Great American Heroes: Tom, Huck and Mark Twain 汤姆与哈克：马克．吐温的小英雄

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Coming-of-age novels strike a chord with many a reader. The universal themes of adolescence and the journey from childhood to maturity relate to us all. Mark Twain’s classics, The Adventure of Tom Sawyer and Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, are two of the best-loved such tales in American literature. They also mark the first time an author successfully experimented with different American dialects and tackled some of the nation’s unique cultural and social issues.

青少年小说让许多读者产生共鸣。青春期以及由孩童时期过渡到成熟阶段的旅程的这种普世主题都能让我们有所感触。马克．吐温的经典作品《汤姆历险记》和《顽童历险记》是美国文学中最受喜爱的青少年故事之二。这两本书也标记了第一次有作家能成功地尝试使用不同的美国方言，并探讨一些该国特殊的文化与社会议题。

Mark Twain was actually just a pen name; the writer’s real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, and he was born in 1835 in Florida, Missouri. Missouri, at this time, was a slave state. Soon after his birth, his family moved to the Mississippi River town of Hannibal, the inspiration for the town of St. Petersburg in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Clemens lost his father, a lawyer, to pneumonia in 1847, and the young boy began to work to support himself, his mother, and his siblings.

马克吐温其实只是个笔名，这位作家真正的名字是塞姆．朗赫恩．克列门斯。他于1835年出生在密苏里州的佛罗里达。密苏里州在当时是奴隶州。他出生后不久，他们便举家迁往密西西比河边的小镇汉尼拔，这个地方也是《汤姆历险记》和《顽童历险记》中「圣彼得堡」镇的灵感来源。克列门斯的父亲是位律师，于1847年因肺炎去世。这位年轻的男孩开始工作以扶养他自己、妈妈和兄弟姊妹们。

In 1853, Clemens left Hannibal. He visited New York, St. Louis, and Philadelphia, amongst other places. Later, he trained to be a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi, gaining his qualification in 1859. He continued with this highly-paid occupation until the Civil War of 1861 put a stop to river traffic along the Mississippi. It was during his days on the river that he picked up his pen name. The boating term, mark twain, means that the water is 12 feet deep and safe to navigate.

1853年时，克列门斯离开了汉尼拔。他造访了纽约、圣路易、费城以及其他许多地方。之后，他为成为密西西比河的内河渡轮领航员而受训，并在1859年获得正式资格。他持续做这个高薪的工作，直到1861年美国内战中止了密西西比河的交通为止。他就是在河上的这段时间采用了马克吐温（mark twain）这个笔名。mark twain是与船行相关的专有名词，意思是水位12英吋深且能够安全航行。

In 1862, Twain began to work as a reporter. He had his first taste of literary success in 1865 with The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. He married in 1870 and moved to Connecticut, where he would pen his most famous works.

1862年时，马克吐温开始当记者。他在1865年时，〈卡拉维拉斯郡著名的跳蛙〉让他首次在文学界尝到成功的滋味。他1970年结婚并搬到康乃迪克州，而他也是在那里写出最著名的几本着作。

Vocabulary

单词发音

coming-of-age 成年的；由孩童转变为成人的

adolescence [æd!ˋɛsns] n. 青春期

maturity [məˋtjʊrətɪ] n.〔人﹑动物或植物的〕成熟期

classic [ˋklæsɪk] n. 古典著作；经典著作

dialect [ˋdaɪəlɛkt] n. 方言﹐地方话

tackle [ˋtæk!] v. 着手对付（或处理）

inspiration [͵ɪnspəˋreʃən] n. 灵感

sibling [ˋsɪblɪŋ] n. 兄弟姊妹

pilot [ˋpaɪlət] n.（船舶的）领航员；舵手

qualification [͵kwɑləfəˋkeʃən] n. 资格，能力

occupation [͵ɑkjəˋpeʃən] n. 工作，职业

put a stop to  停止; 制止

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单词发音

strike a chord 引起(某人)内心共鸣;  打动(某人) if something strikes a chord with someone, they are interested in it and like it because it is connected with their own lives or opinions

many a 许多(后接单数名词) each of a large indefinite number

pneumonia [njuˋmonjə] n. 肺炎

riverboat [ˋrɪvɚ͵bot] n. 江轮；内河船只

pen [pɛn] v. 写；写作

课文朗读

课文讲解

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn not only have the same setting and many themes in common, but also share the same characters. In fact, Tom and Huck are best friends, and there are members of the St. Petersburg community who appear in both novels. Both deal with boyhood adventure and the ways in which children learn about the adult world. They must reconcile what they have been taught about the world with the way the world really is.

《汤姆历险记》以及《顽童历险记》不但拥有相同的场景和主题，也共同相同的主角。事实上，汤姆与哈克是最好的朋友，而圣彼得堡小镇里的一些人物在两本小说内都有出现。两本小说都在探讨男孩的冒险以及小孩如何学习认识大人的世界。他们都必须在被教导的一切与现实世界之间作妥协。

Tom Sawyer, 1876, is narrated by Tom as an adult recalling his childhood experiences – like falling in love – with nostalgia and fondness. The reader learns about the fateful night when Tom and Huck secretly witness the murder of Dr. Robinson. When the killer tries to frame Muff Potter for the crime, Tom faces a crisis of conscience: tell the court what really happened and risk the vengeance of a murderer, or see an innocent man convicted.

《汤姆历险记》于1876年出版，是由已经长大成人的汤姆回忆以前小时候的经历。他述说的方式就像谈恋爱了一般，句句充满怀旧以及爱慕之情。读者了解到这决定命运的一晚：汤姆和哈克偷偷地目睹到罗宾森医师被杀害。当杀手试着陷害莫夫．波特，指控他为凶手时，汤姆面临到良心的考验：告诉法院事发的真相并冒着被杀手报复的风险，或是眼睁睁地看着无辜的人被起诉。

Huckleberry Finnis still a boy who tells of his own adventures, and he captures the audience with his easy talk and humor. Like Tom, he must wrestle with his conscience to figure out right from wrong. Huck runs away from his violent father and comes across Jim, a slave from the town. Jim’s trying to escape to a free state, and Huck, who is enjoying the freedom of living outside society’s rules, struggles with the concept of slavery. He does not know if he should help Jim, and his dilemma is central to the novel.

哈克．芬则是个小男孩，述说着自己的冒险故事，他以随性的谈话方式和幽默感抓住读者的心。跟汤姆一样，他必须与良心相对抗，分辨出对与错。哈克逃离有暴力倾向的父亲，并悄然遇见逃离小镇的黑奴吉姆。吉姆正想逃到自由州，而乐于活在社会规范之外的哈克面对奴隶制度这个观念时，内心感到十分挣扎。他不知道他是否应该帮助吉姆，而他的窘境便是小说的中心。

Vocabulary

单词发音

setting [ˋsɛtɪŋ] n. 环境；背景

in common 有共同之处

reconcile [ˋrɛkənsaɪl] v. 调和；使一致[（+with）]

narrate [næˋret] v. 讲（故事）；叙述; 给（电影等）作旁白

recall [rɪˋkɔl] v. 回想，回忆

fondness [ˋfɑndnɪs] n. 喜爱；钟爱

fateful [ˋfetfəl] adj. 重大的；决定命运的

witness [ˋwɪtnɪs] v. 目击

risk [rɪsk] v. 冒……的风险

innocent [ˋɪnəsnt] adj. 无罪的，清白的

wrestle [ˋrɛs!] v. 与……搏斗

come across 偶然碰见

dilemma [dəˋlɛmə] n. 困境，进退两难

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单词发音

nostalgia [nɑsˋtældʒɪə] n. 怀旧之情

frame [frem] v.【俚】陷害；捏造

vengeance [ˋvɛndʒəns] n. 报复；报仇

free state  自由州(美国早期禁止蓄奴的州)

课文朗读

课文讲解 

Twain was not limited by genre. In 1889, he published A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, a sci-fi tale of time travel and the benefits and curses of technology. The story focuses on Hank Morgan, a 19th-century mechanic who goes back in time to 6th-century Camelot. Here, he passionately promotes the technology of the future, but Arthur’s court shows no interest. Questions about the structure of society, civilization, and progress are also raised.

马克吐温并不受限于任一种文学形式。他在1889年出版了《康州美国佬奇遇记》，这是关于穿越时空的科幻小说，其中他讨论了科技的优点和祸根。这个故事重心在汉克．摩根。他是19世纪的机械师，回到公元6世纪的卡米洛特-加龙省-加龙省-加龙省-加龙省-加龙省城。在这里，他热情地介绍未来科技，但是阿瑟王的大臣们并不感兴趣。此书也对社会阶级、文化和「进步」提出质疑。

Mark Twain was a liberal man, and throughout his life, he spoke out against racism and imperialism. This is often overlooked, though. Huckleberry Finn, though always a strong contender for the title of the Greatest American Novel, is also a novel which stirs up a lot of controversies. Modern readers take offense to some of the language Twain employs, believing it proof that the writer himself was racist. But most critics say these derogatory terms should not be taken out of context: Twain was simply presenting the language and attitudes as they existed at the time.

马克吐温是个思想开放的人，一生反对种族歧视和帝国主义。但这却常被忽略。《顽童历险记》虽然一直是角逐「美国最伟大小说」这个名号的最佳作品，却也引起许多争议。现代读者对于马克吐温所用的一些语言感到生气，认为这是作者种族歧视的证据，然而大部分的评论家却说这些贬义用语不该被断章取义。马克吐温只是单纯地将当时存在的语言和态度表现出来。

So, for an adventure laced with humor and full of heart, why not delve into the pages of Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn? Ernest Hemingway could not have been more forthcoming in his praise of Twain: “All modern literature comes from Huckleberry Finn ….. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.”

所以，若要一个幽默和情感交织的冒险故事，何不一头钻进《汤姆历险记》以及《顽童历险记》的故事里？欧内司特．海明威对马克吐温的称赞最直接了当。他说：「所有的现代文学都源于《顽童历险记》……前无古人，后无来者。」

－by Alice Davis

Vocabulary

单词发音

curse [kɝs] n. 咒语；诅咒

mechanic [məˋkænɪk] n. 机械工，修理工，技工

promote [prəˋmot] v. 宣传，推销

progress [ˋprɑgrɛs] n. 进步; 进展

liberal [ˋlɪbərəl] adj.（思想）开放的﹐支持[主张]变革的

overlook [͵ovɚˋlʊk] v. 忽视；忽略

contender [kənˋtɛndɚ] n. 争夺者；竞争者

stir up 激起；煽动 provoke

take offense （因……）发怒；生气  to become angry or hostile

be taken out of context 断章取义 to ignore the overall meaning of an utterance in order to assign undue importance or meaning to a part of it

forthcoming [͵forθˋkʌmɪŋ] adj. 乐于提供信息的; 【口】乐意帮助的

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单词发音

genre [ˋʒɑnrə] n. 【法】文艺作品之类型

court [kort] n. 宫廷；王宫

passionately [ˋpæʃənɪtlɪ] adv. 热情地；激昂地

speak out 不顾忌地道出; 大声说 to speak without fear or hesitation

imperialism [ɪmˋpɪrɪəlɪzəm] n. 帝国主义; 扩张主义

employ [ɪmˋplɔɪ] v. 使用，利用

derogatory [dɪˋrɑgə͵torɪ] adj. 贬低的; 有伤品格的

lace with 与…交织在一起, 纵横分布着 to add or intersperse with something in order to produce a certain effect

delve [dɛlv] v. 探究，钻研；搜索[（+into）] to examine or study something carefully; to enter into the examination or study of something

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