杨宪益英译鲁迅的散文_MY_OLD_HOME.doc

杨宪益英译鲁迅的散文《故乡》 英汉汉英翻译 2010-06-24 21:28:02 阅读128 评论0 ??字号：大中小?订阅 MY OLD HOME ? Braving the bitter cold, I travelled more than seven hundred miles back to the old home I had left over twenty years before. It was late winter. As we drew near my former home the day became overcast and a cold wind blew into the cabin of our boat, while all one could see through the chinks in our bamboo awning were a few desolate villages, void of any sign of life, scattered far and near under the sombre yellow sky. I could not help feeling depressed. Ah! Surely this was not the old home I had remembered for the past twenty years? The old home I remembered was nor in the least like this. My old home was much better. But if you asked me to recall its peculiar charm or describe its beauties, I had no clear impression, no words to describe it. And now it seemed this was all there was to it. Then I rationalized the matter to myself, saying: Home was always like this, and although it has not improved, still it is not so depressing as I imagine; it is only my mood that has changed, because I am coming back to the country this time with no illusions. This time I had come with the sole object of saying goodbye. The old house our clan had lived in for so many years had already been sold to another family, and was to change hands before the end of the year. I had to hurry there before New Years Day to say goodbye for ever to the familiar old house, and to move my family to another place where I was working, far from my old home town. At dawn on the second day I reached the gateway of my home. Broken stems of withered grass on the roof, trembling in the wind, made very clear the reason why this old house could not avoid changing hands. Several branches of our clan had probably already moved away, so it was unusually quiet. By the time I reached the house my mother was already at the door to welcome me, and my eight-year-old nephew, Hung-erh, rushed out after her. Though mother was delighted, she wa