《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 100 男孩要学会变成风

"Don't let them see that you're afraid," the alchemist said.

“不要让他们察觉出你的恐惧，”炼金术士说。

"They are brave men, and they despise¹ cowards²."

“他们都是勇敢的人，最鄙视胆小鬼。”

But the boy couldn't even speak. He was able to do so only after they had walked through the center of the camp.

但是男孩已经说不出话来。走到营地中央时，男孩才能够开始讲话。

There was no need to imprison³ them: the Arabs simply confiscated⁴ their horses.

阿拉伯人牵走了他们的马匹，也就没必要关押他们了。

So, once again, the world had demonstrated its many languages:

世界再一次展示了它语言的多样性：

the desert only moments ago had been endless and free, and now it was an impenetrable wall.

此前沙漠是一片自由广袤的天地，现在却变成了一道无法逾越的坚壁。

"You gave them everything I had!" the boy said. "Everything I've saved in my entire life!"

“您把我所有的财宝都给了他们！”男孩说，“那是我拼命挣来的呀！”

"Well, what good would it be to you if you had to die?" the alchemist answered.

“如果你必死无疑，它们对你又有什么用处呢？”炼金术士回答说。

"Your money saved us for three days. It's not often that money saves a person's life."

“你的钱救了你，还能多活三天。钱能用来推迟死期，这种事并不多见。”

But the boy was too frightened to listen to words of wisdom.

然而，男孩仍处于极度恐惧之中，根本听不进那些智慧的话语。

He had no idea how he was going to transform himself into the wind. He wasn't an alchemist!

他不知道怎样才能使自己变成风。他可不是炼金术士！

The alchemist asked one of the soldiers for some tea, and poured some on the boy's wrists.

炼金术士向一位士兵要来茶水，在男孩的手腕上倒了几滴。

A wave of relief washed over him, and the alchemist muttered⁵ some words that the boy didn't understand.

一阵平静的感觉潮水般涌遍全身，这样做的同时，炼金术士说了一些男孩听不懂的话。

"Don't give in to your fears," said the alchemist, in a strangely gentle voice.

“你不要陷入绝望而不能自拔，”炼金术士用一种异常柔和的声音说道。

"If you do, you won't be able to talk to your heart."

“这样会使你无法和自己的心沟通。”

"But I have no idea how to turn myself into the wind."

“但我不知道如何把自己变成风。”

"If a person is living out his personal legend, he knows everything he needs to know.

“追寻天命的人，知道自己需要掌握的一切。

There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."

只有一样东西令梦想无法成真，那就是担心失败。”

"I'm not afraid of failing. It's just that I don't know how to turn myself into the wind."

“我并不担心失败，我只是不知道怎样把自己变成风。”

"Well, you'll have to learn; your life depends on it."

“那么你必须学会。你的生死取决于它。”

"But what if I can't?"

“如果我做不到呢？”

"Then you'll die in the midst⁶ of trying to realize your personal legend.

“你将在追寻天命的过程中死去。

That's a lot better than dying like millions of other people, who never even knew what their personal legends were."

这也比大多数普通人的死要好得多，因为他们根本不知道有天命存在。”

"But don't worry," the alchemist continued. "Usually the threat of death makes people a lot more aware of their lives."

“但是，你不必担心，”炼金术士继续说道。“一般来说，死会使人对生更加敏感。”

1 despise   

vt.看不起，轻视，鄙视

参考例句：

• Don't cheat at exams or others will despise you.考试不要作弊，否则别人会瞧不起你。
• No one will despise you.没有人鄙视你。

2 cowards   

胆小鬼，懦夫( coward的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cowards are not made of the same metal as heroes. 懦夫与英雄本质不同。
• All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. 所有其他寡头政治家，即使那些同我们相象的人，也都是些懦夫和伪君子。 来自英汉文学

3 imprison   

vt.监禁，关押，限制，束缚

参考例句：

• The effect of this one is going to imprison you for life.而这件事的影响力则会让你被终身监禁。
• Dutch colonial authorities imprisoned him for his part in the independence movement.荷兰殖民当局因他参加独立运动而把他关押了起来。

4 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

5 muttered   

轻声低语，咕哝地抱怨( mutter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He muttered a curse at the other driver. 他低声咒骂另一位开车的人。
• She turned away and muttered something unintelligible. 她转向一旁，嘴里不知咕哝些什么。

6 midst   

n.中部，中间，当中

参考例句：

• The hut is in the midst of the forest.小屋在森林深处。
• There is a thief in our midst.我们当中有小偷。