英语PK台 第549期:笼中鸟 不会说话的鹦鹉

 　　　Often we hear someone say, "Don't parrot me." What they mean to say is "Don't copy what I'm saying." Now read the following story written by Ruskin Bond about a parrot who wouldn't talk.

　　我们经常听到有人说，“不要像鹦鹉一样学我说话。”这句话的意思其实是“不要模仿我说的话。”下面，我们来阅读一篇Ruskin Bond写的关于一只不会说话的鹦鹉的故事。

　　"You are no beauty! Can't talk, can't dance!" With these words, Aunt Ruby¹ would tease the unfortunate parakeet who stared sourly at everyone from his ornamental² cage at one end of the long veranda³ of granny's bungalow⁴ in North India.

　　“你不漂亮！不会说话，不会跳舞！”露比姑妈总是用这些话戏弄那只不幸的长尾小鹦鹉。这只小鹦鹉被养在印度北部我祖母家平房长阳台一端的观赏笼中，喜欢隔着笼子酸溜溜地盯着人看。

　　In those distant days, almost everyone, Indian or European, kept a pet parrot or parakeet, or a 'lovebird', as some of the smaller ones were called. Sometimes these birds became great talkers, or rather imitators, and would learn to recite mantras (religious chants), or scoldings to the children of the house, such as "Parho beta, parho." (Study child, study.) Or for the benefit of boys like me, "Don't be greedy, don't be greedy."

　　那时候，几乎所有人，不管是印度人还是欧洲人，都会在家里养一只宠物鹦鹉或者长尾小鹦鹉，亦或一只“情侣鹦鹉”（一种体型较小的鹦鹉）。有时候，这些小鸟会变得非常健谈，更确切地说是非常善于模仿人说话，并且还会学习背诵一些经文，还会模仿家长对孩子们的责骂声，比如，“就知道玩，快去学习，快去学习！”或是一些用于教育像我这样的男孩的话，“别太贪心，别太贪心！”

　　Often we hear someone say, "Don't parrot me." What they mean to say is "Don't copy what I'm saying." Now read the following story written by Ruskin Bond about a parrot who wouldn't talk.

　　我们经常听到有人说，“不要像鹦鹉一样学我说话。”这句话的意思其实是“不要模仿我说的话。”下面，我们来阅读一篇Ruskin Bond写的关于一只不会说话的鹦鹉的故事。

　　"You are no beauty! Can't talk, can't dance!" With these words, Aunt Ruby would tease the unfortunate parakeet who stared sourly at everyone from his ornamental cage at one end of the long veranda of granny's bungalow in North India.

　　“你不漂亮！不会说话，不会跳舞！”露比姑妈总是用这些话戏弄那只不幸的长尾小鹦鹉。这只小鹦鹉被养在印度北部我祖母家平房长阳台一端的观赏笼中，喜欢隔着笼子酸溜溜地盯着人看。

　　In those distant days, almost everyone, Indian or European, kept a pet parrot or parakeet, or a 'lovebird', as some of the smaller ones were called. Sometimes these birds became great talkers, or rather imitators, and would learn to recite mantras (religious chants), or scoldings to the children of the house, such as "Parho beta, parho." (Study child, study.) Or for the benefit of boys like me, "Don't be greedy, don't be greedy."

　　那时候，几乎所有人，不管是印度人还是欧洲人，都会在家里养一只宠物鹦鹉或者长尾小鹦鹉，亦或一只“情侣鹦鹉”（一种体型较小的鹦鹉）。有时候，这些小鸟会变得非常健谈，更确切地说是非常善于模仿人说话，并且还会学习背诵一些经文，还会模仿家长对孩子们的责骂声，比如，“就知道玩，快去学习，快去学习！”或是一些用于教育像我这样的男孩的话，“别太贪心，别太贪心！”

　　笼中鸟 不会说话的鹦鹉

　　These expressions were, of course, picked up by the parrot over a period of time, after many repetitions by whichever member of the household had taken on the task of teaching the bird to talk. But our parrot refused to talk.

　　当然，鹦鹉学会这些话需要一段时间，而且需要家庭成员翻来覆去地教鹦鹉学说这些话。但，我家的鹦鹉却不肯开口说话。

　　He'd been bought by Aunt Ruby from a bird-catcher who had visited all the houses on our road, selling caged birds ranging from colourful budgerigars to happy little mynahs and even common sparrows that had been patted with paint and passed off as some rare species.

　　这只鹦鹉是露比姑妈从一个捕鸟人手中买来的，当时这个人走遍了我们这条街道上的每家每户，贩卖各种笼养鸟，从色彩斑斓的虎皮鹦鹉到欢快的小八哥，甚至还有身上被拍上颜料冒充稀有品种的普通麻雀。

　　Neither granny nor grandfather were keen on keeping caged birds as pets, but Aunt Ruby showed signs of throwing a tantrum if she did not get her way and Aunt Ruby's tantrums were dreadful to watch.

　　祖父和祖母都不喜欢把笼养鸟当成宠物，但是露比姑妈却非养不可，甚至以发脾气相要挟，要知道露比姑妈发起脾气来是非常可怕的。

　　Anyway, she insisted on keeping the parrot and teaching it to talk. But the bird took an instant dislike to my aunt and resisted all the pleasant things she said.

　　总之，她坚持要养鹦鹉并教它说话。但是，这只小鸟转眼就不喜欢我姑妈了，而且还抗拒她所说的一切令人愉快的事情。

　　"Kiss, kiss," Aunt Ruby would coo, putting her face close to the bars of the cage. But the parrot would back away, its shady little eyes getting even smaller with anger at the prospect⁵ of being kissed by Aunt Ruby. And on one occasion, it suddenly dived forward without warning and knocked Aunt Ruby's spectacles off her nose.

　　“亲亲，亲亲，”露比姑妈经常把脸贴在笼子上柔声地说。但是，每次她这样做时，鹦鹉都会向后退，即将被姑妈亲到时，它那双阴沉的小眼睛会变得更小，且目光中带着愤怒。有一次，它突然毫无征兆地向前俯身，把露比姑妈的眼镜从鼻梁上撞了下来。

　　After that, Aunt Ruby gave up her efforts to show her love for the parrot and became quite unfriendly towards the poor bird, making faces at it and calling out, "Can't sing, can't dance!" and other nasty comments.

　　之后，露比姑妈放弃了向这只鹦鹉表达喜爱之情的努力，并且对这只可怜的小鸟变得非常不友好，每次看到它都会做各种鬼脸，并喊着说：“不会唱歌，不会跳舞！”，还会用其他一些令人不愉快的话来形容它。

　　It fell upon me, then, ten years old, to feed the parrot, and it seemed quite happy to receive the green chillies and ripe tomatoes from my hands. These delicacies⁶ were supplemented by slices of mango, for it was then the mango season. It also gave me an opportunity to consume a couple of mangoes while feeding the parrot.

　　此后，喂食鹦鹉的任务就交给我这个10岁小孩了，它似乎很高兴从我手中接过绿辣椒和成熟的西红柿。我将这些美味佳肴辅以芒果片喂它，因为当时正是芒果成熟的季节。这也让我有机会在喂食鹦鹉时吃上三两个芒果。

　　One afternoon, while everyone was indoors enjoying a short nap, I gave the parrot his lunch and then purposely left the cage door open. Seconds later, the bird was winging its way into the freedom of the mango orchard⁷.

　　一天下午，正当一家人都在屋里午睡时，我给鹦鹉喂了午饭，然后故意没关好笼门。几秒钟后，这只小鸟展翅飞向了芒果园，获得了自由。

　　At the same time, grandfather came onto the veranda and remarked, "l see your Aunt's parrot has escaped." "The door was quite loose," I said with a shrug⁸. "Well, I don't suppose we'll see it again."

　　与此同时，祖父来到阳台上说：“我看到你姑妈的鹦鹉逃脱了。”“笼门很松”我耸耸肩说。“嗯，我猜我们再也不会见到它了。”

　　Aunt Ruby was upset at first, and threatened to buy another bird. We put her off by promising⁹ to buy her a bowl of goldfish. "But goldfish don't talk!" she protested. "Well, neither did your bird," said grandfather. "So we'll get you a gramophone. You can listen to Clara Buck¹⁰ all day. They say she sings like a nightingale."

　　起初，露比姑妈很生气，还威胁要再买一只鸟。为了敷衍她，我们答应给她买一盆金鱼。 “但金鱼不会说话！”她抗议道。“嗯，你的鸟也不会”祖父说。“所以我们会给你买一台留声机。你可以一天到晚听克拉拉·巴克的歌。据说她的歌声很像夜莺的叫声。”

　　I thought we'd never see the parrot again, but it probably missed its green chillies, because a few days later, I found the bird sitting on the veranda railing, looking expectantly at me with its head cocked to one side. Unselfishly, I gave the parrot half of my mango.

　　我以为我们再也见不到那只鹦鹉了，但它可能想念我喂它的绿辣椒了，因为几天后，我发现它趴在我家阳台的栏杆上，头歪向一侧用期待的眼神望着我。我无私地分了一半芒果给它。

　　While the bird was enjoying the mango, Aunt Ruby emerged from her room, and with a cry of surprise, called out, "Look! There's my parrot! Come back! He must have missed me!" With a loud squawk, the parrot flew out of her reach and perching on the nearest rose bush, glared at Aunt Ruby and screamed at her in my Aunt's familiar tones: "You're no beauty! Can't talk, can't sing, can't dance!"

　　当小鸟正在享用芒果的时候，露比姑妈从她的房间里出来了，惊讶地叫道：“看！这是我的鹦鹉！它回来啦！一定是想我了！”伴随着一声响亮的叫声，鹦鹉从她身边飞开了，落在最近的玫瑰丛上，怒视着露比姑妈，它用姑妈熟悉的语气对她大喊大叫道：“你不漂亮！不会说话，不会唱歌，不会跳舞！”

　　Aunt Ruby went ruby-red and dashed indoors. But that wasn't the end of the affair. The parrot became a regular visitor to the garden and veranda, and whenever it saw Aunt Ruby, it would call out, "You're no beauty! Can't talk, can't sing, and can't dance!"

　　露比姑妈脸变得通红，冲进了房间。但这并不是故事的结局。此后，这只鹦鹉成了我家花园和阳台的常客。每每看到露比姑妈时，它都会大声喊叫：“你不漂亮！不会说话，不会唱歌，不会跳舞！”

　　The parrot had learnt to talk after all.

　　这只鹦鹉终究还是学会了说话。

1 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

2 ornamental   

adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物

参考例句：

• The stream was dammed up to form ornamental lakes.溪流用水坝拦挡起来,形成了装饰性的湖泊。
• The ornamental ironwork lends a touch of elegance to the house.铁艺饰件为房子略添雅致。

3 veranda   

n.走廊；阳台

参考例句：

• She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
• They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。

4 bungalow   

n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房

参考例句：

• A bungalow does not have an upstairs.平房没有上层。
• The old couple sold that large house and moved into a small bungalow.老两口卖掉了那幢大房子，搬进了小平房。

5 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

6 delicacies   

n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到

参考例句：

• Its flesh has exceptional delicacies. 它的肉异常鲜美。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• After these delicacies, the trappers were ready for their feast. 在享用了这些美食之后，狩猎者开始其大餐。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗

7 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

8 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。

9 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

10 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。