“你今天下午玩的是什么？”他左边的一个姑娘转身向他，问道，

　　"Obstacle, or Electro-magnetic?"

　　“障碍球还是电磁球？”

　　Bernard looked at her (Ford! it was Morgana Rothschild) and blushingly had to admit that he had been playing neither.

　　伯纳望了她一眼（天哪！是摩尔根娜·罗斯柴尔德），便红着脸告诉她他什么也没有玩。

　　Morgana stared at him with astonishment. There was an awkward silence.

　　摩尔根娜惊讶地看着他。出现了短暂的尴尬的沉默。

　　Then pointedly she turned away and addressed herself to the more sporting man on her left.

　　然后她怒冲冲转过身，跟她左边较为有趣的人谈话去了。

　　"A good beginning for a Solidarity Service," thought Bernard miserably, and foresaw for himself yet another failure to achieve atonement.

　　“好一个团结祈祷的开端。’帕纳痛苦地想道，预感到自己救赎的意图又要落空。

　　If only he had given himself time to look around instead of scuttling for the nearest chair!

　　他要是没有匆匆枪个最近的座位，而让自己先打量打量周围就好了！

　　He could have sat between Fifi Bradlaugh and Joanna Diesel.

　　他就可能坐在菲菲·布拉劳芙和乔安娜·狄塞尔之间了。

　　Instead of which he had gone and blindly planted himself next to Morgana.

　　可他却糊里糊涂把自己塞在了摩尔根娜旁边。

　　Morgana! Ford! Those black eyebrows of hers–that eyebrow, rather–for they met above the nose.

　　摩尔根娜！我主福帝呀！她那两道眉毛！——倒不如说是一道眉毛，因为在鼻梁上方连成了一气。

　　Ford! And on his right was Clara Deterding.

　　而在他的右边呢，偏偏又是克拉拉·笛特什。

　　True, Clara's eyebrows didn't meet. But she was really too pneumatic.

　　是的，笛特什的眉毛倒没有连成一气，可她又灵气得过了分。

　　Whereas Fifi and Joanna were absolutely right. Plump, blonde, not too large …

　　菲菲和乔安娜倒是绝对恰到好处。丰满，金发，不太高。

　　And it was that great lout, Tom Kawaguchi, who now took the seat between them.

　　而现在，那个大笨蛋川口却坐在了她俩之间。

　　The last arrival was Sarojini Engels.

　　最后到场的是萨柔季妮·恩格斯。

　　"You're late," said the President of the Group severely. "Don't let it happen again."

　　“你迟到了，”小组长严厉地说，“以后可不能这样。”

　　Sarojini apologized and slid into her place between Jim Bokanovsky and Herbert Bakunin.

　　萨柔季妮道了歉，溜到吉姆·波坎诺夫斯基和赫伯特·巴枯宁之间的座位上去了。

　　The group was now complete, the solidarity circle perfect and without flaw.

　　全组的人到齐，团结小组已经完整，没有人缺席。

　　Man, woman, man, in a ring of endless alternation round the table.

　　一男，一女，一男，一女……围着桌子形成了圆圈，无穷地交替着。

　　Twelve of them ready to be made one, waiting to come together, to be fused, to lose their twelve separate identities in a larger being.

　　十二个人做好了准备，等待着融合，化为一体，在更大的存在里失去十二个各不相同的个性。

　　The President stood up, made the sign of the T and, switching on the synthetic music,

　　主席起立，画了个T字，打开了合成音乐，

　　let loose the soft indefatigable beating of drums and a choir of instruments–near-wind and super-string–

　　放送出不疲倦的轻柔的鼓点和器乐合奏——管乐轻柔，弦乐杳渺，

　　that plangently repeated and repeated the brief and unescapably haunting melody of the first Solidarity Hymn.

　　团结圣歌的简短旋律不断地重复，回环萦绕，无法逃避。

　　Again, again–and it was not the ear that heard the pulsing rhythm, it was the midriff;

　　重复，再重复，听见那搏动着的节奏的不再是耳朵，而是下腹部。

　　the wail and clang of those recurring harmonies haunted, not the mind, but the yearning bowels of compassion.

　　那反复出现的旋律里的喊叫和打击围绕的不再是心灵，而是渴望同心同德的脏腑。

　　The President made another sign of the T and sat down. The service had begun.

　　主席又画了一个T字，坐了下来。祈祷已经开始。

　　The dedicated soma tablets were placed in the centre of the table.

　　奉献的唆麻片放在桌子正中。

　　The loving cup of strawberry ice-cream soma was passed from hand to hand and, with the formula,

　　草莓冰淇淋唆麻的爱之杯轮流传递，

　　"I drink to my annihilation," twelve times quaffed.

　　按照“我为我的消灭干杯”的公式干杯十二次。

　　Then to the accompaniment of the synthetic orchestra the First Solidarity Hymn was sung.

　　然后在合成乐队的伴奏之下唱起了团结圣歌第一章。

　　"Ford, we are twelve; oh, make us one,

　　“啊，福帝，让我们十二人融为一体，

　　Like drops within the Social River, Oh, make us now together run.As swiftly as thy shining Flivver."

　　犹如注入社会洪流的涓涓水滴；啊，让我们现在就汇流到一起，有如您闪光的轿车一样迅疾。”

　　Twelve yearning stanzas. And then the loving cup was passed a second time.

　　十二个心情迫切的诗节。爱之杯第二次传递。

　　"I drink to the Greater Being" was now the formula. All drank.

　　此刻的口号是“我为更大的存在干杯”。每个人都干了杯。

　　Tirelessly the music played. The drums beat.

　　音乐不疲倦地演奏，鼓点频频，

　　The crying and clashing of the harmonies were an obsession in the melted bowels.

　　乐曲里的喊叫与敲击使销魂的柔情为之沉醉。

　　The Second Solidarity Hymn was sung.

　　第二团结圣歌唱起。