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One Writer’s Long ‘Road’ 「爱」与「希望」相伴的漫漫《长路》

 

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One of the best and best-known American novels published in recent years is The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. On the surface, it is a simple description of a journey. A father and his 10-year-old son travel across America, in search of a warmer climate. But their world has been utterly destroyed by some unspecified disaster, transformed into a dead, gray wasteland where nothing lives, not even plants.

近年出版的美国小说中，写得最好也最有名的莫过于戈马克．麦卡锡的《长路》。书中的情节，表面上纯粹描写一段旅程：一位父亲带着他10岁大的儿子穿越整个美国，为的是寻找气候更温暖的地方。然而，这对父子所属的世界已被不明灾难给完全摧毁，成了一片死寂灰暗的荒地，没有生物存活，甚至连植物也无一幸免。

 

It’s a hard journey indeed. All they have is a shopping cart with a few worn blankets and cans of food found among the smashed ruins of civilization. The father has a gun with two bullets, which he is saving for suicide. Instead he uses it to save his son’s life from an attacker. In this harsh land, everyone they meet is a threat, desperate and dangerous.

这绝对是一段艰苦的旅程。他们所拥有的只有一部购物车及里头装的几条破毯子，还有在文明社会的断垣残壁中找到的罐头食品。父亲持有一把填装两发子弹的手枪，准备自杀用，但他却用这把手枪将他儿子的命从一名攻击者的手中救回。在这片恶土，他们遇到的任何人都是一种险恶的威胁。

 

As dark as the story is, however, its message is one of faith, hope, and love. These ideals are all that sustain the father and son as they struggle against death daily on their long, sad road to the sea.

虽然故事如此黑暗，然而它所传达出的讯息却是信念、希望和爱。在前往海边的悲惨长路上，每一天，这些理想支持着父子俩对抗死亡的威胁。

 

This grim tale was also made into a movie, released in 2009. It was generally praised by critics, who said it was true to the book, but many felt it was too bleak and depressing.

这个灰暗可怕的故事也被拍成电影，并于2009年上映，电影普遍受到影评家的赞许，称这部电影忠于原著；但也有不少人觉得电影太过凄凉，令人郁闷。

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

description [dɪˋskrɪpʃən] n. 描写；叙述；形容

destroy [dɪˋstrɔɪ] v. 毁坏，破坏

indeed [ɪnˋdid] adv. 的确

smashed [smæʃt] adj. 破碎的

desperate [ˋdɛspərɪt] adj. 危急的；绝望的

ideal [aɪˋdiəl] n. 理想

struggle against 与....对抗

depressing [dɪ`prɛsɪŋ] adj. 令人忧愁的﹐令人沮丧的

 

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单词发音

 

utterly [ˋʌtɚlɪ] adv. 完全地；彻底地

unspecified [ʌnˋspɛsə͵faɪd] adj. 非特定的

wasteland [ˋwest͵lænd] n. 荒地；荒原

bullet [ˋbʊlɪt] n. 子弹

sustain [səˋsten] v. 支撑；承担

grim [grɪm] adj. 冷酷的, 残忍的, 可怕的

praise [prez] v. 赞美；表扬

bleak [blik] adj. 凄凉的

 

 

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课文讲解

 

The language of The Road is simple and strong. The sentences are very plain. And screens are seldom more than a paragraph or page long, so the story moves fast. However, it is also deeply philosophical.

《长路》这部小说的笔调简洁有力，句子非常浅显易懂，场景事件很少超过一个段落或页篇幅，所以故事进展得很快。不过，其中也蕴含深刻的哲理。

 

One major theme is the battle between good and evil. The “bad guys”, as the son refers to them, keep their fellow human beings as slaves, and even consume them for sustenance. Repeatedly the father reassures his son that they would never do the same, no matter how desperate their circumstances get. They must follow their principles, because they are the “good guys”. This role is highlighted through the use of religious imagery.

其中一个重要的主题就是善与恶的交战。故事里男孩口中的那些「坏人」，控制自己的同胞为奴，甚至食他们的肉维生。父亲不断地向儿子保证，无论他们的状况有多艰苦，绝不做同样的事；他们必须坚守原则，因为他们是「好人」。书中也透过宗教意象的运用，使得「好人」这种角色突显出来。

 

Also central to the story is the bond between father and son. No matter how bad things become, the father must carry on, for his son’s sake. After the father is injured, however, they seem almost to switch roles. At times it becomes unclear who is comforting or supporting whom on their desperate quest.

同为故事中心的还有父子之间的情谊。不管情况变得多糟，父亲必须为了儿子继续坚持下去。然而，在父亲受伤之后，父与子的角色似乎对调了，有时根本分不清楚在他们无助的寻觅中，到底是谁在安抚与扶持谁。

 

The setting of the story is also an important element. The land is buried in ash, the water is black and poisonous, and the weather is wild. After the end of the world, rain, snow, and bitter cold are as real a danger as any cannibals. The message seems to be that everything, from the natural world to society itself, can be swept away in an instant by man’s recklessness.

故事背景也是个重要的元素。大地被烟尘覆没，水又黑又毒，天气狂暴不定。世界末日来临之后，冻雨、冰雪和严寒就跟食人者一样是真正的危险。这里透露出的讯息似乎是，从自然界到文明社会的万物，都可能因为人类的鲁莽而顷刻摧毁。

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

philosophical [ˏfɪlə`sɑfɪkəl] adj. 哲学的

circumstance [ˋsɝkəm͵stæns] n. 情况，环境

highlight [ˋhaɪ͵laɪt] v. 使显着，使突出；强调

bond [bɑnd] n. 培养一种特殊的关系

sake [sek] n. 缘故, 理由

switch [swɪtʃ] v.【口】调换；交换

quest [kwɛst] n. 追求；探索

poisonous [ˋpɔɪznəs] adj. 有毒的

sweep away 消灭; 摧毁  eliminate completely and without a trace

 

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单词发音

 

sustenance [ˋsʌstənəns] n. 支持，维持; 生计

reassure [͵riəˋʃʊr] v. 使放心，使消除疑虑；向……再保证

imagery [ˋɪmɪdʒərɪ] n. 画像; 意象

carry on 继续下去 to continue without halting; persevere

at times 有时；偶尔 on occasion; sometimes

wild [waɪld] adj. 猛烈的，狂风暴雨的  furiously disturbed or turbulent; stormy

bitter [ˋbɪtɚ] adv. 严寒刺骨地 in an intense or harsh way

cannibal [ˋkænəb!] n. 食人生番，食人者

in an instant 立刻, 马上,  说时迟,那时快

recklessness [ˋrɛklɪsnɪs] n. 鲁莽，轻率

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

Although Cormac McCarthy has become famous for The Road and several other books, few details of his personal life are known. He took up writing while in college; later he dropped out and worked as an auto mechanic while writing his first novel, The Orchard Keeper, which was published in 1965.

虽然戈马克．麦卡锡因为《长路》和其他几部小说而出名，但有关他的私人生活却鲜为人知。他在大学时期开始投入写作，退学之后，一边担任汽车维修技师，一边创作他的第一部小说《果园管理人》，并于1965年出版。

 

He completed his fourth novel, Suttree, in 1979, after working on it for some 20 years. It tells the story of a man who has given up his previous life of privilege in order to become a simple fisherman on the river. Because of its cast of colorful characters, as well as McCarthy’s unusual writing style, it was hailed by critics as a masterpiece.

1979年，麦卡锡完成耗时约二十年的第四部小说《沙崔》，这部小说描述一个男人放弃他先前的特权生活，就为了成为一个朴实的河边渔夫。因其生动有趣的角色阵容，再加上麦卡锡独特的写作风格，这部小说被书评家赞誉为一部杰作。

 

McCarthy’s next success came in 1985, with the novel Blood Meridian, which follows a traveling band of killers on their adventures around the Old West. It wasn’t highly regarded at first, but today it is widely considered his best novel and a turning point in his career.

麦卡锡再次的成功是1985年的作品《血色子午线》，故事情节描写一帮四处游移的杀手在旧西部的冒险。一开始这部小说评价不高，但现今却被公认是麦卡锡写得最好的一部小说，也是他写作生涯的转折点。

 

Since then McCarthy has written several other westerns. One, released in 2005, is No Country for Old Men. It tells the story of a sheriff, a hired killer, and an ordinary man as they hunt each other through the Texas desert. In 2007 it was adapted into a movie, which won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

而后，麦卡锡还撰写了其他几部以美国西部为主题的作品，其中一部《险路》于2005年出版。讲述一位警长、一个受雇杀手和一名平凡男人在德州沙漠里相互追杀。在2007年，《险路》被改编成电影，荣获四座奥斯卡金像奖，其中包含了最佳影片奖。

 

Because of his literary accomplishments, McCarthy is often called one of the finest American writers working today, often mentioned in the same breath as greats like Hemingway and Faulkner.

因为麦卡锡的文学成就，使得他时常被称为现代最杰出的美国作家，也常被拿来与海明威和福克纳这样的伟人相提并论。

 

－by Dmitri Deywyler

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

take up 喜欢上 to develop an interest in or devotion to

drop out 退出(学校等) to withdraw from participation, as in a game, club, or school

previous [ˋpriviəs] adj. 先前的

cast [kæst] n. 班底，演员阵容 the actors in a play, movie, or other theatrical presentation

masterpiece [ˋmæstɚ͵pis] n. 杰作，名作

adapt [əˋdæpt] v. 改编

accomplishment [əˋkɑmplɪʃmənt] n. 成就

 

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单词发音

 

auto mechanic 汽车修理工，技工

orchard [ˋɔrtʃɚd] n. 果树园，果树林

work on 致力于; 从事 to exert effort in order to do, make, or perform something

privilege [ˋprɪv!ɪdʒ] n. 特权

hail [hel] v. 喝采

meridian [məˋrɪdɪən] n. 子午线，经线

band [bænd] n.（一）伙，（一）帮，（一）群 a group of people

highly regarded 高度的关注; 被看重 famous, outstanding

turning point 轉折點，轉捩點 the point at which a very significant change occurs; a decisive moment

western [ˋwɛstɚn] n. 〔描写19世纪美国西部生活的〕西部电影或小说 a novel, film, television program, or other dramatic work including themes, characters, or settings characteristic of the American West, especially of the late 1800s

sheriff [ˋʃɛrɪf] n.【美】县的行政司法长官；警长

mention in the same breath 相提并论  if you talk about two people or things in the same breath, you think they are very similar

 

The Road - Trailer

 

 

The Road - Clip 3 - Bad Guys

 

 

The Road - Clip 4 - We Did Good

 

 

No Country for Old Men - AWESOME Trailer!!!!