacksmith remained on his feet.　　炉子里的火半明半暗，蓝色的火苗柔软无力，犹如微风中的丝绸。老铁匠头顶光秃，嘴角下垂，脖子上老皮垂挂，仿佛老了二十岁，或者三十岁。他勉强站着，用目光招呼着那个小姑娘。　　The fire in the furnace half dimmed, the blue flame licking the air feebly and indolently, like a tattered patch of silk in a breeze. The old blacksmith, bald-headed, lips down curved, neck skin bagged, now seemed to be twenty or thirty years older. He managed to remain on his feet, and signed to the girl to come up to him.
　　正文（32）：　　小姑娘畏畏缩缩地走到铁砧子前，先看了一眼铁匠，然后低头看砧子。她又抬起头看老铁匠，满脸疑惑。无怪她疑惑，因为那砧子上似乎什么都没有，好像那块奇异的蓝钢，被铁匠父子们打成了空气，或者打成了光，涂抹到这房间里的所有物体上，连人的皮肤上、头发上、眼睫毛上，都涂抹的有。　　The girl tiptoed towards the anvil, first looking up at the old man, and then down at the anvil. But very soon she looked up again, puzzled, for there seemed nothing on the anvil to be seen. Instead, t seemed to her that the mysterious steel had been struck by the father and sons into air, or into light, which gilded and coated the surface of every object and every soul inside the house, to every detail like the skin, the eyes, and even the eyelashes. 　　老铁匠眼睛半睁着，可见疲劳已使他的眼皮没了力气，声音细弱，如同蚊虫哼哼，非侧耳屏气难以听到。　　The old man could only manage to half open his eyes, which indicated that he was too tired to have the strength to prop up his eyelids. He gave out a voice, something like the humming of a mosquito, so feeble that was only audible to a very attentive person.
　　正文（33）：　　但姑娘分明是听到了。她把右手中指塞进嘴巴，一口咬破，血珠滴落，举到砧子上。一股碧绿的烟雾腾起，房子里溢散开用灶火烧烤用荷叶包裹着的用人血蘸过的馒头的气味。与此同时，那把刀的形状便在砧子上渐渐地显现出来。大约有一米长、最宽处约有二十厘米，完全符合那张纸片上的形状。　　But obviously the girl had got it, for she was seen to put the middle finger of her right hand into her mouth, bit it, and let the blood drip onto the anvil, where a green smoke rose and spread all over the house with a peculiar smell, one that suggested the smell of roasted “bun and human blood” in a lotus leaf. 　　In the meanwhile, the outline of the saber was able to manifest itself gradually. It was a metre long and twenty centimeters at the widest section, a perfect work true to the design drawn in the paper.　　她又把左手的中指咬破，血珠滴落，举到刀上，叮叮咚咚，如同珍珠落在冰上。与此同时，那刀的形状又渐渐朦胧了，犹如雾里看花，水中望月，隔着玻璃看沐浴的美人。
　　　The girl then bit the middle finger of her left hand and let the blood drip onto the other side. The blood drops dripped down giving out crisp sounds like beads falling onto the surface of ice. This done, the saber retreated as a blur in the mist, like a flower in a foggy morning, a moon reflected in water, or a bathing beauty behind the frosted glass .
　　楼主调查：　　本文很快将发布完毕。想接着发“贾平凹《倒流河》”。如果有五位网友回复表示愿意跟看，才要发布。少于五位则本人自惭形秽，就不发了。　　贾平凹《倒流河》英译片段预告：　　空中的月亮一团明光，船撑到河南岸了，最后下船的是个年轻女子，怀里抱了个婴儿。老笨知道在河北挖煤挣不下钱了，但却躲过了计划生育，说：这世道呀，娃都生娃了。年轻女子不爱听，回过头说：不生娃生老汉呀？戗得老笨半天缓不过气来。　　The moon was shining bright in the sky. When the boat got to the south bank, the last passenger who got off was a very young girl carrying a baby in her arms. 　　Old Clumsy did know that the coal diggers couldn’t earn much money in the north but they were able to avail themselves of the dead-angle of the birth control policy, so he said, jokingly, “Nowadays even kids give birth to kids.” 　　The young girl obviously took offence. She turned and answered back, “So you expect kids to give birth to old men?” This choked Old Clumsy who, for the rest of the day, could hardly get his smooth breath.
　　正文（34）：　　你把它拿走吧。说完这句话，老铁匠往后便倒，随即停止了呼吸。 　　你把它拿走吧。说完这句话，老铁匠的大儿子随即停止了呼吸。 　　你把它拿走吧。说完这句话，老铁匠的二儿子随即停止了呼吸。 　　你把它拿走吧。老铁匠的小儿子说。　　“You take it away.” With this the old blacksmith fell onto the ground on his back, dead.　　“You may take it away.” With this the eldest brother stopped breathing.　　“You may take it now.” With this the elder brother stopped his breath.　　“You may leave with it,” urged the youngest brother.　　姑娘抓起那把刀，犹如捏着一段月光，对铁匠的小儿子说：你跟我一起走。 　　这两个年轻人，女的提着刀，男的空着手，走出铁匠铺子，走上街道，走出东关村，进入原野，消逝在蓝色的月光之中。 　　这把刀的名字叫“月光斩”。 　　只有用“月光斩”砍人首级，才能滴血不出，才能茬口如熨过的“的确良”布料一样平滑。　　The girl picked up the saber, as if gripping a crescent, and gave her hand to the young man: “Let’s go together!” （注：crescent是有意不忠于原文，因为那把刀更像一弯“新月”。）　　Away went the two young guys, the girl with the saber, the young man empty-handed. They went out of the smithy, down the street, out of the Dongguan Village, into the open country, and merged themselves with the blue moonlight.　　This knife was thus named “Yue Guang Zhan” ─ the Moonlight Saber.　　Only the Moonlight Saber can guarantee a bloodless decapitation, and a smooth cut.　　（注：“的确良”在此无关大体，故略去不译。）
　　正文（35）：　　但不久又有一个传说出来，传说说：身首分离的刘副书记，其实是一个塑料模特，不知道是哪个恶作剧的家伙，或者是哪个被刘副书记搧过耳光的坏蛋，制造了这样一出闹剧。　　But wait. 　　The latest hearsay soon came bearing quite a different story:　　The beheaded Vice Secretary Liu you saw in the “murder case” was in fact a plastic figure. Some mischievous fellow must have staged such a farce, or perhaps, it might be a farce directed by a certain bad guy who had once been slapped in the face by Vice Secretary Liu. 　　尽管是闹剧，但造成了极为恶劣的政治影响，对刘副书记的名誉也有毁灭性的伤害，而且还造成了难以估量的经济损失，那么多的警车，那么多的警察、武警，那么多的官员，都投入到破案中去，车辆磨损、汽油耗费、工资、差旅费……嗨! 　　However, a farce may all the same have very bad political influence, and will have Mr. Liu suffer fatally in his reputation. Moreover, great financial losses have actually been caused as so many police cars and policemen as well as so many officials were summoned for the cracking of the criminal case, not to mention other losses incurred in undertaking the vehicle depreciation costs, gas bills, salary expenditure and staff travel expenses ….ow!
　　正文（36）：　　为了挽回影响，县委、县政府在人民广场举行篝火晚会，庆祝中秋佳节，电视台直播。人们从电视里看到，刘副书记先讲话，后唱京戏，又与女青年跳舞。无论是讲话、唱戏，还是跳舞，他的脸上都带着微笑，非常有亲和力，非常平静，仿佛什么事情都没有发生过。 　　As a remedial measure, the Party Committee and the government of the county ordered a Mid-autumn Festival bonfire party to be held in the People’s Square, and had it broadcast live over the TV station. People saw Vice Secretary Liu on TV who first made a speech, next sang a song of a Beijing opera, and then danced with a group of young ladies. He smiled all the time while speaking, singing and dancing, fully displaying his endearing characteristics. His placid expression seemed to suggest that nothing abnormal had ever occurred.　　看完了附件，我给表弟回复邮件：表弟如晤，久未通信，十分想念。姑姑好吗？姑夫好吗？建国表哥好吗？青青表妹好吗？你在县城工作，要经常回老家看看，姑姑姑夫年纪大了，多多保重。　　When I finished reading the above attached file, I wrote a reply to my cousin. It reads: 　　Dear Cousin, 　　I haven’t written to you for a long time. I miss you very much. How is Aunt? How is Uncle? And how are Cousin Jianguo and Cousin Qingqing? I hope you will go back home often to visit them since you work in the county town. Aunt and U I hope you will take good care of them.
　　谢谢楼主，全复制了。　　贾平凹的《倒流河》也想看！
　　@理处渣脱925
09:38:56　　谢谢楼主，全复制了。　　贾平凹的《倒流河》也想看！　　-----------------------------　　谢谢关注！明天还有最后两段，请继续关注.
　　正文（37）：　　你若回去，一定代我去眉间尺的坟前烧两百纸钱。遇见韦小宝的后人，一定要礼貌周全——宁得罪君子，不得罪小人，这是古训，不可违背。　　When you are back at our hometown, remember to go to the tomb of Meijianchi and burn some ghost money to pay tribute on my behalf. And when you meet any descendant of Wei Xiaobao, be sure to show your reverence to him to every detail. —You know it’s better to offend a gentleman than to neglect a petty fellow. This is an old adage that shall not be violated.　　（注：1. Meijianchi was a young man in an ancient Chinese legendary story who wreaked vengeance on the king that killed his father. His father was the best sword maker in his time and got killed after he presented the superb sword to the king. Meijianchi managed to have the king beheaded with the other of the twin swords his father had made and left with him. 2. Wei Xiaobao was
a character of a legendary story who seemed to live to revenge by beheading his enemies with his superb sword.）　　一转眼间你也快三十岁了，婚姻问题要赶快解决，天涯何处无芳草？不必死缠着小龙女不放，我看那个还珠格格就不错，野是野了点，但毕竟是金枝玉叶，跟她成了亲，对你的仕途大为有利，赶快定下来，万勿二心不定，是为至嘱。　　You’ll soon turn thirty and it’s high time for marriage. There are roses everywhere in the world so never worry you won’t pick one. So better have your hands off that Little Miss Dragon. As to that Huanzhu Gege, I think she is not bad. She is a little naughty and shrewd, but is daughter of an official family after all. Marriage with her will prove highly advantageous to you in the officialdom. Make a decision and be quick, and never be half-minded. This is my first important advice!　　(注：1. Little Miss Dragon is an analogy for any proud, pretty, willful little girl. 2. Huanzhu Gege originally refers to a naughty, shrewd daughter of a royal family of the Qing Dynasty. In this short story it refers to a daughter of a Chinese official.)　　（全文完）　　楼主调查：　　本文今已发布完毕。想接着发“贾平凹《倒流河》”。如果有五位网友回复表示愿意跟看，才要发布。少于五位则本人自惭形秽，就不发了。　　贾平凹《倒流河》英译片段预告：　　空中的月亮一团明光，船撑到河南岸了，最后下船的是个年轻女子，怀里抱了个婴儿。老笨知道在河北挖煤挣不下钱了，但却躲过了计划生育，说：这世道呀，娃都生娃了。年轻女子不爱听，回过头说：不生娃生老汉呀？戗得老笨半天缓不过气来。　　The moon was shining bright in the sky. When the boat got to the south bank, the last passenger who got off was a very young girl carrying a baby in her arms. 　　Old Clumsy did know that the coal diggers couldn’t earn much money in the north but they were able to avail themselves of the dead-angle of the birth control policy, so he said, jokingly, “Nowadays even kids give birth to kids.” 　　The young girl obviously took offence. She turned and answered back, “So you expect kids to give birth to old men?” This choked Old Clumsy who, for the rest of the day, could hardly get his smooth breath.
　　到目前为止只有一位（理处渣脱925）网友表示愿意跟看贾平凹的《倒流河》，看样子不是很受欢迎啊！
　　@理处渣脱925
09:38:56　　谢谢楼主，全复制了。　　贾平凹的《倒流河》也想看！　　-----------------------------　　@理处渣脱925
　　除了您以外没有人回复要跟看贾平凹的《倒流河》，所以我决定不在这里公开发布。为了报答您的关注，我打算用电邮寄给您。请给我发邮件，我的邮件地址是：sishu_yingyi at 163 dot com
(注意：sishu和yin}