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“A Fable for Tomorrow”选自美国海洋地理学家Rachel Carson的环保启蒙之书Silent Spring（《寂静的春天》），通过对农药危害的分析，为人类的自然保护意识点亮明灯。《三体》一书中，在叶文洁的最后时刻，她回忆起《寂静的春天》对自己一生的影响，是这本书使她对人类之恶第一次进行了理性的思考。
There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony① with its surroundings. The town lay in the midst of a checkerboard② of prosperous farms， with fields of grain and hillsides of orchards where， in spring， white clouds of bloom drifted above the green fields. In autumn， oak and maple and birch set up a blaze of color that flamed and flickered③across a backdrop of pines. Then foxes barked in the hills and deer silently crossed the fields， half hidden in the mists of the fall mornings.
Then a strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change. Some evil spell had settled on the community： mysterious maladies④ swept the flocks of chickens； the cattle and sheep sickened and died. Everywhere was a shadow of death. In the town the doctors had become more and more puzzled by new kinds of sickness appearing among their patients. There had been several sudden and unexplained deaths， not only among adults but even among children， who would be stricken⑤ suddenly while at play and die within a few hours.
There was a strange stillness⑥. The birds， for example， where had they gone？ The few birds seen anywhere were moribund⑦； they trembled violently and could not fly. It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins， catbirds， doves， jays， wrens， and scores of other bird voices there was now no sound； only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh.
On the farms the hens brooded， but no chicks hatched. The farmers complained that they were unable to raise any pigs the litters were small and the young survived only a few days. The apple trees were coming into bloom but no bees droned among the blossoms， so there was no pollination⑧and there would be no fruit.
T h i s t o w n does not actually exist， but it might easily have a thousand counterparts in America or elsewhere in the world. I know of no community that has experienced all the misfortunes I describe. Yet every one of these disasters has actually happened somewhere， and many real communities have already suffered a substantial number of them. A grim specter has crept upon us almost unnoticed， and this imagined tragedy may easily become a stark reality we all shall know.
在美國的心脏地区从前有一座小镇，那里的生活跟周围的环境相处得十分融洽。小镇坐落在星罗棋布的农场中央。平地上的庄稼和山坡上的果园呈现出一片欣欣向荣的景象。春天，果树绽开白花，像片片白云在绿色的田野上飘荡。秋天，橡树、枫树和白桦树散射出彩色的火焰，在松树织成的绿色帷幕上闪烁跳跃。狐狸在小丘上嘶嚎，野鹿隐蔽在秋天的晨雾里悄悄地越过田野。
后来，一个奇怪的祸害潜入了这个地区，一切都开始变了。一个邪魔降临在这个地区，神秘的瘟疫先是在雏鸡中流传，然后蔓延到牛群羊群中去，病的病，死的死。死亡的阴影笼罩着每一个角落。镇上的医生对病人中不断出现的各种怪病感到困惑。好些人不明不白地突然死去，其中不仅有成年人，还有小孩。有的孩子在玩耍时突然发病，不出几个小时便撒手人寰。
这里变得寂静异常。就说鸟吧，它们到哪里去了？偶然在什么地方看到几只鸟都是病恹恹的，哆哆嗦嗦，飞也飞不动。这是一个鸦雀无声的春天。原来清晨，百鸟齐鸣：鸫鸟、猫鸟、鸽子、松鸦、鹪鹩等几十种鸟响起了黎明大合唱，可是现在什么声音也听不见了：只有寂静滞留在田野、树林和沼泽地的上空。
在农场里，母鸡在抱窝，但是没有小鸡破壳而出。农民们抱怨他们没法养猪了，猪崽太小，存活不了几天便都夭折了。苹果树开花不结果，因为没有蜜蜂在花间飞舞授粉。
这个小镇并不真正存在，是虚构的，但在美国和在世界的其他地方随处可以见到类似的小镇。我知道还没有一个地方完完全全经历了我所描写的种种不幸。然而这样或那样的灾祸无处不在发生，有些地方屡屡遭殃遇灾。一个阴森可怕的幽灵已经偷偷地潜入我们中间来了。这个想像的悲剧也许很快会成为家喻户晓的凄凉现实。
There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony① with its surroundings. The town lay in the midst of a checkerboard② of prosperous farms， with fields of grain and hillsides of orchards where， in spring， white clouds of bloom drifted above the green fields. In autumn， oak and maple and birch set up a blaze of color that flamed and flickered③across a backdrop of pines. Then foxes barked in the hills and deer silently crossed the fields， half hidden in the mists of the fall mornings.
Then a strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change. Some evil spell had settled on the community： mysterious maladies④ swept the flocks of chickens； the cattle and sheep sickened and died. Everywhere was a shadow of death. In the town the doctors had become more and more puzzled by new kinds of sickness appearing among their patients. There had been several sudden and unexplained deaths， not only among adults but even among children， who would be stricken⑤ suddenly while at play and die within a few hours.
There was a strange stillness⑥. The birds， for example， where had they gone？ The few birds seen anywhere were moribund⑦； they trembled violently and could not fly. It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins， catbirds， doves， jays， wrens， and scores of other bird voices there was now no sound； only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh.
On the farms the hens brooded， but no chicks hatched. The farmers complained that they were unable to raise any pigs the litters were small and the young survived only a few days. The apple trees were coming into bloom but no bees droned among the blossoms， so there was no pollination⑧and there would be no fruit.
T h i s t o w n does not actually exist， but it might easily have a thousand counterparts in America or elsewhere in the world. I know of no community that has experienced all the misfortunes I describe. Yet every one of these disasters has actually happened somewhere， and many real communities have already suffered a substantial number of them. A grim specter has crept upon us almost unnoticed， and this imagined tragedy may easily become a stark reality we all shall know.
在美國的心脏地区从前有一座小镇，那里的生活跟周围的环境相处得十分融洽。小镇坐落在星罗棋布的农场中央。平地上的庄稼和山坡上的果园呈现出一片欣欣向荣的景象。春天，果树绽开白花，像片片白云在绿色的田野上飘荡。秋天，橡树、枫树和白桦树散射出彩色的火焰，在松树织成的绿色帷幕上闪烁跳跃。狐狸在小丘上嘶嚎，野鹿隐蔽在秋天的晨雾里悄悄地越过田野。
后来，一个奇怪的祸害潜入了这个地区，一切都开始变了。一个邪魔降临在这个地区，神秘的瘟疫先是在雏鸡中流传，然后蔓延到牛群羊群中去，病的病，死的死。死亡的阴影笼罩着每一个角落。镇上的医生对病人中不断出现的各种怪病感到困惑。好些人不明不白地突然死去，其中不仅有成年人，还有小孩。有的孩子在玩耍时突然发病，不出几个小时便撒手人寰。
这里变得寂静异常。就说鸟吧，它们到哪里去了？偶然在什么地方看到几只鸟都是病恹恹的，哆哆嗦嗦，飞也飞不动。这是一个鸦雀无声的春天。原来清晨，百鸟齐鸣：鸫鸟、猫鸟、鸽子、松鸦、鹪鹩等几十种鸟响起了黎明大合唱，可是现在什么声音也听不见了：只有寂静滞留在田野、树林和沼泽地的上空。
在农场里，母鸡在抱窝，但是没有小鸡破壳而出。农民们抱怨他们没法养猪了，猪崽太小，存活不了几天便都夭折了。苹果树开花不结果，因为没有蜜蜂在花间飞舞授粉。
这个小镇并不真正存在，是虚构的，但在美国和在世界的其他地方随处可以见到类似的小镇。我知道还没有一个地方完完全全经历了我所描写的种种不幸。然而这样或那样的灾祸无处不在发生，有些地方屡屡遭殃遇灾。一个阴森可怕的幽灵已经偷偷地潜入我们中间来了。这个想像的悲剧也许很快会成为家喻户晓的凄凉现实。