中外散文选读部分（上）翻译

●● 2 How to Grow Old

[A]1. Did all Russell's ancestors live to a ripe old age?

No, they didn't. His maternal grandfather died at 67 and one of his remoter ancestors did not die a natural death. 2. How did his maternal grandmother keep herself occupied after she became a widow? What was her attitude towards her grandchildren?

She did that by devoting herself to women's higher education, specifically to opening the medical profession to women. Her attitude towards her grandchildren was impersonal. 3. According to the author, what is the proper recipe for remaining young? To have wide and keen interests and to be engaged in some related activities. 4. What dangers does the author think one should guard against in old age?

One is excessive absorption in the past, and the other is undue dependence on the young for getting vigour from its vitality.

5. What attitude should be adopted towards one's grown-up children?

Accepting the fact that they are grown-ups now and leave them to live their own lives. 6. Why is it no use telling grown-up children not to make mistakes?

One reason is that grown-up children do not accept what their parents tell them.

The other reason is that no one can avoid making mistakes. So we may say that everyone learns from his own mistakes.

7. What, in the opinion of the author, is the best way for an old person to overcome the fear of death? The best way is to make one's interests gradually wider and more impersonal, or to make one's life increasingly merged in the universal life. [B]

1. Do you agree with the author's views on old age and death? State your reasons. Yes. An active and independent old age is good way to keep young.. 2. What does the author compare the life of an individual to? A river.

3. Are the author's views in this essay to be taken seriously through out?

Not through out. The author was joking when he said that one should choose one's ancestors carefully.

4. Comment on the sentence 'Young men who have reason to fear that they will be killed in battle may justifiably feel bitter in the thought that they have been cheated of the best things that life has to offer.' The author means that the fear of death in young people may be justified because they have not tasted the best things of life.

On the other hand, the author is suggesting that the fear of death in the old is not as acceptable - because he has known human joys and sorrows.

We may further say that the author is urging the old to accept the fact of human life, that man has a limited lifetime. So if one has had his share of human joys and sorrows, one should be ready to accept that fact he is near the end of his life. II Paraphrasing

1. If this is true it should be forgotten, and if it is forgotten it will probably not be true.

If it is true that one's emotions used to be more vivid and one's mind used to be more keen, one should try to forget that. And if one can really forget that, who can say for certain that one is older or lower than one used to be. 2. One's interest should be contemplative and, if possible, philanthropic, but not unduly emotional.

One should have impersonal interests and one should not concern oneself too much with one's children and grandchildren.

3. It is in this sphere that long experience is really fruitful, and it is in this sphere that the wisdom born of experience can be exercised without being oppressive. \

Only in appropriate activities is long experience helpful and is the wisdom brought by experience useful - otherwise it is unbearable. ●●5 As I see it

[A]1. What do you think made Shaw give this radio talk in 1937?

To urge the British people to be conscientious objectors of war and to make them realize that to be a pacifist in the present war is not the right attitude and that the British should change the distribution system in order to avoid the most dangerous war between Capitalism and Communism. 2. What was happening in Spain and China?

Spain and China were both at war at that time. Japan invaded China and Spain was in a civil war. 3. Are the horrors of war as described by Shaw real or imaginary?

Some are real and some are imaginary. The description of the street scenes was real in Spain and China, but in 1937 London or Paris were not yet in the danger of being bombed by any enemy country. 4. Why did Shaw hate war?

Because of the loss of human lives on both side at war - besides the dangers of war. 5. Did Shaw give his whole-hearted support to the pacifist movement against war?

No, he thought at that moment the pacifist movement was a wrong movement. Because Mussolini and Hitler did not let others live, so people should not tolerate them and must fight against them. 6. What kind of war did Shaw think would put an end to civilization? The war between Capitalism and Communism, or between landowning and labour. 7. What was wrong with Britain according to Shaw?

Its distribution system is unfair and unjust and its people are not any taking actions to change the situation - they only keep talking about it.

8. Was Shaw optimistic? Or did he end his speech on a note of despair?

No, he was not optimistic and there is a note of despair when he came to the end of his speech. As he said, \[B] 1. What are conscientious objectors?

（出于道德或宗教上的原因而）拒绝服兵役的人，不积极参与任何有关战争行动的人。

2. Do you agree with Shaw that we must all become conscientious objectors if we want wars to stop? Yes, I do. If we do not become conscientious objectors, some people and countries may go on staging wars against others to make profits for themselves.

3. What do you think are the causes of war? Is war avoidable? The causes of war are powers, natural resources, wealth - profits of all kind.

It is difficult to answer the second question. It is difficult to avoid wars. On the one hand, the lures are too many; on the other, human beings are emotional as well as intelligent.

4. Comment on the following: \in no man's land as for the British lads who lay beside them.\

Shaw meant to say that he regretted the deaths of German soldiers as much as those of British soldiers. He wanted to point out that the soldiers of both sides had the same fate.

5. Shaw described World War I as a waste of life. Do you agree with him? Yes. 6. Do you agree with Shaw that \ Yes, the rule is accepted by most people.

7. Shaw says: \the fighting and killing and waste and damage that the Russians went through …\this way of thinking?

The essence of this way of thinking is socialism. \system to give the poor people more wealth and leisure. The Russians had staged the October Revolution in 1917, the purpose of which was to change the capitalist system. Shaw thought that Britain needed some changes but not a revolution. II Paraphrasing

1. Nature can produce children enough to make good (偿付，赔偿，支付) any extremity of slaughter of which we are capable.

Even if we may slaughter each other ruthlessly, the human race can produce enough children to make up for the loss of lives.

2. I, who am a much-hated man, have been doing that all my life; and I can assure you there is no better fun (than doing that), whereas revenge and resentment make life miserable and (make) the avenger hateful. As a much-hated man, I have been \And I really think that those who do good to people who hate them can enjoy their lives a lot, while those who revenge themselves on others can not be happy themselves and make others hate them.

3. But such a command as \nature.

But I think the command \ 4. We are still savages at heart, and wear our thin uniform of civilization very awkwardly.

Although we are supposed to be civilized now, we are still primitive in nature and we don't know how to behave ourselves as civilized people. ●●8 Nine years for A and B

[A]1. How did Dr. Johnson define the word lexicographer? What did he mean?

Dr. Johnson defined the lexicographer as \harmless drudge\By doing that, he meant something more the literal meaning of the three words. He wanted to point out that a lexicographer does a lot of hard work and that his work is meaningful. Being a lexicographer himself, he did not like to praise the occupation openly, so he put his ideas lightly in an understatement.

2. What makes the lexicographer think that the letter A is typical? Is it really typical? Is there a typical letter?

It is the ignorance of the amount of drudgery involved in making a dictionary that makes the lexicographer think the letter A is typical. In fact, A is not really typical, and what's more, there is no typical letter among all the 26 letters. So the lexicographer can never know the exact amount of his work until he finishes the dictionary he is editing.

3. Why does the lexicographer have to run against time?

The lexicographer has to run against time for at least two reasons. First, the language is changing all the time and new words keep appearing. If the lexicographer cannot work fast enough to catch up with the appearing new words, he can never hope to finish the dictionary he is making. Second, the publishers of the dictionary expect some return on their money, so they want to sell the dictionary at the earliest time possible.

4. Explain the title of Elisabeth Murray's biography of her grandfather. What does the reviewer think of the book?

The title is caught in the Web of Words. From what we learn from the essay, we can reasonably guess that James

A. H. Murray's life, which was mostly spent on the O. E. D. after he was forty, was a hard one. The title seems to suggest that the dictionary were a trap and Murray could not have got out of it.

The reviewer thinks that the biography is a touching and honest book and that Murray was a great man who had persevered in a very difficult task for so many years. Also he thinks it a good thing that Murray's granddaughter should have written the book, for he knows that Murray had worked for the future generation. 5. What qualities did James Murray have that made him an outstanding lexicographer?

The qualities are his religious faith, his patriotism, his will power, his exceptionally wide range of scholarly gifts and his coordinating powers.

6. What do you know about his early life?

From the essay, we know something about the early life of James A. H. Murray. He was born in Scotland in 1837, the son of a village tailor. He had limited formal schooling but he continued to educate himself with pertinacity. He had been a schoolmaster in Scotland and a bank clerk in London. As a man who love knowledge and had many interests, he was finally a scholar learned in many fields, especially in philology.

7. How long did he work on the O. E. D.? Did he realize that he was never to finish it? Would he have given up his work half-way if he had been told that he would never see its completion?

He worked 38 years on the O. E. D. When he first began the work, he did not realize that he was never to finish it. But, by the time he was old, he must have realized that he might not finish the dictionary himself. So we can say that, even if he had been told that he would never see the completion of the dictionary, he would not have given up his work.

[B]1. The hardest words are the ones that might seem easiest from the lexicographical point of view. Does this apply to the study of English as a second language?

Yes, this applies to the study of English as a second language. For students of English as a second language, the most difficult words are not the big learned words, but those seemingly easy small ones.

2. Why does the writer say that the O. E. D. was of unique importance? Do you agree with him?

Yes, we agree with the writer. Because the O. E. D. was the first English dictionary to adopt the historical method, or to record the history of every word. And with such a dictionary, it is convenient to study the language. 3. Why do you think that James Murray was great not only as a lexicographer but also as a man? Because he overcame the triple nightmare of space, time and money. We could see that he worked under great pressures and with uncertain prospect of the completion of the work and that he even considered resignation at one time. So the responsibility entrusted to him was demanding not only to a lexicographer but to a man as well. 4. Discuss the significance of lexicographical work in terms of cultural continuity.

Cultural continuity of any nation is impossible if the language of that nation is lost. And lexicographical work is the most direct effort to keep the most important cultural heritage. The significance of such work is obvious, for language contains the essential information of a culture and a dictionary helps keep the information alive. II Paraphrasing

1. The whole idea of a typical letter is a will-o'-the -wisp. It is unrealistic to expect to find such a thing as a typical letter. 参考译文：关于典型字母的整个想法只是一种虚构的东西。

2. So there have to be schedules and anxiety and resentment and nagging, in the race against time, time whose pace never falters.

Because time never waits for anyone, the dictionary maker, in his race against time, must fulfill the work schedule on time. So he is not to be happy all the time. For, when he is behind the schedule, he will feel strong anxiety and the publishers will be angry and make complaints.

3. Would he have acknowledged that one of the things providence did for him was mercifully to withhold

a full sense of the task that was never to end for him?

Would he have admitted that it was fortunate for him that he had never known in advance how much work he had to do to make the dictionary that was never to be finished in his life?

4. The uneventful dignity of his life makes for a biography which it would be odd to be thrilled by and which it would be insensitive not to be stirred by.

His uneventful but dignified life is the right material for a biography that will move the readers instead of exciting them.

哲学何用？

格·亚历山大洛夫及其四位同事刚刚因其三卷本哲学史书获得了斯大林奖章，并得到了20万卢布的奖金。而绝大多数其他奖项的获得者皆为自然科学家。许多人也许会说：“怎么能把他们与科学家相提并论？这些人不过是在描述前人的观点，而且其中大部分还是错的。的确，研究这个也有其意义，就像研究童话或星相学的历史，但它毕竟没有多少实用之处，尤其是在如今这个阴晦的年代。”

研究哲学家们说过什么的理由可有千万种。而其中之一就是我们并不能将哲学史与科学史相剥离。总地来说，哲学就是讨论一些没几个人能给出确切答案，且仅有的这几个人还持不同观点的问题。随着人类知识的不断丰富，哲学可催生更多的科学分支。

举例来说，在古代和中世纪哲学家们讨论运动。亚里士多德和圣托马斯·阿奎那告诉我们，运动的物体如果没有持续的外力作用就会慢下来。他们错了。运动物体会保持运动，除非有外力使它慢下来。不过，他们有很好的论据来支持其观点。如果我们研究这些论据，以及能够证明其错误性的实验，我们就能从中获得启发，以便在如今的科学争论中分辨真伪。

我们还可以看看每个哲学家是如何反映其所处时代的社会生活的。柏拉图和亚里士多德生活在古希腊奴隶社会，他们认为人的最高境界是劳心，而非劳力。中世纪的圣托马斯信奉天使分九等的森严的封建秩序。资本主义自由竞争时代的赫伯特·斯宾塞发现适者生存的丛林法则。因此，马克思主义应运而生，并被认为是适合唯一有前途的阶级——工人阶级的哲学观点。但是，我们几乎无法预测在共产主义实现后再过几代，世界对于彼时的男女又将是个什么样子？人们或许会把人与人之间的兄弟之谊认为是理所当然，它不再是什么远大理想，而是成了生活的现实，虽然他们知道此等兄弟之谊是经过可怕的斗争才赢得的。

学习哲学可使我们的思维变得灵活。我们所有人都习惯将某些普遍的想法认为是理所当然的，并称之为常识。我们应该了解，其他人曾持有相当不同的观点，并且我们自己的观点源于哲学家们富于原创性的猜想。

如果狗会说话，它可能不会区分会动的和有生命的。一些原始部落的人也是如此，而外来者以为他们是说万物有灵。在如今这个机器时代，我们习惯为一切事情寻找机械解释，尽管机器的发展，自笛卡尔最先提出动物和人的身体都是机器到现在，也只有三百年的时间。

科学家通常认为，所有的哲学问题最终都能通过科学予以解决。我认为，这对于许多哲学家们仍在争论的问题的确如此。比如说，柏拉图认为，在我们看见物体时，一条光线从太阳射到物体上，另外一条光线从我们的眼睛射到物体上，看东西就像是用拐棍摸索前行一样。但现在我们知道是来自太阳的光经物体反射到我们的眼睛。至于我们眼中发生什么变化并产生感觉，我们还不太清楚。但是，我们完全有理由相信，随着我们对大脑的生理机能了解的深入，我们最终肯定会弄明白的，而且关于知识和意志的重大哲学问题也会得到很好地解释。

但是，对于这些问题以及其他我们如今仍迷惑不解的问题，就算我们的后代知道了的答案，他们仍将有一块未知领域，那就是未来。无论我们的科学有多精确，我们都不可能如同了解过去那样了解未来。哲学讨论的是我们的未知之事。并且，任何科学有可能解决的问题，最好姑且不作结论。这就是为什么马克思和恩格斯对其同辈们比较关心的许多哲学问题谈得很少的原因之一。

然而我们需要为未来做好准备，没有哲学我们就不能如此理智地去面对它。有些人说我们只要根据过去的经验来做，信仰宗教，上帝将会安排我们的未来。另外一些人说，世界就是一台机器，不管我们怎么努力，未来事件的发展都是确定的。而马克思主义者认为，未来掌握在我们自己手中，虽然我们自身也是历史进程的一部分。这个哲学观点无疑会启发人们去取得更大的成就。不管它正确与否（我认为是正确的），它也是有力的行动指导。

我们需要一种哲学来帮助我们应对未来。不可知论很容易成为懒惰和保守的藉口。不管我们是认同马克思主义还是认同其他任何哲学观点，若不了解其发展历程我们都不可能真正理解它。这就是为什么哲学史知识对于马克思主义者很重要的原因，即使是在如今这样关键的时候。

At the Tailors -- 在裁缝铺

2

这里的宁静与众不同，可谓是一个名副其实的古老世界了。这样一个速食时代里，这方天地已悲哀落伍了。依旧沉醉于追求完美，铁窗后面对美的追寻从未停止。在这里裁剪是艺术，这里的人们会无比真诚地告诉您：衣即美，美即衣，唯知此，此足矣。即使最小的边缝也能带来沉思，深埋心底，是我潸然泪下。事实证明他们是艺术家而非商人，因为他们从不像商人那样苦心积虑地讨好顾客，而是让自己心满意足。一个裁缝只会服务到你满意为止，但这些艺术家会一直服务到他们自己满意为止，这就意味着即使你已失去对此的兴致，他们还是会孜孜不倦地忙上一阵子。你站在那儿，就像一个躯壳，一个模特，任凭他们用小折刀裁下领子袖子，拿着别针这儿别别那别别，挥着粉笔前涂涂后画画，根本不知道他们在搞什么名堂。然后他们会让你再次试穿。这一切都表明了他们对裁剪事业的无限热爱。

每次去我的裁缝那里都会羞愧难当，我知道自己根本不值得他们付出努力，就像请一个对音乐一窍不通的人去听一夜莱纳四重奏一样不值。我是那种两周就能把衣服穿得破旧灰暗的人，大概是由于我总是揣着两三个特大烟斗，火柴，二三两叶子烟，钱包，支票夹，日记本，自来水笔，小刀，奇形怪状的钥匙，零钱若干，甚至会带上几封旧日来信。我真是搞不明白别人是怎么做到整洁干净，行动自如的。对我来说衣着得体是个全职工作，而我恰恰有更重要更有趣的事情要做，所以即使衣服这瘪那鼓一团糟，像寐未宽衣一样，我也自得其乐。平时是这么说，可我一进裁缝店就立马无地自容了。他们一言不发，像弹奏着自己支离破碎的曲子一样，眼里满是悲伤与责怪。我应该哪天穿晚服去店里转转，我觉得晚服不像成品西服那样糟糕。但我不晓得，我看不出名堂的地方，他们也会挑出严重的问题。所以也许我不应该让他们看到自己杰作的悲惨命运。或许他们看我无精打采地进来，像个穿邮购衣服的家伙，就会交头接耳：“他可是个白天不太谨慎的绅士啊，难怪，”他们迫不及待地证明自己的判断，一脸愁容地加了一句：“他晚上会有麻烦。” 3

但是，裁缝们自己干净利落，心灵手巧，挥笔舞针。在这个挂满镜子的小房间里行动自如，可以从不同角度清晰观察。他们也会装装服帖，但这么装装也根本没用。他们晓得我不过是自己的影子，不过是他们手中的木偶罢了，想必他们也晓得我自己心里也明白。他们的意见，看起来和他们本人那么温和理智，但就算他们小声说现在该在这个岛上成立个西班牙宗教裁判所，我也不能说个“不”字。他们也不是都一样，试衣，裁剪，各司其职，各有春秋。所以给我做裤子的裁缝和给我做上衣的就大相径庭。做裤子的更小巧，更敏捷，更活跃，更喜欢开心漫谈。随着对裤装长久深入的认识，他越发民主淳朴。我甚至有一度觉得我们差不多。可做上衣的那位就是个内秀了。他看上去很健康，面颊干净，皮肤富有弹性，像个浅棕色的苹果，样子有点像个神父，外科医生或偶尔猎狐的律师。他周围的一切都整洁，考究，完美无暇。若我看上了别人的衣服，他必定为我全力以赴。要是他赏个面子跟我聊起了他在公立学校读书的儿子，我简直受宠若惊，迫不及待地连连称是。也就那么几分钟，我沾了衣服的光，算个活人了。可转眼他又一脸严肃，不知从哪掏出个别针，拿起粉笔就开画了。

可我一被拉进房间量体裁衣，他们的恐怖复仇也就开始了。进去才十分钟，我的最后一丝自尊也荡然无存。那种感觉比剪头都痛苦，和看牙医有一拼。像个只有肉和骨架的人体模型似的站在那就够糟糕的了，更糟糕的是那些镜子和灯光。镜子在远处模糊了，四周是黄中透绿的道道。虽然不怎么喜欢这些道道，对模糊的感觉也没什么好感，我也不会太介意。我真正讨厌的是我镜子中的影像。不管什么时候看，镜子里的家伙都没让我满意过。脑袋大，身子小，腿更细。明亮的灯光不留情面地直射下来，那张脸臃肿笨拙。周身也不怎么干净。衣服除了刚穿上的这件，都显得邋遢，皱巴，破破烂烂的。衣领和靴子也不怎么样。头发该理了，胡子也要刮一刮才好。总之这张面孔看不出任何自信。侧面看去有点滑稽，从后面看简直是惨不忍睹了。这样的家伙还有老婆孩子，这么一副面孔还能自我感觉良好，真是难以置信！一想到这儿，我不禁笑了一下，我想我是笑了一下，结果房间里的二十面镜子竟映出了狰狞的冷笑。不知从哪里来的一堆皱纹，还有扭曲的面颊和下巴，简直没个看了！ To me the meanest flower that blows can give Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.

—Worthwords

即使最贱的花朵绽放，也能给我带来沉思， 深埋心底，使我潸然泪下。 . . 1.裁缝店

杰·伯·普里斯特利

在喧嚣的摄政街和熙熙攘攘的富人区新邦德街之间有一块不大的地方，这里出奇得寂静。几条不长的街道好象互相平行，其实呈发散状向四周延伸。人们乍一看会认为道路两旁挤满了资深家庭律师公司的办公室。多数办公室的窗户上都装着粗铁丝做的纱窗。这儿的建筑物透着一种庄重神秘的气息，如同旧日的男管家，看上去面无表情，一无所知，实际上心里无所不知。商业活动的迹象在这几条街几乎找不到。在这儿照明所缴的电费肯定很少，因为既没有刺眼的灯光招牌，也没有哗众取宠的橱窗使人驻足不前。一年四季这儿都不打折扣。走在街上，除非你想停下来，不然还真没什么可供驻足观看的。你不时会看到一卷布、一条马裤，或是一小幅淡色的画，上面描着一位身穿夜礼服的绅士。你路过这儿能听到有人小声说“如果您是位绅士，衣着想符合绅士的标准，敬请您在此预约，让我们看看能为您做些什么。”当然，多少钱只字不提，绅士之间交易是不可能提及钱的。原因在这片地方，萨维尔街、康帝特街、马多克斯街，还有其它的几条街，是裁缝，不，是最优秀的裁缝的所在地。假如你穿一身现成的西装进这里的一家裁缝店，你马上会发现衣服不是这儿松就是那儿紧。假如你斗胆穿着现成的西装（我曾这么做过）迈进一家裁缝店，你肯定会后悔不已。店里的人一言不发，他们看你的眼神好象高官看小民，接着你的衣服就给扒下来丢进了垃圾箱。

这里的静谧意味深长。可以说这为往日所独有，并且这么说也不过分。如今任何货品只要造得快，不费事，就能顶用，相比之下，这方寸土已不可救药地落后于时代了。这里的人仍然始终不渝地追求完美。纱窗内对终极的探求仍在继续。裁缝这门手艺依旧是一种艺术。这里的人会诚心诚意地宣称裤子是美，美即裤子，我们知道这些就够了。对这些裁缝而言，他们缝制的最小的衣缝也会激发他们无限的遐思。他们是艺人，而非商人，他们与商人不同之处在于，他们费力讨好的不是顾客，而是自己。做买卖的裁缝只求顾客满意而归。这些艺术家则求自己满意，你对做衣服都兴趣索然了，可他们还在量来量去。你站着不过是一具肉身或一个人体模型，裁缝们却小心翼翼地用小折刀扯出做袖子和领子的布，别针别上又取下，还用粉笔划些神秘的记号，而你老早就纳闷如此煞费周章意义何在。可这还不算，他们有可能会平心静气但不容拒绝地告诉你，他们必须再量一次。这么做足以证明他们对缝纫这门艺术抱有毫无私心杂念的热情。 每逢去我的裁缝店，我心中都怀着一丝歉意。我心中明白自己不配他们的服务。这就好比一个压根不懂音乐的人受邀去听一晚上的莱纳四重奏。我这人不管什么衣服穿上两个礼拜就不成形了。大概这是因为我老是随身带着两三个相当大的烟斗、火柴、约两盎司的烟叶、一个钱夹、支票簿、日记、自来水笔、小刀、钥匙、零钱，不用说肯定还有以前收到的信。我一辈子都不可能明白一个人穿得整整齐齐、漂漂亮亮还能做成什么事。要保持衣着得体对我来说就像一份全职工作，可是我正好有很多更重要有趣的事要做，我就索性邋邋遢遢，看到我的人都会认为我睡觉不脱衣服。我说得轻松，然而一旦进了我的裁缝店，我立马满心歉意。店里的人一言不发，只是看到他们的杰作被毁眼中流露出悲伤责怪的神情。我想哪天不妨穿身夜礼服去拜访他们，我觉得夜礼服比日常西服强些。然而我心里没底；裁缝能发现巨大的瑕疵，而我却什么都看不到；要不，我还是不让他们知道手中杰作的命运的好。见我蹭进店里，像个通过邮局购衣服的人，这些裁缝可能小声互相说：“他这位先生白天有点儿不拘小节。我想，”我听到他们若有所思地说，看样子非常想让自己确信，“他夜里肯定也懒得费事。”

裁缝们领我到一个可怕的小试衣间，在那儿他们为自己的杰作报了仇。我在里面只消待十分钟就斯文扫地。这种经历比去理发还糟，和看牙医一样不堪回首。我站在里面活像个人体模特，就剩下一堆肉和骨头，这还不算，最难以忍受的是试衣间的镜子和灯光。镜子交相辉映，看不到尽头。我身旁仿佛各有一个绿里带黄的隧道。这些我不介意，隧道我有点不喜欢，对无穷无尽几乎也不反感。我讨厌的是自己的影子。不管

往哪儿看，只见一个面目可憎的人。他的头相对上体显得太大，上体相对双腿又显得太大。明亮的灯光毫不留情地照清每个角落，此人脸太胖，又有点臃肿。说不清这人哪点脏兮兮的。他身上的行头，除了那件试穿的衣服，看上去松松垮垮，皱巴巴的，邋遢得不成体统。他领子没弄正，脚上的靴子也没擦干净。头发也该理了，胡子也该仔细地刮刮。让谁看到这张脸都不会对其产生信任感。然而，他的侧影简直就荒谬绝伦，背影则无比丑陋。就这么一个人还会有妻有子！他带着这副尊容拖着这个躯壳活在世上，可是自我感觉还颇好，这简直难以置信！想到这儿，我可能会微微一笑。我觉得是微微一笑；但是试衣间内的二十张脸顿时如鬼魅般狞笑起来，不知从哪儿出现许多条皱纹，硕大的面颊和下巴也扭曲变形了。我身置其中，无处可逃。

与此同时，衣着整齐干净的裁缝们正娴熟地用着别针粉笔忙个不停。在安有镜子的隔间里，他们神态自若，从任何角度看他们都无可挑剔。他们假装在伺候人，可这么做毫无用处。他们知道——他们也知道我心里清楚——我不过是一个影子，他们手中的玩偶而已。他们的见解好象出自最有节制并且最通情达理的人，然而哪怕他们小声说早该在英国建立西班牙宗教法庭，我也会随声附和。这些裁缝也各不相同，不论是试衣匠还是剪裁师，或是其他什么人。于是平时给我做裤子的裁缝就不同于平时给我做上衣的裁缝。做裤子的裁缝个子小些，更活跃，活更忙，更容易和人谈笑聊天。和裤子长时间密切地打交道使他为人非常民主朴实。有时我感到自己几乎能和他平起平坐。相比之下，做上衣的裁缝不苟言笑，威仪凛然。他脸上没有皱纹，看上去很健康，胡子刮得很干净，像个棕色的苹果；他有几分像牧师，有几分像医生，又有几分像偶尔出猎的律师。他浑身上下干净优雅，一尘不染。他看我的神情如同我看另一个人的衣服。有一次他竟屈尊跟我谈起他在私立学校就读的儿子，我一听感到无比荣幸，忙不迭地随声附和。有那么几分钟我从里到外都很自在，几乎和我的衣服一样荣幸。可是没多久他又一脸严肃相，从这儿取根别针，在那儿用粉笔划个记号。

有些人迫不得已与伟大的艺术家生活在一起，我能理解他们内心的感受。我也能理解那句老话“九个裁缝一个汉”的内在涵义。这些和别针粉笔打交道的艺术家与常人相差甚远，九个裁缝的错误和冷漠凑到一起也不及一个普通公民的多。可惜当今世上衣着讲究的人都已经逝去，这些裁缝肯定生活在一个孤独的世界里。他们会接受一个口袋鼓鼓囊囊、衣服皱皱巴巴、松松垮垮的人的几句赞誉之辞吗？

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