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"Oh – that!" he said, starting. "You would like to hear about civilization.
“哦——那個嘛！”他開始說。“您愿意聽聽有關文明的事。
Certainly. Had I got to where my respirator fell down?"
當然可以。我是不是已經說到我的呼吸保護器落下來的事？”
"No – but I understand everything now.
“不——不過現在我已經明了種種事情了。
You put on your respirator, and managed to walk along the surface of the earth to a vomitory,
你戴上你的呼吸保護器，設法沿著地球表面走到一個出口處去，
and there your conduct was reported to the Central Committee."
就在那里，你的行徑給報告到中央委員會去了。”
"By no means." He passed his hand over his forehead, as if dispelling some strong impression.
“絕不是這樣。” 他用手摸了摸前額，好像是驅除什么強烈的印象似的。
Then, resuming his narrative, he warmed to it again.
后來——接著敘述下去，他便又熱烈地談起來。
"My respirator fell about sunset. I had mentioned that the fountain seemed feebler, had I not?"
“我的呼吸保護器大約是在日落的時候落下來的。我已經提到過，那個空氣噴泉似乎比較軟弱無力了，我沒有提到過嗎？”
"Yes." "About sunset, it let the respirator fall.
“提到過。”“大約在日落的時候，那空氣噴泉使呼吸保護器落了下來。
As I said, I had entirely forgotten about the Machine, and I paid no great attention at the time, being occupied with other things.
像我說過的那樣，當時我已經完全忘記了大機器的事，當時我沒大注意，也因為我正專心注意別的事情。
I had my pool of air, into which I could dip when the outer keenness became intolerable,
我有我的空氣池，在外界的鋒利變得難以忍受的時候，我可以浸到它里面去，
and which would possibly remain for days, provided that no wind sprang up to disperse it.
這可能會保持上幾天，假定不起風把空氣驅散的話。
Not until it was too late did I realize what the stoppage of the escape implied.
沒等到太遲，我就體會到阻止逃跑的含義是什么了。
You see – the gap in the tunnel had been mended; the Mending Apparatus; the Mending Apparatus, was after me.
您知道——隧道里的斷口已經修理過；那臺修理機；那臺修理機就跟在我后面哩。
"One other warning I had, but I neglected it.
“我得到了另一個警告，可是我把它忽略了。
The sky at night was clearer than it had been in the day, and the moon,
在夜里，天空比在白晝更為晴朗。還有那月亮，
which was about half the sky behind the sun, shone into the dell at moments quite brightly.
在太陽的后面，大約在半天空，不時相當亮地照進那小小的谷地里。
I was in my usual place – on the boundary between the two atmospheres –
我在我通常呆的地方——恰在兩種空氣的分界上——
when I thought I saw something dark move across the bottom of the dell, and vanish into the shaft.
這時我想我看見了些什么黑東西移動著橫過谷底，消失在上下行的通道里。
In my folly, I ran down. I bent over and listened, and I thought I heard a faint scraping noise in the depths.
我一陣糊涂，跑了過去。我彎下身去細聽，我認為我聽到在深處有一種微弱的刮擦聲。
"At this – but it was too late – I took alarm. I determined to put on my respirator and to walk right out of the dell.
“一聽到這——但是已經太遲了——我大吃一驚。我決定戴上我的呼吸保護器，立刻走出那個小山谷，
But my respirator had gone. I knew exactly where it had fallen – between the stopper and the aperture
可是我的呼吸保護器不見了。我準確地知道它降落在那個地方——落在制動器和洞口之間——
–and I could even feel the mark that it had made in the turf.
甚至我能夠摸到它留在草根土上的痕跡。
It had gone, and I realized that something evil was at work, and I had better escape to the other air, and,
它不見了，我理解到是有什么鬼東西在作怪，我倒不如逃到另一種空氣里去，
if I must die, die running towards the cloud that had been the colour of a pearl.
要是我一定得死的話，那就跑向珍珠色的那片云里去死。
I never started. Out of the shaft – it is too horrible.
我可并未動身。在上下行的通道的外面——那太可怕了——
A worm, a long white worm, had crawled out of the shaft and gliding over the moonlit grass.
一條蟲，一條好長的白蟲從上下行的通道里爬了出來，在月光下的草地上滑行著。
I screamed. I did everything that I should not have done,
我尖聲叫了起來。我做了種種我不該那樣做的事，
I stamped upon the creature instead of flying from it, and it at once curled round the ankle.
我踩在這個活東西上，而沒有飛速跑開它，于是它立刻纏上我的踝部。
Then we fought. The worm let me run all over the dell, but edged up my leg as I ran.
我們便戰斗起來。這條蟲隨著我跑遍那個小山谷，可是在我跑的時候，它卻慢慢爬上我的兩條腿。
"Help!" I cried. (That part is too awful. It belongs to the part that you will never know.)
“救命啊！”我喊著。（那部分太可怕了。那屬于您永遠也不應該知道的部分。）
"Help!" I cried. (Why cannot we suffer in silence?)
（“救命啊！”我喊著。（為什么我們不能沉默地忍受呢？）
