牛津书虫系列《星际动物园》Chapter2 附中英双语文本

2 A spaceship made of plastic
2 塑料做的飞船
I couldn't believe what I'd done．I'd run away—me！
我的所作所为真是难以置信。我跑掉了——天啊！
I'm not very brave and I love my parents very much．I never thought I could ever disobey them．
我的胆子不是很大，我也非常爱我的父母。我从没想过我会不听他们的。
I was afraid．And I felt sad for my parents．Poor mother and father！
我害怕。我为我的父母感到难过。可怜的妈妈、爸爸！
But I had to live my own life．I couldn't get married to a horrible old man like Buffalo！
但我要过自己的生活。我不能嫁给水牛那样的糟老头子！
I knew they would follow me quickly so I told the spaceship to take me to a very quiet part of the Galaxy，a long way from any planets with people on．
我清楚他们会很快跟上我的，所以我吩咐飞船把我带到银河系的一个特别宁静的角落，离任何一个有人类居住的星球都很远很远。
The spaceship went．
飞船进发了。
How can a spaceship travel across the Galaxy in no time at all？
飞船怎么能在瞬间横穿银河系呢？
Well，I learnt the answer to that in school．There are a lot of little black holes in space．They are about as big as a potato．A spaceship goes into one black hole and comes out of another black hole on the other side of the Galaxy．
喔，我是在学校里知道这答案的。宇宙空间里有好多小黑洞。它们跟土豆差不多大校飞船从一个黑洞进去，从另一个黑洞出来时就到了银河系的另一侧。
Don't ask me how a big thing like a spaceship can go into a thing as small as a potato．I was probably asleep when the robot teacher told me the answer to that！
别问我为什么飞船这样的庞然大物能钻进土豆这样小的东西里。机器人老师给我讲这个答案时我可能睡着了！
Nobody could find me now．I was in the middle of the Galaxy in empty space．
现在没人能找到我了。我在茫茫太空中，在银河系的中间。
There were stars above my head，stars below my feet，starson my left hand，stars on my right hand．
我的头上是星星，脚下是星星，左边是星星，右边是星星。
Strange．I knew all these stars were a long，long way away but they didn't look far away．They looked very close；I wanted to reach out my hand and touch them．
奇怪，我知道所有这些星星都很遥远很遥远，但看上去并不远。他们似乎非常近；我想伸出手去触摸它们。
And the silence．So very，very， very quiet．
还有寂静。静极了，静极了。
The Book of Remembering says how I felt：'Their hearts were empty．'
《往事追忆》道出了我的感受：“他们的心里空荡荡的。”
My heart was empty．I saw millions of stars but there was no life in the Galaxy except us humans．Well，there are potatoes and wheat and rice but you can't talk to vegetables．
我的心里空荡荡的。我能看见好几百万颗星星，除了我们人类，银河系里就再也没有别的生命了。当然，有土豆、小麦和水稻，可你不能跟植物说话埃
We are alone．
我们孤零零的。
The Book of Remembering says we did it．We polluted Earth and so killed all the animals． We ran away from Earth and we're still running．That was twenty thousand years ago and we still can't forget．
《往事追忆》上说那是我们造成的。我们污染了地球，也就害死了所有的动物。我们从地球逃了出来，直到现在还在东奔西跑。那是两万年以前的事了，可我们至今难忘。
The Book of Remembering gives names for thousands of animals．Fantastic！Could there really be thousands of animals？The idea of animals is so strange．What did they look like？The Book of Remembering has no pictures， but says there are birds that fly，and fish that swim．There are animals with no legs，and animals with lots of legs—ugh！What a horrible idea！
《往事追忆》上罗列了几千种动物的名字。难以置信！真的可能有几千种动物吗？有关动物的想法太离奇了。它们长得什么样？《往事追忆》上没有插图，但说有会飞的鸟，会游泳的鱼。有的动物没有腿，而有的动物有好多条腿——呜！多可怕的想法！
Can anybody believe stories like that？
真有人会相信这种故事吗？
And now I was running away too．Perhaps I was wrong to run away．
如今我也在逃亡。我逃跑可能错了。
Suddenly the spaceship went'PING！'
突然飞船“砰！”地响了一声。
'Yes，what is it？'I asked．
“哎，怎么了？”我问。
'There is something near us．'
“我们旁边有个东西。”
'Oh！'I said．'I thought we were a long way from anything out here．Take me closer．'
“啊！”我说，“我以为我们离哪儿都很远呢。让我靠近点儿。”