美国语文第六册 第256期:印第安耍把戏者(3)（在线收听）

It is skill surmounting difficulty, and beauty triumphing over skill.

技巧战胜和克服了困难，而战胜技巧的则是美的事物。

It seems as if the difficulty, once mastered, naturally resolved itself into ease and grace,

仿佛困难一旦被控制住，便能自然地将技巧转化为自如和优雅，

and as if, to be overcome at all, it must be overcome without an effort.

仿佛困难终究会被克服，一定不费吹灰之力。

The smallest awkwardness or want of pliancy or self-possession would stop the whole process. It is the work of witchcraft, and yet sport for children.

最细小的笨拙或缺少柔韧性或不够泰然自若，都会令整个过程戛然而止。这是魔法在起作用，向孩子炫耀。

Some of the other feats are quite as curious and wonderful—such as the balancing the artificial tree, and shooting a bird from each branch through a quill,

一些其他技艺也相当令人好奇和叹服——诸如让人造的树平衡，然后用一根羽毛管从每个树枝射鸟，

though none of them have the elegance or facility of the keeping up of the brass balls.

尽管没有哪种技艺像抛球那般优雅或者需要特殊的技能。

You are in pain for the result, and glad when the experiment is over; they are not accompanied with the same unmixed, unchecked delight as the former;

你对最后的结果感到苦恼，或者在试验结束后感到欣然；他们并没有像玩抛球时那样伴随着同样纯粹和未加遏制的快乐；

and I would not give much to be merely astonished without being pleased at the same time.

而我，再也不会在陶醉其间的同时，只顾惊叹了。

As to the swallowing of the sword, the police ought to interfere to prevent it.

至于吞剑，警察应该制止以免发生意外。

When I saw the Indian juggler do the same things before, his feet were bare, and he had large rings on his toes,

记得以前观看印第安耍把戏者做同样的事情时，我注意到他光着脚，脚趾上拴着很大的指环，

which he kept turning round all the time of the performance, as if they moved of themselves.

在表演时一直转圈，仿佛这些指环会飞似的。