《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 57 英国人大失所望

Then one day the boy returned the books to the Englishman.

有一天，男孩把书还给了英国人。

"Did you learn anything?" the Englishman asked, eager to hear what it might be.

“怎么样，你学到很多东西吧？”英国人充满期待地问。

He needed someone to talk to so as to avoid thinking about the possibility of war.

他需要跟别人聊聊天，以便忘掉对战争的恐惧。

"I learned that the world has a soul, and that whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of things.

“我知道了世界有灵魂，谁理解了这个灵魂，谁就能理解万物的语言。

I learned that many alchemists realized their personal legends, and wound up discovering the Soul of the World, the Philosopher's Stone, and the Elixir¹ of Life."

我知道许多炼金术士实现了他们的天命，并最终发现了世界之魂、点金石和长生不老液。”

"But, above all, I learned that these things are all so simple that they could be written on the surface of an emerald."

“最重要的是，我知道了这些事情都非常简单，简单得可以写在一块翡翠板上。”

The Englishman was disappointed.

英国人大失所望。

The years of research, the magic symbols, the strange words and the laboratory equipment ... none of this had made an impression on the boy.

经年累月的研究、神奇的象征符号、晦涩难懂的文字、实验室里的种种设备，这一切都未能打动男孩。

His soul must be too primitive² to understand those things, he thought.

他的灵魂一定是太简单了，理解不了这一切，英国人想。

He took back his books and packed them away again in their bags.

他拿过自己的书，放进挂在骆驼背上的箱子里。

"Go back to watching the caravan," he said. "That didn't teach me anything, either."

“你还是去看商队吧。”英国人道，“商队没教会我任何东西。”

The boy went back to contemplating³ the silence of the desert, and the sand raised by the animals.

男孩重新观察着静静的沙漠和牲口扬起的飞沙。

"Everyone has his or her own way of learning things," he said to himself.

每个人都有自己的学习方式，他在心中反复对自己说。

"His way isn't the same as mine, nor mine as his.

他的方式不属于我，我的方式也不属于他。

But we're both in search of our personal legends, and I respect him for that."

但是我们俩都在追寻各自的天命，为此我尊重他。

1 elixir   

n.长生不老药，万能药

参考例句：

• There is no elixir of life in the world.世界上没有长生不老药。
• Keep your mind awake and active;that's the only youth elixir.保持头脑清醒和灵活便是保持年轻的唯一灵丹妙药。

2 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

3 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。