他们已不再变老（2018）

就这样持续了两周 只有一套制♥服♥
And so it went on for nearly a fortnight. Just one uniform.
我从军四年只有一套制♥服♥
I was in the army nearly four years. I only had one uniform.
他们给每个人都分发了绑腿
We were all issued with these famous puttees,
对我们来说都是新闻
which were news to all of us,
我自己永远都掌握不了绑腿的穿法
and I personally could never quite master the putting on of puttees.’
绑腿的主要作用是
The main reason for puttees were
支撑行进中的双腿
to support the legs in marching.
我领了一条裙子 但没有穿在里面的东西
I was issued with a kilt, but nothing to wear underneath it,
然后有人给我一张纸条说
and I was given a slip of paper to say,
这个人的内♥裤♥还没发
“This man has not been issued with underpants.”
我收到严格的指示
I was given strict instructions that
说我不能坐在电车顶层
I couldn’t ride on top of a tram car.
只能坐在楼下
I had to ride downstairs.
这个包是用来装你所有的东西的
Now, the pack was for everything that you owned.
大衣必须叠得非常整齐严格
The overcoat had to be folded very, very neatly and tightly.
有针线 备用扣子 刀叉 勺子
There was a needle, thread, spare buttons, knife, fork, spoon,
剃须刀 剃须刷 牙刷
razor, shaving brush, toothbrush,
一个半品脱的杯子
and also a half-pint mug,
一件备用衬衫和一双备用袜子
one spare shirt and one spare pair of socks,
这些就是所有的装备
and that was your kit.
军队发的军用剃刀对胡须并没什么用
The army razor with which we were issued was absolutely useless,
但在切肉等方面还是大有用场的
but it came in handy for cutting up meat and so forth.
牙刷用来刷纽扣还是挺有用的
The toothbrush, that came in handy for cleaning buttons.
军队的一个特点是
One of the peculiarities about the army was,
虽然脏纽扣是一种罪行
although it was a crime to have dirty buttons,
但他们不会给你发清洁纽扣的材料
you were never issued with the materials to clean the buttons with.
你只能自己买♥♥
You had to buy them yourself.
我们被起床号♥吵醒了
We were awakened by the bugle which sounded Reveille.
洗漱 刮胡子 整理床铺
Wash, shave, pack your bed up
六点半左右收拾好装备
and pack your kit about half-past six
早餐前做一个小时的体格锻炼
and you would have an hour PT before breakfast.
俯卧撑和体育锻炼 伸展运动
Press-ups and physical exercises, arms upward stretch.
他们知道你是新手 就会分阶段训练
They knew you were fresh and they tried to take you by stages.
没有欺负人之类的事情
There wasn’t any bullying or anything like that.
早餐包括面包
Breakfast consisted of bread,
黄油 一小片一等兵培根
butter, one rasher of Lance Corporal bacon,
因为是五花肉 上面有一条条纹
cos it was streaky bacon, it had one stripe in it.
还有果酱 并且好像
There was jam and they seemed to make
只有李子和苹果味
nothing but plum and apple, you know.
如果拿到其他口味 那可得好好庆祝了
If you got any other kind, it was a celebration event.
布鲁斯·贝尔斯法瑟的卡♥通♥就是这样描述的
Well, Bruce Bairnsfather’s cartoons depicted that.
他们会递给他一罐李子苹果酱
They’d hand him a tin of plum and apple jam.
什么时候才能有草莓味
“When the hell is it goin’ to be strawberry?”
那个家伙太逗了
Ooh, he was wonderful, that chap.
痒痒牌 那个果酱制♥造♥商
Ticklers, the jam manufacturers,
他们一定做了几百万罐李子苹果酱
they must have made millions of tins of P&A: plum and apple.
♪ 噢 噢 噢 有趣的战争 ♪
♪ Oh, oh, oh, it’s a lovely war ♪
♪ 有了这么多痒痒牌果酱 ♪
♪ What do we want with eggs and ham ♪
♪ 还要鸡蛋和火腿干嘛 ♪
♪ when we’ve got bags of Ticklers jam? ♪
然后就是练方阵时间 中士会接管
Then it would be parade time, then the sergeant would take over
你会有一上午的时间练行军
and you would have a whole morning of marching.
你会学习所有的指令
And you would learn all commands,
比如向后转之类的
such as “About turn,” and all that sort of thing.
我当过童子军 这对我来说太容易了
Having been in the Boy Scouts, it was dead easy to me.
当你得到向右看齐的指令时
When you get the order, “Right dress!”
你只能向右转头
you turn your head only to the right.
有的人向左转
Some of them managed to turn left,
这让军士长感到不是很满意
which didn’t exactly please the drill sergeant.
我们都是年轻人
We were all youngsters.
我们以前都生活在庇护中
We’d come from fairly sheltered lives and so forth.
我们的中士是那种大喊大叫型的
This sergeant of ours was the loudmouth shouting-type.
违反军事纪律的结果令人震惊
Coming up against military discipline was a shock,
纪律士官们会追得你走投无路
being chased around from pillar to post by disciplinarian NCOs.
有的中士很可怕
Some of the sergeants were shockers.
如果你手脚不协调 不抓紧时间
They would cause a lot of trouble if you were out of step,
或者是步♥枪♥拿得不好
or if you didn’t keep time, or if you didn’t
他就会找你麻烦
handle your rifle properly.
他们总是挑你的刺
They were always having a go at you.
他们大多数都很好
Most of them were all right,
大喊大叫并没有用
their shouting meant nothing,
但有的人总是在大声喊叫
but some of them never lost it.
有天晚上我已经睡了
One night I’d gone to bed and
一个尿壶被拿到我床边
this pot was brought round to my bed
他们问 你想撒尿吗
and they said, “Oh, you want to do a piss,”
我就尿在壶里了
so I did the business in the pot.
他们把装了尿的大尿壶
They’d rested this big, huge pot
放在了门上面
which contained gallons on the door
然后当这个中士过来
and when this sergeant came along
确认大家都上♥床♥了的时候
to see that everybody was in bed,
尿壶打翻了 淋得他
this thing turned up and he was drenched
全身上下都是尿
from top to bottom in fluid.
一开始 我充满了热情
First of all, I was full of enthusiasm
但是 第一周过后 我就后悔了
but, after about the first week, I wished I hadn’t done it
因为纪律太严格了
because the discipline was so strict
并且我开始对必将发生的事
and I was beginning to get a bit nervous
感到有点儿紧张
as to what was in store.
我们不是出去跳舞什么的
We weren’t out dancing, anything like that.
我们是在准备一场战争
We were getting ready for a war.
问题是 你在军队
The thing was you were in the army,
就必须遵从指挥
you had to do as you were told,
你有一个或者十几个师♥傅♥
you had one master, or dozens,
但你必须继续下去 就这样
but you just had to get on with it and that was it.
我的确在军队中学会了一个道理
I did find that right through the army.
就是如果你表现得好 就没什么好怕的
If you behaved yourself, you’d nothing much to fear.
军队对我们来说是个新世界 你可以想象
This was quite a new world to us, I mean, you can imagine,
我和其他人一样来自平民生活
I came out of civilian life like all the others did
我们无法争论或者反驳
and we weren’t in a position to argue or object.
我们要做的就是听从指挥
It was just a matter of doing what we were told.
我喜欢别人告诉我该做什么
I liked it. I liked to be told what I had to do,
因为做这件事是有理由的
because there was a reason for doing it.
后来我意识到那就是你能得到最好的训练
Later on, I realised that was the best training you could have.
第一周 我们的行军路程是10英里
The first week, our route march would be ten miles.
第二周就是12英里 以此类推
The second week, it would be 12, and so on and so on.
逐渐强化 因为最重要的就是
It intensified because it’s of the utmost importance
步兵可以带着全套装备前进
that the infantry soldier could march with the full kit.
你要带的东西有99斤重
What you had to carry was 109 pounds.
行军对我来说很容易
Marching was easy for me,
但对那些久坐工作的人
but quite a lot of chaps who were
是十分困难的
in sedentary jobs found it pretty hard.
行军使我大腿和小腿的肌肉麻痹抽筋
It numbed and cramped the muscles on my thighs and calves
然后就会非常痛
until they hurt very much indeed.
那些军靴 能让我哭出来
Oh, those army boots! I could’ve cried.
穿过便鞋后再穿那些笨重的军靴
My feet and ankles with those heavy army boots,
我的脚和脚踝
after civilian shoes…
所以 为了让你的靴子变得柔软
So, to get your boots made pliable,
你得经常尿尿在里面泡上一夜
you used to urinate in them and leave it overnight.
很多人之前是职员或者商店员工
Quite a lot of men were clerks or they worked in shops
他们都适应不了行军生活
and the very nature of their calling didn’t make for fitness.
他们把我送到医院
Well, they sent me to hospital and
给我治钩虫的药
they gave me the cure for hookworm
在那之后我发现我能忍♥受训练了
and I found that I could stand the drill after that.
他们经常让我们在西区行军
They used to march us all round the West End.
人们常常聚在一起
Crowds used to foregather.
一些被骗的可怜人迷上了这个骗局
And some of the poor, deluded ones fell for the con trick
加入了行军队伍 我们通常是
and lined up behind us and we used to march ’em
把他们带到切尔西营让他们签字入伍
all down to Chelsea Barracks where they got signed up.
午餐是永远不变的炖菜
Lunch would consist of inevitable stew.
我们要记得
Now, we must remember that
厨房♥里的伙计们绝对不是经验丰富的厨师
the chaps in the cookhouse were by no means experienced cooks,
但任何人都会做炖菜 他们就是这样做的
but anybody can make a stew and that’s what they did.