🔊 The fifth planet was very strange. It was the smallest of all. There was a lamplighter, somewhere in the heavens, on a planet which had no people.

第五颗行星非常奇特。它是所有行星中最小的。在天空中某个无人居住的行星上,有一个点灯人。

🔊

lamplighter /ˈlæmplaɪtər/

n. 点灯人（尤指过去负责点燃和熄灭街灯的人）

🔊 "It may well be that this man is absurd. But he is not so absurd as the king, the conceited man, the businessman, and the tippler. For at least his work has some meaning. When he lights his street lamp, it is as if he brought one more star to life, or one flower. When he puts out his lamp, that sends the flower, or the star, to sleep. That is a beautiful occupation. And since it is beautiful, it is truly useful."

"这个人或许很荒谬。但他不像国王、爱虚荣的人、商人和酒鬼那么荒谬。因为至少他的工作有些意义。当他点亮街灯时,就好像他让一颗星星或一朵花活了过来。当他熄灭灯时,那朵花或那颗星星就睡着了。那是一个美丽的职业。既然它美丽,它就真正有用。"

🔊

absurd /əbˈsɜːrd/

adj. 荒谬的,荒唐的,愚蠢的

🔊

conceited /kənˈsiːtɪd/

adj. 自负的,骄傲自满的

🔊

tippler /ˈtɪplər/

n. 酒徒,常饮酒的人

🔊

occupation /ˌɑːkjuˈpeɪʃn/

n. 职业,工作；占据,占领

🔊 When he arrived on the planet he respectfully saluted the lamplighter.

当他到达这颗行星时,他恭敬地向点灯人行礼。

🔊

respectfully /rɪˈspektfəli/

adv. 恭敬地,尊敬地

🔊

saluted /səˈluːtɪd/

v. 向…敬礼；向…致敬,致意（过去式/过去分词）

🔊 "Good morning. Why have you just put out your lamp?"

"早上好。你为什么刚刚熄灭了你的灯？"

🔊 "Those are the orders," replied the lamplighter. "Good morning."

"这是命令," 点灯人回答道。"早上好。"

🔊 "What are the orders?"

"命令是什么？"

🔊 "The orders are that I put out my lamp. Good evening."

"命令是让我熄灭我的灯。晚上好。"

🔊 And he lighted his lamp again.

然后他又点亮了他的灯。

🔊 "But why have you just lighted it again?"

"但你为什么又点亮了它？"

🔊 "Those are the orders," replied the lamplighter.

"这是命令," 点灯人回答道。

🔊 "I do not understand," said the little prince.

"我不明白," 小王子说。

🔊 "There is nothing to understand," said the lamplighter. "Orders are orders. Good morning." And he put out his lamp. Then he mopped his forehead with a handkerchief decorated with red squares.

"没什么可明白的," 点灯人说。"命令就是命令。早上好。" 然后他熄灭了灯。接着他用一块装饰着红色方格的手帕擦了擦额头。

🔊

mopped /mɑːpt/

v. （用布）擦干,擦去（过去式/过去分词）

🔊

handkerchief /ˈhæŋkərtʃɪf/

n. 手帕,手绢

🔊

decorated /ˈdekəreɪtɪd/

adj. 装饰了的；被授予勋章的

🔊 "I follow a terrible profession. In the old days it was reasonable. I put the lamp out in the morning, and in the evening I lighted it again. I had the rest of the day for relaxation and the rest of the night for sleep."

"我从事着一个可怕的职业。过去这很合理。我早上熄灯,晚上再点亮。白天剩下的时间我可以放松,夜晚剩下的时间我可以睡觉。"

🔊

profession /prəˈfeʃn/

n. 职业（尤指需要专门训练或高等教育的工作）

🔊

reasonable /ˈriːznəbl/

adj. 合理的,有道理的；适度的

🔊

relaxation /ˌriːlækˈseɪʃn/

n. 放松,消遣；放宽

🔊 "And the orders have been changed since that time?"

"那之后命令改变了吗？"

🔊 "The orders have not been changed," said the lamplighter. "That is the tragedy! From year to year the planet has turned more rapidly and the orders have not been changed!"

"命令没有改变," 点灯人说。"这就是悲剧！年复一年,行星转得越来越快,但命令却没有改变！"

🔊

tragedy /ˈtrædʒədi/

n. 悲剧；惨事,不幸

🔊

rapidly /ˈræpɪdli/

adv. 快速地,迅速地

🔊 "Then what happens?" asked the little prince.

"那会发生什么？" 小王子问。

🔊 "Then—the planet now makes a complete turn every minute, and I no longer have a single second for repose. Once every minute I have to light my lamp and put it out!"

"那么——行星现在每分钟转一圈,我连一秒钟的休息时间都没有了。每分钟我都得点亮我的灯然后熄灭它！"

🔊

repose /rɪˈpoʊz/

n. 休息,安宁；平静

🔊 "That is very funny! A day lasts only one minute, here where you live!"

"那很有趣！在你住的地方,一天只有一分钟！"

🔊 "It is not funny at all!" said the lamplighter. "While we have been talking together a month has gone by."

"一点也不好笑！" 点灯人说。"我们说话间,一个月已经过去了。"

🔊 "Yes, a month. Thirty minutes. Thirty days. Good evening." And he lighted his lamp again.

"是的,一个月。三十分钟。三十天。晚上好。" 然后他又点亮了他的灯。

🔊 As the little prince watched him, he felt that he loved this lamplighter who was so faithful to his orders. He remembered the sunsets which he himself had gone to seek, in other days, merely by pulling up his chair; and he wanted to help his friend.

当小王子看着他时,他感到自己爱上了这个如此忠于命令的点灯人。他回忆起自己从前仅仅挪动椅子就能看到的日落；他想帮助他的朋友。

🔊

faithful /ˈfeɪθfl/

adj. 忠诚的；忠实的；尽职的

🔊

orders /ˈɔːrdərz/

n. 命令；指令 (order的复数形式)

🔊

sunsets /ˈsʌnsets/

n. 日落；傍晚的景色 (sunset的复数形式)

🔊

merely /ˈmɪrli/

adv. 仅仅；只不过

🔊 "You know," he said, "I can tell you a way you can rest whenever you want to..."

"你知道,"他说,"我可以告诉你一个方法,让你随时可以休息..."

🔊 "I always want to rest," said the lamplighter.

"我总是想休息," 点灯人说。

🔊 For it is possible for a man to be faithful and lazy at the same time.

因为一个人有可能既忠实又懒惰。

🔊

lazy /ˈleɪzi/

adj. 懒惰的；懒散的

🔊 The little prince went on with his explanation:

小王子继续解释道:

🔊 "Your planet is so small that three strides will take you all the way around it. To be always in the sunshine, you need only walk along rather slowly. When you want to rest, you will walk—and the day will last as long as you like."

"你的行星太小了,三步就能绕它一圈。要一直待在阳光下,你只需走得相当慢。当你想休息时,你就走——这样一天就会持续得和你喜欢的一样长。"

🔊

strides /straɪdz/

n. 大步；步幅 (stride的复数形式)

🔊

sunshine /ˈsʌnʃaɪn/

n. 阳光；日光

🔊 "That doesn't do me much good," said the lamplighter. "The one thing I love in life is to sleep."

"那对我没什么用," 点灯人说。"我生命中唯一热爱的事就是睡觉。"

🔊 "Then there's no help for it," said the little prince.

"那就没办法了," 小王子说。

🔊 "There is no help for it," said the lamplighter. "Good morning."

"没办法了," 点灯人说。"早上好。"

🔊 And he put out his lamp.

然后他熄灭了灯。

🔊

put out /pʊt aʊt/

phr.v. 熄灭 (火、灯等)；扑灭

🔊 "That man," the little prince said to himself, as he continued farther on his journey, "that man would be scorned by all the others: by the king, by the conceited man, by the tippler, by the businessman. Nevertheless, he is the only one who does not seem to me ridiculous. Perhaps that is because he is thinking of something else besides himself."

"那个人," 小王子自言自语道,他继续前行,"那个人会被所有其他人轻视:被国王、爱虚荣的人、酒鬼和商人。然而,他是唯一一个在我看来不显得荒谬的人。也许这是因为他除了自己之外,还在想着别的事情。"

🔊

scorned /skɔːrnd/

v. 被蔑视；被嘲笑 (scorn的过去分词)

🔊

businessman /ˈbɪznəsmæn/

n. 商人；实业家

🔊

ridiculous /rɪˈdɪkjələs/

adj. 荒谬的；可笑的

🔊

Nevertheless /ˌnevərðəˈles/

adv. 然而；尽管如此

🔊 He sighed regretfully, and said to himself again:

他遗憾地叹了口气,又自言自语道:

🔊

regretfully /rɪˈɡretfəli/

adv. 遗憾地；懊悔地

🔊 "That man is the only one of them all whom I could have made my friend. But his planet is indeed too small. There is no room on it for two people..."

"那个人是他们中唯一一个我可以成为朋友的人。但他的行星确实太小了。上面没有容纳两个人的空间..."

Chapter XIV (第十四章)