美國語文第五冊 第285期：潑冷水的藝術(shù)（01）

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Regarding, one day, in company with a humorous friend, a noble vessel of a somewhat novel construction sailing slowly out of port,

有一天，我與一位風趣幽默的朋友正在聊天，一艘造型頗為新奇的宏偉輪船緩緩地駛離港口，

he observed, “What a quantity of cold water somebody must have had down his back.”

他注視那船說道：“有的人脊梁骨上該是潑過多少涼水。”

In my innocence, I supposed that he alluded to the wet work of the artisans who had been building the vessel;

以我天真揣度，我猜想，朋友不過暗指那些頂風冒雨建造那艘輪船的工匠們，

but when I came to know him better,

但隨著話語展開，

I found that this was the form of comment he always indulged in when contemplating any new and great work,

我才得以了解個中玄機。這位朋友長期沉湎于研究整套創(chuàng)新思維的話語體系，

and that his “somebody” was the designer of the vessel.

他說的“有的人”，指的是該艘輪船的設計者。

My friend had carefully studied the art of discouragement,

我的那位朋友曾深入研究過氣餒藝術(shù)，

and there was a class of men whom he designated simply as “cold-water pourers.”

他將創(chuàng)新者定義為“被潑涼水的人”。

It was most amusing to hear him desCRIbe the lengthened sufferings of the man who first designed a wheel; of him who first built a boat;

聽他敘述那位輪船設計師經(jīng)久多年的痛苦煎熬，倒是挺有意思。那家伙第一次設計出車輪，第一次建造出小船；

of the adventurous personage who first proposed the daring enterprise of using buttons, instead of fish bones,

極愛冒險的他，也是第一次提出大膽創(chuàng)意，用按鈕取代魚骨

to fasten the scanty raiment of some savage tribe.

來固定原始部落野人身上那些衣不蔽體的衣服。

Warming with his theme, he would become quite eloquent in desCRIbing the long career of discouragement which these rash men had brought upon themselves,

一旦深入這類話題，朋友隨即口若懸河，滔滔不絕地談起那些魯莽草率人士無端為自己帶來氣餒沮喪的漫長生涯。

and which he said, to his knowledge, must have shortened their lives.

據(jù)他所說，他清楚這些氣餒沮喪無疑將縮短人的壽命，