哈佛大学校园英语情景对话32：林语堂之“哈佛”烟云

Han Meimei is immersed in reading a book on the playground when John comes out of nowhere and pats on her shoulder.

H： Oh, it’s you, John, you just freaked me out.

H：哦，是你呀，约翰，吓坏我了。

J: Sorry. Are you reading a thriller?

J：对不起，你在看惊险小说吗?

H: No, I never read or watch a thriller. I’m chicken hearted. I’ll be scared to death.

H:不是，我从来不看惊险小说。我胆子很小，会被吓死的。

J: Why were you so frightened? What are you reading?

J：那你为什么吓一跳呀?你在看什么?

H： Moment in Peking.

H: <京华烟云》。

J： I’ve never heard of it.

J：我从来没听说过。

H: It’s no surprise that you don’t know, The novel mainly tells a story of a family which went through the turbulent events in China from 1900 to 1938. But you may have heard about the author, Lin Yutang.

H:这不奋怪。这本小说主要说的是1900 ~ 1938年一个中国家庭经历的动乱。但是 你可能听说过这本书的作者，林语堂。

J: I’m afraid I don’t know him.

J：恐怕我不知道。

H： He’s a famous Chinese writer. I thought you knew him because he was in a sense Harvard alumnus.

他是著名的中国作家。我以为你知道他，因为在某种意义上他是哈佛毕业的。

J： Han，I’m not Mr. Know-It-All, but I’d like to learn and know as much as possible. Tell me something about him.

韩，我不是万能先生。但我喜欢学习更多的东西。跟我说说他的事。

H： I guess perhaps you’re most interested in his life at Harvard.

我猜你对他在哈佛的生活更感兴趣。

J： Yes. You can read my mind now.

J：是的。你都知道我在想什么。

H： Lin had many ups and downs in his life. He met with many challenges and obstacles. His life at Harvard was no exception.

H:林语堂的一生经历了很多起伏，遇到了很多挑战和障碍。在哈佛的生活也不例外。

J: I like this kind of people. Usually they are men of backbone.

J：我喜欢这种人。通常他们更有毅力和骨气。

H: He only received a half-scholarship. Worse still，even the half-scholarship was cancelled one year later.

H:他只获得一半的奖学金。更糟的是，一年后就连半数奖 学金也被取消了。

J: Why? Didn’t he deserve the scholarship?

J：为什么?他不应该得吗?

H: On the contrary, he got all A’s. No one knows why. Anyway, he became even poorer. He said he even had no money to buy a ticket for the Games.

H:相反，他的成绩全部是A。没人知道为什么。不管怎样，他变得更穷了。他说甚至设有钱买票去看哈佛一耶鲁橄榄球赛。

J: That poor? What did he do in his spare time?

j：那么穷?他业余时间做什么?

H： He loved reading. For him, Harvard was Widener Library and Widener Library was Harvard. When he was in the Library, he felt he was like a monkey in a jungle.

H:他喜爱读书。对他来说，哈佛是威德纳图书馆，威德纳图书馆就是哈佛。当他在 图书馆的时候，感觉就像是一只在丛林里的猴子。

J: Why?

J:为什么这么说?

H: A monkey in a jungle is free to search for any nuts and fruits. The jungle offers the monkey a feast of nuts and fruits.

H:丛林里的猴子可以免费获得任何坚果和水果。丛材v给猴子提供丰富的坚果和水果。

J: Oh, I see. When he was in the Library, he could find any book he’d like to read. The Library was just like the jungle and offered him a feast of books.

J：哦，我明白了。当他在图书馆的时候，能够找到任何他想要的书。图书馆就像丛林， 给他提供丰富的书籍。

H: You’re smart. He indulged himself in reading in the Library. As long as there，s no class，he would go to the Library. Even when his wife was having an operation, he was studying Anglo-Saxon grammar.

H:你太聪明了。他沉浸在图书馆里读书。只要一设有课，他就会去图书馆。甚至他 妻子做手术时，他还在研究盘格鲁撒克逊语法。

J： That’s a little impersonal.

J：那有点设有人情味了。

H： He thought appendectomy was not a big operation. It only turned out that his wife was subjected to infection. She needed another operation.

H:他觉得阑尾切除术只是一个小手术。结果是他的妻子受到了感染，需要再次手术。

J: Disaster comes one after another in succession. That’s adding insult to injury.

J：灾难总是接二连三发生。真是雪上加霜呀。

H: So, they only had one tin of oatmeal for a week.

H:所以，他们一固只靠一罐燕麦粥维持生活。

J : If I were him, I would go back to China.

J：如果我是他的话，我会回中国去。

H： Life is hard. Sometimes, we have to bow down to others. Lin borrowed some money from his brother-in-law.

H:生活是艰难的。有时我们必须向他人所低头。林语堂向他的姐夫借了些钱。

J： Did they feel ashamed?

J：他们觉得羞愧吗?

H: No, at least his wife believed that he showed the utmost fortitude to go through such a difficult period.

H:没有，至少他妻子认为他表现出了最大的毅力来渡过这个难关。

J: Was this amount of money enough to sustain life?

J：他借的钱能维持生活吗?

H: No. So he had to leave Harvard early and go to France and Germany where the cost of living was not so high.

H:不能。所以他不得不提前离开哈佛去了法国和德国，那里生活成本没有那么高。

J: Sometimes life is really hard for an oversea student. Han, if you have any problem, you can turn to me. You can count on me.

J：有时对海外学生来说生活确实很艰难。韩，如果你有任何困难就踉我说。你可以 信得过我。

H: Oh, John，thank you. I’m so lucky to have you as a friend. You’ve helped me a lot.

H:哦，约翰，谢谢你。有你这样的朋友很幸运。你已经帮了我很多了。