美麗新世界 Brave New World 第3章(1)
第三章
Outside, in the garden, it was playtime.
外面，花園里已到了游戲的時(shí)候。
Naked in the warm June sunshine, six or seven hundred little boys and girls were running with shrill yells over the lawns, or playing ball games, or squatting silently in twos and threes among the flowering shrubs.
六七百個(gè)男孩和女孩在六月的暑熱里全脫光了衣服，尖叫著在草地上奔跑、玩球，或是三三兩兩一聲不響蹲在開花的灌木叢里。
The roses were in bloom, two nightingales soliloquized in the boskage, a cuckoo was just going out of tune among the lime trees.
玫瑰開得正艷，兩只夜鶯各自在密林里呢喃，一只杜鵑在菩提樹梢開始唱得走了調(diào)。
The air was drowsy with the murmur of bees and helicopters.
蜜蜂和直升飛機(jī)的嗡嗡聲使空氣里充滿了睡意。
The Director and his students stood for a short time watching a game of Centrifugal Bumble-puppy.
主任和學(xué)生們停下腳步看了一會(huì)兒“汪汪狗患離心球”游戲。
Twenty children were grouped in a circle round a chrome steel tower.
二十個(gè)孩子圍著一座克羅米鋼塔。
A ball thrown up so as to land on the platform at the top of the tower rolled down into the interior, fell on a rapidly revolving disk, was hurled through one or other of the numerous apertures pierced in the cylindrical casing, and had to be caught.
一個(gè)球扔到塔頂?shù)钠脚_上，滾進(jìn)塔里，落在一個(gè)飛速旋轉(zhuǎn)的圓盤里，再從圓筒狀的盒子邊的洞里甩出來，孩子們搶著去接。
"Strange," mused the Director, as they turned away, " strange to think that even in Our Ford's day most games were played without more apparatus than a ball or two and a few sticks and perhaps a bit of netting.
“多么奇怪，”主任在他們轉(zhuǎn)身走掉時(shí)思考著，“在我主福帝的年代里，大部分的游戲設(shè)備還只有一兩個(gè)球，幾根棍子，也許加上一張網(wǎng)子，真是奇怪。
imagine the folly of allowing people to play elaborate games which do nothing whatever to increase consumption.
想想看，竟然會(huì)蠢到允許大家玩各種精心設(shè)計(jì)的游戲，卻并不促進(jìn)他們消費(fèi)的程度。
It's madness.
這簡直是發(fā)瘋。
Nowadays the Controllers won't approve of any new game unless it can be shown that it requires at least as much apparatus as the most complicated of existing games."
現(xiàn)在管理人員除非能證明一種游戲需用的設(shè)備跟現(xiàn)有的游戲一樣復(fù)雜精巧，否則他們是不會(huì)同意的。”
He interrupted himself.
他自己打斷了自己。
"That's a charming little group," he said, pointing.
“那兩個(gè)小家伙多迷人。”他說時(shí)指了指。
In a little grassy bay between tall clumps of Mediterranean heather, two children, a little boy of about seven and a little girl who might have been a year older, were playing, very gravely and with all the focussed attention of scientists intent on a labour of discovery, a rudimentary sexual game.
在兩叢高大的地中海石南間的一小片草地上，兩個(gè)孩子(一個(gè)男孩大約七歲，一個(gè)女孩可能大他一歲)正聚精會(huì)神玩著初期的性游戲，像科學(xué)家要發(fā)現(xiàn)什么奧秘似的。
"Charming, charming!" the D.H.C. repeated sentimentally.
“迷人，迷人，主任動(dòng)情地叫道。
"Charming," the boys politely agreed. But their smile was rather patronizing.
“迷人。”孩子們禮貌地表示同意，那笑卻很有點(diǎn)居高臨下。
They had put aside similar childish amusements too recently to be able to watch them now without a touch of contempt.
他們是前不久才放棄類似的孩子氣的作樂的，看起這兩個(gè)小家伙來不能不帶幾分輕蔑。
Charming? but it was just a pair of kids fooling about; that was all. Just kids.
有什么好迷人的?兩個(gè)娃娃胡鬧而已，小娃娃罷了。
"I always think," the Director was continuing in the same rather maudlin tone, when he was interrupted by a loud boo-hooing.
“我一向以為……”主任正要以同樣的頗為傷感的調(diào)子說下去，一陣哇哇大哭打斷了他。
From a neighbouring shrubbery emerged a nurse, leading by the hand a small boy, who howled as he went.
從附近的灌木叢里出現(xiàn)了一個(gè)護(hù)土，手里換著個(gè)小男孩，那孩子一邊走一邊嚎。
An anxious-looking little girl trotted at her heels.
一個(gè)滿面焦急的小姑娘踉踉蹌蹌跟在護(hù)士身后。
"What's the matter?" asked the Director.
“怎么回事?”主任問。
The nurse shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing much," she answered.
那護(hù)土聳聳肩，“沒什么大事，”她回答，
"It's just that this little boy seems rather reluctant to join in the ordinary erotic play.
“這個(gè)男孩不大愿意參加一般的性游戲。
I'd noticed it once or twice before. And now again to-day. He started yelling just now …"
我以前已經(jīng)注意過兩三次，今天他又犯了。他剛才就叫喚……”
"Honestly," put in the anxious-looking little girl, "I didn't mean to hurt him or anything. Honestly."
“說真的，”那神色焦急的小姑娘插嘴說，“我并沒有傷害他的意思，也沒有別的意思，真的。”
"Of course you didn't, dear," said the nurse reassuringly.
“你當(dāng)然沒有傷害他的意思，親愛的，”護(hù)士安慰她道，
"And so," she went on, turning back to the Director, "I'm taking him in to see the Assistant Superintendent of Psychology.
“因此，”她轉(zhuǎn)身對著主任說下去，“我要帶他到心理總監(jiān)助理那兒去，
Just to see if anything's at all abnormal."
看看他是否有什么不正常。”
"Ouite right," said the Director. "Take him in. You stay here, little girl," he added, as the nurse moved away with her still howling charge.
“很對，”主任說，“你就帶他進(jìn)去吧。你留在這兒，小姑娘，”護(hù)士帶著那仍在嚎叫的男孩走掉了。主任說，
"What's your name?"
“你叫什么名字?”
"Polly Trotsky."
“寶麗·托洛茨基。”
"And a very good name too," said the Director. "Run away now and see if you can find some other little boy to play with."
“名字也挺好嘛，”主任說，“快走吧，看你能不能夠另外找個(gè)男孩跟你玩。”
