0509翻译：钓鱼的启示

0509翻译：钓鱼的启示（詹姆斯·勒菲斯特）

Translation: Enlightenment from Fishing (James Lefister)

(translated by: alexcwlin; edited by: Adam Lam)

那一年，我刚满十一岁。

In that year I was just eleven years old.

有一天，像往常一样，我跟着父亲去附近湖中的小岛上钓鱼。

One day, as usual, I went fishing with my father on a small island in a lake nearby.

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那是鲈鱼捕捞开放日的前一个傍晚，

It was an evening right before the opening day of bass season.

我和父亲分别放好鱼饵，

My father and I put baits on our hooks respectively.

然后举起鱼竿，把钓线抛了出去。

Then we lifted up our fishing rods and cast the lines into the water.

晚霞辉映的湖面上溅起了一圈圈彩色的涟漪。

The splashes created expanding, multi-colored rings of ripples on surface of the lake with reflections of evening glow.

不一会儿，月亮升起来了，湖面变得银光闪闪。

Within a short while, the moon came up and the lake glittered with silvery lights.

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过了好长时间，鱼竿突然剧烈地抖动了一下，

We waited a long time, and suddenly one fishing rod made a violent jerk.

一定是个大家伙上钩了。

It had to be a big one on the hook.

我小心翼翼地一收一放，

Cautiously I alternated the loosening and tightening of the line.

熟练地操纵着。

My maneuver of the fishing rod was skilful.

也许是鱼想摆脱我的鱼钩，不停地甩动着鱼尾并跳跃着，

Perhaps in trying to get rid of my hook, the fish continuously thrashed its tail and jumped out of water.

湖面上不时发出“啪啪”的声音，溅起不少水花。

In doing so, slapping sounds and splashes came from the lake now and then.

我等到那条鱼挣扎得筋疲力尽了，迅速把它拉上岸来。

I waited until the fish tired itself out from struggling and quickly pulled it on shore.

啊，好大的鱼！

Oh, what a big fish it was.

我从来没有见过这么大的鲈鱼。

I had never seen such a big bass before.

我和父亲得意地欣赏着这条漂亮的大鲈鱼，

Father and I were smugly admiring this beautiful big fish.

看着鱼鳃在银色的月光下轻轻翕动着。

Its gills were gently throbbing under silver moonlight.

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父亲划着了一根火柴，看了看手表，

Father lit a match to check his watch.

这时是晚上十点，距离开放捕捞鲈鱼的时间还有两个小时。

It was 10:00 p.m., which was two hours away from opening season for catching bass.

父亲盯着鲈鱼看了好一会儿，然后把目光转向了我：“孩子，你得把它放回湖里去。”

After gazing at the stripe-bass for a long time, Father turned his eyes to me and said: “My son, you have to put it back into the lake.”

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“爸爸！为什么？”我急切地问道。

“But Father, why?” I asked anxiously.

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“你还会钓到别的鱼的。”父亲平静地说。

“You could still catch other fish.” Father said calmly.

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“可是不会钓到这么大的鱼了。”

“But I’ll not catch another fish as big as this one again.”

我大声争辩着，哭出了声。

I raised my voice to argue and broke out in tears.

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我抬头看了一下四周，到处都是静悄悄的，

I looked up at the surrounding and everywhere was quiet.

皎洁的月光下看不见其他人和船的影子。

Under bright moonlight, there was no trace of other people or boats in sight.

我再次把乞求的目光投向了父亲。

Then I looked at Father again with beseeching eyes.

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尽管没有人看到我们，更无人知道我是在什么时候钓到这条鲈鱼的，但是，从父亲那不容争辩的声音中，我清楚地知道，父亲的话是没有商量的余地的。

Even though nobody saw us or would have known the time when I caught the bass, yet from Father’s non-negotiable tone I clearly knew there was no room for negotiation on what Father had said.

我慢慢地把鱼钩从大鲈鱼的嘴唇上取下来，依依不舍地把它放回到湖里。

I slowly took the hook from the lip of the big bass and put it back into the lake with great reluctance.

大鲈鱼有力地摆动着身子，一转眼便消失在湖水中了。

The big bass moved its body with vigor and disappeared inside the lake in the blink of an eye.

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转眼间三十四年过去了。

Thirty to forty years have come and gone in a flash.

当年那个沮丧的孩子，已是一位著名的建筑设计师了。

The dejected child of that year has become a renowned architect.

我再没有钓到过像三十四年前那个夜晚钓到的那样大的鱼。

I have never caught another fish that was as big as the one in the evening thirty to forty years ago.

但是，在人生的旅途中，我却不止一次地遇到了与那条鲈鱼相似的诱惑人的“鱼”。

But in the journey of my life, I have run into more than one situation that involved a tempting “fish” similar to the bass.

当我一次次地面临道德抉择的时候，就会想起父亲曾告诫我的话：道德只是个简单的是与非的问题，实践起来却很难。

When times and times again I was confronted with choices where ethics came into play, I would remember what my father cautioned me: “Ethics could seem to be a simple issue of right or wrong, but it gets complicated when they are put into practice.”

一个人要是从小受到像把钓到的大鲈鱼放回湖中这样严格的教育的话，就会获得道德实践的勇气和力量。

When a person has been subjected to rigorous teaching similar to the discipline that could make him put a big bass back into a lake, then he would have the courage and strength to uphold ethics.

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三十四年前的那个月光如水的夜晚，在我留下了永久的回忆和终生的启示。

The incident in that evening under bright moonlight thirty to forty years ago has engraved in my mind memory and enlightenment that will last for my whole lifetime.

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附注：

(1) 名字翻译可能不准确。