那晚睡不着

例文五　那晚睡不着

吴祖光

原文:

时常和母亲要钱，又说不出个正经的用处，是一件很不舒服的事情。因此在一天清早，所有的人在睡觉，只有我一个人很早起床时，看见桌上放着一叠铜子，便不免心喜，拿了一小部分放在口袋里上学去了。

当时曾经想到，这就是“偷东西”吗?略微有些不安，但想不到这些了，并且始终没有人发觉，于是这便成了我日常的习惯。

胃口越吃越大之时，终有一天落网了。有一回我一狠之下把桌上的一打叠铜子全部装进衣袋，偏偏母亲马上就来拿钱，马上注意到了我，结果从我的衣袋里破获了全部的赃物。

母亲半晌无语，看了我许久，说:你拿这些钱做什么?我低了头说“我想买乒乓球，还有网子、拍子……”

母亲说:“这是偷钱，做贼，懂吗?”又过了一会儿说，“到学校里去，回来再跟你说。”

晚上我很早就睡了，主要的原因是怕父亲回来。其实我哪里睡得着呢。

我听见父亲回来后问:“他睡着了吗?”母亲说:“睡着了。”父亲说:“把这个放在这儿吧。”我面朝里装睡，感觉到母亲把一样东西轻轻摆在我枕头旁边。

第二天清晨醒来时，我一把抱住了枕边的盒子。打开盒子，看到里面是两个球拍，一面网子，半打乒乓球。

父亲、母亲、祖母以后都没有再提过这桩事，而我也没有再偷钱。

——《上海家庭报》，2006-11-24

译文一

A Sleepless Night

When I was a little boy，it was very embarrassing to ask money from my parents without a proper reason.In an early morning，while all others were still sleeping，I got up.I felt very pleased to see a pile of coppers on the table and put some in my pocket.

Although I was a little bit guilty wondering whether it was stealing，I was quite happy not to be discovered.And since then it became a habit of taking some pocket money that way.

Having got more and more greedy，one day I took all the money from the table and put it in my pocket.At that time my mom was just coming to get the money，I was caught red-handed.She uncovered all the spoils from my pocket.

Speechless，she looked at me for quite a while.Then she asked ，“What do you want the money for ?”“To buy ping-pong paddles，balls and a net□”I answered.

“This is a theft，you know?”she said.“Go to school now.Wait until you come back.”

That night I went to bed very early mainly for fear of seeing my father.How could I fall asleep at that time?

I heard my daddy come back and ask my mom ，“Is he asleep now?”

“Yes，”she said.

“Put this here.”

I pretended to be asleep and felt mom put something gently beside my pillow.

The next morning when I woke up，I saw a box and opened it immediately.There were two ping-pong paddles，a net and half a dozen balls in it.

Neither my daddy，my mom nor my grandmother ever mentioned this later and I've never stolen money again since then.

译文二

I Couldn't Sleep That Night

I found it very unpleasant to ask my mother for money，as I often did，and unable to tell her what I needed it for.One morning，when I got up and all the others were still sleeping，I was thrilled to find a pile of coppers on the table.I helped myself to some of them and went to school.

This gave me a bit of qualms，as I wondered if it was steeling.But when my doubts were gone，and I was never caught，I became bold.

My appetite kept growing until I was nabbed doing it.One day just as I had put all the coins from the table in my pocket，my mother came for them and saw what I was doing.I had to surrender to her all the spoils.I had been caught red-handed.

My mother was stunned.She stared at me for quite a while before she asked，“What do you want so much money for ?”“To buy ping-pong paddles，balls and a net□”I answered，bending my head in shame.

“This is stealing.You're a thief，you know?”adding after a long silence ，“Go to school now.We'll settle this when you come back.”

I went to bed early that night mainly to avoid seeing my father.But how could I sleep?

When my father returned，I heard him asking my mother ，“Is he sleeping?”

“Yes，”she said.

“Leave this here.”

With my back turned away from them，I was pretending to be sleeping when I felt my mother was putting something gently next to my pillow.

The next morning when I woke up，I grabbed what my mother had left in my bed.It was a box.I opened it.It had two ping-pong paddles，half a dozen balls and a net in it.

My father，my mother and my grandmother never talked about the incident again in all the years after it，and that was the last time I pinched money.

【分析】原文作者吴祖光，现代剧作家。这是他的一篇小品散文，生动地描绘了大多数人孩童时代都有过的经历，语言朴素自然，但仍具有典型的汉语特点，在英译选词时需作一些解释。详细分析如下:

1)不舒服的事——“不舒服”的用法太广了，脱离了上下文就很难确定词义，例如:

“你哪儿不舒服?”——What's wrong with you?

“我今天不舒服。”——I'm out of sorts today.

“我坐在这儿不舒服。”——I'm not comfortable sitting here.

这里的“不舒服”是“令人不快”的意思，所以要用unpleasant对之。译文一中所用的embarrassing一词是“使人尴尬”的意思，与原文中的“不舒服”意思相差甚远。

2)拿了(钱)——这里的“拿钱”不是像译文一所译的那样，随随便便地put some coins in my pocket，而是to take some money without permission，所以要用I helped myself to some of them。

3)略微有些不安——这里的“不安”是指a feeling of doubt or worry about whether what you have done is right，所以要用qualm一词。译文一中用了guilty，意思是feeling ashamed because you have done something you know is wrong，显然是不对的。

4)想不到这些了——这句话的意思是“不去想这么多了”，所以译成when my doubts were gone，意思是“没有了疑虑，不再担心”。

5)成了我日常的习惯——这里的“习惯”与habit没关系，意思只是“胆子越来越大”，因此，译成I became bold和My appetite kept growing。译文一中的it became a habit of taking some pocket money that way，演绎的成分太多。

6)落网——这里是谐谑用法，必须用个非正式的词对之，译文二中的nab比较合适。

7)母亲半晌无语——这里的“半晌无语”不仅是不说话，里边暗含着“母亲被惊呆了，一句话也说不出来”的意思，所以译文一中只用speechless，意思不到位，译文二译成My mother was stunned，解释得很合适。

8)我面朝里装睡——这句话说明作者的床是靠墙的，这里不必过多解释，译成With my back turned away from them即可。

9)我也没有再偷钱——这里的“偷钱”，还是指作者未经允许拿钱一事，译文一所译have stolen money过于正式，译成非正式的pinch在本文的上下文中较为合适。

思考题

1.在什么情况下必须对汉语原文中的词或句子先进行解释，然后再翻译?

2.为什么在篇章翻译中要讲求释义性翻译法?