禁忌（2012）

她在里面读言情小说 治疗慢性头痛
read romantic novels and heal a chronic headache.
她父亲是个脾气暴躁的人
Her dad, a man of easy wrath,
在葡萄牙有一家羊毛加工企业
had abandoned a small industrial wool empire in Portugal
但因为憎恨君主制 他弃之而去
because he resented the monarchy.
他到非洲定居 并在这里再次获得成功
He settled in Africa, where he was successful again
他把鸵鸟毛坐垫销往世界各地
exporting cushions of ostrich feathers worldwide,
其柔软和优雅有口皆碑
famous for their softness and elegance.
如果不是因为他好赌
Had it not been for his gambling addiction,
奥罗拉就能继承一大笔遗产
Aurora would have inherited a fortune.
乐园
奥罗拉家境显赫 从小到大
Aurora grew up, according to her social status,
都有私人教师和黑人仆人陪伴
with private tutors and black servants.
尽管她能优雅地背诵诗文
But her gracefulness in reciting verses
却并没有远离恶习
did not stop her from indulging in malicious behaviour,
有人觉得这是受到了邪恶的影响
in which some saw devilish influences,
也有人觉得这是被宠坏的孩子在胡作非为
and others saw the whims of a spoiled childhood.
她父亲中风之前 视女儿为骄傲
Before his apoplexy, her dad was proud of his daughter’s feats,
十分赞赏她坚强的秉性
recognising the traits of a strong temperament.
父亲的死让她更喜欢梦想
Her father’s death made her more of a dreamer,
并善于自省
and made her introspective.
在父亲的影响下
Her talent for big-game hunting,
她表现出捕杀大猎物的天赋
for which she became famous worldwide,
这天赋让她蜚声世界
was due to her father’s influence.
她还作为打猎顾问参与制♥作♥
She was a hunting consultant in the film
电影《乞力马扎罗不再下雪》
It Will Never Snow Again Over Kilimanjaro,
但这部RKO电影票房♥惨淡
an RKO box-office flop
制片人因此自杀
that caused the producer to commit suicide.
她对电影业毫无兴趣
Cinema bored her to death.
捕猎大象 狮子和豹子时
When hunting elephants, lions and leopards,
她是在真诚追寻父亲的记忆
she was truly chasing her father’s memory,
在辽阔的草原上奔驰时
something she felt ever more
这种感觉对她来说尤为真切
present when running through the vast savannah.
奥罗拉性格的这个特点帮助了她的学习
This inflexion in Aurora’s character benefited her studies.
她在一所英语教学的大学中学习了德语
She studied German at an anglophone university.
并在毕业舞会时认识了她的丈夫
She met her husband at the graduation ball.
他自信的举止和完美的华尔兹舞步
The look of his confident posture greatly impressed her,
深深地吸引了她
as well as the perfection of his waltz.
夫妻二人在禁忌山西面的山坡住了下来
The couple set up home on the western slope of Mount Tabu.
这座神奇的山峰十分慷慨
The mythical hill was generous to all.
它为奥罗拉丈夫的茶园
It offered Aurora’s husband
提供了完美的气候
the perfect climate for his tea crops,
为学者们点燃了找到人类摇篮的希望
the academics the hope of having found the cradle of humanity,
也给了当地人不可缺少的神话
and the natives their indispensable local myths.
当地人看到他们祖先的复仇之魂
The natives saw their ancestors’ avenging spirits
在黄昏时分随着一片迷雾从山上降临
in the haze that descended from the mountain at dusk.
奥罗拉对此毫不在意
None of this occupied Aurora’s mind.
她爱她的丈夫 生活很幸福
She loved her husband and was happy.
多亏了那些奢侈的礼物
But her taste for adventure was merely dormant,
为她平日的生活增添不少色彩
numbed by the extravagant presents
她渴求冒险的一面才没有展现出来
that enlivened her routine existence.
请允许我不去细说 是怎样的厄运
Allow me to skip the misadventures
让我离开了我父亲在热那亚的家
that led me to leave my father’s house in Genoa.
我坐上了一艘停泊在远东城镇的商船
I crossed the South Pacific on a commercial vessel,
横渡了南太平洋
docked in exotic Far Eastern towns
在巴黎和一位匈牙利女伯爵发生了一段孽缘
and lived an infamous romance in Paris with a Hungarian countess;
很不幸 她是有夫之妇
unfortunately, a married one.
我那时欠下一身风流债
I broke many hearts in my time.
从中没得到任何好处 也没得到快乐
That didn’t benefit me nor give me any happiness.
钱来得快 去得也快
I made easy money and spent it effortlessly.
在里斯本的一个晚上 我认识了马里奥
On a bohemian night in Lisbon, I met Mario,
是个上任不久的牧师
a student priest.
他像我一样背井离乡
An outsider like me,
当时在庆祝自己离开教区
he was celebrating abandoning the dioceses
因为缺乏使命感
due to a lack of vocation.
他神采奕奕地讲述着他的非洲故乡
He spoke passionately about his roots in Africa,
想回到那儿去
where he wanted to return.
我被他的故事鼓舞了
These stories inspired me,
于是我告诉这位新朋友
so I told my new buddy
我决定去看看他的家乡
of my firm decision to see his land.
非洲有异国风情和简单生活 更重要的是
Africa, more than its promises of exoticism and an easy life,
我来到了一个新世界
opened doors to a new world,
没有了赌债和情债的困扰
free of gambling debts and troubles caused by love.
刚到非洲 一家很不错的公♥司♥
I had barely arrived when I was offered
就给了我一个很好的办公室职位
a good office job in a respectable firm,
朝九晚五
with a schedule from nine to five.
桑托斯兄弟公♥司♥ 是一家小型采矿公♥司♥
Santos e lrmao, a small mining company,
老板和白人员工的关系很好
had a good reputation for labour relations
有口皆碑
with regards to white employees.
毫无野心的我
My lack of ambition
很快就成为了老板的得力助手
quickly made me the bosses’ right-hand man.
马里奥有好几个绰号♥ 牧师
Mario, also known as the Priest,
警长 非洲人 老板
the Sheriff, the African and the Boss,
他爱好广泛 多才多艺
was profuse in his passions and activities.
他祖父是他们村落的开拓者及精神领袖
His grandfather, the community’s pioneer and spiritual leader,
被终身流放至此
had been sent there for life
当时殖民地主要作为殖民监狱
when the colony was mainly a colonial prison.
马里奥总是把祖父的十字架戴在脖子上
Mario always wore his grandfather’s crucifix around his neck,
也许是因为他无法完成祖父
maybe because he couldn’t fulfil the old man’s dream
当牧师的梦想吧
of becoming a priest.
他多变的嗓音很受非洲年轻人欢迎
His vocal versatility delighted the African youngsters,
马里奥相当自信 成立了马里奥乐队
and Mario, a good cultivator of his ego, founded Mario’s Band.
女人们难以抵抗他的魅力
Women were sensitive to his charm
而我这位朋友也对当地人情有独钟
and my friend showed a preference for the natives.
他会和一个女人生个孩子
He would father a child with one of them
然后偶尔记得在星期天带孩子出去玩
and occasionally remembered to take the boy out on a Sunday.
马里奥15岁时曾死里逃生
At 15, Mario had looked death in the eye.
一次到禁忌山上的探险悲剧收场
A tragic expedition to Mount Tabu
好几个年轻人失去了生命
resulted in the deaths of several youths.
奥罗拉的丈夫救了我的朋友
Aurora’s husband’s intervention saved my friend.
确切的过程 我不得而知
I’m not aware of the exact accident or how he intervened,
但我相信 两人都十分珍视
but I believe both men held sacred
他们当时结下的友谊
the bond that was born at that time.
他研究出一套很好的课程
He invented an impressive curriculum
得到一份助教的工作
and was accepted as an assistant lecturer
教授地理系
in the Department of Geography
任职于科英布拉人文学院
of the Faculty of Humanities of Coimbra.
科英布拉 葡萄牙中部城市
但他没去
He never made the journey.
他设计的地图十分漂亮
The maps he designed were extremely beautiful,
但后来被证实是不科学的
but later proved to be hardly scientific.
十月
虽然我就住在奥罗拉的农场旁边
Despite living next to Aurora’s farm,
但我来了几个月后 我们才认识
we only met months after my arrival.
我的邻居们都在找一条
My neighbours were looking for
从湖里跑掉的小鳄鱼
the small crocodile that had escaped from the lake
那湖是奥罗拉砌在农场里的
that Aurora had built on her farm.
我在我家花♥园♥里找到了它
I found the animal in my garden
那天晚上 好一会儿
and spent part of that evening
我就看着它在浴缸里游来游去
watching it move around in the bathtub.
奥罗拉见鳄鱼失而复得 很开心
Aurora was happy when she got the crocodile back.
由于她的丈夫出差了
Since her husband was away on business,
她按照那些繁文缛节
she ordered lemonade to be served outside,
让仆人把柠檬水端到室外招呼我
following the customary prudish etiquette.
我们聊了几句
Making small talk,
我问她那鳄鱼叫什么名字
I asked about the animal’s name.
她回答说 它还没有名字
She replied that it had no name as yet.
奥罗拉很富有
Aurora had many possessions,
她家的厨师
the house cook
已经为她丈夫家工作了几十年
who had been serving the husband’s family for decades,
那是一位老智者 以厨艺精湛闻名
a sage old man with an excellent reputation for cooking.
他也是位巫师
He was also a sorcerer
他可以预见未来