丑石(英译).docVIP

丑石（贾平凹） The Ugly Stone 我常常遗憾我家门前的那块丑石呢：它黑黝黝地卧在那里，牛似的模样；谁也不知道是什么时候留在这里的，谁也不去理会它。只是麦收时节，门前摊了麦子，奶奶总是要说：这块丑石，多碍地面哟，多时把它搬走吧。 I felt sorry from time to time for the ugly, black stone in front of my house, which crouched in there like an ox. No one knew when it had been left there and nobody bothered to find out. It was only in the season of harvest when wheat kernels/grains were spread over the ground to be dried that Granny deemed it cumbersome for taking up too much space and promised to get it removed sometime. 于是，伯父家盖房，想以它垒山墙，但苦于它极不规则，没棱角儿，也没平面儿；用錾破开吧，又懒得花那么大气力，因为河滩并不甚远，随便去掮一块回来，哪一块也比它强。房盖起来，压铺台阶，伯父也没有看上它。有一年，来了一个石匠，为我家洗一台石磨，奶奶又说：用这块丑石吧，省得从远处搬动。石匠看了看，摇着头，嫌它石质太细，也不采用。 Therefore, when uncle planned to build a house, he wanted to use it as a cornerstone for the gable, but finally he gave up for its irregular shape and bumpy surface. No one would go so far as to break it apart with a chisel, for the river beach was not far away and anyone could just go there to fetch a better one. Even when it came to paving the steps for the house, my uncle still didn’t think better of it. Once, a stonemason/mason came along to make us a stone grinder, my Granny proposed to him to take the ugly stone instead of getting one from afar. When the mason looked at it, he just shook his head and left it unmoved, unsatisfied with its delicate composition unsuitable for making a mill. 它不像汉白玉那样的细腻，可以凿下刻字雕花，也不像大青石那样的光滑，可以供来浣纱捶布；它静静地卧在那里，院边的槐荫没有庇覆它，花儿也不再在它身上生长。荒草便繁衍出来，枝蔓上下，慢慢地，竟锈上了绿苔、黑斑。我们这些做孩子的，也讨厌起它来，曾合伙要搬走它，但力气又不足；虽时时咒骂它，嫌弃它，也无可奈何，只好任它留在那里去了。 Yet it was not so delicate as the white marble on which could be carved flower patterns, nor was it so smooth as the black granite on which to do the laundry. Lying silently in its position, the rock was not even shadowed by the pagoda tree at the edge of the courtyard and was not surrounded by wild flowers. Thus it was gradually overrun by rank wild grass and furthermore, rusted by green moss and black stains. We children also began to h