《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 16 男孩犹豫是否前往非洲

The boy began again to read his book, but he was no longer able to concentrate.

男孩想继续读那本书，然而再也无法集中精神。

He was tense and upset, because he knew that the old man was right.

心里乱哄哄的，放松不下来。因为他明白了，那老人说的是对的。

He went over to the bakery and bought a loaf of bread, thinking about whether or not he should tell the baker¹ what the old man had said about him.

他走到面包店里，买了一根长条面包，考虑着是否应该把那位老人刚才说过的话告诉店主。

Sometimes it's better to leave things as they are, he thought to himself, and decided² to say nothing.

有的时候最好让事情保持原样，想到这儿，男孩便没有开口。

If he were to say anything, the baker would spend three days thinking about giving it all up, even though he had gotten used to the way things were.

如果他说出来，这个面包店店主将一连三天考虑是否舍弃现有的一切，然而，他对这样的生活早就习以为常了。

The boy could certainly resist causing that kind of anxiety for the baker.

男孩不想让面包店店主左右为难。

So he began to wander through the city, and found himself at the gates.

他在城中漫无目的地走着，一直走到港口。

There was a small building there, with a window at which people bought tickets to Africa.

港口有一所房屋，房屋有一个窗口，有人在窗口卖通往非洲的船票。

And he knew that Egypt was in Africa.

他知道埃及在非洲。

"Can I help you?" asked the man behind the window.

“要买船票吗？ ”售票窗口里的人问道。

"Maybe tomorrow," said the boy, moving away.

“也许明天吧。”男孩说着，走开了。

If he sold just one of his sheep, he'd have enough to get to the other shore of the strait. The idea frightened him.

只需卖掉一只羊，他就可以到海峡的对岸去了。这个念头吓了他一跳。

"Another dreamer," said the ticket seller to his assistant, watching the boy walk away. "He doesn't have enough money to travel."

“又是个痴心妄想的家伙，他根本没钱去旅行。”见男孩离开了，售票窗口里的人对他的助手说道。

While standing³ at the ticket window, the boy had remembered his flock, and decided he should go back to being a shepherd.

在售票窗口前的时候，男孩想起了他的羊群，他决定还是接着回去做一个牧羊人。

In two years he had learned everything about shepherding: he knew how to shear⁴ sheep, how to care for pregnant ewes, and how to protect the sheep from wolves.

过去的两年中，他学会了牧羊的所有決窍，学会了剪羊毛，照顾怀孕的母羊，以及如何对付野狼，保护羊群。

He knew all the fields and pastures of Andalusia.

他熟悉安达卢西亚所有的原野和牧场，

And he knew what was the fair price for every one of his animals.

了解每一只羊买进和卖出的公平价格。

He decided to return to his friend's stable by the longest route possible.

他决定绕最远的那条路返回朋友家。

As he walked past the city's castle, he interrupted his return, and climbed the stone ramp⁵ that led to the top of the wall.

这个城市也有一座城堡。他决定沿着石头斜坡爬到城堡的一段高墙上去坐坐。

From there, he could see Africa in the distance.

从那上面，他可以望见非洲。

Someone had once told him that it was from there that the Moors⁶ had come, to occupy all of Spain.

有一次别人告诉他说，当年摩尔人就是从那边过来的。许多年间，几乎整个西班牙都被他们占领了。

1 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 shear   

n.修剪，剪下的东西，羊的一岁；vt.剪掉，割，剥夺；vi.修剪，切割，剥夺，穿越

参考例句：

• Every spring they shear off the sheep's wool and sell it.每年春天他们都要剪下羊毛去卖。
• In the Hebrides they shear their sheep later than anywhere else.在赫伯里兹，剪羊毛的时间比其他任何地方都要晚。

5 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

6 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》