董桥:D H Lawerence名著《查泰莱夫人的情人》第一章第一段话是这样写的:“Ours is essentially a tragic age,so we refuse to take it tragically.The cataclysm has happened,we are among the ruins,we start to build up new little habits,to have new little hopes.It is rather hard work:there is now no smooth road into the future:but we go round,to scramble over the obstacles. We've got to live ,no matter how many skies have fallen.”一九八四年中英为香港问题举行的谈判有了眉目,两国在那一年年底就要签署联合声明了,香港的命运进入了一个新的阶段。我当时主编《明 报 月 刊》,突然想到这段佳作,匆匆译成中文,以英汉对读的处理方式刊入一九八四年十月号《明月》我的《编者的话》里:「我们这个时代根本是个可悲的时代,我们偏偏不肯认命。狂澜既倒,我们都在断瓦颓垣之中,慢慢养成一点新习惯,抱着一点新希望。费劲是相当费劲了:此去并无坦途:可是重重障碍,我们也有法子绕路走,甚至手脚并用攀过去。反正我们不管天塌了多少下来都只好活下去。」"Then he opened the door. The outside was quite dark... The drizzle of rain drifted greyly past upon the darkness. It was quite dark. ’Ah mun ta’e th’ lantern,’ he said. ’The’ll be nob’dy.’" 这是劳伦斯的名着《查泰莱夫人的情人》里的一段话。跟夫人幽会的男主角满口伦敦东区土话,劳伦斯写他的对白於是也用了地道的土话,可是全书的叙述和其他人物的对白都用很考究的英文写。
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