Lesson 41

The quiet life of the country has never appealed to me.
乡村宁静的生活从未吸引过我。
City born and city bred, I have always regarded the country as something you look at through a train window, or something you occasionally visit during the weekend.
出生在城市且在城市长大，我一直总是把乡村看作是那种你透过火车窗户凝视的东西，或者是你偶尔在周末造访的地方。
Most of my friends live in the city, yet they always go into raptures at the mere mention of the country.
我的大多数朋友都住在城市里，然而每当提到乡村，他们总是欣喜若狂。
Though they extol the virtues of the peaceful life, only one of them has ever gone to live in the country and he was back in town within six months.
虽然他们赞美和平生活的种种美德，但他们中只有一个人曾经去乡下生活过，而且他在六个月内就回到了城里。
Even he still lives under the illusion that country life is somehow superior to town life.
甚至他仍然生活在某种幻觉中，认为乡村生活在某种程度上优于城市生活。
He is forever talking about the friendly people, the clean atmosphere, the closeness to nature and the gentle pace of living.
他总是谈论友好的人们、洁净的空气、接近大自然的感觉以及温和的生活节奏。
Nothing can be compared, he maintains, with the first cockcrow, the twittering of birds at dawn, the sight of the rising sun glinting on the trees and pastures.
他坚持认为，没有什么能与黎明的第一声鸡鸣、鸟儿的啁啾，以及旭日映照在树木和牧场上的景象相提并论。
This idyllic pastoral scene is only part of the picture.
这田园诗般的景象仅仅是画面的一部分。
My friend fails to mention the long and friendless winter evenings in front of the TV — virtually the only form of entertainment.
我的朋友未能提及在电视机前度过的漫长而孤独的冬日夜晚——而这几乎是唯一的娱乐形式。
He says nothing about the poor selection of goods in the shops, or about those unfortunate people who have to travel from the country to the city every day to get to work.
对于商店里商品选择的贫乏，或者那些不得不每天从农村往返城市上班的不幸的人们，他只字未提。
Why people are prepared to tolerate a four-hour journey each day for the dubious privilege of living in the country is beyond me.
为什么人们愿意每天忍受四个小时的路程，只为了那在乡村生活的可疑特权，这令我无法理解。
They could be saved so much misery and expense if they chose to live in the city where they rightly belong.
如果他们选择居住在他们理应属于的城市里，就可以免除如此多的痛苦和开支。
If you can do without the few pastoral pleasures of the country, you will find the city can provide you with the best that life can offer.
如果你能舍弃乡村那为数不多的田园乐趣，你会发现城市能为你提供生命所能提供的最好的东西。
You never have to travel miles to see your friends.
你从不需要长途跋涉去见你的朋友们。
They invariably live nearby and are always available for an informal chat or an evening's entertainment.
他们总是住在附近，随时可以进行非正式聊天或参加晚间娱乐活动。
Some of my acquaintances in the country come up to town once or twice a year to visit the theatre as a special treat.
我的一些在乡下的熟人每年进城一两次，把去剧院看戏当作一种特别的享受。
For them this is a major operation which involves considerable planning.
对于他们来说，这是一个重大的行动，涉及到相当周密的计划。
As the play draws to its close, they wonder whether they will ever catch that last train home.
随着戏剧接近尾声，他们想知道是否能赶上那最后一班回家的火车。
The city dweller never experiences anxieties of this sort.
城市居民从不经历这类焦虑。
The latest exhibitions, films, or plays are only a short bus ride away.
最新的展览、电影或戏剧仅需一段短途公交车程即可到达。
Shopping, too, is always a pleasure.
购物也是一种乐趣。
There is so much variety that you never have to make do with second best.
有如此多的种类，以至于你永远不必凑合使用二等品。
Country people run wild when they go shopping in the city and stagger home loaded with as many of the exotic items as they can carry.
乡下人在城里购物时会变得疯狂，回家时摇摇晃晃，身上装满了尽可能多的他们搬得动的新奇物品。
Nor is the city without its moments of beauty.
这座城市也并非没有它美丽的时刻。
There is something comforting about the warm glow shed by advertisements on cold wet winter nights.
在寒冷潮湿的冬夜，广告散发出的温暖光芒总能给人带来些许慰藉。
Few things could be more impressive than the peace that descends on deserted city streets at weekends when the thousands that travel to work every day are tucked away in their homes in the country.
很少有事情能比周末降临在空旷城市街道上的那份宁静更令人印象深刻，那时每天成千上万通勤上班的人都已安顿在乡下的家中。
It has always been a mystery to me why city dwellers, who appreciate all these things, obstinately pretend that they would prefer to live in the country.
我一直感到迷惑不解，既然城市居民欣赏所有这些事物，为什么他们还要顽固地假装自己更愿意生活在乡村。