《爱丽丝镜中奇遇记》 第二章 会说话的花园（3）（在线收听）

Alice never did understand how it happened, but she had no time to think about it because they were running so fast.

爱丽丝还摸不着头脑这是怎么一回事。但是她们跑得太快了，没有时间去考虑这个问题。

'Faster! Faster!' cried the Queen, pulling Alice's hand.

王后拉着爱丽丝的手，叫喊着：“跑快点！快点！”

They ran like the wind, but the strange thing was that they never seemed to pass anything.

她们像一阵风似地跑过，但奇怪的是，她们似乎从未把什么景物甩在后面。

The trees and other things round them never changed their places at all.

两边的树木及周围其他物体根本没有改变位置。

Alice was very puzzled by this, but still the Queen cried, 'Faster! Faster!'

爱丽丝很纳闷，但王后还是喊叫着：“跑快点！快点！”

Now they were almost flying over the ground.

这时她们几乎是足不着地向前飞着。

Alice had never run so fast in her life.

爱丽丝从没有跑得这么快过。

When at last they stopped, she had to sit down because her legs were shaking.

她们终于停住，爱丽丝双腿颤抖得厉害，不得不坐下来。

Then she looked around in surprise.

她惊奇地环顾四周。

'But we've been under this same tree all the time! We're still in the same place!'

“但我们一直是在同一棵树下！我们仍然在同一个地方。”

'Of course we are,' said the Queen.'Why shouldn't we be?'

王后说：“那当然，这有什么不对？”

'Well, in our country,' said Alice, 'if you run very fast for a long time, you usually arrive at a different place.'

“但在我们那地方，假如你快速地跑了很久，一般会跑到另一个地方去。”爱丽丝说。

'What a slow kind of country!' said the Queen.

王后却说：“你那地方可真‘慢’！

'Here, you see, you have to run very fast, just to keep in the same place.

在我们这儿，要保持原地不动，你得跑得飞快。

If you want to go somewhere different, you must run twice as fast.

如果你要到别处去，至少得跑刚才两倍的速度。”

Now,'she went on,'I shall tell you what to do.

她又接着说：“我这就告诉你怎么个走法。

While I'm speaking, I shall take five steps, and at the fifth step, I shall go.

在我讲话的同时，我将迈出五步，到了第五步，我就走了。

She took two steps away from the tree and turned round.

她从那棵树迈出两步，然后转过身来。

'A pawn goes two squares in its first move.

“卒子第一步走两格。

So you'll go very quickly through the Third Square-by railway, probably.

然后你可以飞快地通过第三格--可能乘火车。

Then you'll be in the Fourth Square, which belongs to Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

然后你就进入了第四格，这是特威丹、特威帝孪生兄弟的地方。

The Fifth Square is mostly water, and the Sixth belongs to Humpty Dumpty.

第五格大部分是水，第六格则是矮胖子（《鹅妈妈童谣》中的人物）的地盘。

But why haven't you said anything?'

你怎么一言不发？”

'I didn't know I had to say anything,' said Alice.

“我不清楚我还得讲话。”爱丽丝答道。

'It's polite,' said the Queen, 'to say thank you for all this information.

王后说：“告诉你这么多详情，道声感谢就显得礼貌。

But never mind. Let's pretend you said it.

不过没关系。就当你讲过了吧。

The Seventh Square is all forest-one of the Knights will show you the way- and in the Eighth Square we shall be Queens together, and it's all parties and fun!'

第七格全是森林--一枚马将做你的向导--到了第八格，我们就都是王后了，那时我们有享受不完的欢乐时光！”

Alice got up and curtsied, and sat down again.

爱丽丝起立行了个礼，又坐了下去。

The Queen took another two steps and turned round again.

王后又迈了两步，再次回过头来，说：

'Speak in French when you can't think of the English word-and always remember who you are!'

“想不起英文词儿就用法文来表达--永远别忘了自己的身份！”

She took another step, and was gone.

她又迈了一步，就不见了。

Alice did not know if she had disappeared into the air, or run into the wood, but she had certainly gone.

爱丽丝不清楚王后是飞上了天还是跑进了树林，但她确实是不见了。

And Alice began to remember that she was a Pawn, and that it would soon be time to move.

爱丽丝开始想起她是一枚卒，不久，她就该走动了。