(中英)现代散文:黎明的眼睛 The Window

The Window

黎明的眼睛

◎ Duanmu Hongliang

◎　端木蕻良

When you throw open your window on an early morning in March, you will at once be totally exposed to the sun's first rays and, inhaling deeply of the fresh air brought in by them, exclaim, "Spring is here!"

三月清晨，把窗子推开①，第一片阳光便飞到人们的全身②。对着阳光带进来的新鲜空气，任谁都要深吸一口，说：春天来了！

Yes, it is through the window that spring manages to approach us.

就这样，春天从窗口走近了我们。

But don't forget that not all houses have been windowed ever since man first began to build them.

但是，可不要忘记，不是从有房子那天起，我们就有窗子的呢！③

Our Eskimo brothers' houses, built of large blocks of frozen snow and shaped like white-jade clock covers, have no windows at all. Our Oroqen⑭ brothers used to live in roofless houses with no need for windows because they could in the evening enjoy the moon and stars overhead indoors.

我们的兄弟，爱斯基摩人用冰块④建筑的房子，像个白玉的钟罩一般，是没有什么窗子的。过去的鄂伦春兄弟们住的“神仙柱”，因为没有屋顶，在屋里，到晚上可以看到头上的月亮和星光，也就无须开窗子了。

Man's ancestors had been cave-dwellers before they left their mountains to settle on the plain. It was not until countless generations later that they began to build dwellings patterned after a cave — with an awning over a shallow pit in the ground. There was no window to speak of.

最早的人类山顶洞人走下山来，不知住过多少代，才懂得造个窝儿的时候，他们也只会模仿岩洞，把地挖个半截坑、上面再搭上个顶篷。至于窗子，就谈不上了。

Making a window in the wall was a much later invention. As the popularity of windows grew, so did the civilization of man develop.

房墙上开窗子是后来的事⑤。随着窗子的开凿和扩大，人类文明的曙光也随着扩大⑥。

The window, ever since its birth, has been an entrance to sunlight, a port for taking in fresh air, and a tie between nature and human society.

窗子，自从它出现的那天起，它就成为阳光的眼睛，空气的港口，成了自然和社会的纽带。

With the passage of time and increase of tall buildings, more and more windows have appeared. Now, at the sight of a multi-storey building, one cannot help exclaiming at how the window is so symbolic of the house. Without a window, a house could hardly be called as such.

随着时间流逝，层楼的加多，窗子也越来越多了。看到高层的建筑，就会惊叹窗子是房屋最鲜明的象征。没有窗子的房子，几乎也就没法把它唤作屋子了。

Who hasn't experienced great delight in opening a window? The moment you open it, you will be immediately struck by imposing blue mountains, fresh green willows, little swallows flying towards you...

有谁未曾享受过开窗的喜悦呢？打开窗子，突然见到青山闯了进来，打开窗子，看到柳色的清新，小燕的飞来……

Open the window, and fresh air will break in upon your room.

窗子开了，用不着打招呼，新的空气就会猛扑进来⑦。

Of course, grains of sand will simultaneously be brought in too. So will invisible dust particles and bacteria, either openly or surreptitiously...

当然，随之而来的，也有风沙⑧飞入屋中。还有，眼睛看不到的微尘，还有很难发觉的细菌，有的是出面拜访，有的是偷偷地混了进来……

From ancient times to the present, innumerable poets have sung their praises of the window, innumerable singers have extolled it, innumerable lovers have fixed their dreamy eyes on it...

从古到今多少诗人赞美过窗子，多少歌手歌唱过窗子，多少情人的眼睛凝望过窗子⑨……

The evolution of the window is worthy of our study. Small as it is, the window has opened man's eyes to civilization. In the days to come, its changes will become even more manifold.

窗子的变化⑩，是值得人们考察一番的。小小的窗子，几乎可以说，是文明的眼睛。在今后的日子里，窗子的变化会更加多种多样了。

The window pane will, along with the tick-tick of the clock, automatically regulate light streaming into the room and change its own colour according to interior illumination. The window frame will be filled with circulatory water to remove things harmful to the resident without his knowledge and carry to him fragrance and nutrients which he much needs but are otherwise hard for him to get.

窗子的玻璃会随着时钟，自动调和射进室内的光线⑪，窗子会随着明暗变换颜色，窗框上装有循环水，它可以为居室的主人带走很多他发觉不到的天敌，又可以送进来他需要而又不易得到的芳香和养分……

Some windows will ensure good ventilation and transparency without manual manipulation. They will keep out disturbing noises and let in sweet music.

有的窗子不需开合⑫，便能做到通风透光，它还可以把你不愿听到的声音关到外边，但是悦耳的琴声，它是不会阻拦的……

Let's open the window! Open it not just to let in sunlight and air or to get a distant view of blue mountains, fresh green willows and swallows in flight..., but, more importantly, to usher in a new century!

打开窗子吧！现在开窗子就不光是为了迎进阳光、空气，或者远眺青山的青、新柳的绿、燕子飞来的掠影……而是迎接一个新的世纪⑬！

端木蕻良（1912—1996），辽宁省昌图县人，满族，是现代作家。他于三十年代初出现在中国文坛，曾先后主编多种刊物，并教过大学。《黎明的眼睛》是他写于1980年2月的一篇散文。文章借窗口见人类文明之过去、现在和未来，展示了窗子和人类文明的同步发展。