小王子 第2期:通情達(dá)理之人

I had been disheartened by the failure of my Drawing Number One and my Drawing Number Two.

我的第一號、第二號作品的不成功，使我泄了氣。

Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.

這些大人們，靠他們自己什么也弄不懂，還得老是不斷地給他們作解釋。這真叫孩子們膩味。

So then I chose another profession, and learned to pilot airplanes.

后來，我只好選擇了另外一個(gè)職業(yè)，我學(xué)會了開飛機(jī)，

I have flown a little over all parts of the world; and it is true that geography has been very useful to me.

世界各地差不多都飛到過。的確，地理學(xué)幫了我很大的忙。

At a glance I can distinguish China from Arizona.

我一眼就能分辨出中國和亞里桑那。

If one gets lost in the night, such knowledge is valuable.

要是夜里迷失了航向，這是很有用的。

In the course of this life I have had a great many encounters with a great many people who have been concerned with matters of consequence.

這樣，在我的生活中，我跟許多嚴(yán)肅的人有過很多的接觸。

I have lived a great deal among grown-ups.

我在大人們中間生活過很長時(shí)間。

I have seen them intimately, close at hand.And that hasn’t much improved my opinion of them.

我仔細(xì)地觀察過他們，但這并沒有使我對他們的看法有多大的改變。

Whenever I met one of them who seemed to me at all clear-sighted,

當(dāng)我遇到一個(gè)頭腦看來稍微清楚的大人時(shí)，

I tried the experiment of showing him my Drawing Number One, which I have always kept.

我就拿出一直保存著的我那第一號作品來測試測試他。

I would try to find out, so, if this was a person of true understanding.

我想知道他是否真的有理解能力。

But, whoever it was, he, or she, would always say: “That is a hat.”

可是，得到的回答總是：“這是頂帽子。”

Then I would never talk to that person about boa constrictors, or primeval forests, or stars.

我就不和他談巨蟒呀，原始森林呀，或者星星之類的事。

I would bring myself down to his level. I would talk to him about bridge,and golf, and politics, and neckties.

我只得遷就他們的水平，和他們談些橋牌呀，高爾夫球呀，政治呀，領(lǐng)帶呀這些。

And the grown-up would be greatly pleased to have met such a sensible man.

于是大人們就十分高興能認(rèn)識我這樣一個(gè)通情達(dá)理的人。