文学翻译练笔系列-No.1 本杰明巴顿奇事片段（英译汉）

As long ago as 1860 it was the proper thing to be born at home. At present, so I am told, the high gods of medicine have decreed that the first cries of the young shall be uttered upon the anaesthetic air of a hospital, preferably a fashionable one. So young Mr. and Mrs. Roger Button were fifty years ahead of style when they decided, one day in the summer of 1860, that their first baby should be born in a hospital. Whether this anachronism had any bearing upon the astonishing history I am about to set down will never be known.

I shall tell you what occurred, and let you judge for yourself.

The Roger Buttons held an enviable position, both social and financial, in ante-bellum Baltimore. They were related to the This Family and the That Family, which, as every Southerner knew, entitled them to membership in that enormous peerage which largely populated the Confederacy. This was their first experience with the charming old custom of having babies—Mr. Button was naturally nervous.

He hoped it would be a boy so that he could be sent to Yale College in Connecticut, at which institution Mr. Button himself had been known for four years by the somewhat obvious nickname of “Cuff.”

On the September morning consecrated to the enormous event he arose nervously at six o’clock, dressed himself, adjusted an impeccable stock, and hurried forth through the streets of Baltimore to the hospital, to determine whether the darkness of the night had borne in new life upon its bosom.

When he was approximately a hundred yards from the Maryland Private Hospital for Ladies and Gentlemen he saw Doctor Keene, the family physician, descending the front steps, rubbing his hands together with a washing movement—as all doctors are required to do by the unwritten ethics of their profession.

Mr. Roger Button, the president of Roger Button & Co., Wholesale Hardware, began to run toward Doctor Keene with much less dignity than was expected from a Southern gentleman of that picturesque period. “Doctor Keene!” he called. “Oh, Doctor Keene!”

The doctor heard him, faced around, and stood waiting, a curious expression settling on his harsh, medicinal face as Mr. Button drew near.

“What happened?” demanded Mr. Button, as he came up in a gasping rush. “What was it? How is she? A boy? Who is it? What—”

“Talk sense!” said Doctor Keene sharply. He appeared somewhat irritated.

“Is the child born?” begged Mr. Button.

Doctor Keene frowned. “Why, yes, I suppose so—after a fashion.” Again he threw a curious glance at Mr. Button.

译文

早在1860年时，在家里生孩子还是一件正常的事情。而如今，我被告知，那高贵的医学之神规定婴孩必须在充满消毒药剂气味的医院里释放第一声啼哭，这或许也是一种潮流。因此，罗杰·巴顿夫妇在1860年夏天的某日决定在医院生产他们的第一个孩子，这可是领先潮流50年之久。谁也不知道这与时代潮流相左的举措是否对我即将讲述的、让后来者惊叹的历史有重要影响。 我只管告诉你发生了什么事情，而判断权在你手里。 在内战前的巴尔的摩市，罗杰·巴顿一家在社会地位和财富上均让人艳羡，他们和这个名人之家或是那个显赫之家均有关系。每个南方人都知道，这使得他们能有资格成为主导南方联盟的贵族家庭中的一个。说到那让人着迷的、古老的生育传统，这对巴顿夫妇来说是第一次——因此巴顿先生自然相当紧张。他希望这孩子是个男孩，那么他就可以入读在康涅狄格州的耶鲁大学。巴顿先生也曾在耶鲁度过4年时光，并且因他稍明显的绰号“袖管”而为人所知。 这件大事降临在九月的某个早晨，那天，紧张的巴顿先生六点起身，更衣，换了一身无可挑剔的行头，急匆匆地穿过巴尔的摩的街道来到医院，以确定这浓浓黑夜是否迎接了一个新生命的到来。当他距离马里兰州私立雅士医院还有大概一百码的距离时，他看到了家庭医生基尼正在下楼梯，揉搓着双手像在洗手——这是医生这行默认的职业道德。 罗杰·巴顿先生，五金批发公司罗杰-巴顿公司的总裁，开始略显失态地跑向基尼医生，全然不顾在那个如诗如画的时期一位南方绅士应有的仪态。“基尼医生”，他大吼着，“嘿！基尼医生！” 基尼医生听见他的声音，转过头来，并站着等他。巴顿先生靠近时，基尼医生那严肃的、专业的脸上流露出一丝疑惑。 “发生什么事情没有？”巴顿先生急切地问道，还因为跑得太急而气喘吁吁。 “事情怎么样了，她还好吗？是男孩？还是？是——” “好好说话！”基尼医生厉声应道。他似乎有些厌烦。 “孩子出生了吗？”巴顿先生恳切地问道。 基尼医生皱着眉头。“呃，嗯，算是吧——在某种意义上。”他再次将疑惑的眼光投向巴顿先生。

发表日期：2023年3月27日