ived in
Beijing, he wrote me a letter, in which he says. “I’m all right except for a severe pain in my
arm. I even have trouble using chopsticks or writing brushes. Perhaps it won’t be long now
before I depart this life.” Through the glistening tears which these words had brought to
my eyes I again saw the back of father’s corpulent form in the dark blue cotton-padded
cloth long gown and the black cloth mandarin jacket. Oh, how I long to see him again.
注释:
《背影》是朱自清（1898-1948）影响最大的抒情名篇之一，写于1925年10月。作者用的提炼的口语，文笔秀丽，细腻缜密，读来有一种亲切婉转、娓娓动听的感觉。但它的巨大艺术魅力主要来自它饱含的真挚感情。
(1)“回家”指作者和父亲一起从徐州回扬州奔丧。英译时有必要交代清楚扬州是他们的老家，所以采用加字法：After arriving home in Yangzhou。
(2)“一半为了丧事，一半为了父亲的赋闲”译为Between Grandma’s funeral and father’s
unemployment，其中Between…and…等于What with …and (what with)…，作“半因……，半因……”或“由于……的共同影响“解。
(3)“茶房”旧时指旅馆、餐馆、轮船等内的服务员，可译为waiter、attendant、boy等。
(4)“我两三回劝他不必去”译为I repeatedly tried to talk him out of it，比I repeatedly tried to
dissuade him from accompanying me to the station通俗简洁。
(5)“他们去不好”中的“他们”指“茶房”，全句意译为It won’t do to trust guys like those hotel
boys。如直译为It won’t do to let one of the hotel boys go with you，也无不可，但未能把“对茶房缺乏信任感”的意思表达出来。
(6)“小费”在这里不指按规定价格付费之外另给的“赏金”，不能用tip表达，现译为fee。
(7)“我那时真是聪明过分”中的“聪明”是反话，现全句译为I was then such a smart aleck，
其中smart aleck意即“自以为是的人”或“自以为样样懂的人”。
(8)“总觉得他说话不大漂亮”意即嫌父亲不会讲价钱，现全句译为I frowned upon the way
father was haggling，其中frowned upon作“表示不赞同”解。
(9)“迂”在这里作“不切实际”或“没有见识”解，现结合上下文译为impractical。
(10)“那时真是太聪明了”也是反语，现译为how smarty I was in those days，其中smarty和
smart aleck同义。
(11)“马褂”为旧时男子穿在长袍外的对襟短褂，通常译为mandarin jacket。
(12)“里边没人”不宜按字面直译，现译为Don’t leave your things alone。
(13)“父亲和我都是东奔西走”不宜按字面直译，现意译为both father and I have been living an
unsettled life。
(14)“他触目伤怀，自然情不能自己”意即“他看到家庭败落，情不自禁为之悲伤”，现译
为The discouraging state of affairs filled him with an uncontrollable feeling of deep sorrow。
(15)“他待我渐渐不同往日”意即“他待我渐渐不如过去那么好”，故译为he became less and
less nice with me。
(16)“大去”为旧时用语，意即“与世长辞”，现译为depart this life。
匆 匆
朱自清
燕子去了，有再来的时候；杨柳枯了，在再青的时候；桃花谢了，有再开的时候
1。但是，聪明的，你告诉我，我们的日子为什么一去不复返呢？——是有人偷了他
们罢：那是谁？又藏在何处呢？是他们自己逃走了罢：现在又到了那里呢2？
我不知道他们给了我多少日子3；但我的手确乎是渐渐空虚了4。在默默里算着，
八千多日子已经从我手中溜去5；像针尖上一滴水滴在大海里，我的日子滴在时间的
流里，没有声音，也没有影子。我不禁头涔涔而泪潸潸了6。
去的尽管去了，来的尽管来着；去来的中间，又怎样地匆匆呢？早上我起来的时
候，小屋里射进两三方7斜斜的太阳。太阳他也有脚啊，轻轻悄悄地挪移8了；我也茫
茫然跟着旋转。于是——洗手的时候，日子从水盆里过去；吃饭的时候，日子从饭碗
里过去；默默时，便从凝然的双眼前过去。我觉察他去的匆匆了，伸出手遮挽时，他
又从遮挽着的手边过去，天黑时，我躺在床上，他便伶伶俐俐在从我身上跨过，从我
脚边飞去了。等我睁开眼和太阳再见，这算又溜走了一日。我掩着面叹息。但是新来
的日子的影儿又开始在叹息里闪过了。
在逃去如飞的日子里，在千门万户的世界里的我能做些什么呢？只有徘徊罢了，
只有匆匆罢了；在八千多日的匆匆里，除徘徊外，又剩些什么呢？过去的日子如轻烟，
被微风吹散了，如薄雾，被初阳蒸融了；我留着些什么痕迹呢？我何曾留着像游丝样★★文★檔★共★享★與★在★線★閱★讀★
的痕迹呢？我赤摞裸来到这世界，转眼间也将赤摞裸的回去罢？但不能平的9，为什
么偏要白白走这一遭啊？
你聪明的，告诉我，我们的日子为什么一去不复返呢？
Transient Days
Zhu ziqing
If swallows go away, they will come back again. If willows wither, they will turn
green again. If peach blossoms fade, they will flower again. But, tell me, you the wise, why
should our days go by never to return? Perhaps they have been stolen by someone. But
who could it be and where could he hide them? Perhaps they have just run away by
themselves. But where could they be at the present moment?
I don’t know how many days I am entitled to altogether, but my quota of then is
undoubtedly wearing away. Counting up silently, I find that more than 8000 days have
already slipped away through my fingers. Like a drop of water falling off a needle point
into the ocean, my days are quietly dripping into the stream of time without leaving a trace.
At the thought of this, sweat oozes from my forehead and tears trickle down my cheeks.
What is gone is gone, what is to come keeps coming. How swift is the transition in
between! When I get up in the morning, the slanting sun casts two or three squarish
patches of light into my small room. The sun has feet too, edging away softly and
stealthily. And, without knowing it, I am already caught in its revolution. Thus the day
flows away through the sink when I wash my hands; vanishes in the rice bowl when I have