英汉对照课文文本

A MASTER OF NONVERBAL HUMOUR

无声的幽默大师

As Victor Hugo once said, "Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face", and up to now nobody has been able to do this better than Charlie Chaplin. He brightened the lives of Americans and British through two world wars and the hard years in between. He made people laugh at a time when they felt depressed, so they could feel more content with their lives.

维克多·雨果曾经说过：“笑容就如取走人们脸上的冬天的阳光。”关于这一点，直到今天也没有人能比查理·卓别林做得更好。在两次世界大战以及之间的艰苦岁月里，他给英国和美国人民打来了快乐。在人们感到沮丧的时候，卓别林使他们开怀大笑，于是人们对自己的生活感到比较满意。


Not that Charlie's own life was easy! He was born in a poor family in 1889. His parents were both poor music hall performers. You may find it astonishing that Charlie was taught to sing as soon as he could speak and dance as soon as he could walk. Such training was common in acting families at this time, especially when the family income was often uncertain. Unfortunately his father died, leaving the family even worse off, so Charlie spent his childhood looking after his sick mother and his brother. By his teens, Charlie had, through his humour, become one of the most popular child actors in England. He could mime and act the fool doing ordinary everyday tasks. No one was ever bored watching him—his subtle acting made everything entertaining.

然而卓别林自己的生活并不容易。他生于1899年，出身贫寒。他的父母都是杂耍戏院里贫穷的演员。你可能会感到惊讶，查理刚能说话时大人就教他如何唱歌，他刚能走时大人就教他跳舞。这样的训练在当时的演员家庭中是很普遍的，尤其是在家庭收入经常不稳定的时候。不幸的是他的父亲去世了，整个家庭状况更糟了。所以卓别林在童年时候就要照顾生病的母亲和弟弟。在十多岁的时候，凭借着自己的幽默，查理在英国已经成为最受欢迎的童星之一。他能够不说话而仅靠动作来模仿傻子做日常的任务。看他的表演没有人会感到无聊——他巧妙的表演使得一切都那么滑稽可笑。


As time went by, he began making films. He grew more and more popular as his charming character, the little tramp, became known throughout the world. The tramp, a poor, homeless man with a moustache, wore large trousers, worn-out shoes and a small round black hat. He walked around stilly carrying a walking stick. This character was a social failure but was loved for his optimism and determination to overcome all difficulties. He was the underdog who was kind even when others were unkind to him.

随着时间的推移，他开始拍电影。他塑造的可爱的“小流浪汉”角色开始闻名于世，而他自己也越来越受欢迎。这个穷苦的无家可归的小流浪汉，留着小胡子，穿着大裤子，破鞋子，头顶着黑色的小圆帽。他手里拿着一根手杖迈着僵硬的步伐四处游荡。这个角色是社会生活中的失败者，但他的乐观精神和战胜困难的决心都使他受到人们的喜爱。面对不善待它他的人，这个弱者依然保持着友善的态度。


How did the little tramp make a sad situation entertaining? Here is an example from one of his most famous films, The Gold Rush. It is the mid-nineteenth century and gold has just been discovered in California. Like so many others, the little tramp and his friend have rushed there in search of gold, but without success. Instead they are hiding in a small hut on the edge of a mountain during a snowstorm with nothing to eat. They are so hungry that they try boiling a pair of leather shoes for their dinner. Charlie first picks out the laces and eats them as if they were spaghetti. Then he cuts off the leather top of the shoe as if it were the finest steak. Finally he tries cutting and chewing the bottom of the shoe. He eats each mouthful with great enjoyment. The acting is so convincing that it makes you believe that it is one of the best meals he has ever tasted!

然而这个小流浪汉是如何把悲凉的遭遇变得滑稽可笑的呢？这里有一个例子，来自于他最著名的电影之一《淘金记》。十九世纪末，在阿拉斯加发现了金子。像其他很多人一样，小流浪汉也涌到那里去淘金，但却没有成功。相反，他和另一个人被暴风雪困在一个小木屋里，没有任何东西吃。他们饿极了，小流浪汉只好煮了他的一只皮鞋来充饥。查理切掉皮鞋上面的部分，和同伴分享这只鞋。他把皮鞋鞋底切开嚼着吃，就想吃一块最好的牛排。然后挑出鞋带来吃，就想吃意大利面条一样。他每一口都嚼得津津有味。卓别林的表演是那么有说服力，以至于你会相信这顿饭是他吃过的最美味的一餐。


Charlie Chaplin wrote, directed and produced the films he starred in. In 1972 he was given a special Oscar for his outstanding work in films. He lived in England and the USA but spent his last years in Switzerland, where he was buried in 1977. He is loved and remembered as a great actor who could inspire people with great confidence.

查理·卓别林自编、自导、自制他主演的电影，1972年他被授予奥斯卡特别奖，以表彰他在电影界的杰出工作。他生活在英国和美国，却在瑞士度过了生命中最后的日子，并于1977年安葬在那里。人们热爱和还念这位伟大的演员，因为他鼓舞了人们，增强了人们的信心。

（以上内容来源于人民教育出版社，版权归人民教育出版社所有。由本号进行整理分享，旨在方便师生使用，侵联删。）