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‘The butler? Why are you dressed as a penguin then? And if I’m not mistaken, a king penguin, with that tailcoat of yours. Surely such dress would be reserved for the king? ’
“管家？那你为什么穿得像只企鹅？如果我没弄错的话，你是一只帝企鹅，穿着你的那件燕尾服。这样的着装肯定是为王族保留的吧？
The butler smiled.‘Mr Scott, his majesty is looking forward to receiving you. He will do so tomorrow morning, at 9 o’clock sharp.
”管家微笑着说。“斯科特先生，国王陛下期待着接见您，时间定在大约明天九点。”
In the meantime, I have been told to make you comfortable, and to show you around. A footman will take your belongings up to your room. Please, follow me, we will sit a little and take tea.’
同时，我受命要好好招待你，并带你四处看看。一名男仆会把您的行李送到您的房间。请跟我来，我们坐一会儿，喝点茶。
They settled into armchairs in a carpeted drawing room and servants worked around them, pouring tea and offering plates of some snow-coloured food.
他们在铺着地毯的客厅里的扶手椅上坐了下来，仆人们在他们周围忙碌着，倒茶并端上一盘盘雪白的食物。
‘Mr Scott, could I be so bold as to ask you to tell me a little bit about life in… Chilly Bottom, was it not?’
斯科特先生，我可以冒昧地请您给我讲讲……您在寒冷谷底的生活吗？
The Antarctican took a bite of the food – how odd, it tasted nothing like snow! – and crossed his legs.
这位南极人咬了一口食物——真奇怪，它尝起来一点也不像雪！——然后交叉起双腿。
‘Well, where do I start? Chilly Bottom is a small village in Antarctica, as I mentioned before.
‘好吧，我从哪里开始呢？奇利·博顿是南极洲的一个小村庄，正如我之前提到的。
We are about 5 kilometres from the South Pole, and my parents, their parents – all of our ancestors, in fact – have lived there for as long as anyone can remember.
我们离南极大约 5 公里，我的父母、他们的父母，实际上我们所有的祖先，记忆里就一直生活在那里。
We live a pretty normal and unremarkable life, really. I can’t imagine it is so different from yours.
我们过着非常普通和平凡的生活，真的。我无法想象与你们的生活有如此大的不同。
We get up, we have breakfast, we sing songs, we worship the penguin Gods, we drink tea with seal oil, it really isn’t as remarkable as you –’
我们起床，我们吃早餐，我们唱歌，我们崇拜企鹅神，我们用海豹油喝茶，这真的不像你们一样那么了不起——”
‘Hang on a minute,’ the butler interrupted. ‘You worship the penguin Gods?’
“等一下，”管家打断了他的话。“你崇拜企鹅神？”
‘Precisely,’ the man replied.
“正是如此，”那人回答道。
‘They bring us our food: delicious regurgitated fish; they stand around us when we’re cold, and they allow us to ride on their backs when it is slightly warmer and we want to take a dip in the ocean.
它们给我们带来食物：美味的反刍鱼；当我们感到寒冷时，它们会站在我们身边；当天气稍微暖和一点，我们想在海里泡个澡时，它们会让我们骑在它们的背上。
Without the penguins, life in Chilly Bottom simply wouldn’t be possible! ’ The butler looked straight at him, astonished.
没有企鹅，寒冷谷底的生活简直无法想象！”管家直视着他，惊讶不已。
‘Sir, I want to know all about Chilly Bottom, but before that I simply must ask you something.
先生，我想了解谷底的一切，但在此之前，我必须问你一件事。
Your voice, your manner of speaking… It is, how can I put it? It is like mine, it is like His Majesty’s. You speak English like a true gentleman.
你的声音，你的说话方式……怎么说呢？就像我，就像陛下。你说起英语来像个真正的绅士。
But am I correct in that neither you nor anyone from Chilly Bottom has ever left Antarctica, nor had any contact with anyone outside your village?’
但是，我这样理解是否正确：你和寒谷里的任何人都没有离开过南极洲，也没有与你们村子以外的任何人有过任何联系？
‘Well, my uncle did come across an African penguin once who had taken an unfortunate wrong turn.
嗯，我叔叔确实曾经遇到过一只非洲企鹅，它不幸转错了弯。
But yes, I am the first Chilly Bottomer to ever “break the ice”, as we put it. I mean, the first to leave Antarctica.
但是，是的，我是第一个打破坚冰的谷底人，就像我们说的那样。我的意思是，第一个离开南极洲的人。
If you are wondering why I sound so English, it all comes down to a book.
如果你想知道为什么我的口音听起来如此英式，这一切都要归功于一本书。
Now, this goes back to the time of my great grandfather, 1912 to be precise. Our methods of communication were different.
现在，这要追溯到我曾祖父的时代，确切地说是1912年。我们的通信方式不同。
Predominantly we conversed in the Penguin tongue – a terribly harsh language, but beautifully poetic – and one day my great grandfather found a book in the snow, next to a little device with a man’s voice trapped inside it.
我们主要用企鹅语交谈——一种极其刺耳的语言，但非常有诗意——有一天，我的曾祖父在雪地里发现了一本书，旁边还有一个小装置，里面有一个男人的声音。
We never found out who left it, but my ancestors studied the book, listened to the recordings, and started to adopt the language we heard there as our language.
我们从未找到是谁留下了它，但是我的祖先研究了这本书，听了这些录音，并开始采用我们在那里听到的语言作为我们的语言。
It is, if I am not mistaken, English that we are speaking now, correct? ’ The butler nodded. ‘Excellent.
如果我没弄错的话，我们现在说的是英语，对吧？’管家点点头说：“正是”。
Well, anyway, we found it to be a delightful language, and much easier to pronounce than the penguin tongue. For one thing, we have the same vocal organs.
嗯，不管怎样，我们发现这是一种很好的语言，而且比企鹅语容易发音得多。首先，我们有相同的发声器官。
So I was brought up speaking English by my parents.
所以我是由我说英语的父母养大的。
And as a little nod to the author of the book, I am called Robert Falcon Scott, as is my brother, my sister, and in fact everyone in Chilly Bottom. We have a real respect for tradition, you know. ’
为了向这本书的作者致敬，我叫罗伯特·法尔肯·斯科特，我哥哥、姐姐，实际上寒谷里的每个人都叫这个名字。我们非常尊重传统，你知道的。’
‘Doesn’t that get a little confusing?’ ‘Not at all. We know who we are referring to because we use slightly different tones.
“这不会有点混乱吗？”“一点也不。我们知道我们指的是谁，因为我们使用的语气略有不同。”
I’m Robert Falcon Scott, my sister is Robert Falcon Scott and my brother is Robert Falcon Scott. Is that confusing for you? ’ ‘Well, I guess you get an ear for it. But let me ask one more question. Why exactly are you here, sir? The driver told me you were talking about penguins. ’
我是罗伯特·福尔肯·斯科特，我的姐姐是罗伯特·福尔肯·斯科特，我的哥哥也是罗伯特·福尔肯·斯科特。这让你感到困惑吗？’ ‘嗯，我想你能听出来。但让我再问一个问题。你到底为什么在这里，先生？司机告诉我你在谈论企鹅。”
‘Bingo,’ Mr Scott replied.
“答对了，”斯科特先生回答道。
‘We heard – in fact from that same South African penguin, who had heard it from a cousin of his who had spent some time on a nature reserve in Botswana – that your king has something called a “zoo”, where he keeps penguins locked up for the amusement of the public.As a British citizen, I have come to demand that he release them.’
我们听说——实际上是从那只南非企鹅那里得知的，它从它的一个表亲那里听说的，它的表亲曾在博茨瓦纳的一个自然保护区待过一段时间——你们的国王有一个叫做“动物园”的东西，他把企鹅关在里面供公众娱乐。作为一名英国公民，我前来要求他释放他们。
‘Sir,’ Fitzwilliam-Patrick interrupted, ‘I’m not sure that you are a British citizen. ’ ‘How dare you! ’ cried Mr Scott. ‘Chilly Bottom is a British Antarctic Territory.
“先生，”菲茨威廉 - 帕特里克打断他，“我不确定你是不是英国公民。”“你怎么敢这么说！”斯科特先生喊道，“寒冷谷是英国的南极领地。”
Your king – our king – or some ancestor of his claimed it.
你的国王——我们的国王——或者他的某位祖先声称拥有它。
I have grown up all my life knowing that I am a British citizen, and the suggestion that I am not quite offends me!
我一生都知道我是英国公民，说我不是让我很生气！
Besides, that South African penguin told my uncle that people in Britain have quite a reputation for overseas territories. What is it you call them… colonies, yes?
此外，那只南非企鹅告诉我叔叔，英国人在海外领土方面的名声可不太好。你们怎么称呼他们……殖民地，对吧？
Well, do you know who else has colonies? Penguins. But at least we have the decency to not to come to Britain and put your citizens in cages.’
那么，你知道还有谁有殖民地吗？ 企鹅。但至少我们有礼貌，不会去英国把你们的公民关在笼子里。
The Antarctican brushed some crumbs off his lap and crossed his arms.
这位南极洲人拂去了他大腿上的一些面包屑，然后交叉起双臂。
For a moment, he said nothing, and the pair sat in silence.
有那么一会儿，他什么也没说，两人静静地坐着。
Fitzwilliam-Patrick was the first to speak, taking on a peaceful tone. ‘Sir, I do apologise for the offence caused. Let me reassure you that the king is looking forward to meeting with you tomorrow.
菲茨威廉 - 帕特里克首先发言，语气平和。“先生，我为造成的冒犯表示歉意。我向你保证，国王期待着明天与你会面。
In the meantime, let me show you something of the city. It is your first time in your home country, after all. ’ ‘Very well. ’
同时，让我给你展示一下这个城市的一些东西。毕竟这是你第一次回到你的祖国。’ ‘很好。’
