Hills Like White Elephants
白象似的山
翟象俊 译
The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun. Close against the side of the station there was the warm shadow of the building and a curtain, made of strings of bamboo beads, hung across the open door into the bar, to keep out flies. The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building. It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. It stopped at this junction for two minutes and went on to Madrid.
“What should we drink?” the girl asked. She had taken off her hat and put it on the table.
“It’s pretty hot,” the man said.
“Let’s drink beer.”
埃布罗河①河谷的那一边，白的山冈起伏连绵。这一边，白地一片，没有树木，车站在阳光下两条铁路线中间。紧靠着车站的一边，是一幢笼罩在闷热的阴影中的房屋，一串串竹珠子编成的门帘挂在酒吧间敞开着的门口挡苍蝇。那个美国人和那个跟他一道的姑娘坐在那幢房屋外面阴凉处的一张桌子旁边。天气非常热，巴塞罗那②来的快车还有四十分钟才能到站。列车在这个中转站停靠两分钟，然后继续行驶，开往马德里。“咱们喝点什么呢？”姑娘问。她已经脱掉帽子，把它放在桌子上。“天热得很，”男人说。“咱们喝啤酒吧。”
①埃布罗河（ｔｈｅＥｂｒｏ）：流经西班牙北部，注入地中海，全长约７５６公里。
②巴塞罗那（Ｂａｒｃｅｌｏｎａ）：西班牙最大的商港，位于东北部地中海沿岸。
“Dos cervezas,” the man said into the curtain.
“Big ones?” a woman asked from the doorway.
“Yes. Two big ones.”
The woman brought two glasses of beer and two felt pads. She put the felt pads and the be
er glasses on the table and looked at the man and the girl. The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry.
“来两杯啤酒，”男人对着门帘里面说。“大杯的？”一个女人在门口问。“对。两大杯。”那女人端来两大杯啤酒和两只毡杯垫。她把杯垫和啤酒杯一一放在桌子上。看看那男的，又看看那姑娘。姑娘正在眺望远处山的轮廓。山在阳光下是白的，而乡野则是灰褐的干巴巴的一片。
“They look like white elephants,” she said.
“I’ve never seen one,” the man drank his beer.
“No, you wouldn’t have.”
“I might have,” the man said. “Just because you say I wouldn’t have doesn’t prove anything.”
The girl looked at the bead curtain. “They’ve painted something on it,” she said. “What does it say?”
“Anis del Toro. It’s a drink.”
“Could we try it?”
The man called “Listen” through the curtain. The woman came out from the bar.
“Four reales.”
“We want two Anis del Toro.”
“With water?”
“它们看上去象一白象，”她说。“我从来没有见过象，”男人把啤酒一饮而尽。“你是不会见过。”“我也许见到过的，”男人说。”光凭你说我不会见过，并不说明什么问题。”姑娘看看珠帘子。”他们在上面画了东西的，”她说。”那上面写的什么？”“茴香酒。是一种饮料。”“咱们能尝尝吗？”男人朝着珠帘子喊了一声”喂”。那女人从酒吧间走了出来。“一共是四雷阿尔。”③“给我们再来两杯人Ａｎｉｓ ｄｅｌ Ｔｏｒｏ。”“掺水吗？”
③雷阿尔（ｒｅａｌ）：旧时西班牙和拉丁美洲国家通用的一种银币。
“Do you want it with water?”
“I don’t know,” the girl said. “Is it good with water?”
“It’s all right.”
“You want them with water?” asked the woman.
“Yes, with water.”fine是什么意思
“It tastes like licorice,” the girl said and put the glass down.
“That’s the way with everything.”
“Yes,” said the girl. “Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things you’ve waited so long for, like absinthe.”
“Oh, cut it out.”
“You started it,” the girl said. “I was being amused. I was having a fine time.”
“Well, let’s try and have a fine time.”
“All right. I was trying. I said the mountains looked like white elephants. Wasn’t that bright?”
“That was bright.”
“I wanted to try this new drink: That’s all we do, isn’t it--look at things and try new drinks?”
“I guess so.”
“你要掺水吗？”“我不知道，”姑娘说。”掺了水好喝吗？”“好喝。”“你们要掺水吗？”女人问。“好，掺水。”“这酒甜丝丝的就象甘草，”姑娘说，一边放下酒杯。“样样东西都是如此。”“是的，”姑娘说。”样样东西都甜丝丝的象甘草。特别是一个人盼望了好久的那些东西，简直就象艾酒一样。”“喔，别说了。”“是你先说起来的，”姑娘说。”我刚才倒觉得挺有趣。我刚才挺开心。”“好吧，咱们就想法开心开心吧。”“行啊。我刚才就在想法。我说这些山看上去象一白象。这比喻难道不妙？”“妙。”“我还提出尝尝这种没喝过的饮料。咱们不就做了这么点儿事吗——看看风景，尝尝没喝过的饮料？”“我想是的。”
The girl looked across at the hills.
“They’re lovely hills,” she said. “They don’t really look like white elephants. I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees.”