牛津书虫系列《格列佛游记》Chapter10 附中英双语文本

10 The flying island of Laputa
10 勒皮他飞岛
I had only been at home for about ten days when a friend of mine asked me to join him on a journey to the East Indies．I still wanted to see more of the world，and as he was offering to give me double the usual pay，I managed to per-suade my wife to let me go．The voyage took eight months，and after stopping for a short time in Malaysia，we arrived in the Gulf of Tongking．
我在家里呆了只有10天，就有一个朋友请我加入他的到东印度群岛的旅行。我仍然想见更多的世面，而且他给我高出平常两倍的报酬，我说服了妻子让我去。航行了8个月，在马来西亚短暂停留之后，我们到达了东京湾。
‘I'll have to stay here for a while on business，’my friend the captain told me．‘But you can take the ship and some of the sailors．Go and see what you can buy and sell in the islands around here．’That sounded interesting to me，so I agreed．
“由于生意关系，我需要在这儿停一阵，”我的船长朋友对我说，“不过你可以用这只船和几个水手，去周围的岛屿转转，看你能买卖些什么。”这对我来说挺有意思，所以我就同意了。
Unfortunately，we sailed straight into a terrible storm，which drove us many miles eastward．Then，by a very unlucky chance，we were seen and chased by two pirate ships．Our ship was not fast enough to escape，and the pirates caught us．They decided to keep the sailors to help sail the ship，but they did not need me．I suppose I was lucky they did not kill me．Instead，they left me alone in a small boat in the middle of the ocean，with only enough food for a few days，while they sailed away．
不幸的是，我们径直驶进了一个可怕的风暴中，风暴将我们向东刮了许多英里。然后，由于极为不幸的巧合，我们被两只海盗船发现而被追逐。我们的船不够快，逃不了，海盗们抓住了我们。他们决定留下水手帮他们驾船，可是他们不需要我。我料想我真走运他们没有杀我。他们把我独自留在汪洋大海中的一只小船里，食物只够吃几天，他们自己则扬帆而去。
I am sure the pirates thought I would die．However，I saw land some hours later，and I managed to sail the boat to it．As I stepped out of the boat and walked up the beach，I noticed that although the sun had been very hot，the air suddenly seemed cooler．At first I thought a cloud was passing over the sun But when I looked up，I saw，to my great astonishment，a large island in the sky，between me and the sun．It was moving towards me，and there were people running around on it．I waved my arms and shouted as loudly as possible．‘Help！Help！’I cried．‘Rescue me！’
我敢肯定海盗们以为我必死无疑，但是，几个小时以后我看见了陆地，我让小船驶过去。当我跨出小船，走上海滩，我注意到尽管太阳很热，空气却突然变凉了。起初我还以为是云遮了太阳，但是当我一抬头，令我极为惊讶的是，我看见天空中有一个大岛在我和太阳之间，它正向我移来，上面有人在四处跑动。我挥着手臂，尽可能大声地喊。“救命！救命！”我叫道。“救救我！”
When the island was about a hundred metres over my head，they let down a seat on a chain．I sat on it，and was pulled up to the island．I had discovered the flying island of Laputa．
当岛屿在我头上大约100米高时，他们放下一个拴在链条上的坐椅。我坐在上面，被拉上了岛屿。我发现了勒皮他飞岛。
Laputans are certainly strange－looking people．Their heads always turn either to right or left：one of their eyes turns in－wards，the other upwards．Their main interests are music and mathematics．They spend so much time thinking abut mathe－matical problems that they do not notice what is happening around them．In fact，rich Laputans employ a servant whose job is to follow his master everywhere The servant warns him if he is going to step into a hole，and reminds him to reply if someone speaks to him．
勒皮他人绝对是长相奇怪的人。他们的头总是或者向左或者向右转，他们的眼睛一只朝里一只朝外。他们的主要兴趣是音乐和数学，他们把大部分时间都花在思考数学问题上，以致于他们周围发生的事他们都没注意到。事实上，富有的勒皮他人请了个仆人，职责就是跟着主人到处走。仆人警示他是否要踩进坑里，如果有人跟他说话则提醒他回答。
I was taken to see the King，but had to wait for at least an hour while he struggled with a difficult mathematical question．However，when he had finished，he spoke politely to me，and ordered his servants to show me to a room．For dinner they gave me three kinds of meat—a square of beef，a triangle of chicken and a circle of lamb Even the bread was cut into mathematical shapes in the evening a teacher arrived to help me learn the language，and in a few days I was able to make conversation with the island people．