伊恩·麥克尤恩的《夢(mèng)想家彼得》

唐書(shū)哲

作家簡(jiǎn)介：伊恩·麥克尤恩（lan McEwan）是當(dāng)代英國(guó)文壇最具影響力的作家之一。他1948年出生于倫敦西南部的小鎮(zhèn)奧爾德肖特（Aldershot），父親是一位軍人，曾參加過(guò)敦刻爾克戰(zhàn)役。童年的麥克尤恩曾跟隨父親輾轉(zhuǎn)于東亞、德國(guó)和北非等地，1959年返回英國(guó)，在一所寄宿學(xué)校讀書(shū)，同學(xué)大都來(lái)自破碎的家庭，粗魯而殘暴。在孤寂的中學(xué)時(shí)代，麥克尤恩沉浸于文學(xué)的世界，大量閱讀格雷厄姆·格林（Graham Greene）和艾麗絲·默多克（lris Murdoch）等作家的作品，希望通過(guò)文學(xué)改變自己的命運(yùn)。1967年，麥克尤恩進(jìn)入蘇塞克斯大學(xué)（University of Sussex）學(xué)習(xí)，主修英語(yǔ)和法語(yǔ)，廣泛涉獵弗洛伊德的作品并開(kāi)始進(jìn)行文學(xué)創(chuàng)作，畢業(yè)后進(jìn)入東英吉利大學(xué)（University of East Anglia）攻讀創(chuàng)作碩士學(xué)位。1975年，麥克尤恩的短篇小說(shuō)集《最初的愛(ài)情、最后的儀式》（First Love，Last Rites，1975）出版，在歐美文壇引起強(qiáng)烈反響，一舉成名。迄今為止，麥克尤恩已經(jīng)發(fā)表了20余部作品，奠定了他在英國(guó)文壇的地位。2008年，麥克尤恩被《泰晤士報(bào)》（The Times）評(píng)為英國(guó)自1945年以來(lái)最偉大的50位小說(shuō)家之一。

作品簡(jiǎn)介：麥克尤恩是一位多產(chǎn)的作家，迄今共創(chuàng)作了13部長(zhǎng)篇小說(shuō)、3部短篇小說(shuō)集、2部?jī)和≌f(shuō)、2部劇作和3部電影劇本，有不少作品已經(jīng)被改編成了電影。麥克尤恩的小說(shuō)直指現(xiàn)代人內(nèi)心的焦慮和恐懼，探討暴力、死亡和善惡等永恒的主題，文筆冷峻犀利、細(xì)膩幽默。余華對(duì)麥克尤恩的創(chuàng)作給予了高度評(píng)價(jià)，他認(rèn)為麥克尤恩“在寫(xiě)下希望的時(shí)候也寫(xiě)下了失望，寫(xiě)下恐怖的時(shí)候也寫(xiě)下了安慰，寫(xiě)下寒冷的時(shí)候也寫(xiě)下了溫暖，寫(xiě)下荒誕的時(shí)候也寫(xiě)下了逼真，寫(xiě)下暴力的時(shí)候也寫(xiě)下了柔弱，寫(xiě)下理智冷靜的時(shí)候也寫(xiě)下了情感沖動(dòng)”。麥克尤恩較有代表性的作品有《水泥花園》（The Cement Garden，1978），《無(wú)辜者》（The Innocent，1990），《阿姆斯特丹》（Amsterdam，1998）和《贖罪》（Atonement，2001）等。

內(nèi)容提要：彼得（Peter）是一個(gè)愛(ài)做白日夢(mèng)的孩子。10歲的彼得常常在幻想中離開(kāi)現(xiàn)實(shí)，沉迷于自己迷夢(mèng)般的世界：他和貓交換靈魂，讓母親和妹妹消失，懲治學(xué)校惡霸，機(jī)智地抓住小偷……每一次，彼得都被家人從白日夢(mèng)中喚醒。在《夢(mèng)想家彼得》（The Daydreamer，1994）這部?jī)和膶W(xué)作品中，麥克尤恩拋棄了一貫的黑色敘事，向我們呈現(xiàn)了一個(gè)孩子夢(mèng)幻的世界。選文中，彼得第一次送妹妹上學(xué)，產(chǎn)生了小小男子漢強(qiáng)烈的自豪感，在公交車(chē)上想象自己在山口和狼群斗智斗勇，保護(hù)妹妹凱特，在危機(jī)之中點(diǎn)燃了枯枝落葉，嚇走了狼群。下車(chē)后的彼得依然沉浸在白日夢(mèng)中，以為忘記從山口把妹妹帶回，又開(kāi)始拼命追趕公交車(chē)，被追趕上來(lái)的妹妹凱特喚醒，累得癱倒在草地上，差點(diǎn)弄了一身狗糞。

The Daydreamer（An Excerpt）

Not long after his tenth birthday，Peter was told to take his seven-year-old sister，Kate，to school.Peter and Kate went to the same school.It was a fifteen-minute walk or a short bus ride away.Usually they walked there with their father who dropped them off on his way to work.But now the children were thought old enough to make it to school by themselves on the bus，and Peter was in charge.

It was only two stops down the road，but the way his parents kept talking about it，you might have thought that Peter was taking Kate to the North Pole.He was given instructions the night before.When he woke up he had to listen to them again.Then his parents repeated them all through breakfast.As the children were on their way out the door，their mother，Viola repeated the rules one last time.Everyone must think I'm stupid，Peter thought.Perhaps I am.He was to keep hold of Kate's hand at all times.They were to sit downstairs 1，with Kate nearest the window.They were not to get into conversations with mad or wicked people.Peter was to tell the bus conductor the name of his stop in a loud voice，without forgetting to say"please".He was to keep his eyes on the route.

Peter repeated this back to his mother，and set off for the bus stop with his sister.They held hands all the way.Actually，he didn't mind this because the truth was he liked Kate.He simply hoped that none of his friends would see him holding a girl's hand.The bus came.They got on and sat downstairs.It was ridiculous sitting there holding hands，and there were some boys from the school around，so they let go of each other.Peter was feeling proud.He could take care of his sister anywhere.She could count on him.Suppose they were alone together on a mountain pass 2 and came face to face with a pack 3 0f hungry wolves，he would know exactly what to do.Taking care not to make any sudden movement，he would move away with Kate until they had their backs to a large rock.That way the wolves would not be able to surround them.Then he takes from his pocket two important things he has remembered to bring with him-his hunting knife and a box of matches.He takes the knife from its sheath and sets it down on the grass，ready in case the wolves attack.They are coming closer now.They are so hungry that they are drooling 4 and growling 5.Kate is sobbing，but he cannot comfort her.He knows he has to concentrate on his plan.Right at his feet there are some dry leaves and twigs 8.Quickly and skillfully，Peter gathers them up into a small pile.The wolves are coming closer.He has to get this right.There is only one match left in the box.They can smell thewolves' breath-a terrible rotten meat stench 7.He bends down，cups his hand and lights the match.There is a gust of wind，the flame fjickers 8，but Peter holds it close in to the pile，and then first one leaf，then another，then the end of a twig catch fire，and soon the little pile and larger sticks.Kate is getting the idea and helping him.The wolves are backing off.Wild animals are terrified of fire.The flames are leaping higher and the wind is carrying the smoke right into their drooling jaws.Now Peter takes hold of the hunting knife and...

Ridiculous！It was daydreams like this that could make him miss his stop if he wasn't careful.The bus had come to a halt.The kids from his school were already getting off.Peter leaped to his feet and just managed to jump to the pavement as the bus was starting off again.It was more than fifty yards down the road when he realized he had forgotten something.Was it his satchel 9？No！It was his sister！He had saved her from the wolves，and left her sitting there.For a moment he couldn't move.He stood watching the bus pull away up the road."Come back，"he murmured."Come back."

One of the boys from his school came over and thumped him on the back."Hey，what's up？Seen a ghost？"Peter's voice seemed to come from far away."Oh，nothing，nothing.I left something on the bus."And then he started to run.The bus was already a quarter of a mile away and beginning to slow down for its next stop.Peter sprinted.He was going so fast that if he spread his arms far apart，he would probably have been able to take off.Then he could skim along the top of the trees and...But no！He wasn't going to start daydreaming again.He was going to get his sister back.Even now，she would be screaming in terror.Some passengers had got off，and the bus was moving away again.He was closer than before.The bus was crawling behind a truck.If he could just keep running，and forget the terrible pain in his legs and chest，he would catch up.As he drew level with the bus stop，the bus was no more than a hundred yards away."Faster，faster，"he said to himself.A kid standing by the bus shelter called out to Peter as he passed."Hey，Peter，Peter！"Peter didn't have the strength to turn his head."Can't stop，"he panted，and ran on."Peter！Stop！It's me.Kate！"Clutching 10 at his chest，he collapsed 11 on the grass at his sister's feet."Mind that dog mess，"she said calmly as she watched her brother fighting for his breath."Come on now.We'd better walk back or else we are going to be late.You'd better hold my hand if you're going to stay out of trouble."So they walked to school together，and Kate very decently promised-in return for Peter's Saturday pocket money-to say nothing about what had happened when they got home.

1.此處的downstairs指的是公交車(chē)的下層，英國(guó)倫敦的公交車(chē)多為雙層巴士（double-decker bus）。倫敦的紅色雙層公交車(chē)已經(jīng)成了英國(guó)文化的一部分，許多外國(guó)游客都喜歡乘坐雙層巴士游覽倫敦的風(fēng)光。

2.pass（n.）關(guān)隘；山口。例：The Spartan soldiers held the army back for a long time at a mountain pass.

3.此處的pack是量詞，a pack of wolves指的是一群狼。類(lèi)似的表達(dá)有：a cake of soap一塊香皂，a school of fish一群魚(yú)等。

4.drool（vi.）垂涎；流口水。例：The foreigner couldn't help drooling when he saw the spicy Mapo Toufu.

5.growl（vi.）怒吠；咆哮。例：I kicked the sleeping dog.It suddenly sprung up and growled ferociously at me.

6.twig（n.）樹(shù)枝；枝椏。例：In some villages，people still gather twigs for firewood.

7.stench（n.）惡臭；臭氣。例：The stench of the rotten fish made me sick.

8.flicker（v.）閃動(dòng)；搖動(dòng)。例：He gazed upon the flickering fiames in the fireplace and was lost in his memory.

9.satchel（n.）書(shū)包。例：He carried a lot of Jin Yong's novels in his school satchel.

10.clutch（v.）抓住；緊握。例：John jumped up to clutch at the branch，but missed.

11.collapse（vi.）倒塌；崩潰。例：If you work too hard，your health may collapse.

作品簡(jiǎn)評(píng)

在《夢(mèng)想家彼得》中，麥克尤恩放棄了以往小說(shuō)中的黑色敘事，把注意力放在了孩子的童真世界上。彼得是個(gè)愛(ài)幻想、有正義感的孩子，他常常在幻想中離開(kāi)現(xiàn)實(shí)，做出一件件英勇之事——他與狼群斗智斗勇保護(hù)妹妹，他抓住小偷，懲治校霸，可是每次的“壯舉”都被家人從夢(mèng)中喚醒。選文中，彼得接受爸媽的任務(wù)，護(hù)送妹妹上學(xué)，自豪感油然而生，可是卻在與狼群搏斗的白日夢(mèng)中忘記了現(xiàn)實(shí)，結(jié)果卻成了妹妹的保護(hù)對(duì)象，最后用自己的零花錢(qián)來(lái)“收買(mǎi)”了凱特，讓她不要把這件糗事告訴父母?？梢哉f(shuō)作品中的七個(gè)故事，包括引言都充滿了天真和童趣，書(shū)中的彼得有點(diǎn)像《哆啦A夢(mèng)》中的大雄，善良正直，但又缺乏行動(dòng)能力，總是喜歡耽于幻想。這本書(shū)雖說(shuō)是寫(xiě)給孩子的，可是成人看起來(lái)也會(huì)有頗多感觸，在生存壓力越來(lái)越大，生活節(jié)奏越來(lái)越快的現(xiàn)代社會(huì)，做做白日夢(mèng)似乎已經(jīng)成了奢侈的事情，童年的美好與天真已然一去不復(fù)返了。其實(shí)，正如麥克尤恩本人在序言中說(shuō)的那樣“我們之所以喜歡兒童書(shū)，是因?yàn)槲覀兊暮⒆幼x這些書(shū)時(shí)的快樂(lè)，這跟文學(xué)關(guān)系少一點(diǎn)，而跟愛(ài)關(guān)系多一點(diǎn)。在寫(xiě)作和大聲朗讀《夢(mèng)想家彼得》的初期，我開(kāi)始覺(jué)得這樣做也許更好：忘了我們偉大的兒童文學(xué)傳統(tǒng)，為成年人寫(xiě)本關(guān)于兒童的書(shū)，用的是兒童也能理解的語(yǔ)言……我希望它的主題——想象力本身——對(duì)那些拿起一本書(shū)的人來(lái)說(shuō)，都有所參與”。

[True or False]：Read the passage and mark the following statements T（true）or F（false）.

1.Peter's father constantly reminded Peter to take care of Kate.____

2.Peter felt proud that he could protect his sister.____

3.In his daydream， Peter brought two things with him-a knife and a rope.____

4.Peter didn't get off the bus when it arrived at his school.____

5.Kate promised to keep silent about the incident if Peter gave her his pocket money.____

[Completion]：Fill in the following blanks with the phrases given to you.Change the form where necessary.

in charge of，count on，face to face，slow down，bend down，in return，back off，concentrate on，in case，or else

1.You can't____Johnny，because he often breaks his promise.

2.I sent her a bottle of wine____for her helping me with the family chores.

3.Stop smoking now and forever，____your health will be ruined.

4.He was left____the grocery store when the manager was away.

5.Save every copy of your important files____the computer breaks down.

[Cloze]：Read the passage and fill in the blanks with suitable words.The initial letters have been given to you.

The Daydreamer comprises seven stories about a young boy named Peter Fortune whose daydreams place him into various fantastic situations.He discovers a cream that makes people vanish and makes his family d__l__；conquers a bully on the thought that life was a dream s__2__he had nothing to lose but to wake up；t__3__into a cat and fights off a new tabby stray；changes into his baby cousin and e__4__the joys of being a toddler，a doll and gets his arm and leg ripped off to match a mangled doll，and，in the last story，an adult in which he discovers how boring adults are c__5__to kids.The novel was first published by Jonathan Cape and has been t__6__into several languages.It is c__7__to be his first book for children.McEwan read the stories to his children as he wrote them.In an interview he compared his child to Peter，saying he was"quiet，pale，dreamy"and was someone w__8__preferred having close friends.Robert Winder calls the novel a lovely children's book t__9__depicts the gulfs between children and grown-ups vividly.The book was marketed as an adult book in ItaIy and was a__10__for BBC Radio in 2008.

[Translation]：Translate the following sentences from the passage into Chinese.

1.It was only two stops down the road，but the way his parents kept talking about it，you might have thought that Peter was taking Kate to the North Pole.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

2.Suppose they were alone together on a mountain pass and came face to face with a pack of hungry wolves，he would know exactly what to do.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

3.There is a gust of wind，the flame flickers，but Peter holds it close in to the pile，and then first one leaf，then another，then the end of a twig catch fire，and soon the little pile is blazing.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

4.He was going so fast that if he spread his arms far apart，he would probably have been able to take off.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

5.So they walked to school together，and Kate very decently promised-in return for Peter's Saturday pocket money-to say nothing about what had happened when they got home.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

[Writing]：With the rapid development of information technology，online learning is becoming more and more popular.What do you think are the advantages of online learning？Please write an essay to list some of the advantages of online learning.You should write atleast 100 words.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Culture Bridge]：All the foHowing sentences are English translations of some famous lines from Tang poems.Read them and identify the original Chinese text.

1.Looking up，I find the moon bright；Bowing，in homesickness I'm drowned.

2.The Yellow River reaches high beyond the clouds；Amid the massive mountains lies the solitary of a town.

3.The rising moon startles the mountain birds；Which twitter fitfully in the spring gully.

4.In the dusk of the evening where's hometown there's no way to know；Only the misty river's seen in its saddening flow.

5.Awakening from slumber to a morn of spring；I hear the birds everywhere beautifully sing.

【Keys】

【True or False】1.F 2.T 3.F 4.F 5.T

【Completion】1.count on 2.in return 3.or else 4.in charge of 5.in case

【Cloze】1.disappear 2.so 3.transforms 4.experiences 5.compared 6.translated 7.considered 8.wh0 9.that 10.adapted

【Translation】1.只用坐兩站路就到學(xué)校了，可是父母一再叮嚀的樣子，別人會(huì)以為彼得要帶凱特去北極呢。2.假如只有他們兩個(gè)人到了一個(gè)山口，跟一群餓狼狹路相逢，他完全知道該怎么做。3.-陣風(fēng)吹來(lái)，火苗閃動(dòng)，可是彼得拿著火柴靠近那堆樹(shù)葉和小樹(shù)枝，先是一片樹(shù)葉點(diǎn)燃了，然后又是一片樹(shù)葉，然后是一根小樹(shù)枝的一頭，很快，那一小堆枝葉燃燒了起來(lái)。4.彼得跑得飛快，要是他張開(kāi)雙臂，他也許都能飛起來(lái)了。5.他們一起走回了學(xué)校，凱特慷慨地應(yīng)允只要彼得把周六零花錢(qián)給她，她就不把今天發(fā)生的糗事告訴父母。

【W(wǎng)riting】Online learning can benefit learners in a variety of ways. To begin with，e-learning can improve their performance.A research by the US Department of Education found that students in online learning generally perform better than those in face-to-face courses.E-Iearning can also increase students' access to instructors of the highest caliber.Distinguished teachers can share their knowledge with students through the Internet.For example，the MIT Open Course Ware program has made substantial portions of that university's curriculum and lectures available to online students.Convenience and flexibility are also advantages of online learning.In many countries，online learning is self-paced and the learning sessions are available for 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.In this way，learners are not bound to a specific time to attend classes.They can also pause learning sessions at their convenience.The advantages of online learning have made it a desirable way of learning for people who want to study.

【Culture Bridge】1.舉頭望明月，低頭思故鄉(xiāng)。2.黃河遠(yuǎn)上白云間，一片孤城萬(wàn)仞山。3.月出驚山鳥(niǎo)，時(shí)鳴春澗中。4.日暮鄉(xiāng)關(guān)何處是，煙波江上使人愁。5.春眠不覺(jué)曉，處處聞啼鳥(niǎo).