【备注】这里录下的是本人2003年参加首届全国芙蓉杯青年翻译奖的英译汉比赛的原文及自己的译文，比赛获得优秀奖。不足之处，现在来看，很是明显。为了提高教学与研究，也为了材料收集的方便，特在此为它提供一个小小空间。

首届“芙蓉杯青年翻译奖”参赛原文

 

Shiloh

She said her name was now Shiloh. It used to be Sheila, she explained, but that was too common. She was starting a new life now, and she thought Shiloh was a much better name.?

My daughter and I were traveling through the South. We were in Knoxville, Tenn. Shiloh was a fleshy blonde, wearing jean shorts and a “Who” T-

shirt. Her sandaled feet were dirty. She had all her belongings in a cheap zipper bag. She was 14 years old.?

“I'll get me a job here at the World's  Fair，” she said.“I hear they're hirin' lots of people, young people. They's no jobs for young people back home.”?

“Where's home?”?

“Don't matter,” she said, and stared off at the giant Ferris wheel of what is formally called the Knoxville International Energy Exposition.“Th­–

at's behind me now.”?

She was a baby, really, but her voice sounded a hundred years old. My daughter gave me a look that said：She's heading for trouble. I said to Shiloh that we were going to eat a hamburger. Instead of giving her change (which is what she'd asked for), I said we'd like her to join us. She shrugged. We sat together in a booth, and Shiloh ate greedily.?

“I can work here all summer,”she said. “Then in the fall, I'm gonna try Nashville. Maybe get into the music business.”?

“You play an instrument?”?

“No.”?

“Sing?”?

“Well…” She smiled and started to sing “I Don't Care.”She had a pure, clear, but tuneless voice, and the glazed eyes of the selfabsorbed. She didn't see the other customers in the coffee shop turning to look at her. She finished. I nodded and smiled.

“What do you think?” she asked. She was working on a slice of apple pie now.“I think you should go back to school,” I said. “I think you should go home.” Her face went gray. She poked at the pie. “I can't,” she said. “They'll never take me back after what I done.”?

You see kids like her all over America now: runaways, drifters,childr–

en cast loose, knocked off their moorings. The Knoxville cops say the World's Fair is drawing a lot of them this summer. The cops round them up and ship them out. But some of them slip through and drift into prostitution. I said some of this to the girl. She shook her head; she was not a good listener.? “Oh, parents are always saying things like that.”?

   “That's true,” I said. “Parents usually have seen more of the world than their kids have. They know it's a dangerous place.”?

   “I'm not afraid.”?

“You better be,”I said. My daughter gave me another look: Lay off. I did.

“You want me to sing another son-

g?” Shiloh asked. She didn't wait for an answer; she began to sing “I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You.” Wherever he was, Hank Williams must have shuddered. Then I asked her what she had done back home that was so terrible she couldn't discuss it.?

   “My stepfather would kill me if he ever saw me again,” she said. “So I'm not gonna see him again.” She paused. “I stole  some  money. I stole $47.”

She looked as if she'd just confessed to a triple homicide. I made all the conventional noises: Call your mother, promise to get a job for the summer and pay back the money, go to a church or the cops. But she wasn't listening.?

I paid the bill and we went into the

 

hot, humid night. Shiloh asked me to drop her off downtown. I said no. I'd take her to a church or a phone booth. I wasn't going to drop her off downtown.?

   “Well, then, the hell with you, mister,” she said, and walked away from us to the dark road, carrying her zipper bag. She never looked back. She stuck out her thumb. 

“What'll become of her?” my daughter asked. “Nothing good,” I said. When we pulled out of the parking lot onto the road, the girl was gone.?

 

本人的参赛译文：

茜 露

 

她称现在的自己为茜露。她说她原名叫希拉，但听起来有点俗。如今要开始新的生活，所以叫茜露更好。

我和女儿正在南方各州旅游。现已抵达田纳西州的诺克斯维尔。

茜露是个亮妹：下穿一条牛仔短裤，上着印有“WHO”（一流行乐队名称）的

T恤衫，脚穿一双很脏的凉鞋。她的家当都放在那廉价的拉链包里。她才14岁。

“我想来这儿的‘全球大市场’打工，”她说。“听说他们要照顾（招雇）很多的年轻人。在我家乡那边可不照（招）年轻人。”

“你家哪？”

“这跟家有什么关系？”她将凝视的眼光转向那 “诺克斯维尔国际能源博览会”弗氏大转轮。“我没家。”

她看上去就是一个小孩，但说话老成，像百岁老太。女儿递给我一个眼色，意思是说这个女孩是在自找苦头。我对茜露说，我们要去吃汉堡包，想同她一块吃点东西。她向我讨过要一些零花钱，但我没给。她耸了耸肩，接受了。我们在餐桌前一道坐下来，茜露狼吞虎咽地饱餐了一顿。

“我整个夏天都可以在这儿打工，”她说。“秋天时，我可到纳斯维尔去试试。也许可以搞点音乐行当。”

“你懂乐器？”

“不懂。”

“想从事声乐？”

“试试吧—”她笑了笑，开始唱起流行歌曲《我无所谓啦》来。她音质不错，但老走调；热切的眼光流露出一副自我陶醉的形态，丝毫不在意店里还有许多其他顾客。她一唱完，我忙点点头，笑了笑。

“你看怎们样？”她问。她开始吃起苹果馅饼来。“我想你应该回学校读书，” 我说，“你也应该回家。”她脸色马上变得苍白起来。拿叉子在馅饼上戳着，说：“我不能回家。从那件事起，他们也决不会让我回家。”

像她这样的孩子，整个美国到处都可看到：逃亡者、流浪汉、放任自流者、无所依托者。据诺克斯维尔警方说，今年夏天，“全球大市场”吸引大量类似的少女。警方将她们收留并加以遣送。但还是有中途溜走、沦为妓女的。我对她谈了相关的情况。她摇摇头，全不当一回事。

“嗨，你们当父母的总是这样教训人。”

“这是不争的事实，”我说。“父母比孩子的见识广嘛。他们知道那是十分可怕的地方。”

“我可一点儿也不怕。”

“你还是有点畏惧好。”我说。这时，我女儿又给我递了个眼色，让我不要多嘴。我就不再说什么了。

“要我再来一首吗？”茜露问。我们还没反应过来，她就唱起了《如果仍然爱你，我也没办法》。无论这首歌的作者韩科·威廉斯在哪，我想他听了恐怕全身也会发麻。我问她在家究竟干了什么事，为什么不敢对我们说。

“我后父如看到我，肯定会把我杀死的，”她说，“我不敢再见到他。我偷了他47美元。”瞧她那坦白像，好像自己就是三条人命的主犯。我无计可施，拿出父母常用的话语：“给你母亲打个电话吧，就说你暑假外出打工，赚些钱回家，补上欠款就行了。你还可上教堂忏悔，也可以去警察局自首。”但她把我的话当作耳边风。

我付了款，走进那又闷又热的夜晚。茜露说她想搭我们的车，顺便到城里去。我拒绝了她。我可以送她到教堂，也可送她到就近的电话亭，可不打算搭她到城里去。

“好吧，先生，见鬼去吧。”一说完，就背上背包，走上那一片漆黑的大马路，离开了我们。她头也不回，一路翘着大拇指，想向其他的司机请求搭便车。

“她会变得什么样呢？”女儿问我。“不会有好结果的。”我说。我把车从停车场开到大路上时，她已不见了踪影。

 

 

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