連姆·尼森 | 朗讀《極地特快》

On Christmas Eve, many years ago, I lay quietly in my bed. I did not rustle the sheets. I breathed slowly and silently. I was listening for a sound - a sound a friend had told me I'd never hear - the ringing bells of Santa's sleigh.

在多年前的平安夜里，我平靜地躺在我的床上。我沒有把被單弄得窸窣作響。我緩慢而安靜地呼吸。我正在傾聽一種聲音--一個朋友曾經(jīng)告訴我，我不會聽到的一種聲音--圣誕老人雪橇車上的鈴鐺聲。

"There is no Santa," my friend had insisted, but I knew he was wrong.

“世上沒有圣誕老人，”我朋友堅稱，但是我知道他是錯的。

Later that night I did hear sounds, though not of ringing bells. From outside came the sounds of hissing steam and squeaking metal. I looked through my window and saw a train standing perfectly still in front of my house.

后來，在那天晚上，我的確聽到了一些聲音，雖然不是搖鈴聲。從外面而來的蒸汽的嘶嘶聲以及金屬的嘎吱聲。我透過窗戶看，看到一輛在我的屋子前面徹底地停滯不前的火車。

It was wrapped in an apron of steam. Snowflakes fell lightly around it. A guard stood at the open door of one of the cars. He took a large pocket watch from his jacket, then looked up at my window. I put on my slippers and dressing-gown. I tiptoed downstairs and out of the door.

它被蒸汽做成的圍裙所包圍著。雪花輕輕地落在它附近。一個列車長站在其中一節(jié)車廂的門口。他從外套里面拿出一塊大的懷表，然后看向我的窗戶。我穿上拖鞋和晨袍。我踮著腳走下樓，走到門外。

"All aboard," the guard cried out. I ran up to him.

“請上車，”列車長大喊。我跑到他面前。

"Well," he said, "are you coming?"

“喲，”他說，“你要來嗎?”

"Where?" I asked.

“去哪里?”我問。

"Why, to the North Pole of course," was his answer. "This is the Polar Express." I took his outstretched hand and he pulled me aboard.

“為什么問，當(dāng)然是去北極，”是他的回答。“這是極地快車。”我抓住他張開的手，他把我拉上車。

The train was filled with other children, all in their pyjamas and nightgowns. We sang Christmas carols and ate sweets with nougat centres as white as snow. We drank hot cocoa as thick and rich as melted chocolate bars. Outside, the lights of towns and villages flickered in the distance as the Polar Express raced northwards.

火車上滿是其他孩子們，都穿上他們的睡衣和長睡袍。我們唱圣誕頌歌，吃里面有雪白牛軋?zhí)堑奶鹌贰Ｎ覀兒葷夂竦孟袢诨那煽肆Π粢粯拥臒峥煽?。外面，在極地快車高速駛向北面的時候，城鎮(zhèn)和鄉(xiāng)村的光在遠(yuǎn)處快速移動。

Soon there were no more lights to be seen. We travelled through cold, dark forests, where lean wolves roamed and white-tailed rabbits hid from our train as it thundered through the quiet wilderness.

很快就看不到任何光了。我們經(jīng)過寒冷漆黑的森林，那里有瘦狼漫步，有在火車隆隆地駛過安靜荒漠之時隱藏起來的白尾巴兔子。

We climbed mountains so high it seemed as if we would scrape the moon. But the Polar Express never slowed down. Faster and faster we ran along, rolling over peaks and through valleys like a car on a roller coaster.

我們爬過山的高處，高到我們似乎能蹭到月亮一樣。然而極地快車從來沒有減速過。我們越走越快，像云霄飛車的車廂一樣，在山峰和山谷中翻滾。

The mountains turned into hills, the hills to snow-covered plains. We crossed a barren desert of ice - the Great Polar Ice Cap. Lights appeared in the distance. They looked like the lights of a strange ocean liner sailing on a frozen sea. "There," said the guard, "is the North Pole."

山變成小山，小山再到平原。我們橫穿過貧瘠的冰荒漠--偉大的極地冰帽。遠(yuǎn)處有光出現(xiàn)。他們看起來像是在冰海中航行的奇怪海上郵輪的光。“那里，”列車長說，“是北極?！?/span>

The North Pole. It was a huge city standing alone at the top of the world, filled with factories where every Christmas toy was made.

北極。它是獨自站在世界頂部的一座巨大城市，充滿了制造所有圣誕禮物的工廠。

At first we saw no elves.

剛開始，我們沒有看到精靈。

"They are gathering at the centre of the city," the guard told us. "That is where Santa will give the first gift of Christmas."

“他們都集合在這個城市的中心，”列車長告訴我們。“那里就是圣誕老人將要給出圣誕節(jié)第一份禮物的地方?！?/span>

"Who receives the first gift?"

“誰會收到第一份禮物?”

The guard answered, "He will choose one of you."

列車長回答，“他會在你們之中選一個。”

"Look," shouted one of the children, "the elves," Outside we saw hundreds of elves. As our train drew closer to the centre of the North Pole, we slowed to a crawl, so crowded were the streets with Santa's helpers. When the Polar Express could go no farther, we stopped and the guard led us outside.

“看，”其中一個小孩大喊，“精靈，”我們看到外面有成百上千只精靈。由于我們的火車駛近北極的中心，我們減速到緩慢蠕動，圣誕老人的助手們讓街道如此擁擠。在極地快車不能走得更遠(yuǎn)的時候，我們停下來了，列車長把我們帶到外面。

We pressed through the crowd to the edge of a large, open circle. In front of us stood Santa's sleigh. The reindeer were excited. They pranced and paced, ringing the silver sleigh bells that hung from their harnesses. It was a magical sound, like nothing I'd ever heard. Across the circle, the elves moved apart and Santa Claus appeared. The elves cheered wildly.

我們把人群壓成一個大的開圓圈。在我們前面的是圣誕老人的雪橇。馴鹿很興奮。他們又蹦又跳、來回踱步，弄響了掛在馬具上的銀雪橇鈴。那是一種迷人的聲音，一種我從來沒聽過的聲音。圓圈的另一邊，精靈們移開，圣誕老人出現(xiàn)了。精靈們激烈地歡呼。

He marched over to us and, pointing to me, said, "Let's have this fellow here," He jumped into his sleigh. The guard helped me up. I sat on Santa's knee and he asked, "Now, what would you like for Christmas?"

他向我們走來，指著我，說:“我們有請這男孩，”他跳上他的雪橇。列車長幫助我上雪橇。我坐在圣誕老人的膝蓋上，他問，“現(xiàn)在，圣誕節(jié)，你有什么東西想要的?”

I knew that I could have any gift I could imagine. But the thing I wanted most for Christmas was not inside Santa's giant bag. What I wanted more than anything was one silver bell from Santa's sleigh. When I asked, Santa smiled. Then he gave me a hug and told an elf to cut a bell from a reindeer's harness. The elf tossed it up to Santa. He stood, holding the bell high above him, and called out, "The first gift of Christmas!"

我知道我能得到任何我所想的做禮物。但是在圣誕節(jié)我最想要的那東西不在圣誕老人巨大的袋子里面。比起任何東西，我更想要的是圣誕老人雪橇上的一只銀鈴鐺。我請求的時候，圣誕老人微笑了。然后他給我一個擁抱，他告訴精靈從馴鹿的馬具上剪下一個鈴鐺。精靈向上扔給圣誕老人。他站起來，把鈴鐺舉得比他自己高，大喊，“圣誕節(jié)的第一份禮物!”

A clock struck midnight as the elves roared the approval, Santa handed the bell to me, and I put it in my dressing-gown pocket. The guard helped me down from the sleigh. Santa shouted out the reindeers' names and cracked his whip. His team charged forward and climbed into the air. Santa circled once above us, then disappeared in the cold, dark polar sky.

當(dāng)精靈們高呼贊同的時候，午夜的鐘聲響起，圣誕老人把鈴鐺遞給我，我把它放在我的睡衣口袋里。列車長幫我從雪橇下來。圣誕老人喊出馴鹿的名字，猛抽他的鞭子。他的隊伍向前沖去，爬到空中。圣誕老人在我們上方盤旋了一圈，然后消失在寒冷黑暗的極地上空。

As soon as we were back inside the Polar Express, the other children asked to see the bell. I reached into my pocket, but the only thing I felt was a hole. I had lost the silver bell from Santa Claus's sleigh. "Let's hurry outside and look for it," one of the children said. But the train gave a sudden lurch and started moving. We were on our way home.

我們一回到極地快車?yán)锩?，其他小孩子就請求看一下鈴鐺。我伸向我的口袋，但是我唯一能感受到的是一個洞。我已經(jīng)丟失了從圣誕老人雪橇來的銀鈴鐺?！拔覀冓s快到外面去找找。”有一個小孩說道。但是火車突然一下蹣跚，并開始移動了。我們在回家的路上了。

It broke my heart to lose the bell. When the train reached my house, I sadly left the other children. I stood at my doorway and waved goodbye. The guard said something from the moving train but I couldn't hear him. "What?" I yelled out.

鈴鐺丟失了，我很傷心。在火車到達(dá)我家的時候，我難過地離開了其他小孩。我站在家門口，揮手告別。列車長在行動中的火車上說了些什么，但是我聽不到?！笆裁?”我大喊。

He cupped his hands around his mouth. "MERRY CHRISTMAS," he shouted. The Polar Express let out a loud blast from its whistle and sped away.

他窩起兩只手圍著嘴巴?！笆フQ快樂，”他喊道。極地快車發(fā)出一來自汽笛的響亮氣流聲，并迅速離開。

On Christmas morning my little sister Sarah and I opened our presents. When it looked as if everything had been unwrapped, Sarah found one last small box behind the tree. It had my name on it. Inside was the silver bell! There was a note: "Found this on the seat of my sleigh. Mend that hole in your pocket." Signed, "Mr C."

在圣誕節(jié)早上，妹妹塞拉和我拆開我們的禮物。當(dāng)看起來所有東西都仿佛被拆開的時候，塞拉找到了在樹下的最后一個小盒子。盒子上面有我的名字。里面是一個銀鈴鐺!有一張小紙條:“在我的雪橇上發(fā)現(xiàn)這個鈴鐺。補(bǔ)上你口袋上的洞吧。”署名，“C先生。”

I shook the bell. It made the most beautiful sound my sister and I had ever heard.

我搖起鈴鐺。它發(fā)出妹妹和我聽到過最美妙的聲音。

But my mother said, "Oh, that's too bad."

但是我媽媽說，“噢，太糟糕了?！?/span>

"Yes," said my father, "it's broken."

“對，”我爸爸說，“它壞了?！?/span>

When I'd shaken the bell, my parents had not heard a sound.

在我搖起鈴鐺的時候，父母聽不到任何鈴聲。

At one time most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe.

曾經(jīng)有一段時間，我的大多數(shù)朋友都可以聽到鈴聲，但隨著歲月的流逝，鈴鐺于所有的人變得無聲了。即使是塞拉，在一個圣誕節(jié)，也發(fā)覺到自己再也聽不到悅耳的鈴聲。雖然我已經(jīng)變老，鈴鐺仍然會為我響起，正如它會為所有真正相信著的人響起一樣。