英语听力 学英语,练听力,上听力课堂! 注册 登录
> 在线听力 > 有声读物 > 世界名著 > 译林版·老实人 >  第17篇

双语·老实人 第十七章 老实人和他的随从怎样到了黄金国,见到些什么[34]

所属教程:译林版·老实人

浏览:

2022年06月03日

手机版
扫描二维码方便学习和分享

Chapter 17 Candide and His Valet Arrive in the Country of El Dorado—What They Saw There

When to the frontiers of the Oreillons, said Cacambo to Candide,“You see, this hemisphere is not better than the other;now take my advice and let us return to Europe by the shortest way possible.”

“But how can we get back?”said Candide;“and whither shall we go?To my own country?The Bulgarians and the Abares are laying that waste with fre and sword. Or shall we go to Portugal?There I shall be burned;and if we abide here we are every moment in danger of being spitted.But how can I bring myself to quit that part of the world where my dear Miss Cunegund has her residence?”

“Let us return towards Cayenne,”said Cacambo.“There we shall meet with some Frenchmen, for you know those gentry ramble all over the world. Perhaps they will assist us, and God will look with pity on our distress.”

It was not so easy to get to Cayenne. They knew pretty nearly whereabouts it lay;but the mountains, rivers, precipices, robbers, savages, were dreadful obstacles in the way.Their horses died with fatigue and their provisions were at an end.They subsisted a whole month on wild fruit, till at length they came to a little river bordered with cocoa trees;the sight of which at once revived their drooping spirits and furnished nourishment for their enfeebled bodies.

Cacambo, who was always giving as good advice as the old woman herself, said to Candide,“You see there is no holding out any longer;we have traveled enough on foot. I spy an empty canoe near the river side;let us fll it with cocoanuts, get into it, and go down with the stream;a river always leads to some inhabited place.If we do not meet with agreeable things, we shall at least meet with something new.”

“Agreed,”replied Candide;“let us recommend ourselves to Providence.”

They rowed a few leagues down the river, the banks of which were in some places covered with fowers;in others barren;in some parts smooth and level, and in others steep and rugged. The stream widened as they went further on, till at length it passed under one of the frightful rocks, whose summits seemed to reach the clouds.Here our two travelers had the courage to commit themselves to the stream, which, contracting in this part, hurried them along with a dreadful noise and rapidity.

At the end of four and twenty hours they saw daylight again;but their canoe was dashed to pieces against the rocks. They were obliged to creep along, from rock to rock, for the space of a league, till at length a spacious plain presented itself to their sight.This place was bounded by a chain of inaccessible mountains.The country appeared cultivated equally for pleasure and to produce the necessaries of life.The useful and agreeable were here equally blended.The roads were covered, or rather adorned, with carriages formed of glittering materials, in which were men and women of a surprising beauty, drawn with great rapidity by red sheep of a very large size;which far surpassed the fnest coursers of Andalusian Tetuan, or Mecquinez.

“Here is a country, however,”said Candide,“preferable to Westphalia.”

He and Cacambo landed near the first village they saw, at the entrance of which they perceived some children covered with tattered garments of the richest brocade, playing at quoits. Our two inhabitants of the other hemisphere amused themselves greatly with what they saw.The quoits were large, round pieces, yellow, red, and green, which cast a most glorious luster.Our travelers picked some of them up, and they proved to be gold, emeralds, rubies, and diamonds;the least of which would have been the greatest ornament to the superb throne of the Great Mogul.

“Without doubt,”said Cacambo,“those children must be the King's sons that are playing at quoits.”

As he was uttering these words the schoolmaster of the village appeared, who came to call the children to school.

“There,”said Candide,“is the preceptor of the royal family.”

The little ragamuffins immediately quitted their diversion, leaving the quoits on the ground with all their other playthings. Candide gathered them up, ran to the schoolmaster, and, with a most respectful bow, presented them to him, giving him to understand by signs that their Royal Highnesses had forgot their gold and precious stones.The schoolmaster, with a smile, fung them upon the ground, then examining Candide from head to foot with an air of admiration, he turned his back and went on his way.

Our travelers took care, however, to gather up the gold, the rubies, and the emeralds.

“Where are we?”cried Candide.“The King's children in this country must have an excellent education, since they are taught to show such a contempt for gold and precious stones.”

Cacambo was as much surprised as his master. They then drew near the frst house in the village, which was built after the manner of a European palace.There was a crowd of people about the door, and a still greater number in the house.The sound of the most delightful instruments of music was heard, and the most agreeable smell came from the kitchen.Cacambo went up to the door and heard those within talking in the Peruvian language, which was his mother tongue;for everyone knows that Cacambo was born in a village of Tucuman, where no other language is spoken.

“I will be your interpreter here,”said he to Candide.“Let us go in;this is an eating house.”

Immediately two waiters and two servant-girls, dressed in cloth of gold, and their hair braided with ribbons of tissue, accosted the strangers and invited them to sit down to the ordinary. Their dinner consisted of four dishes of different soups, each garnished with two young paroquets, a large dish of bouille that weighed two hundred weight, two roasted monkeys of a delicious favor, three hundred hummingbirds in one dish, and six hundred fybirds in another;some excellent ragouts, delicate tarts, and the whole served up in dishes of rock-crystal.Several sorts of liquors, extracted from the sugarcane, were handed about by the servants who attended.

Most of the company were chapmen and wagoners, all extremely polite;they asked Cacambo a few questions with the utmost discretion and circumspection;and replied to his in a most obliging and satisfactory manner.

As soon as dinner was over, both Candide and Cacambo thought they should pay very handsomely for their entertainment by laying down two of those large gold pieces which they had picked off the ground;but the landlord and landlady burst into a ft of laughing and held their sides for some time.

When the fit was over, the landlord said,“Gentlemen, I plainly perceive you are strangers, and such we are not accustomed to charge;pardon us, therefore, for laughing when you offered us the common pebbles of our highways for payment of your reckoning. To be sure, you have none of the coin of this kingdom;but there is no necessity of having any money at all to dine in this house.All the inns, which are established for the convenience of those who carry on the trade of this nation, are maintained by the government.You have found but very indifferent entertainment here, because this is only a poor village;but in almost every other of these public houses you will meet with a reception worthy of persons of your merit.”

Cacambo explained the whole of this speech of the landlord to Candide, who listened to it with the same astonishment with which his friend communicated it.

“What sort of a country is this,”said the one to the other,“that is unknown to all the world;and in which Nature has everywhere so different an appearance to what she has in ours?Possibly this is that part of the globe where everywhere is right, for there must certainly be some such place. And, for all that Master Pangloss could say, I often perceived that things went very ill in Westphalia.”

第十七章 老实人和他的随从怎样到了黄金国,见到些什么[34]

到了大耳人的边境,加刚菩和老实人说:“东半球并不胜过西半球,听我的话,咱们还是抄一条最近的路回欧洲去吧。”

“怎么回去呢?”老实人道,“又回哪儿去呢?回到我本乡吧,保加利亚人和阿伐尔人正在那里见一个杀一个;回葡萄牙吧,要给人活活烧死;留在这儿吧,随时都有被烧烤的危险。可是居内贡小姐住在地球的这一边,我怎有心肠离开呢?”

加刚菩道:“还是往开颜[35]那方面走。那儿可以遇到法国人,世界上到处都有他们的踪迹;他们会帮助我们,说不定上帝也会哀怜我们。”

到开颜去可不容易:他们知道大概的方向;可是山岭、河流、悬崖绝壁、强盗、野蛮人,遍地都是凶险的关口。他们的马走得筋疲力尽,死了;干粮吃完了;整整一个月全靠野果充饥;后来到了一条小河旁边,两旁长满椰子树,这才把他们的性命和希望支持了一下。

加刚菩出计划策的本领一向不亚于老婆子;他对老实人道:“咱们撑不下去了,两条腿也走得够了;我瞧见河边有一条小船,不如把它装满椰子,坐在里面顺流而去;既有河道,早晚必有人烟。便是遇不到愉快的事,至少也能看到些新鲜事儿。”

老实人道:“好,但愿上帝保佑我们。”

他们在河中漂流了十余里,两岸忽而野花遍地,忽而荒瘠不毛;忽而平坦开朗,忽而危崖高耸。河道越来越阔,终于进入一个险峻可怖、岩石参天的环洞底下。两人大着胆子,让小艇往洞中驶去。河身忽然狭小,水势的湍急与轰轰的巨响令人心惊胆战。过了一昼夜,他们重见天日;可是小艇触着暗礁,撞坏了,只得在岩石上爬,直爬了三四里地。最后,两人看到一片平原,极目无际,四周都是崇山峻岭,高不可攀。土地的种植,是生计与美观同时兼顾的;没有一样实用的东西不是赏心悦目的。车辆赛过大路上的装饰品,式样新奇,构造的材料也灿烂夺目;车中男女都长得异样的俊美;驾车的是一些高大的红绵羊,奔驰迅速,便是安达鲁齐、泰图安、美基内斯的第一等骏马,也望尘莫及。

老实人道:“啊,这地方可胜过威斯发里了。”

他和加刚菩遇到第一个村子就下了地。几个村童,穿着稀烂的金银铺绣衣服,在村口玩着丢石片的游戏。从另一世界来的两位旅客,一时高兴,对他们瞧了一会儿:他们玩的石片又大又圆,光芒四射,颜色有黄的,有红的,有绿的。两位旅客心中一动,随手捡了几块,原来是黄金,是碧玉,是红宝石,最小的一块也够蒙古大皇帝做他宝座上最辉煌的装饰。

加刚菩道:“这些孩子大概是本地国王的儿女,在这里丢着石块玩儿。”

村塾的老师恰好出来唤儿童上学。

老实人道:“啊,这一定是内廷教师了。”

那些顽童马上停止游戏,把石片和别的玩具一齐留在地下。老实人赶紧捡起,奔到教师前面,恭恭敬敬地捧给他,用手势说明,王子和世子们忘了他们的金子与宝石。塾师微微一笑,接过来扔在地下,很诧异地对老实人的脸瞧了一会儿,径自走了。

两位旅客少不得把黄金、碧玉、宝石捡了许多。

老实人叫道:“这是什么地方呀?这些王子受的教育太好了,居然会瞧不起黄金宝石。”

加刚菩也和老实人一样惊奇。他们走到村中第一家人家,建筑仿佛欧洲的宫殿。一大群人都向门口拥去,屋内更挤得厉害,还传出悠扬悦耳的音乐,一阵阵珍馐美馔的异香。加刚菩走近大门,听讲着秘鲁话;那是他家乡的语言;早先交代过,加刚菩是生在图库曼的,他的村子里只通秘鲁话。他便对老实人说:“我来替你当翻译;咱们进去吧,这是一家酒店。”

店里的侍者,两男两女,穿着金线织的衣服,用缎带束着头发,邀他们入席。先端来四盘汤,每盘汤都有两只鹦鹉;接着是一盘白煮神鹰,直有两百磅重,然后是两只香美异常的烤猴子;一个盘里盛着三百只蜂雀;另外一盘盛着六百只小雀;还有几道烧烤,几道精美的甜菜;食器全部是水晶盘子。男女侍者来斟了好几种不同的甘蔗酒。

食客大半是商人和赶车的,全都彬彬有礼,非常婉转地向加刚菩问了几句,又竭诚回答加刚菩的问话,务必使他满意。

吃过饭,加刚菩和老实人一样,以为把捡来的大块黄金丢几枚在桌上,是尽够付账的了。不料铺子的男女主人见了哈哈大笑,半天直不起腰来。

后来他们止住了笑。店主人开言道:“你们两位明明是外乡人;我们却是难得见到的。抱歉得很,你们拿大路上的石子付账,我们见了不由得笑起来。想必你们没有敝国的钱,可是在这儿吃饭不用惠钞。为了便利客商,我们开了许多饭店,一律归政府开支。敝处是个小村子,地方上穷,没有好菜敬客;可是别的地方,无论上哪儿你们都能受到应有的款待。”

加刚菩把主人的话统统解释给老实人听,老实人听的时候,和加刚菩讲的时候同样的钦佩、惊奇。

两人都说:“外边都不知道有这个地方;究竟是什么国土呢?这儿的天地跟我们的完全不同!这大概是尽善尽美的乐土了,因为无论如何,世界上至少应该有这样一块地方。不管邦葛罗斯怎么说,我总觉得威斯发里样样不行。”

用户搜索

疯狂英语 英语语法 新概念英语 走遍美国 四级听力 英语音标 英语入门 发音 美语 四级 新东方 七年级 赖世雄 zero是什么意思宁波市院士花园(别墅)英语学习交流群

  • 频道推荐
  • |
  • 全站推荐
  • 推荐下载
  • 网站推荐