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纽约时报畅销书排行榜第一名!2009年温暖世界第一真情猫咪故事!2008年美国版权拍卖破天价纪录的热门书!9到90岁妇孺老幼无不为之迷醉的传奇小猫!实力派影星梅丽尔·斯特里普主演同名大片!
BEFORE LISTENING小猫魅力背后
The following audio features a clip from Dewey, the beloved library cat of Spencer[斯潘塞市], Iowa[艾奥瓦州(又译:衣阿华州,爱荷华州)], as told by his owner and companion of 19 years, Vicki Myron.
It is also the story of a small town, which burned down at the beginning of the Depression[美国经济大萧条,1929—1933], only to rebuild itself, and which was almost shuttered during the farm crisis of the 1980s before regrouping, and rededicating[重新投入] itself to small-town American values. Dewey’s local charm and worldwide fame became a symbol of hope for this recovering town. Through Dewey’s enthusiasm and warmth, we came to know and love many of the colorful and inspiring people of Spencer.
But perhaps the most inspiring person in Spencer is Vicky Myron herself, a single mother who survived the loss of her family farm, an alcoholic[酗酒的] husband, and a breast cancer scare, to become one of the leaders of the Iowa library system.
Chapter 1The Coldest Morning
第一章 最寒冷的早晨
I have never been a morning person, especially on a dark and cloudy January day, but I have always been 1)dedicated. There were a few cars on the road at seven thirty, when I drove the ten blocks to work, but as usual mine was the first car in the parking lot. Across the street, the Spencer Public Library was dead—no lights, no movement, no sound until I 2)flipped a switch and brought it to life. The heater switched on automatically during the night, but the library was still a freezer first thing in the morning.
After the weekend, the drop box would be full of books, so every Monday I loaded them onto one of our book carts so the clerks could process and shelve them later in the day. When I came back with the cart on this particular Monday morning, Jean was standing quietly in the middle of the room.
“I heard a noise.”
“What kind of noise?”
“From the drop box. I think it’s an animal.”
“A what?”
“An animal. I think there’s an animal in the drop box.”
The first thing I felt was a blast of freezing air. Someone had jammed a book into the return 3)slot, 4)wedging it open. It was as cold in the box as it was outside; maybe colder, since the box was lined with metal. You could have kept frozen meat in there. I was still catching my breath when I saw the kitten.
The kitten looked up at me, slowly and sadly. Then it lowered its head and sank down into its hole. It wasn’t trying to appear tough. It wasn’t trying to hide. I don’t even think it was scared. It was just hoping to be saved.
I know melting can be a 5)cliché, but I think that’s what actually happened to me at that moment: I lost every bone in my body. I am not a 6)mushy person. I’m a single mother and a farm girl who has steered her life through hard times, but this was so, so . . . unexpected.
I lifted the kitten out of the box. My hands nearly swallowed it. We found out later it was eight weeks old, but it looked no more than eight days old, if that. It was so thin I could see every rib. I could feel its heart beating, its lungs pumping. The poor kitten was so weak it could barely hold up its head, and it was shaking uncontrollably. It opened its mouth, but the sound, which came two seconds later, was weak and ragged.
Neither of us said anything for a while. We were just staring at the kitten. Finally Jean said, “How do you think it got in there?”
I wasn’t thinking about last night. I was only thinking about right now. It was too early to call the 7)veterinarian, who wouldn’t be in for an hour. But the kitten was so cold. Even in the warmth of my arms, I could feel it shaking.
…
(I helped the kitten take a hot bath carefully.)
I put him down on the table. The poor kitten could barely stand. The pads on all four of his paws were 8)frostbitten, and over the next week they would turn white and peel off. And yet the kitten managed to do something truly amazing. He steadied himself on the table and slowly looked up into each face. Then he began to 9)hobble. As each person reached to pet him, he rubbed his tiny head against her hand and purred. Forget the horrible events in his young life. Forget the cruel person who 10)shoved him down that library drop box. It was as if, from that moment on, he wanted to personally thank every person he ever met for saving his life.
我绝不是个习惯早起的人,特别是在一月份这种阴云密布的日子里,但我一向非常敬业。七点半,我驱车驶过十个街区去上班时,路上已有少量车辆,但像往常一样,我的车是停车场里的第一辆。街对面的斯潘塞公共图书馆一片死寂——没有灯光,没有动静,没有声响,直到我按动开关,才使它苏醒过来。电热器在半夜里会自动开启,但早晨的图书馆仍然像个冰窖。
经过周末,还书箱里会塞满了书,因此每个星期一,我都会把这些书放在一辆推车里,让馆员们上班的时候分门别类插在书架上。在这个星期一早晨,当我推着车子回来时,(同事)吉安静静地站在房间中央。
“我听到一个声音。”
“什么样的声音?”
“是还书箱里传出来的。我猜是一只动物。”
“一只什么?”
“一只动物。我觉得还书箱里有只动物。”
我首先感到一阵刺骨的冷风。有人把一本书卡在滑槽里,把槽门顶开了。箱子里跟外面一样寒冷,也许还要更冷,因为箱子四壁都是金属。简直可以在里面存放冻肉。我还在喘着气,就看见了那只小猫。
小猫慢慢地抬头看着我,充满哀伤。然后它低下脑袋,又缩进那个窝里。它不是想表现得倔强,也不是想要躲避。我甚至不认为它受了惊吓。它只希望能够获救。
我知道“心像融化了一样”是一句被说滥了的话,但我认为它恰恰表达了我当时的心情:我浑身的骨头都酥了。我不是一个多愁善感的人。我是一个单身母亲,一个从农场走出来的女孩,一路走来历尽艰辛,可是,这,这……这太出人意料了。
我把小猫从箱子里抱出来。它几乎完全埋在我的双手里。后来我们弄清它已经八个星期大了,可是看上去却最多只有八天大。它是那么瘦弱,连每一根骨头都能看清楚。我能感到它的心跳,它起伏的胸腔。可怜的小猫实在太虚弱了,连脑袋都抬不起来,而且不住地发抖。它张开嘴巴,两秒钟后才发出声音,那声音有气无力,断断续续。
有一刻,我们俩谁也没说话,只是打量着这只小猫。最后,吉安说道:“你说,它是怎么进来的?”
我没有去想昨夜的事,我只想着眼前。现在给兽医打电话还太早,他要一小时后才开始上班。可是小猫这么冷。即使在我温暖的怀抱里,我也感觉到它在发抖。
……
(我小心翼翼地帮它洗了个热水澡。)
我把它放在桌子上。可怜的小猫连站都站不稳。四个爪子上的肉掌都被冻坏了,一个星期后它们会变白、脱落。然而小猫竟然做了一件特别令人吃惊的事。它在桌上稳住身子,慢慢地抬起头来,挨个儿看着我们的脸。然后它开始蹒跚而行。当每个人伸手去抚摸它时,它用小脑袋蹭着她的手,嘴里发出呜噜呜噜的声音。忘了刚来到世上时的可怕遭遇,忘了那个把它推下图书馆还书箱的冷酷的人。从那一刻起,它似乎想要亲自感谢它遇到的每一个人,感谢他们救了它一命。
(译文参考上海译文出版社)
BEFORE LISTENING小猫魅力背后
The following audio features a clip from Dewey, the beloved library cat of Spencer[斯潘塞市], Iowa[艾奥瓦州(又译:衣阿华州,爱荷华州)], as told by his owner and companion of 19 years, Vicki Myron.
It is also the story of a small town, which burned down at the beginning of the Depression[美国经济大萧条,1929—1933], only to rebuild itself, and which was almost shuttered during the farm crisis of the 1980s before regrouping, and rededicating[重新投入] itself to small-town American values. Dewey’s local charm and worldwide fame became a symbol of hope for this recovering town. Through Dewey’s enthusiasm and warmth, we came to know and love many of the colorful and inspiring people of Spencer.
But perhaps the most inspiring person in Spencer is Vicky Myron herself, a single mother who survived the loss of her family farm, an alcoholic[酗酒的] husband, and a breast cancer scare, to become one of the leaders of the Iowa library system.
Chapter 1The Coldest Morning
第一章 最寒冷的早晨
I have never been a morning person, especially on a dark and cloudy January day, but I have always been 1)dedicated. There were a few cars on the road at seven thirty, when I drove the ten blocks to work, but as usual mine was the first car in the parking lot. Across the street, the Spencer Public Library was dead—no lights, no movement, no sound until I 2)flipped a switch and brought it to life. The heater switched on automatically during the night, but the library was still a freezer first thing in the morning.
After the weekend, the drop box would be full of books, so every Monday I loaded them onto one of our book carts so the clerks could process and shelve them later in the day. When I came back with the cart on this particular Monday morning, Jean was standing quietly in the middle of the room.
“I heard a noise.”
“What kind of noise?”
“From the drop box. I think it’s an animal.”
“A what?”
“An animal. I think there’s an animal in the drop box.”
The first thing I felt was a blast of freezing air. Someone had jammed a book into the return 3)slot, 4)wedging it open. It was as cold in the box as it was outside; maybe colder, since the box was lined with metal. You could have kept frozen meat in there. I was still catching my breath when I saw the kitten.
The kitten looked up at me, slowly and sadly. Then it lowered its head and sank down into its hole. It wasn’t trying to appear tough. It wasn’t trying to hide. I don’t even think it was scared. It was just hoping to be saved.
I know melting can be a 5)cliché, but I think that’s what actually happened to me at that moment: I lost every bone in my body. I am not a 6)mushy person. I’m a single mother and a farm girl who has steered her life through hard times, but this was so, so . . . unexpected.
I lifted the kitten out of the box. My hands nearly swallowed it. We found out later it was eight weeks old, but it looked no more than eight days old, if that. It was so thin I could see every rib. I could feel its heart beating, its lungs pumping. The poor kitten was so weak it could barely hold up its head, and it was shaking uncontrollably. It opened its mouth, but the sound, which came two seconds later, was weak and ragged.
Neither of us said anything for a while. We were just staring at the kitten. Finally Jean said, “How do you think it got in there?”
I wasn’t thinking about last night. I was only thinking about right now. It was too early to call the 7)veterinarian, who wouldn’t be in for an hour. But the kitten was so cold. Even in the warmth of my arms, I could feel it shaking.
…
(I helped the kitten take a hot bath carefully.)
I put him down on the table. The poor kitten could barely stand. The pads on all four of his paws were 8)frostbitten, and over the next week they would turn white and peel off. And yet the kitten managed to do something truly amazing. He steadied himself on the table and slowly looked up into each face. Then he began to 9)hobble. As each person reached to pet him, he rubbed his tiny head against her hand and purred. Forget the horrible events in his young life. Forget the cruel person who 10)shoved him down that library drop box. It was as if, from that moment on, he wanted to personally thank every person he ever met for saving his life.
我绝不是个习惯早起的人,特别是在一月份这种阴云密布的日子里,但我一向非常敬业。七点半,我驱车驶过十个街区去上班时,路上已有少量车辆,但像往常一样,我的车是停车场里的第一辆。街对面的斯潘塞公共图书馆一片死寂——没有灯光,没有动静,没有声响,直到我按动开关,才使它苏醒过来。电热器在半夜里会自动开启,但早晨的图书馆仍然像个冰窖。
经过周末,还书箱里会塞满了书,因此每个星期一,我都会把这些书放在一辆推车里,让馆员们上班的时候分门别类插在书架上。在这个星期一早晨,当我推着车子回来时,(同事)吉安静静地站在房间中央。
“我听到一个声音。”
“什么样的声音?”
“是还书箱里传出来的。我猜是一只动物。”
“一只什么?”
“一只动物。我觉得还书箱里有只动物。”
我首先感到一阵刺骨的冷风。有人把一本书卡在滑槽里,把槽门顶开了。箱子里跟外面一样寒冷,也许还要更冷,因为箱子四壁都是金属。简直可以在里面存放冻肉。我还在喘着气,就看见了那只小猫。
小猫慢慢地抬头看着我,充满哀伤。然后它低下脑袋,又缩进那个窝里。它不是想表现得倔强,也不是想要躲避。我甚至不认为它受了惊吓。它只希望能够获救。
我知道“心像融化了一样”是一句被说滥了的话,但我认为它恰恰表达了我当时的心情:我浑身的骨头都酥了。我不是一个多愁善感的人。我是一个单身母亲,一个从农场走出来的女孩,一路走来历尽艰辛,可是,这,这……这太出人意料了。
我把小猫从箱子里抱出来。它几乎完全埋在我的双手里。后来我们弄清它已经八个星期大了,可是看上去却最多只有八天大。它是那么瘦弱,连每一根骨头都能看清楚。我能感到它的心跳,它起伏的胸腔。可怜的小猫实在太虚弱了,连脑袋都抬不起来,而且不住地发抖。它张开嘴巴,两秒钟后才发出声音,那声音有气无力,断断续续。
有一刻,我们俩谁也没说话,只是打量着这只小猫。最后,吉安说道:“你说,它是怎么进来的?”
我没有去想昨夜的事,我只想着眼前。现在给兽医打电话还太早,他要一小时后才开始上班。可是小猫这么冷。即使在我温暖的怀抱里,我也感觉到它在发抖。
……
(我小心翼翼地帮它洗了个热水澡。)
我把它放在桌子上。可怜的小猫连站都站不稳。四个爪子上的肉掌都被冻坏了,一个星期后它们会变白、脱落。然而小猫竟然做了一件特别令人吃惊的事。它在桌上稳住身子,慢慢地抬起头来,挨个儿看着我们的脸。然后它开始蹒跚而行。当每个人伸手去抚摸它时,它用小脑袋蹭着她的手,嘴里发出呜噜呜噜的声音。忘了刚来到世上时的可怕遭遇,忘了那个把它推下图书馆还书箱的冷酷的人。从那一刻起,它似乎想要亲自感谢它遇到的每一个人,感谢他们救了它一命。
(译文参考上海译文出版社)