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Who is Don Quixote? 存在于幻想与现实：唐吉诃德

 

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繁體中文譯本

 

They may say that chivalry is dead, but Don Quixote would never listen to that. Perhaps one of the most famous fictional characters of all time, this wandering, adventure-loving, knight-errant was inspired by the many books he read and spurred on by his desire to keep the chivalric code alive. There’s even a word, quixotic, coined in honor of this Spanish hero, which means impractical and silly in the pursuit of unrealistic romantic ideals.

人们或许会说骑士精神已死，但唐吉诃德绝不会听信这种话。这位到处游走、喜欢冒险的游侠骑士或许是有史以来最著名的虚构角色之一。唐吉诃德受到许多所读书籍的启发，而激励他不断向前的力量就是延续骑士准则的愿望。有一个字「quixotic」甚至就是为了向这位西班牙英雄致敬而造的。这字的意思是不理智且傻傻地追求不切实际的浪漫理想。

 

The first volume of Don Quixote, sometimes labeled the first European novel, Miguel de Cervantes, was born to a poor Spanish family in 1547 and, like his protagonist, he led an exciting life. Cervantes was very well-read, though it is believed he did not receive a university education. Instead, he traveled to Rome and studied Renaissance art and literature. At age 21, Cervantes moved to Naples and joined the Spanish Navy where he demonstrated his own heroism fighting in the 1571 Battle of Lepanto, suffering gunshot wounds and losing the use of his left hand.

《唐吉诃德》第一部于1605年出版，有时被称为欧洲的第一本小说。作者米格尔．德．塞万提斯于1547年出生在一户贫穷的西班牙家庭，而且他就像书中主角一样过着刺激精彩的生活。塞万提斯饱读诗书，但据说他并没有大学学位。相反地，他前往罗马研读文艺复兴时期的艺术和文学。塞万提斯在21岁时，前往那不勒斯加入西班牙海军，并于1571年的勒班陀战役中英勇抗敌时受到枪伤，使得左手丧失功能。

 

After recovering in the hospital, Cervantes returned to the military and, in 1575, was kidnapped by pirates and taken as a slave to Algeria. During five years of slavery, Cervantes orchestrated several escape attempts for his fellow captives. Finally, he was released for a ransom and returned to Spain.

在医院复原之后，塞万提斯回到军队。但在1575年遭海盗绑架，并被带到阿尔及利亚当奴隶。在5年的奴役生活中，塞万提斯替同为奴隶的战俘们精心策划了多次企图脱逃的计划。最后他被赎金赎回并被释放回西班牙。

 

Many aspects of Cervantes’ life appear in Don Quixote, such as the pirates, enemy Moors, and battles in which the author actually fought. Alongside the fantasy and madness are historically accurate events and social commentary, making Don Quixote a novel that is impossible to classify under any one genre.

塞万提斯生命中的许多层面都出现在《唐吉诃德》中，像是海盗、摩尔敌军，以及作者确实参与过的战役。《唐吉诃德》除了充满幻想和疯狂，还有历史上确切的事件和社会批判，使这本小说很难被归类到任一种文类。

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

chivalry [ˋʃɪv!rɪ] n.（中世纪）骑士精神

Don Quixote 唐·吉诃德

wandering [ˋwɑndərɪŋ] adj. 徘徊的；流浪的

knight-errant [ˋnaɪtˋɛrənt] n. 游侠骑士

chivalric [ˋʃɪv!rɪk] adj. 骑士时代的；侠义的

code [kod] n. 规范；礼教习俗

quixotic [kwɪkˋsɑtɪk] adj. 唐吉诃德式的; 愚侠（式）的; 不切实际的; 空想的

protagonist [proˋtægənɪst] n. 主角

lead [lid] v. 过（活）；使过（某种生活）to pass or go through; live

well-read [ˋwɛlˋrɛd] adj. 博览群书的；博学的

Renaissance [ˋrenəsɑns] / [rəˋnesns] n. 文艺复兴

heroism [ˋhɛro͵ɪzəm] n. 英雄气概，勇气

kidnap [ˋkɪdnæp] v. 绑架；劫持

orchestrate [ˋɔrkɪs͵tret] v. 精心安排

captive [ˋkæptɪv] n. 俘虏；囚徒

ransom [ˋrænsəm] n. 赎金

alongside [əˋlɔŋˋsaɪd] prep. 与……一起  accompanying

fantasy [ˋfæntəsɪ] n. 空想；幻想；梦想

commentary [ˋkɑmən͵tɛrɪ] n. 评论

genre [ˋʒɑnrə] n.【正式】〔艺术﹑写作﹑音乐等的〕类型﹐体裁

 

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片语发音

 

spur on 鼓舞, 鞭策, 激励  encourage

 

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解 

 

So, who is this mysterious character Don Quixote? Well, Don Quixote is a middle-aged man who hails from La Mancha, Spain. He’s a bookworm with a passion for chivalric romances – once a wildly popular fairy-tale-like genre, featuring an exaggeratedly heroic knight on a quest to rescue the damsel in distress.

所以这位神秘的唐吉诃德到底是谁？嗯，唐吉诃德是个来自西班牙拉曼查的中年男子，他非常爱读书，而且热衷于骑士文学。骑士文学是一种一度非常受欢迎、像童话般的文类，以一位长途跋涉拯救落难少女的神勇骑士为特色。

 

Compelled by the codes of the knights, Don Quixote believes these stories to be real and plans a mission of his own. Hoping to rescue the needy and promote chivalry, he recruits a squire, Sancho, and the two set off in search of adventure!

受到骑士准则的驱使，唐吉诃德相信骑士文学里的故事都是真的，并为自己计划了一个任务。为了能够拯救贫弱的人并提倡骑士精神，他征召了一位名为桑丘的扈从，而两人就踏上寻找冒险的旅程。

 

Don Quixote’s world is far-removed from the world other characters see, and many comic scenes take place. His sidekick Sancho is left to rectify situations, and often takes the punishment for his master’s odd behavior. Many of these roadside adventures are not really adventures at all but only happen inside Don Quixote’s head. In one famous scene – which has given rise to its own idiom – the knight-errant attacks fierce giants, except that they are not giants at all but windmills. (If anyone ever tells you that you’re “tilting at windmills,” it means you’re fighting an imagined enemy.

唐吉诃德的世界和其他角色所看到的世界非常不一样，因此发生许多有趣的场景。他的助手桑丘就被留下来矫正这些状况，并常因他主人的奇特行为而受罪。许多路上的冒险并不是真的冒险，而只发生在唐吉诃德的脑中。在一场著名的场景中这位游侠骑士攻击凶猛的巨人，只不过这些巨人其实是风车，而这也衍生了一句俚语。（如果有人告诉你说你在「攻击风车」，表示你是在对抗一个想象中的敌人。）

 

Such ridiculous dramas pepper the book from the beginning. As soon as they set off, Don Quixote mistakes an inn for a castle and, believing the innkeeper to be some lord, demands the innkeeper make him a knight. He also attacks a flock of sheep and steals a barber’s basin because he thinks it’s a magical helmet – and these are just a few of the crazy situations Don Quixote gets involved in!

这本书从一开始就充满这些滑稽可笑的情节。两人一出发，唐吉诃德就将一间旅馆误认为城堡，并相信这位旅馆主人是某个贵族，要求这位旅馆主人将他封为骑士。他也攻击一群羊，并偷走理发师的水盆，因为他认为那是拥有魔法的钢盔，而这都只是唐吉诃德所卷入的疯狂状况中的一小部分而已。

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

middle-aged [ˋmɪd!͵edʒd] adj. 中年的

bookworm [ˋbʊk͵wɝm] n. 喜爱读书者；书呆子

exaggeratedly [ɪgˋzædʒəretɪdlɪ] adv. 夸张地

quest [kwɛst] n. 追求；寻找

damsel [ˋdæmz!]【古】【文】n. 少女；闺女

distress [dɪˋstrɛs] n. 危难，不幸

compel [kəmˋpɛl] v. 强迫；强求

needy [ˋnidɪ] adj. 贫穷的, 贫困的, 生活艰苦的

recruit [rɪˋkrut] v. 征募

squire [skwaɪr] n.（骑士的）扈从

far-removed  adj. 天壤之别; 大相迳庭 remote; at a great distance

comic [ˋkɑmɪk] adj. 滑稽的；使人发笑的

sidekick [ˋsaɪd͵kɪk] n.【非正式】助手; 伙伴

rectify [ˋrɛktə͵faɪ] v. 矫正；改正

roadside [ˋrod͵saɪd] adj. 路边的，路旁的

windmill [ˋwɪnd͵mɪl] n. 风车

tilt [tɪlt] v. 倾斜; 攻击

pepper [ˋpɛpɚ] v. 使…布满  bombard with or as if with missiles; to shower with or as if with small missiles

innkeeper [ˋɪn͵kipɚ] n. 旅馆主人；客栈老板

lord [lɔrd] n. 贵族

basin [ˋbesn] n. 盆；脸盆

 

 

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片语发音

 

hail from 来自 to come from some place as one's hometown or birthplace; to originate in some place

damsel in distress 需要帮助的女子

set off 出发 to start on a journey

give rise to 引起, 产生, 导致  to cause something to exist

tilt at 攻击, 抨击, 奚落, 把矛头指向…  to engage in a combat or struggle; fight

 

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

Don Quixote owes its lasting appeal to the brilliance of its author, Cervantes. He did not write a chivalric romance, but satirized the genre, showing it to be melodramatic and foolish. More than satire, Cervantes spans genres with this novel, including the epic, the historical, and the magical. His gifts for humor, for complicated and farcical plots, for realistic dialogue, and wonderful characters bring Don Quixote to life.

《唐吉诃德》长久以来能如此受到欢迎要归功于此书的作者塞万提斯的才气。他并不是写骑士文学的冒险故事，而是对此文类加以讽刺，向人表明这种文学是夸张且愚蠢的。本书除了是讽刺文之外，还含括了许多文类，如史诗、历史小说与奇幻文学。他的幽默以及制造出复杂滑稽的情节、写实的对话和美妙角色的天分让《唐吉诃德》充满生命力。

 

Perhaps one of the most important themes of Cervantes’ masterpiece is that of old and new, of when dated ideas are applied to modern experiences rather than changing with the times. Don Quixote’s code of honor has no place in the world anymore, and is helpful to no one. Similarly, Cervantes calls on the authors of the day to reject the nonsense of the romance genre, and move literature forward to reflect the intellectual climate of the era. Furthermore, Don Quixote, with its focus on the characters of the lower classes and its less-than-flattering presentations of characters like the Duke and Duchess, also criticizes the class system that existed in Spain at the time. Cervantes was, at this time, rather revolutionary for suggesting the upper classes were not by rights respectable and honorable.

或许塞万提斯此大作最重要的主题之一就是「新」与「旧」，以及当过时的想法用到现代的生活上而不是随时间转变的状况。唐吉诃德的「节操」在这个世界已经没有存在的地位了，对任何人都没有帮助。同样的，塞万提斯呼吁同时代的作家拒绝骑士文学的无稽之谈，并将文学导去反映当时的知识背景。此外，《唐吉诃德》着重在社会下层阶级的角色，而对于公爵和公爵夫人不太正面的描述也是在批评当时存在于西班牙的阶级制度。塞万提斯暗示上层阶级不该因为他们的地位而理所当然地值得被尊敬或敬仰，此举在当时算是非常具革命性。

 

Whatever the influence of Don Quixote at the time of its publication – and it was an instant success – we cannot underestimate the influence this most complex, hilarious, intelligent, and mad character has had on the Western literature that has followed. With this unpredictable and improbable hero, armed with his morals, his trusty steed, and his sidekick, and the smart and intrusive narrative voice, the first modern novel was born. Everyone from Dickens and Melville to Dostoevsky and Kafka can thank Cervantes for that.

不管《唐吉诃德》在当时出版时的影响为何（当时是一炮而红），我们不能低估这个最复杂、最可笑、最聪明也最疯狂的角色对后世西方文学的影响。有了这个无法预测、荒谬的英雄，带着他的道德观、他最信任的骏马和助手，以及作者不断插入个人意见的叙述方式，第一本西方现代小说就此诞生。从狄更斯、梅尔维尔到杜司妥也夫斯基和卡夫卡，每个人都感谢塞万提斯写了这本小说。

 

－by Alice Davis

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

satirize [ˋsætə͵raɪz] v. 讽刺, 挖苦

melodramatic [͵mɛlədrəˋmætɪk] adj. 胡闹的; 夸张的 exaggeratedly emotional or sentimental

epic [ˋɛpɪk] n. 史诗，叙事诗; adj. 史诗的，叙事诗的

farcical [ˋfɑrsɪk!] adj. 闹剧的；滑稽的

dated [ˋdetɪd] adj. 过时的

climate [ˋklaɪmɪt] n. 风气，趋势

flattering [ˋflætərɪŋ] adj. 阿谀的，奉承的

less-than-flattering 不太好的

duke [djuk] n. 公爵

duchess [ˋdʌtʃɪs] n. 公爵夫人

honorable [ˋɑnərəb!] adj. 可尊敬的；高尚的

hilarious [hɪˋlɛrɪəs] adj. 极可笑的

improbable [ɪmˋprɑbəb!] adj. 不可思议的; 不大可能的

trusty [ˋtrʌstɪ] adj. 可信的，可靠的

steed [stid] n.【文】骏马

intrusive [ɪnˋtrusɪv] adj. 侵入的; 干涉的; 打扰的

 

More Information

片语发音

 

owe to 应该感谢; 把...归功于  because of

call on 号召; 请求  to order or request to undertake a particular activity

less than 决不；毫不not at all

by rights 按理说, 公正地  in a just or proper manner; justly

 

 

 

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