🔊 The fourth planet belonged to a businessman. This man was so much occupied that he did not even raise his head at the little prince's arrival.

第四颗行星属于一个商人。这个人忙得连小王子到来时头都没抬一下。

🔊

occupied /ˈɒkjupaɪd/

adj. 忙碌的；被占用的➕

🔊 "Good morning," the little prince said to him. "Your cigarette has gone out."

"早上好,"小王子对他说。"你的香烟熄灭了。"

"三加二等于五。五加七等于十二。十二加三等于十五。早上好。十五加七等于二十二。二十二加六等于二十八。我没时间再点燃它。二十六加五等于三十一。呼！那么那就是五亿零一百六十二万两千七百三十一。"

🔊 "Five hundred million what?" asked the little prince.

"五亿什么？"小王子问道。

🔊 "Eh? Are you still there? Five-hundred-and-one million—I can't stop ... I have so much to do! I am concerned with matters of consequence. I don't amuse myself with balderdash. Two and five make seven."

"呃？你还在那儿？五亿零一百万——我不能停……我有很多事要做！我关心的是重要的事情。我不拿废话来消遣。二加五等于七。"

🔊

concerned /kənˈsɜːnd/

adj. 关注的；有关的；关心的➕

🔊

consequence /ˈkɒnsɪkwəns/

n. 重要性；结果；后果➕

🔊

amuse /əˈmjuːz/

v. 使娱乐；逗乐➕

🔊

balderdash /ˈbɔːldədæʃ/

n. 胡言乱语；废话➕

🔊 "Five-hundred-and-one million what?" repeated the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question once he had asked it.

"五亿零一百万什么？"小王子重复道,他一生中一旦问了问题就从不放手。

🔊 The businessman raised his head.

商人抬起了头。

🔊 "During the fifty-four years that I have inhabited this planet, I have been disturbed only three times. The first time was twenty-two years ago, when some giddy goose fell from goodness knows where. He made the most frightful noise that resounded all over the place, and I made four mistakes in my addition. The second time, eleven years ago, I was disturbed by an attack of rheumatism. I don't get enough exercise. I have no time for loafing. The third time—well, this is it! I was saying, then, five-hundred-and-one millions—"

"在我居住在这个星球的五十四年里,我只被打扰过三次。第一次是二十二年前,当某个晕头转向的鹅从不知什么地方掉下来。他发出了最可怕的声音,响彻整个地方,我在加法中犯了四个错误。第二次,十一年前,我被一次风湿病发作打扰了。我锻炼不够。我没有时间闲逛。第三次——嗯,就是这次！我刚刚在说,五亿零一百万——"

🔊

inhabited /ɪnˈhæbɪtɪd/

v. 居住于；栖居于（inhabit的过去分词）➕

🔊

disturbed /dɪˈstɜːbd/

v. 打扰；扰乱；使不安（disturb的过去分词）➕

🔊

giddy /ˈɡɪdi/

adj. 头晕的；轻浮的；令人眩晕的➕

🔊

resounded /rɪˈzaʊndɪd/

v. 回响；回荡（resound的过去式）➕

🔊

addition /əˈdɪʃn/

n. 加法；增加；添加物➕

🔊

rheumatism /ˈruːmətɪzəm/

n. 风湿病➕

🔊

loafing /ˈləʊfɪŋ/

n. 游荡；闲混➕

🔊 "Millions of what?"

"百万什么？"

🔊 The businessman suddenly realized that there was no hope of being left in peace until he answered this question.

商人突然意识到,除非他回答这个问题,否则别想得到安宁。

🔊 "Millions of those little objects," he said, "which one sometimes sees in the sky." "Flies?"

"百万个那些小东西,"他说,"人们有时在天空中看到的。" "苍蝇？"

🔊 "Oh, no. Little glittering objects." "Bees?"

"哦,不。闪闪发光的小东西。" "蜜蜂？"

🔊

glittering /ˈɡlɪtərɪŋ/

adj. 闪闪发光的；闪烁的➕

🔊 "Oh, no. Little golden objects that set lazy men to idle dreaming. As for me, I am concerned with matters of consequence. There is no time for idle dreaming in my life."

"哦,不。让懒人做白日梦的小金东西。至于我,我关心的是重要的事情。我生活中没有时间做白日梦。"

🔊

idle /ˈaɪdl/

adj. 懒散的；空闲的；无用的➕

🔊

dreaming /ˈdriːmɪŋ/

n. 做梦；梦想➕

🔊 "Ah! You mean the stars?"

"啊！你指的是星星？"

🔊 "Yes, that's it. The stars."

"是的,就是它。星星。"

🔊 "And what do you do with five-hundred millions of stars?"

"那你用五亿颗星星做什么？"

🔊 "Five-hundred-and-one million, six-hundred-twenty-two thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one. I am concerned with matters of consequence: I am accurate."

"五亿零一百六十二万两千七百三十一。我关心的是重要的事情:我很准确。"

🔊

accurate /ˈækjərət/

adj. 精确的；准确的➕

🔊 "And what do you do with these stars?"

"那你用这些星星做什么？"

🔊 "What do I do with them?"

"我用它们做什么？"

🔊 "Yes."

Translation not available

🔊 "Nothing. I own them." "You own the stars?" "Yes."

"什么都不做。我拥有它们。" "你拥有星星？" "是的。"

🔊 "But I have already seen a king who—"

"但我已经见过一个国王,他——"

🔊 "Kings do not own, they reign over. It is a very different matter." "And what good does it do you to own the stars?" "It does me the good of making me rich." "And what good does it do you to be rich?"

"国王不拥有,他们统治。这是完全不同的事。" "那你拥有星星有什么好处？" "它让我变得富有。" "那你富有有什么好处？"

🔊

reign over /reɪn ˈəʊvə(r)/

phr. v. 统治,掌管➕

🔊 "It makes it possible for me to buy more stars, if any are discovered." "This man," the little prince said to himself, "reasons a little like my poor tippler ..."

"它让我有可能购买更多的星星,如果还有被发现的话。" "这个人,"小王子自言自语道,"推理有点像我可怜的醉汉……"

🔊

tippler /ˈtɪplə(r)/

n. 酒鬼,有酗酒习惯的人➕

🔊 Nevertheless, he still had some more questions.

然而,他还有更多问题。

🔊

Nevertheless /ˌnevəðəˈles/

adv. 然而,尽管如此➕

🔊 "How is it possible for one to own the stars?"

"一个人怎么可能拥有星星？"

🔊 "To whom do they belong?" the businessman retorted, peevishly.

"它们属于谁？"商人暴躁地反驳道。

🔊

peevishly /ˈpiːvɪʃli/

adv. 暴躁地,易怒地➕

🔊 "I don't know. To nobody."

"我不知道。不属于任何人。"

🔊 "Then they belong to me, because I was the first person to think of it." "Is that all that is necessary?"

"那么它们属于我,因为我是第一个想到这一点的人。" "这就是全部必要的吗？"

🔊 "Certainly. When you find a diamond that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you discover an island that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you get an idea before any one else, you take out a patent on it: it is yours. So with me: I own the stars, because nobody else before me ever thought of owning them."

"当然。当你发现一颗不属于任何人的钻石,它就是你的。当你发现一个不属于任何人的岛屿,它就是你的。当你比任何人都先有一个想法,你就为它申请专利:它就是你的。所以对我来说:我拥有星星,因为在我之前没有人想过拥有它们。"

🔊

patent /ˈpeɪtnt/

n. 专利,专利权➕

🔊 "Yes, that is true," said the little prince. "And what do you do with them?"

"是的,那是真的,"小王子说。"那你用它们做什么？"

🔊 "I administer them," replied the businessman. "I count them and recount them. It is difficult. But I am a man who is naturally interested in matters of consequence."

"我管理它们,"商人回答。"我数它们并重新数它们。这很难。但我是一个天生对重要事情感兴趣的人。"

🔊

administer /ədˈmɪnɪstə(r)/

v. 管理,治理➕

🔊

recount /ˌriːˈkaʊnt/

v. 重新计算,再次清点➕

🔊 The little prince was still not satisfied.

小王子仍然不满意。

🔊 "If I owned a silk scarf," he said, "I could put it around my neck and take it away with me. If I owned a flower, I could pluck that flower and take it away with me. But you cannot pluck the stars from heaven ..."

"如果我拥有一条丝巾,"他说,"我可以把它围在脖子上带走。如果我拥有一朵花,我可以摘下那朵花带走。但你不能从天上摘下星星……"

🔊

pluck /plʌk/

v. 采,摘（花、水果等）➕

🔊 "No. But I can put them in the bank."

"不。但我可以把它们存进银行。"

🔊 "Whatever does that mean?"

"那是什么意思？"

🔊 "That means that I write the number of my stars on a little paper. And then I put this paper in a drawer and lock it with a key."

"那意味着我把我的星星数量写在一张小纸上。然后我把这张纸放进抽屉,用钥匙锁上。"

🔊 "And that is all?"

"那就是全部？"

🔊 "That is enough," said the businessman.

"那就够了,"商人说。

🔊 "It is entertaining," thought the little prince. "It is rather poetic. But it is of no great consequence."

"这很有趣,"小王子想。"这相当有诗意。但没有什么大不了的。"

🔊

entertaining /ˌentəˈteɪnɪŋ/

adj. 有趣的,娱乐性强的➕

🔊

poetic /pəʊˈetɪk/

adj. 诗意的,富有诗情的➕

🔊 On matters of consequence, the little prince had ideas which were very different from those of the grownups.

关于重要的事情,小王子有着与大人非常不同的想法。

🔊

matters of consequence /ˈmætəz əv ˈkɒnsɪkwəns/

n. phrase. 重要的事情,重大问题➕

🔊 "I myself own a flower," he continued his conversation with the businessman, "which I water every day. I own three volcanoes, which I clean out every week (for I also clean out the one that is extinct; one never knows). It is of some use to my volcanoes, and it is of some use to my flower, that I own them. But you are of no use to the stars ..."

"我自己拥有一朵花,"他继续与商人交谈,"我每天给它浇水。我拥有三座火山,我每周清理它们（因为我也清理那座死火山；谁知道呢）。我拥有它们对我的火山有些用处,对我的花也有些用处。但你对星星没有用处……"

🔊

extinct /ɪkˈstɪŋkt/

adj. （物种）灭绝的；（火山）死的,不再活动的➕

🔊

volcanoes /vɒlˈkeɪnəʊz/

n. 火山（复数）➕

🔊 The businessman opened his mouth, but he found nothing to say in answer. And the little prince went away.

商人张开了嘴,但找不到什么话来回答。于是小王子离开了。

🔊 "The grown-ups are certainly altogether extraordinary," he said simply, talking to himself as he continued on his journey.

"大人们确实完全非同寻常,"他简单地说,自言自语地继续他的旅程。

🔊

altogether /ˌɔːltəˈɡeðə(r)/

adv. 完全,总共,总而言之➕

🔊

extraordinary /ɪkˈstrɔːdnri/

adj. 非凡的,特别的,离奇的➕

Chapter thirteen (第十三章)