🔊 truth. I have not been altogether honest in what I have told you about the lamplighters. And I realize that I run the risk of giving a false idea of our planet to those who do not know it. Men occupy a very small place upon the Earth. If the two billion inhabitants who people its surface were all to stand upright and somewhat crowded together, as they do for some big public assembly, they could easily be put into one public square twenty miles long and twenty miles wide. All humanity could be piled up on a small Pacific islet.

真相。關於點燈人,我對你們所說的並非完全誠實。我意識到,我可能會讓不認識我們星球的人對它產生錯誤的印象。人類在地球上佔據的空間非常小。如果居住在地表的二十億居民全部直立起來,像參加某些大型公眾集會時那樣稍微擠在一起,他們可以輕易地被放進一個長二十英里、寬二十英里的公共廣場裡。全人類都可以堆疊在一個小小的太平洋小島上。

🔊

altogether /ˌɔːltəˈɡeðə(r)/

adv. 完全地,總共

🔊

lamplighters /ˈlæmplaɪtəz/

n. 點燈人（複數）

🔊

inhabitants /ɪnˈhæbɪtənts/

n. 居民,棲息者（複數）

🔊

assembly /əˈsembli/

n. 集會,集合

🔊

islet /ˈaɪlət/

n. 小島

🔊 They imagine that they fill a great deal of space. They fancy themselves as important as the baobabs. You should advise them to make their own calculations. They adore figures, and that will please them. But do not waste your time on this extra task. It is unnecessary. You have, I know, confidence in me.

他們自以為佔據了很大的空間。他們幻想自己像猴麵包樹一樣重要。你應該建議他們自己計算一下。他們崇拜數字,這會讓他們高興。但不要在這額外的任務上浪費時間。這沒有必要。我知道,你信任我。

🔊

fancy /ˈfænsi/

v. 想像,自以為

🔊

baobabs /ˈbeɪəʊbæbz/

n. 猴麵包樹（複數）

🔊

calculations /ˌkælkjʊˈleɪʃənz/

n. 計算,估算（複數）

🔊

adore /əˈdɔː(r)/

v. 熱愛,崇拜

🔊 When the little prince arrived on the Earth, he was very much surprised not to see any people. He was beginning to be afraid he had come to the wrong planet, when a coil of gold, the color of the moonlight, flashed across the sand.

當小王子抵達地球時,他非常驚訝沒有看到任何人。他開始擔心自己來錯了星球,這時,一縷月光般金色的東西在沙地上閃過。

🔊

coil /kɔɪl/

n. 一盤,一卷

🔊

flashed /flæʃt/

v. 閃爍,掠過（過去式）

🔊 "Good evening," said the snake.

「晚上好。」蛇說道。

🔊 "What planet is this on which I have come down?" asked the little prince. "This is the Earth; this is Africa," the snake answered. "Ah! Then there are no people on the Earth?"

「我降落的這個是什麼星球？」小王子問道。「這是地球；這是非洲。」蛇回答。「啊！那麼地球上沒有人嗎？」

🔊 "This is the desert. There are no people in the desert. The Earth is large," said the snake.

「這是沙漠。沙漠裡沒有人。地球很大。」蛇說。

🔊

desert /ˈdezət/

n. 沙漠

🔊 The little prince sat down on a stone and raised his eyes toward the sky.

小王子坐在一塊石頭上,抬眼望向天空。

🔊 "I wonder," he said, "whether the stars are set alight in heaven so that one day each one of us may find his own again . . . Look at my planet. It is right there above us. But how far away it is!" "It is beautiful," the snake said. "What has brought you here?" "I have had a quarrel with a flower," said the little prince. "Ah!" said the snake. And they were both silent. "Where are the men?" the little prince at last took up the conversation again. "It is a little lonely in the desert..." "It is also lonely among men," the snake said. The little prince gazed at the snake for a long time. "You are a funny animal," he said at last. "You are no thicker than a finger ..." "But I am more powerful than the finger of a king," said the snake. "You are not very powerful. You haven't even any feet. You cannot even travel..." "I can carry you farther than any ship could take you," said the snake. And he twined himself around the little prince's ankle, like a golden bracelet. "Whomever I touch, I send back to the earth from whence he came," the snake spoke again. "But you are innocent and true, and you come from a star..." The little prince made no reply. "You move me to pity—you are so weak on this Earth made of granite," the snake said. "I can help you, some day, if you grow too homesick for your own planet. I can—" "Oh! I understand you very well," said the little prince. "But why do you always speak in riddles?" "I solve them all," said the snake. And they were both silent.

「我在想,」他說,「星星在天空中點亮,是不是為了有一天我們每個人都能找到屬於自己的那一顆……看看我的星球。它就在我們正上方。但它離得多遠啊！」「它很美。」蛇說。「是什麼把你帶到這裡來的？」「我和一朵花吵架了。」小王子說。「啊！」蛇說。然後兩人都沉默了。「人們在哪裡？」小王子終於再次開口說話。「在沙漠裡有點孤單……」「在人群中也很孤單。」蛇說。小王子凝視了蛇很長時間。「你是個有趣的動物,」他最後說,「你還沒有一根手指粗……」「但我比國王的手指更有力量。」蛇說。「你不是很強大。你甚至沒有腳。你甚至不能旅行……」「我可以帶你去任何船隻都無法到達的遠方。」蛇說。然後他纏繞在小王子的腳踝上,像一個金手鐲。「凡是我觸碰的人,我都會把他送回他來時的地球。」蛇又說道。「但你是天真而真實的,而且你來自一顆星星……」小王子沒有回答。「你讓我感到憐憫——你在這花崗岩構成的地球上如此脆弱。」蛇說。「如果有一天你對自己的星球思念過度,我可以幫助你。我可以——」「噢！我非常明白你的意思。」小王子說。「但你為什麼總是用謎語說話？」「我能解開所有的謎。」蛇說。然後他們倆都沉默了。

🔊

alight /əˈlaɪt/

adj. 點燃的,發亮的

🔊

quarrel /ˈkwɒrəl/

n. 爭吵,口角

🔊

gazed /ɡeɪzd/

v. 凝視,注視（過去式）

🔊

twined /twaɪnd/

v. 纏繞,盤繞（過去式）

🔊

ankle /ˈæŋkl/

n. 腳踝

🔊

bracelet /ˈbreɪslət/

n. 手鐲,臂鐲

🔊

whence /wens/

adv. 從何處,由此

🔊

innocent /ˈɪnəsnt/

adj. 天真無邪的,無罪的

🔊

granite /ˈɡrænɪt/

n. 花崗岩

🔊

homesick /ˈhəʊmsɪk/

adj. 思鄉的,想家的

🔊

riddles /ˈrɪdlz/

n. 謎語（複數）

Chapter XVII (第十七章)