The Souls of Black Folk — Page 4
they say, I know an excellent colored man in my town;
他们会说,我们镇上有一位出色的有色人种;
or, I fought at Mechanicsville; or, Do not these Southern outrages make your blood boil?
或者说,我曾在梅卡尼克斯维尔参战;或者说,南方的那些暴行难道不让你义愤填膺吗?
At these I smile, or am interested, or reduce the boiling to a simmer, as the occasion may require.
面对这些,我或微笑,或表示感兴趣,或将沸腾的情绪压低为微沸,视情形而定。
To the real question, How does it feel to be a problem? I answer seldom a word.
而对于那个真正的问题——作为一个问题是什么感受?——我几乎从不作答。
And yet, being a problem is a strange experience,—peculiar even for one who has never been anything else, save perhaps in babyhood and in Europe.
然而,作为一个问题是一种奇异的体验——即便对于一个从未有过其他身份的人来说也是如此,也许婴儿时期和在欧洲时除外。
It is in the early days of rollicking boyhood that the revelation first bursts upon one, all in a day, as it were.
正是在无忧无虑的童年早期,这一启示如同在某一天骤然降临。
I remember well when the shadow swept across me.
我清楚地记得那阴影掠过我的那一刻。
I was a little thing, away up in the hills of New England, where the dark Housatonic winds between Hoosac and Taghkanic to the sea.
那时我还是个孩子,远在新英格兰的山丘之中,幽暗的霍萨托尼克河在胡萨克山与塔克尼克山之间蜿蜒流向大海。
In a wee wooden schoolhouse, something put it into the boys' and girls' heads to buy gorgeous visiting-cards—ten cents a package—and exchange.
在一座小小的木制校舍里,不知怎的,男孩女孩们都起了心思,要买漂亮的名片——一包十美分——互相交换。
The exchange was merry, till one girl, a tall newcomer, refused my card,—refused it peremptorily, with a glance.
交换进行得热热闹闹,直到一个高挑的新来女孩拒绝了我的名片——用一个眼神,断然拒绝了。
Then it dawned upon me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others; or like, mayhap, in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world by a vast veil.
随即,一种突如其来的感悟降临于我——我与他人不同;或许在内心、在生命、在渴望上并无二致,却被一道巨大的帷幕隔绝于他们的世界之外。
Vocabulary
- 他们
- tāmen — Third person plural pronoun meaning 'they' or 'them'.
- 会
- huì — Expresses ability or likelihood; 'can' or 'will'.
- 说
- shuō — To speak or say something.
- 我们
- wǒmen — First person plural pronoun meaning 'we' or 'us'.
- 镇上
- zhèn shàng — In or on the town; referring to the local town.
- 有
- yǒu — To have or there is/are.
- 一位
- yī wèi — One (person); polite counter for people.
- 出色
- chūsè — Outstanding, excellent, remarkable in ability.
- 的
- de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification.
- 有色人种
- yǒusè rénzhǒng — People of color; non-white racial groups.
- 或者
- huòzhě — Or; used to present alternatives in statements.
- 我
- wǒ — First person singular pronoun meaning 'I' or 'me'.
- 曾
- céng — Once; indicates a past experience or action.
- 在
- zài — At, in, on; indicates location or ongoing action.
- 参战
- cānzhàn — To participate in a war or battle.
- 南方
- nánfāng — The south; southern region or direction.
- 那些
- nàxiē — Those; plural demonstrative pronoun for distant things.
- 暴行
- bàoxíng — Atrocity; extremely violent or brutal act.
- 难道
- nándào — Rhetorical question marker meaning 'could it be that'.
- 不
- bù — Negation particle meaning 'no' or 'not'.
- 让
- ràng — To let, allow, or cause someone to do something.
- 你
- nǐ — Second person singular pronoun meaning 'you'.
- 义愤填膺
- yìfèn tiányīng — Filled with righteous indignation; deeply morally outraged.
- 吗
- ma — Question particle added to form yes/no questions.
- 面对
- miànduì — To face or confront a situation or person.
- 这些
- zhèxiē — These; plural demonstrative pronoun for nearby things.
- 或
- huò — Or; a conjunction presenting alternatives.
- 微笑
- wēixiào — To smile; a gentle facial expression of happiness.
- 表示
- biǎoshì — To express or indicate a feeling or meaning.
- 感兴趣
- gǎn xìngqù — To feel interested in something.
- 将
- jiāng — Will; a formal marker of future tense.
- 沸腾
- fèiténg — To boil; emotions or liquids reaching extreme intensity.
- 情绪
- qíngxù — Emotion, mood, or feeling; inner emotional state.
- 压低
- yā dī — To suppress or push down; reduce in intensity.
- 为
- wéi — To be; used as a formal linking verb.
- 视
- shì — To regard or look at; depends on viewing.
- 情形
- qíngxíng — Situation, circumstance, or state of affairs.
- 而定
- ér dìng — To be determined by; depending on the circumstances.
- 而
- ér — Conjunction meaning 'but', 'and', or 'yet'.
- 对于
- duìyú — Regarding, concerning, or with respect to something.
- 那个
- nàge — That; singular demonstrative pronoun for distant things.
- 真正
- zhēnzhèng — True, real, genuine; truly or actually.
- 问题
- wèntí — Question, problem, or issue to be addressed.
- 作为
- zuòwéi — As; in the role or capacity of something.
- 一个
- yīgè — One; general counter for singular objects or people.
- 是
- shì — To be; linking verb connecting subject and predicate.
- 什么
- shénme — What; interrogative pronoun asking about identity.
- 感受
- gǎnshòu — Feeling, perception, or sense of an experience.
- 几乎
- jīhū — Almost, nearly; very close to but not quite.
- 从不
- cóng bù — Never; at no time in the past or present.
- 作答
- zuòdá — To answer or respond to a question.
- 然而
- rán'ér — However, yet; conjunction indicating contrast or turn.
- 一种
- yī zhǒng — A kind of; one type or sort of something.
- 奇异
- qíyì — Strange, peculiar, or extraordinarily unusual experience.
- 体验
- tǐyàn — Experience; personal lived encounter with something.
- 即便
- jíbiàn — Even if; concessive conjunction introducing hypothetical condition.
- 从未
- cóngwèi — Never; has not happened at any point before.
- 有过
- yǒuguò — Has had or experienced something in the past.
- 其他
- qítā — Other; referring to different or remaining things.
- 身份
- shēnfèn — Identity, status, or social position of a person.
- 人
- rén — Person, people, or human being.
- 来说
- lái shuō — Speaking from a perspective; for someone or something.
- 也是
- yě shì — Also is; indicating something is likewise the case.
- 如此
- rúcǐ — Like this, so, thus; in this manner.
- 也许
- yěxǔ — Perhaps, maybe; expressing uncertainty or possibility.
- 婴儿
- yīng'ér — Baby, infant; a very young child.
- 时期
- shíqī — Period, phase, or stage of time.
- 和
- hé — And; conjunction connecting two elements together.
- 欧洲
- Ōuzhōu — Europe; the continent in the western hemisphere.
- 时
- shí — Time, moment; used to indicate a temporal period.
- 除外
- chúwài — Except, excluding; not counting certain things.
- 正是
- zhèng shì — It is exactly; precisely or just as stated.
- 无忧无虑
- wúyōu wúlǜ — Carefree, without worry or concern; lighthearted.
- 童年
- tóngnián — Childhood; the early years of a person's life.
- 早期
- zǎoqī — Early period or stage; the beginning phase.
- 这一
- zhè yī — This one particular; referring to a specific instance.
- 启示
- qǐshì — Revelation, enlightenment; a sudden meaningful insight.
- 如同
- rútóng — Just like, as if; used for comparison.
- 某一天
- mǒu yītiān — On a certain day; some unspecified day.
- 骤然
- zhòurán — Suddenly, abruptly; happening without warning.
- 降临
- jiànglín — To arrive or descend; something coming upon suddenly.
- 清楚
- qīngchǔ — Clear, distinct; easy to understand or perceive.
- 地
- de — Adverbial particle linking adverb to verb.
- 记得
- jìde — To remember; to retain a memory of something.
- 那
- nà — That; demonstrative pronoun for distant things.
- 阴影
- yīnyǐng — Shadow, shade; a dark image cast by an object.
- 掠过
- lüèguò — To flash past, sweep over; move quickly across.
- 那一刻
- nà yī kè — That moment; a specific instant in time.
- 那时
- nàshí — At that time; referring to a past moment.
- 还是
- háishì — Still; or used to indicate a state remaining.
- 个
- gè — General measure word used for people and objects.
- 孩子
- háizi — Child; a young boy or girl.
- 远在
- yuǎn zài — Far away in; located at a distant place.
- 山丘
- shānqiū — Hills; small elevated landforms in a landscape.
- 之中
- zhī zhōng — Within, among; inside or surrounded by something.
- 幽暗
- yōu'àn — Dim, gloomy, dark; faintly lit and mysterious.
- 与
- yǔ — And, with; a formal conjunction or preposition.
- 之间
- zhījiān — Between, among; in the space separating two things.
- 蜿蜒
- wānyán — To wind, meander; twisting and curving like a river.
- 流向
- liúxiàng — To flow toward; direction of a river's movement.
- 大海
- dàhǎi — The sea, ocean; a large body of saltwater.
- 一座
- yī zuò — One (building or structure); measure word for buildings.
- 小小
- xiǎoxiǎo — Tiny, very small; emphasizes smallness of something.
- 木制
- mùzhì — Made of wood; wooden in construction or material.
- 校舍
- xiàoshè — Schoolhouse; a building used for education.
- 里
- lǐ — Inside, within; indicating interior location.
- 不知
- bùzhī — Not knowing; unaware of something.
- 怎的
- zěnde — Somehow; for some unknown or unexplained reason.
- 男孩
- nánhái — Boy; a young male child.
- 女孩
- nǚhái — Girl; a young female child.
- 们
- men — Plural suffix added to pronouns or nouns.
- 都
- dōu — All, both; indicating everyone or everything included.
- 起了
- qǐle — Arose, came about; something began to happen.
- 心思
- xīnsi — Thought, idea, or inclination to do something.
- 要
- yào — To want to; expresses desire or intention.
- 买
- mǎi — To buy or purchase something.
- 漂亮
- piàoliang — Pretty, beautiful, attractive in appearance.
- 名片
- míngpiàn — Name card, business card; a small printed card.
- 一包
- yī bāo — One pack or package of something.
- 十
- shí — Ten; the number 10.
- 美分
- měifēn — Cent; a unit of American currency.
- 互相
- hùxiāng — Mutually, each other; reciprocal action between parties.
- 交换
- jiāohuàn — To exchange or swap things with one another.
- 进行
- jìnxíng — To carry out, conduct, or proceed with something.
- 得
- de — Structural particle linking verb to result or degree.
- 热热闹闹
- rèrènàonào — Lively, bustling, full of excitement and noise.
- 直到
- zhídào — Until; up to the point in time when.
- 高挑
- gāotiǎo — Tall and slender; describing a person's physique.
- 新来
- xīn lái — Newly arrived; someone who has just come.
- 拒绝
- jùjué — To refuse or reject; decline to accept something.
- 了
- le — Particle indicating completed action or changed state.
- 用
- yòng — To use; employ something as a means.
- 眼神
- yǎnshén — Look in one's eyes; gaze or eye expression.
- 断然
- duànrán — Flatly, resolutely; in a decisive and firm manner.
- 随即
- suíjí — Immediately after; right away, without delay.
- 突如其来
- tū rú qí lái — Sudden and unexpected; coming abruptly without warning.
- 感悟
- gǎnwù — Realization, insight; deep personal understanding gained.
- 于
- yú — From, in, at; formal preposition indicating relation.
- 他人
- tārén — Others, other people; someone other than oneself.
- 不同
- bùtóng — Different, unlike; not the same as something else.
- 或许
- huòxǔ — Perhaps, possibly; expressing mild uncertainty.
- 内心
- nèixīn — Inner heart, inner self; one's innermost feelings.
- 生命
- shēngmìng — Life; existence or the living force within beings.
- 渴望
- kěwàng — To yearn for, crave; an intense deep desire.
- 上
- shàng — Above, on; directional particle indicating upward or surface.
- 并无
- bìng wú — Has absolutely no; emphatic negation of existence.
- 二致
- èr zhì — Difference; used in '并无二致' meaning no difference.
- 却
- què — But, yet; conjunction indicating contrast or surprise.
- 被
- bèi — Passive marker indicating subject receives an action.
- 一道
- yī dào — A strip or barrier; one long dividing line.
- 巨大
- jùdà — Huge, enormous, gigantic in size or scale.
- 帷幕
- wéimù — Curtain, veil; a large cloth barrier or screen.
- 隔绝
- géjué — To isolate, cut off; completely separated from others.
- 世界
- shìjiè — World; the earth and all its inhabitants.
- 之外
- zhī wài — Outside of, beyond; excluded from something.
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