第三章

　　Outside, in the garden, it was playtime.

　　外面，花园里已到了游戏的时候。

　　Naked in the warm June sunshine, six or seven hundred little boys and girls were running with shrill yells over the lawns, or playing ball games, or squatting silently in twos and threes among the flowering shrubs.

　　六七百个男孩和女孩在六月的暑热里全脱光了衣服，尖叫着在草地上奔跑、玩球，或是三三两两一声不响蹲在开花的灌木丛里。

　　The roses were in bloom, two nightingales soliloquized in the boskage, a cuckoo was just going out of tune among the lime trees.

　　玫瑰开得正艳，两只夜莺各自在密林里呢喃，一只杜鹃在菩提树梢开始唱得走了调。

　　The air was drowsy with the murmur of bees and helicopters.

　　蜜蜂和直升飞机的嗡嗡声使空气里充满了睡意。

　　The Director and his students stood for a short time watching a game of Centrifugal Bumble-puppy.

　　主任和学生们停下脚步看了一会儿“汪汪狗患离心球”游戏。

　　Twenty children were grouped in a circle round a chrome steel tower.

　　二十个孩子围着一座克罗米钢塔。

　　A ball thrown up so as to land on the platform at the top of the tower rolled down into the interior, fell on a rapidly revolving disk, was hurled through one or other of the numerous apertures pierced in the cylindrical casing, and had to be caught.

　　一个球扔到塔顶的平台上，滚进塔里，落在一个飞速旋转的圆盘里，再从圆筒状的盒子边的洞里甩出来，孩子们抢着去接。

　　"Strange," mused the Director, as they turned away, " strange to think that even in Our Ford's day most games were played without more apparatus than a ball or two and a few sticks and perhaps a bit of netting.

　　“多么奇怪，”主任在他们转身走掉时思考着，“在我主福帝的年代里，大部分的游戏设备还只有一两个球，几根棍子，也许加上一张网子，真是奇怪。

　　imagine the folly of allowing people to play elaborate games which do nothing whatever to increase consumption.

　　想想看，竟然会蠢到允许大家玩各种精心设计的游戏，却并不促进他们消费的程度。

　　It's madness.

　　这简直是发疯。

　　Nowadays the Controllers won't approve of any new game unless it can be shown that it requires at least as much apparatus as the most complicated of existing games."

　　现在管理人员除非能证明一种游戏需用的设备跟现有的游戏一样复杂精巧，否则他们是不会同意的。”

　　He interrupted himself.

　　他自己打断了自己。

　　"That's a charming little group," he said, pointing.

　　“那两个小家伙多迷人。”他说时指了指。

　　In a little grassy bay between tall clumps of Mediterranean heather, two children, a little boy of about seven and a little girl who might have been a year older, were playing, very gravely and with all the focussed attention of scientists intent on a labour of discovery, a rudimentary sexual game.

　　在两丛高大的地中海石南间的一小片草地上，两个孩子（一个男孩大约七岁，一个女孩可能大他一岁）正聚精会神玩着初期的性游戏，像科学家要发现什么奥秘似的。

　　"Charming, charming!" the D.H.C. repeated sentimentally.

　　“迷人，迷人，主任动情地叫道。

　　"Charming," the boys politely agreed. But their smile was rather patronizing.

　　“迷人。”孩子们礼貌地表示同意，那笑却很有点居高临下。

　　They had put aside similar childish amusements too recently to be able to watch them now without a touch of contempt.

　　他们是前不久才放弃类似的孩子气的作乐的，看起这两个小家伙来不能不带几分轻蔑。

　　Charming? but it was just a pair of kids fooling about; that was all. Just kids.

　　有什么好迷人的？两个娃娃胡闹而已，小娃娃罢了。

　　"I always think," the Director was continuing in the same rather maudlin tone, when he was interrupted by a loud boo-hooing.

　　“我一向以为……”主任正要以同样的颇为伤感的调子说下去，一阵哇哇大哭打断了他。

　　From a neighbouring shrubbery emerged a nurse, leading by the hand a small boy, who howled as he went.

　　从附近的灌木丛里出现了一个护土，手里换着个小男孩，那孩子一边走一边嚎。

　　An anxious-looking little girl trotted at her heels.

　　一个满面焦急的小姑娘踉踉跄跄跟在护士身后。

　　"What's the matter?" asked the Director.

　　“怎么回事？”主任问。

　　The nurse shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing much," she answered.

　　那护土耸耸肩，“没什么大事，”她回答，

　　"It's just that this little boy seems rather reluctant to join in the ordinary erotic play.

　　“这个男孩不大愿意参加一般的性游戏。

　　I'd noticed it once or twice before. And now again to-day. He started yelling just now …"

　　我以前已经注意过两三次，今天他又犯了。他刚才就叫唤……”

　　"Honestly," put in the anxious-looking little girl, "I didn't mean to hurt him or anything. Honestly."

　　“说真的，”那神色焦急的小姑娘插嘴说，“我并没有伤害他的意思，也没有别的意思，真的。”

　　"Of course you didn't, dear," said the nurse reassuringly.

　　“你当然没有伤害他的意思，亲爱的，”护士安慰她道，

　　"And so," she went on, turning back to the Director, "I'm taking him in to see the Assistant Superintendent of Psychology.

　　“因此，”她转身对着主任说下去，“我要带他到心理总监助理那儿去，

　　Just to see if anything's at all abnormal."

　　看看他是否有什么不正常。”

　　"Ouite right," said the Director. "Take him in. You stay here, little girl," he added, as the nurse moved away with her still howling charge.

　　“很对，”主任说，“你就带他进去吧。你留在这儿，小姑娘，”护士带着那仍在嚎叫的男孩走掉了。主任说，

　　"What's your name?"

　　“你叫什么名字？”

　　"Polly Trotsky."

　　“宝丽·托洛茨基。”

　　"And a very good name too," said the Director. "Run away now and see if you can find some other little boy to play with."

　　“名字也挺好嘛，”主任说，“快走吧，看你能不能够另外找个男孩跟你玩。”