The Autobiography of Forrest Gump
新阿甘正传(1)
I am a born idiot. My mother was a widow because my father died shortly after my birth. But others said I resembled him. We inherited some estates which we lived by. My mother planted a lot of violets in the courtyard. I liked watching her knitting nearby the violets. At that time, my mother talked much to stimulate me, which I could not cite much, but my mother always said, "Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you are going to get."
我生下来就是个白痴。妈妈是一个人生活,爸爸在我出生不久就死了。不过别人都说我长得像他。我们继承了几处房产,所以日子还说得过去。妈妈在院子里种了很多紫罗兰,我最喜欢看她坐在院子里织毛衣,通常妈妈这时候会说很多话来激励我,我不大记得住,不过妈妈说“生活就像一盒巧克力,你永远不知道会得到什么。”
My mother named me Forrest and my surname was Gump. She interpreted that I was an heir of Forrest, a hero in civil war. His name had been carved on the monument and President Roosevelt had awarded him a badge. My mother said I must have retained the gene of heroes. I didn't quite understand her interpretation. It might link with a myth or whatsoever.
我姓甘,妈妈给我起名叫福雷斯特。妈妈解释说,我家祖上福雷斯特是内战期间的英雄,纪念碑上有他的名字,罗斯福总统还给他颁发过奖章呢。妈妈说我一定也保留着英雄的基因,我不太明白,我想这大概是虚构的事情或者其他什么吧。
We had a neighbor, a Negro immigrant from Africa. I liked to play with him for anyone who mocked at my foolish behavior, he would deliver him a punch. My mother gave his family good treatment. Later one night, there was a riot (an uproar)in the street with whistle of cars again and again. They said some Negros robbed a white junior student. Then my neighbor moved away. Nobody played with me since then.
我们有个邻居,是个黑人,非洲移民。我喜欢跟他在一块玩。因为有人笑我是疯子的时候,他就会揍人家一顿。妈妈对他们一家很好,不过后来有一天晚上,街上乱哄哄的,汽车警笛声吵得很,他们说有黑人抢劫了白人学生,后来他们就搬走了,再没人跟我玩了。
My mother thought it was good for me in school, so that I would be the same as others. But on that day, the headmaster quizzed my grammar. It seemed I did badly, for my mother tried to reconcile with him. After a term, I was transferred to another school. I would tell you, it was an odd place. Some spat the gums on the sofa; some twisted stockings around their necks. The teachers only taught the simplicity of life, for example, when to slap hands, how to use soap to wash clothes, how to suck soda to prevent it from splashing(sprinking) on clothes and so on. We should submit to teachers. I yawned often. But there was one exception. Once I broke a broom with a snap, the teacher made me hungry for a day.
妈妈认为把我送到学校对我有益,因为这样我或许就变得跟其他人一样了。不过开学的时候,学校的校长说要考考我语法,由于我表现不好,妈妈努力跟校长调解才被同意了,于是我勉强读了一个学期之后,就到转到另一个学校了。我告诉你,那学校真怪,同学们有把口香糖吐沙发上的,还有把长筒袜拧在脖子上玩的。老师教的也简单,什么时候拍手啦,怎么用肥皂洗手啦,怎么喝汽水可以不会溅到衣服上啦,总之,就是要听话。这些我都知道,所以常常犯困。不过有一次例外,我有一次“啪”一声把扫帚折断了,为此,老师一天没给我吃饭。
One day a big guy met me on my way from dormitory(itory). He came to drag me and, kicked me on the hip and call me "idiot". I was almost provoked, but I dared not to protest. I shed tears. Then a voice came, "Run, Forrest! Run!" and I began to run. When I dashed into a cinema on Joint Street and looked back, he disappeared.
后来有一天,我离开宿舍打算回家,有个家伙在半路拦住我,他走过来动手拖我,踢我的屁股,叫我“呆子”等等,我几乎被激怒了,但不敢反抗,就哭了。然后我听见有人说:“阿甘,跑啊!快跑!”于是,我就开始跑。当我跑到十字路口的电影院的时候,他还真不见了。
After graduation, the US military cabled to inform me to join the army. Mama took me to the site of interview which was in a stadium nearby a gulf. There might be thousands of people in the spot because some other's toes were always kicking my heels. The jury was composed of seven people, a delegate with a big forehead labeled us from NO. 1 and divided us into several divisions to, he clarified, keeping balance. Nuisance! Then he made us to take a leap-frog test keeping with a naked body. He said he would check our spine and muscle strength. When I got home at night, I got two swollen feet.
毕业后,美国陆军发来电报说要我去当兵。妈妈带着我去参加面试。面试的地点在一个海湾附近的露天体育场里。我估计有数千人呢,因为别人的脚尖老是踢着我的脚后跟。评审团一区有7人,有个大脑门的代表,给我们 每个人编了号,从1开始,然后又把我们分成好几组,说要保持均衡,真麻烦!然后他们命令我们脱下衣服做蛙跳测试,检查脊柱和肌肉力量什么的。回到家的时候,我的脚已经肿了。