Heart of Darkness — Page 8
Land in a swamp, march through the woods, and in some inland post feel the savagery, the utter savagery, had closed round him—all that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men.
在沼泽地登陆,穿越树林行进,在某个内陆哨所感受到那野蛮,彻底的野蛮,已经将他团团围住——那片荒野中所有神秘的生命,在森林中、在丛林中、在野人心中涌动着。
There's no initiation either into such mysteries.
进入这些神秘之境也没有任何引路人。
He has to live in the midst of the incomprehensible, which is also detestable.
他不得不生活在那不可理解之物的包围中,而那也是令人憎恶的。
And it has a fascination, too, that goes to work upon him.
而它同样有一种魅力,对他发挥着作用。
The fascination of the abomination—you know, imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate."
那令人厌恶之物的魅力——你知道,想象那与日俱增的悔恨,那渴望逃脱的心情,那无能为力的憎恶,那屈服,那仇恨。"
He paused.
他停顿了一下。
"Mind," he began again, lifting one arm from the elbow, the palm of the hand outwards, so that, with his legs folded before him, he had the pose of a Buddha preaching in European clothes and without a lotus-flower—"Mind, none of us would feel exactly like this.
「注意,」他重新开口,从肘部抬起一只手臂,手掌朝外,这样一来,双腿盘坐在面前的他,摆出了一副身着欧式服装、手中没有莲花的佛陀布道之姿——「注意,我们当中没有人会有这样确切的感受。
What saves us is efficiency—the devotion to efficiency.
拯救我们的是效率——对效率的忠诚。
But these chaps were not much account, really.
但那些家伙其实没什么本事。
They were no colonists; their administration was merely a squeeze, and nothing more, I suspect.
他们算不上殖民者;他们的管理不过是一种榨取,仅此而已,我猜。
They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force—nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others.
他们是征服者,而征服所需要的不过是蛮力——一旦拥有了它,也没什么可夸耀的,因为你的力量不过是源于他人软弱的一种偶然。
They grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be got.
他们为了攫取而攫取一切能到手的东西。
Vocabulary
- 在
- zài — At, in, on; indicates location or ongoing action.
- 沼泽地
- zhǎozédì — Swampy wetland area; marshy terrain.
- 登陆
- dēnglù — To land ashore; to make landfall.
- 穿越
- chuānyuè — To pass through or cross over a place.
- 树林
- shùlín — A grove or small forest of trees.
- 行进
- xíngjìn — To march or advance forward steadily.
- 某个
- mǒugè — A certain; some unspecified particular one.
- 内陆
- nèilù — Inland area; territory away from the coast.
- 哨所
- shàosuǒ — A guard post or military outpost.
- 感受到
- gǎnshòudào — To feel or sense something experientially.
- 那
- nà — That; referring to something previously mentioned.
- 野蛮
- yěmán — Savage, barbaric, or uncivilized in nature.
- 彻底
- chèdǐ — Thorough, complete, total; to the very end.
- 的
- de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification.
- 已经
- yǐjīng — Already; indicates something has been completed.
- 将
- jiāng — About to; will; indicates future action.
- 他
- tā — He, him; third-person masculine singular pronoun.
- 团团
- tuántuán — All around; completely encircling something.
- 围住
- wéizhù — To surround or encircle completely.
- 那片
- nà piàn — That expanse or stretch of land.
- 荒野
- huāngyě — Wilderness; wild, uncultivated, desolate land.
- 中
- zhōng — In, within, inside; among a group.
- 所有
- suǒyǒu — All, every; belonging to someone.
- 神秘
- shénmì — Mysterious, enigmatic, having an air of secrecy.
- 生命
- shēngmìng — Life; living existence of a being.
- 森林
- sēnlín — Forest; large dense area of trees.
- 丛林
- cónglín — Jungle; dense tropical forest or thicket.
- 野人
- yěrén — Wild man; savage or uncivilized person.
- 心中
- xīnzhōng — In one's heart or mind.
- 涌动
- yǒngdòng — To surge, well up, or stir inside.
- 着
- zhe — Aspect particle indicating ongoing state or action.
- 进入
- jìnrù — To enter; to go into a place.
- 这些
- zhèxiē — These; referring to nearby plural things.
- 之境
- zhī jìng — The realm or territory of something.
- 也
- yě — Also, too; additionally in parallel statements.
- 没有
- méiyǒu — To not have; there is no.
- 任何
- rènhé — Any; whichever; used in negative contexts.
- 引路人
- yǐnlùrén — A guide; person who shows the way.
- 不得不
- bùdébù — Have no choice but to; must reluctantly.
- 生活
- shēnghuó — Life; to live; daily existence and activities.
- 不可理解
- bùkě lǐjiě — Incomprehensible; impossible to understand or explain.
- 包围
- bāowéi — To surround, encircle, or besiege something.
- 而
- ér — And yet; but; conjunction linking contrasting clauses.
- 也是
- yě shì — Is also; likewise; equally is something.
- 令人
- lìng rén — To make people feel; causing someone to.
- 憎恶
- zēngwù — To detest, abhor; strong feeling of hatred.
- 它
- tā — It; third-person singular pronoun for objects.
- 同样
- tóngyàng — Likewise, similarly, in the same way.
- 有
- yǒu — To have; there exists; to possess.
- 一种
- yī zhǒng — A kind of; one type of something.
- 魅力
- mèilì — Charm, charisma, allure, magnetic attraction.
- 对
- duì — Toward, on; directed at someone or something.
- 发挥
- fāhuī — To bring into play; to exert influence.
- 作用
- zuòyòng — Effect, function, role; to act upon something.
- 厌恶
- yànwù — Disgust, repulsion; to find something repugnant.
- 你
- nǐ — You; second-person singular pronoun.
- 知道
- zhīdào — To know; to be aware of a fact.
- 想象
- xiǎngxiàng — To imagine; mental image or visualization.
- 与日俱增
- yǔ rì jù zēng — Growing more each day; increasing day by day.
- 悔恨
- huǐhèn — Remorse, deep regret; feeling bitter about past.
- 渴望
- kěwàng — To yearn for; intense longing or desire.
- 逃脱
- táotuō — To escape; to get away from something.
- 心情
- xīnqíng — Mood, state of mind, emotional feeling.
- 无能为力
- wúnéng wéi lì — Powerless to help; unable to do anything.
- 屈服
- qūfú — To yield, submit, or surrender to pressure.
- 仇恨
- chóuhèn — Hatred, animosity; deep hostile feeling toward someone.
- 停顿
- tíngdùn — A pause; to stop momentarily before continuing.
- 了
- le — Particle indicating completed action or changed state.
- 一下
- yīxià — Once; briefly; a short moment in time.
- 注意
- zhùyì — To pay attention; to notice; take care.
- 重新
- chóngxīn — Again, anew; to start or do over.
- 开口
- kāikǒu — To open one's mouth; to begin speaking.
- 从
- cóng — From; starting from a point or source.
- 肘部
- zhǒubù — The elbow; the joint of the arm.
- 抬起
- táiqǐ — To lift up; to raise something upward.
- 一只
- yī zhī — One; a single animal or limb.
- 手臂
- shǒubì — Arm; the upper limb of the human body.
- 手掌
- shǒuzhǎng — Palm of the hand; flat inner hand surface.
- 朝外
- cháo wài — Facing outward; directed toward the outside.
- 这样一来
- zhèyàng yī lái — In this way; as a result of this.
- 双腿
- shuāng tuǐ — Both legs; the two lower limbs.
- 盘坐
- pánzuò — To sit cross-legged; seated with legs folded.
- 面前
- miànqián — In front of; before someone's presence.
- 摆出
- bǎichū — To assume or display a posture or attitude.
- 一副
- yī fù — A pair of; a look or expression of.
- 身着
- shēn zhuó — Wearing; dressed in particular clothing.
- 欧式
- Ōushì — European style; in the manner of Europe.
- 服装
- fúzhuāng — Clothing, attire, costume, outfit.
- 手中
- shǒuzhōng — In one's hand; held within the hand.
- 莲花
- liánhuā — Lotus flower; sacred flower in Buddhism.
- 佛陀
- Fótuó — The Buddha; the enlightened one.
- 布道
- bùdào — To preach; to deliver a sermon or teaching.
- 我们
- wǒmen — We, us; first-person plural pronoun.
- 当中
- dāngzhōng — Among, in the middle of a group.
- 人
- rén — Person, people; human being.
- 会有
- huì yǒu — Will have; there will be something.
- 确切
- quèqiē — Exact, precise, definite, accurate.
- 感受
- gǎnshòu — Feeling, sense, experience of something.
- 拯救
- zhěngjiù — To save, rescue, deliver from danger.
- 是
- shì — To be; is, am, are; affirmative copula.
- 效率
- xiàolǜ — Efficiency; productive use of time and resources.
- 忠诚
- zhōngchéng — Loyalty, faithfulness, devotion to a cause.
- 但
- dàn — But, however; introduces a contrasting statement.
- 那些
- nàxiē — Those; referring to plural distant things.
- 家伙
- jiāhuo — Fellow, guy; informal term for a person.
- 其实
- qíshí — Actually, in fact; revealing the true situation.
- 没
- méi — No, not; negation of having or doing.
- 什么
- shénme — What; used in questions or indefinite reference.
- 本事
- běnshi — Skill, ability, competence; real capability.
- 他们
- tāmen — They, them; third-person plural pronoun.
- 算不上
- suàn bu shàng — Cannot be counted as; does not qualify as.
- 殖民者
- zhímínzhě — Colonist; person who establishes a colony.
- 管理
- guǎnlǐ — To manage, administer; administration of affairs.
- 不过
- búguò — Only, merely; however, but nevertheless.
- 榨取
- zhàqǔ — To squeeze out; to exploit and extract resources.
- 仅此而已
- jǐn cǐ ér yǐ — That's all; nothing more than this.
- 我
- wǒ — I, me; first-person singular pronoun.
- 猜
- cāi — To guess; to speculate or suppose.
- 征服者
- zhēngfúzhě — Conqueror; one who defeats and subjugates others.
- 征服
- zhēngfú — To conquer, overcome, subjugate by force.
- 所
- suǒ — Particle used before verbs indicating what is needed.
- 需要
- xūyào — To need, require; a necessity or requirement.
- 蛮力
- mánlì — Brute force; raw physical strength.
- 一旦
- yīdàn — Once; as soon as a condition is met.
- 拥有
- yōngyǒu — To own, possess, have something.
- 可
- kě — Can; worthy of; used before verb phrases.
- 夸耀
- kuāyào — To boast or show off; to flaunt proudly.
- 因为
- yīnwèi — Because; since; gives reason for something.
- 力量
- lìliàng — Strength, power, force, might.
- 源于
- yuányú — To originate from; to stem from a source.
- 他人
- tārén — Others, other people; someone else.
- 软弱
- ruǎnruò — Weakness, feebleness; lacking strength or will.
- 偶然
- ǒurán — By chance, accidental, coincidental occurrence.
- 为了
- wèile — In order to; for the purpose of.
- 攫取
- juéqǔ — To seize, grab, snatch greedily.
- 一切
- yīqiè — Everything, all; the entirety of something.
- 能
- néng — Can, able to; having the ability or capacity.
- 到手
- dào shǒu — To get one's hands on; to obtain something.
- 东西
- dōngxi — Thing, stuff; an object or item.
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