動物農(nóng)場 Animal Farm 第1章(3)

When Major saw that they had all made themselves comfortable and were waitingattentively, he cleared his throat and began:

看到他們都坐穩(wěn)了，并聚精會神地等待著，麥哲清了清喉嚨，開口說道：

"Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last night. But I will come to the dream later.

同志們，我昨晚做了一個奇怪的夢，這個你們都已經(jīng)聽說了，但我想等一會再提它。

I have something else to say first.

我想先說點別的事。

I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with you for many months longer, and before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom as I have acquired.

同志們，我想我和你們在一起呆不了多久了。在我臨死之前，我覺得有責任把我已經(jīng)獲得的智慧傳授給你們。

I have had a long life, I have had much time for thought as I lay alone in my stall,

我活了一輩子，當我獨自躺在圈中時，我總在思索，

and I think I may say that I understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now living.

我想我敢說，如同任何一個健在的動物一樣，我悟出了一個道理，那就是活在世上是怎么回事。

It is about this that I wish to speak to you.“

這就是我要給你們講的問題。

"Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours?

那么，同志們，我們又是怎么生活的呢?

Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short.

讓我們來看一看吧：我們的一生是短暫的，卻是凄慘而艱辛。

We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies,

一生下來，我們得到的食物不過僅僅使我們茍延殘喘而已，

and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength;

但是，只要我們還能動一下，我們便會被驅(qū)趕著去干活，直到用盡最后一絲力氣，

and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered withhideous cruelty.

一旦我們的油水被榨干，我們就會在難以置信的殘忍下被宰殺。

No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free.

在英格蘭的動物中，沒有一個動物在一歲之后懂得什么是幸福或空閑的涵意。沒有一個是自由的。

The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth.“

顯而易見，動物的一生是痛苦的、備受奴役的一生。

"But is this simply part of the order of nature?

“但是，這真的是命中注定的嗎?

Is it because this land of ours is so poor that it cannot afford a decent life to those who dwell upon it?

那些生長在這里的動物之所以不能過上舒適的生活，難道是因為我們這塊土地太貧瘠了嗎?

No, comrades, a thousand times no!

不!同志們!一千個不!

The soil of England is fertile, its climate is good, it is capable of affording food in abundance to an enormously greater number of animals than now inhabit it.

英格蘭土地肥沃，氣候適宜，它可以提供豐富的食物，可以養(yǎng)活為數(shù)比現(xiàn)在多得多的動物。

This single farm of ours would support a dozen horses, twenty cows, hundreds of sheep

拿我們這一個莊園來說，就足以養(yǎng)活十二匹馬、二十頭牛和數(shù)百只羊，

and all of them living in a comfort and a dignity that are now almost beyond our imagining.

而且我們甚至無法想象，他們會過得多么舒適，活得多么體面。

Why then do we continue in this miserable condition?

那么，為什么我們的悲慘境況沒有得到改變呢?

Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings.

這是因為，幾乎我們的全部勞動所得都被人類竊取走了。

There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word--Man.

同志們，有一個答案可以解答我們的所有問題。我可以把它總結(jié)為一個字——人。

Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever.

人就是我們唯一真正的仇敵。把人從我們的生活中消除掉，饑餓與過度勞累的根子就會永遠拔掉。