評(píng)論
打印
Imagine, if you can, a small room, hexagonal in shape, like the cell of a bee.
要是可能的話，你可以想像一個(gè)小小的房間，六角形的，像一只蜜蜂的巢孔。
It is lighted neither by window nor by lamp, yet it is filled with a soft radiance.
它既不是借著窗子、也不是借著燈光照明，可是房間里充滿著一種柔和的光輝。
There are no apertures for ventilation, yet the air is fresh.
那里沒有調(diào)節(jié)空氣的設(shè)備，空氣卻是清新的。
There are no musical instruments, and yet, at the moment that my meditation opens, this room is throbbing with melodious sounds.
那里沒有什么樂器，可是當(dāng)我開始沉思時(shí)，這個(gè)房間里卻抑揚(yáng)著音樂的旋律。
An armchair is in the centre, by its side a reading-desk-that is all the furniture.
一把扶手椅立在房間的中央，旁邊是一張書桌——那就是全部家具了。
And in the armchair there sits a swaddled lump of flesh-a woman, about five feet high, with a face as white as a fungus.
在那把扶手椅里，坐著一個(gè)用布裹著的笨重而又呆滯的人——這是一個(gè)女人，大約五英尺高，有一張像蘑菇那樣白的臉。
It is to her that the little room belongs.
這個(gè)小房間就是屬于她的。
An electric bell rang.
電鈴響了起來。
The woman touched a switch and the music was silent.
這個(gè)女人摸了一個(gè)開關(guān)，音樂便沉寂下來。
"I suppose I must see who it is", she thought, and set her chair in motion.
我想我一定得看看到底是誰，她心里想著，并讓她的扶手椅動(dòng)了起來。
The chair, like the music, was worked by machinery and it rolled her to the other side of the room where the bell still rang importunately.
這把扶手椅像音樂一樣，也是由機(jī)器操縱的，它把她轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)到房間的另一端，在那里，電鈴仍在繼續(xù)不斷地響著。
"Who is it?" she called.
“誰呀？”她大聲喊道。
Her voice was irritable, for she had been interrupted often since the music began.
她的語調(diào)是不耐煩的，因?yàn)樽詮囊魳烽_奏以來，她已經(jīng)被打斷好幾次了。
She knew several thousand people, in certain directions human intercourse had advanced enormously.
她認(rèn)識(shí)幾千個(gè)人，在某幾個(gè)方面，人的通訊交往已經(jīng)大大進(jìn)步了。
But when she listened into the receiver, her white face wrinkled into smiles, and she said: "Very well. Let us talk, I will isolate myself.
但她一聽到受話器里的話音，她那張白臉便皺得滿面笑容，隨后說道：“好極了，讓我們談?wù)劙?。我這就把自己隔絕起來。
I do not expect anything important will happen for the next five minutes-for I can give you fully five minutes, Kuno.
我希望在今后五分鐘內(nèi)不會(huì)有什么重要的事情發(fā)生——因?yàn)槲铱梢越o你整整五分鐘，基諾。
Then I must deliver my lecture on "Music during the Australian Period"."
然后我必須作演講，講‘奧地利時(shí)期的音樂’?！?/p>
She touched the isolation knob, so that no one else could speak to her.
她轉(zhuǎn)了一下隔絕旋鈕，這樣就沒有什么別人再能夠同她說話了。
Then she touched the lighting apparatus, and the little room was plunged into darkness.
隨后她按了一下照明設(shè)備，這個(gè)小小房間立刻沉入一片黑暗里。
"Be quick!" She called, her irritation returning.
“快點(diǎn)！”她大聲叫著，她那不耐煩的勁頭又來了。
"Be quick, Kuno; here I am in the dark wasting my time."
“快點(diǎn)啊，基諾；現(xiàn)在我正在黑暗里浪費(fèi)我的時(shí)間哩。”
But it was fully fifteen seconds before the round plate that she held in her hands began to glow.
但整整過了十五秒鐘，她拿在手里的那個(gè)圓盤才開始發(fā)光。
A faint blue light shot across it, darkening to purple, and presently she could see the image of her son, who lived on the other side of the earth, and he could see her.
一道微弱的藍(lán)光閃過圓盤，然后逐漸暗下來變成紫色，她立即能夠看見她兒子的形象。他住在地球的另一面，他也能夠看見她。
"Kuno, how slow you are." He smiled gravely.
“基諾，你是多么慢啊！”他帶著嚴(yán)肅的神情微笑著。
"I really believe you enjoy dawdling."
“我簡(jiǎn)直相信你就是高興慢慢吞吞的?！?/p>
"I have called you before, mother, but you were always busy or isolated. I have something particular to say."
“我在這以前就給您打過電話了，母親，可是您總是在忙，要不然，就是隔絕著。我有點(diǎn)特別的事想說?！?/p>
"What is it, dearest boy? Be quick. Why could you not send it by pneumatic post?"
“什么事，最親愛的孩子？快說吧。為什么你不可以通過氣動(dòng)郵務(wù)拍報(bào)給我呢？”
"Because I prefer saying such a thing. I want—"
“因?yàn)橄襁@樣一件事，我愿意親口說。我想要——”
"Well?"
“怎么？”
"I want you to come and see me."
“我想要您來看看我。”
