評(píng)論
打印
November 5,2006
2006年11月5日
Dear Xavier High School, and Ms. Lockwood, and Messrs Perin, McFeely, Batten, Maurer and Congiusta:
親愛(ài)的澤維爾中學(xué)，洛克伍德女士，還有佩林、麥克菲利、巴騰、莫勒、孔朱斯塔諸位：
I thank you for your friendly letters. You sure know how to cheer up a really old geezer (84) in his sunset years.
很感謝你們的來(lái)信。你們一定很懂怎么去讓一位遲暮之年（84歲）的老人獲得莫大的鼓舞。
I don't make public appearances any more because I now resemble nothing so much as an iguana.
我不再出席公眾活動(dòng)，因?yàn)槲抑牢椰F(xiàn)在老的像一只鬣蜥。
What I had to say to you, moreover, would not take long, to wit: Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpture, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow.
然而我要告訴你們的話并不太長(zhǎng)，即：進(jìn)行任何藝術(shù)活動(dòng)吧，音樂(lè)、唱歌、舞蹈、繪畫、油彩、雕塑、詩(shī)歌、小說(shuō)、散文、報(bào)告文學(xué)，不論做的好與壞，也不是收獲名利，而是為了利用這些經(jīng)歷發(fā)現(xiàn)你內(nèi)心真正的樣子，為了讓你的靈魂成長(zhǎng)。
Seriously! I mean starting right now, do art and do it for the rest of your lives.
我是認(rèn)真的！我是說(shuō)現(xiàn)在就開(kāi)始，從事藝術(shù)活動(dòng)，并且在你的一生中堅(jiān)持下去。
Draw a funny or nice picture of Ms. Lockwood, and give it to her.
畫一張滑稽的或者美麗的洛克伍德女士像，然后送給她。
Dance home after school, and sing in the shower and on and on.
放學(xué)之后跳著舞回家，洗澡的時(shí)候放聲歌唱，諸如此類的事情。
Make a face in your mashed potatoes.
在你的土豆泥里畫個(gè)鬼臉。
Pretend you're Count Dracula.
假裝你是德古拉爵士。
Here's an assignment for tonight, and I hope Ms. Lockwood will flunk you if you don't do it: Write a six line poem, about anything, but rhymed.
你們今天晚上有個(gè)任務(wù)，如果你們不做的話，我希望洛克伍德女士會(huì)給你們個(gè)不及格：寫一首六行的詩(shī)，關(guān)于什么都行，但一定要押韻。
No fair tennis without a net.
韻腳就像網(wǎng)球的網(wǎng)，沒(méi)有它可談不上作詩(shī)。
Make it as good as you possibly can. But don't tell anybody what you're doing.
盡你所能的讓這首詩(shī)好一些。但是別告訴任何人你在做什么。
Don't show it or recite it to anybody, not even your girlfriend or parents or whatever, or Ms. Lockwood. OK?
別給其他人看，也別背給別人聽(tīng)，即便是你的女朋友、你的父母、其他什么人、或者是洛克伍德女士。好嗎？
Tear it up into teeny-weeny pieces, and discard them into widely separated trash receptacles.
撕成碎紙片，然后扔到遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)的垃圾桶里。
You will find that you have already been gloriously rewarded for your poem.
你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)你已經(jīng)為你的詩(shī)找到了最好的回報(bào)。
You have experienced becoming, learned a lot more about what's inside you, and you have made your soul grow.
你已經(jīng)體會(huì)了這種經(jīng)歷，已經(jīng)對(duì)你的靈魂了解了更多，也使它得到了成長(zhǎng)。
God bless you all!
上帝保佑你們所有人！
Kurt Vonnegut
柯?tīng)柼亍ゑT內(nèi)古特
