評論
打印
"I'm the leader of the caravan," said a dark-eyed, bearded man.
“我是這支商隊的頭領?！币粋€黑眼睛、蓄長髯的男人說道，
"I hold the power of life and death for every person I take with me. The desert is a capricious lady, and sometimes she drives men crazy."
“對商隊中的每個人，我都有生殺予奪的權力。沙漠是個任性的女人，有時候會讓男人發瘋?！?/div>
There were almost two hundred people gathered there, and four hundred animals—camels, horses, mules, and fowl.
商隊差不多有兩百人，以及四百牲口，有駱駝、馬匹、毛驢、家禽。
In the crowd were women, children, and a number of men with swords at their belts and rifles slung on their shoulders.
商隊中有婦女、兒童，還有一些腰挎寶劍、肩扛長槍的男人。
The Englishman had several suitcases filled with books.
英國人則帶了好幾個箱子，里面裝滿了書。
There was a babble of noise, and the leader had to repeat himself several times for everyone to understand what he was saying.
貨棧一帶到處是嘈雜的人聲，為了讓所有人都能聽明白他的意思，頭領不得不把他的話重復了幾遍。
"There are a lot of different people here, and each has his own God.
“這里有各種各樣的人，各自心中都有不同的神明。
But the only God I serve is Allah, and in his name I swear that I will do everything possible once again to win out over the desert.
但是，我唯一信奉的神就是安拉。我向安拉發誓，將竭盡全力，求得圓滿，再一次征服沙漠。
But I want each and every one of you to swear by the God you believe in that you will follow my orders no matter what.
現在，我要你們每個人都向各自心靈深處信奉的神明發誓，無論在何種情況下，都要服從我。
In the desert, disobedience means death."
在沙漠中，不服從就意味著死亡?！?/div>
There was a murmur from the crowd. Each was swearing quietly to his or her own God.
人群里響起一片竊竊私語聲。大家都在低聲向自己的神發誓。
The boy swore to Jesus Christ. The Englishman said nothing.
男孩向耶穌基督發了誓。英國人則默不作聲。
And the murmur lasted longer than a simple vow would have. The people were also praying to heaven for protection.
竊竊私語的時間比普通的發誓要長，因為人們也在祈求上天保佑。
A long note was sounded on a bugle, and everyone mounted up.
一聲長長的號音后，人們紛紛跨上各自的坐騎。
The boy and the Englishman had bought camels, and climbed uncertainly onto their backs.
男孩和英國人也已買好了駱駝，他們有些費力地爬到駱駝背上。
The boy felt sorry for the Englishman's camel, loaded down as he was with the cases of books.
男孩為英國人的駱駝感到難過，它還得馱著幾箱沉甸甸的書呢。
"There's no such thing as coincidence," said the Englishman, picking up the conversation where it had been interrupted in the warehouse.
“根本不存在什么巧合?！庇苏f，試圖將他們在貨棧里開始的那場談話繼續下去，
"I'm here because a friend of mine heard of an Arab who ..."
“是一個朋友把我帶到了這里，因為他認識一個阿拉伯人，據說……”
But the caravan began to move, and it was impossible to hear what the Englishman was saying.
然而，商隊啟程，已經無法聽清英國人說的話了。
The boy knew what he was about to describe, though:
不過，男孩很清楚英國人想說什么，
the mysterious chain that links one thing to another, the same chain that had caused him to become a shepherd,
他想說的是將一件事與另一件事聯系在一起的神秘紐帶。
that had caused his recurring dream, that had brought him to a city near Africa, to find a king,
就是這神秘的紐帶讓他重復做同一個夢，并到達了非洲附近的一座城市，接著讓他在那個城市的廣場上遇見撒冷，
and to be robbed in order to meet a crystal merchant, and ...
后來他的錢被偷，這使他結識了一位水晶店的老板，而后……
The closer one gets to realizing his personal legend, the more that personal legend becomes his true reason for being, thought the boy.
一個人越是接近夢想，天命就越成為他生存下去的真正理由，男孩心想。
| 重點單詞 | 查看全部解釋 | |||
| recurring | [ri'kə:riŋ] |
想一想再看 adj. 再發的，循環的 動詞recur的現在分詞 |
||
| babble | ['bæbl] |
想一想再看 vi. 呀呀學語，喋喋不休 vi. 潺潺作聲 n. 含糊 |
聯想記憶 | |
| crystal | ['kristl] |
想一想再看 n. 水晶，晶體 |
||
| mysterious | [mis'tiəriəs] |
想一想再看 adj. 神秘的，不可思議的 |
聯想記憶 | |
| capricious | [kə'priʃəs] |
想一想再看 adj. 變化無常的，任性的 |
||
| protection | [prə'tekʃən] |
想一想再看 n. 保護，防衛 |
聯想記憶 | |
| coincidence | [kəu'insidəns] |
想一想再看 n. 巧合，同時發生 |
||
| warehouse | ['wɛəhaus] |
想一想再看 n. 倉庫 |
||
| impossible | [im'pɔsəbl] |
想一想再看 adj. 不可能的，做不到的 |
聯想記憶 | |
| legend | ['ledʒənd] |
想一想再看 n. 傳說，傳奇 |
聯想記憶 |
