人教版高中英语必修四Unit 3课文翻译

人教版高中英语必修四Unit 3课文翻译

Unit 3 A taste of English humour

―Reading―

A MASTER OF NONVERBAL HUMOUR

无声的幽默的大师

As Victor Hugo once said, “Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face”, 维克多·雨果曾经说过：“笑容如同阳光，驱散人们脸上的阴霾”and up to now nobody has been able to do this better than Charlie Chaplin. 关于这一点，直到今天也没有人比查理·卓别林做的更好。He brightened the lives of Americans and British through two world wars and the hard years in between. 在两次世界大战及中间艰苦的岁月里，他给英国和美国人民带来了快乐。He made people laugh at a time when they felt depressed, so they could feel more content with their lives. 在人们感到沮丧的时候，查理使人们开怀大笑，于是他们对自己的生活感到更加满足。

Not that Charlie's own life was easy! 然而卓别林自己的生活也并不容易。He was born in a poor family in 1889. His parents were both poor music hall performers. 他生于1889年，出身贫寒。他的父母都是杂耍戏院里贫穷的演员。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. 你可能会感到惊奇，查理刚会说话时大人就教他唱歌，他刚会走路时大人就教他跳舞。Such training was common in acting families

at this time, especially when the family income was often uncertain. 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。Unfortunately his father died, leaving the family even worse off, so Charlie spent his childhood looking after his sick mother and his brother. 不幸的是他的父亲去世了，使得他的家庭更加艰难，所以查理在童年时期就要照顾生病的母亲和弟弟。By his teens, Charlie had, through his humour, become one of the most popular child actors in England. 在十多岁的时候，凭借着自己的幽默，查理已经在英国成为最受欢迎的童星之一。He could mime and act the fool doing ordinary everyday tasks. 他能够不说话而仅靠动作来模仿傻子做日常的任务。No one was ever bored watching him -his subtle acting made everything entertaining. 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. 随着时间的推移，他开始拍电影。He grew more and more popular as his charming character, the little tramp, became known throughout the world. 他塑造的可爱的“小流浪汉”角色开始闻名于世，而查理越来越受欢迎。The tramp, a poor, homeless man with a moustache, wore large trousers, worn-out shoes and a small round black hat. He walked around stiffly carrying a walking stick. 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走动。This character was a social failure but was loved for his

optimism and determination to overcome all difficulties. 这个角色是个社会生活中的失败者，但他乐观的精神和战胜困难的决心使他受到人们的喜爱。He was the underdog who was kind even when others were unkind to him. 面对并不善待他的人，这个弱者依然保持友善的态度。

How did the little tramp make a sad situation entertaining? 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? Here is an example from one of his most famous films, The Gold Rush. 这里有一个例子，来自于他最著名的电影之一《淘金记》。It is the mid-nineteenth century and gold has just been discovered in California. 19世纪中叶，在加利福尼亚州发现了金子。Like so many others, the little tramp and his friend have rushed there in search of gold, but without success. 像其他很多人一样，小流浪汉和他的朋友也涌向那里去淘金，但却没有成功。Instead they are hiding in a small hut on the edge of a mountain during a snowstorm with nothing to eat. 相反，他们被暴风雪困在山边的一个小木屋中，没有任何东西可吃。They are so hungry that they try boiling a pair of leather shoes for their dinner. 他们饿极了，只好煮了一双皮鞋来充饥。Charlie first picks out the laces and eats them as if they were spaghetti. 查理首先挑出鞋带来吃，像吃意大利面条一样。Then he cuts off the leather top of the shoe as if it were the finest steak. 然后他把皮鞋上端的皮子切下来，就像切下一块最好的牛排。Finally he tries cutting and chewing the bottom of the shoe. 最后他试着把鞋底割下来嚼着吃。He eats each mouthful with great enjoyment. 他