XB 4 Unit 1 英汉对译

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED (Adapted)
包你满意（改编）
Larry Belmont worked for a company that made robots. Recently it had begun experimenting with a household robot. It was going to be tested out by Larry’s wife, Claire.
拉里・贝尔蒙特在一家机器人制造公司工作。该公司最近开始试验家用机器人。机器人将由拉里的妻子克莱尔进行试用。
Claire didn’t want the robot in her house, especially as her husband would be away on a business trip for three weeks, but Larry persuaded her that the robot wouldn’t harm her or allow her to be harmed. It would be a bonus. However when she first saw the robot, she felt alarmed. His name was Tony. He seemed more like a human than a machine. He was tall and handsome with smooth hair and a deep voice, although his facial expression never changed.
克莱尔并不想家里有个机器人，尤其是在她丈夫要出差三周的时候，但是拉里劝她说机器人不会伤害她，也不会让她受到伤害。还会是个意外收获。然而，第一次看到机器人时，克莱尔还是有点惊慌。这个机器人名叫托尼，看着不太像机器，而更像一个真人。托尼高大英俊，头发顺滑，嗓音低沉，不过他的面部表情始终不变。
On the second morning, Tony brought her breakfast and then asked her whether she needed help dressing. She felt embarrassed and quickly told him to go. Now she was being looked after by a robot that looked so human, and it was disturbing.
第二天早晨，托尼给克莱尔端来了早餐，还问她是否需要帮忙穿衣打扮。克莱尔感到非常尴尬，立刻让托尼走开。现在，她正由一个看起来这么像人类的机器人照料着，这很令人不安。
One day, Claire mentioned that she didn’t think she was clever. Tony said that she must feel very unhappy to say that. Claire thought it was ridiculous that she was being offered sympathy by a robot, but she gradually admired his wisdom and integrity and began to trust him. He always treated her with dignity. She told him how she was unhappy that her home wasn’t elegant enough for Larry, who wanted to improve his social position with a bigger salary. She wasn’t like Gladys Claffern, one of the richest and most powerful women around.
有一天，克莱尔说她觉得自己并不聪明。托尼说她肯定是感到很不开心才会这么说。克莱尔觉得一个机器人对她表示同情十分荒谬，但她逐渐欣赏托尼的智慧和正直，并且开始信任他。托尼对她彬彬有礼。克莱尔告诉托尼自己多么的不开心，因为拉里觉得家里不够雅致；拉里想通过涨工资来提高自己的社会地位。克莱尔与格拉迪丝・克拉芬不同，后者是当地最有钱有势的女性之一。
As a favour, Tony promised to help Claire make herself more beautiful and her home more elegant. So Claire borrowed some library books for him to read, or rather, scan. She looked at his fingers with wonder as they turned each page. How absurd, she thought. He was just a machine.
作为一项恩惠，托尼答应帮助克莱尔，把她变得更漂亮些，也把她的家变得更雅致些。于是，克莱尔从图书馆借来了一些书让托尼阅读，应该说是让他扫视。她惊奇地看着托尼的手指翻动书页的样子，心想这太荒唐了。他只不过是一台机器罢了。
Tony gave Claire a new hairstyle and improved her makeup. As he was not allowed to accompany her to the shops, he wrote out a list of things that he would need for his work on the house. Claire went downtown and bought these things. She had an appointment to paint her nails, then she went into an expensive clothes shop. The saleswoman there was rude to her, so she rang Tony and told him she was being treated badly. He spoke to the woman, who immediately changed her attitude. Claire thanked Tony, telling him that he was a “dear”. As she turned around, there stood Gladys Claffern. How awful to be discovered by her, Claire thought. By the look on her face, Claire knew that Gladys thought they were in a relationship. After all, she knew Claire’s husband’s name was Larry, not Tony. Although it was completely innocent, Claire felt guilty.
托尼给克莱尔做了一个新发型，还改善了她的妆容。但是，由于托尼被禁止陪同克莱尔去商店，所以他开具了一张装修房子所需材料的清单。克莱尔去市中心购买了这些东西。她按预约去美甲后，走进了一家高档时装店。女店员对她很粗鲁，于是她打电话给托尼，告诉他说自己受到了不礼貌的对待。托尼同店员交谈之后，店员立刻改变了态度。克莱尔向托尼道谢，称托尼为“亲爱的”。当她转过身来，却看到格拉迪丝・克拉芬正站在那里。被她发现了，这多么难堪啊，克莱尔心想。从她脸上的表情判断，克莱尔知道格拉迪丝认为自己出轨了。毕竟她知道克莱尔丈夫的名字是拉里，而不是托尼。虽然完全无辜，克莱尔还是感到内疚。
When Claire got home, she wept. Gladys was everything Claire wished to be. Tony told her she was being sensitive and was just as good as Gladys. He suggested that she invite Gladys and her friends to the house the night before he was to leave and Larry was to return. By that time, Tony expected that the house, which was being completely transformed, would be ready.
到家后，克莱尔啜泣不止。格拉迪丝是她竭力模仿的对象。托尼对克莱尔说，她这样想有点敏感，其实她像格拉迪丝一样优秀。托尼还建议在他离开，也就是拉里回家的前一天晚上，克莱尔邀请格拉迪丝和她的朋友们到家里来。到那个时候，托尼预计这栋正在彻底改造的房子将大功告成。
Tony worked steadily on the improvements. Claire tried to help by working on a light suspended from the ceiling, but she fell off the ladder. Even though Tony had been in the next room, he managed to catch her in time. As he held her, she felt the warmth of his body. She screamed, pushed him away, and ran to her room.
托尼的装修工作稳步进展。克莱尔试图帮忙安装天花板上的吊灯，但从梯子上摔了下来。尽管托尼当时在隔壁房间，但他还是及时接住了她。托尼抱着她的时候，她感受到了他身体的热度。她尖叫了一声，一把推开他，然后跑回了自己的房间。
The night of the party arrived. The clock struck eight. The guests would be arriving soon, so Claire dismissed Tony for the rest of the night. At that moment Tony took her in his arms, bringing his face close to hers. She heard him declare that he did not want to leave her the next day, and that he felt more than just the desire to please her. Then the front door bell rang.
聚会之夜到了。时钟敲响了八点整，客人们很快就要来了，于是克莱尔让托尼结束了当晚的工作，说当夜不再需要他了。就在那一瞬间，托尼将她揽入怀中，慢慢地贴近她的脸庞。克莱尔听着托尼宣布说他次日并不想离开她，而且他心里的愿望不只是让她开心而己。就在这时，前门的门铃响了。
THE TIME MACHINE (Adapted)
时间机器（改编）
It was at ten o’clock today that the first of all Time Machines began its career. I gave it a last check, and sat myself in the leather seat. I pushed the starting lever on the main panel forwards an inch then immediately backwards again. Looking around, I saw my laboratory exactly as before. Had anything happened? I thought my mind had tricked me. Then I saw the clock. A moment before, it was a minute or so past ten; now it was nearly half past three!
上午十点，所有时间机器中的第一台启动了运转之旅。我最后检査了一遍机器，然后坐在皮椅上。我把主面板上的操纵杆往前推了一英寸，然后又立刻向后拉。环顾四周，我看到实验室与以前一模一样。发生什么事了吗？我以为我的大脑欺骗了我。然后我看了下时钟。片刻之前，大概是十点零一分，而现在已经快三点半了！
I drew a breath, gripped the lever and pushed it forwards. The laboratory went hazy around me. My niece came in to fetch something, maybe her handkerchief, apparently without seeing me. It probably took her a minute, but to me she moved like a rocket! I pushed the lever further. Night came as if a lamp was being turned out, and in another moment came the day. Tomorrow night came, then skipped to day, again and again, faster and faster still.
我吸了一口气，一把抓住操纵杆，往前推了一下。实验室在我身边变得模糊不清。我的侄女进来拿东西，也许是拿她的手帕，但她显然没看见我。她大约花了一分钟时间，但在我看来，她的动作快如火箭！我把操纵杆再往前推了下。夜幕降临了，仿佛一盏灯正在熄灭，转眼间，白昼就来临了。第二天夜晚降临，接着又跃进到白天。如此反复，越来越快。
It is hard to explain the strange and unpleasant feeling of time travelling. It felt like I was being driven fast on a winding road. As my pace grew faster, the walls of the laboratory fell away, and I was left in the open air. The sun and moon looked as if they were being thrown across the sky, but soon there was division between night and day. Around me I saw trees growing like puffs of smoke; they grew, spread, and died in moments. I saw huge buildings rise up then disappear like in a dream. The whole surface of the earth was being changed, melting and flowing before my eyes. I calculated that I was being pushed through time at hundreds of years a minute.
时间旅行带来的陌生感和不适感是难以解释的。我感到我好像坐在一部汽车里，飞驰在蜿蜒的道路上。我的速度越来越快，实验室的墙壁随之坍塌，我置身野外。太阳和月亮看起来似乎正被抛向天空，但是很快就有了昼夜之分。环顾四周，我看到树木似青烟升起，不断生长，变得枝繁叶茂，片刻之后枯亡。我看到大楼拔地而起，继而消逝，犹如梦中。地球的整个表面都在变化，在我的眼前熔化、流动。我估算我一分钟要穿越数百年的时间。
I had a strange urge to look at the random things that were being flashed before my eyes! I had thought about the risk of stopping the Time Machine many times. So long as I travelled at maximum speed, it didn’t matter. But if I stopped and the same space was being occupied by something else, we would be forced together and explode like a bomb! Like an impatient fool, I pulled the lever backwards hard. With a sudden jolt, the Time Machine was flipped on its side, and I was thrown through the air.
我有一种强烈的欲望，想看看眼前那些随机闪现的东西！我已多次考虑过停下时间机器的风险。只要我以最高的速度前进，就不会有什么问题。但是，如果我停下来，同一空间被别的东西占据，我们就会被挤在一起，然后像炸弹一样爆炸！我就像一个失去耐心的傻瓜，使劲向后拉了下操纵杆。突然一震，时间机器侧翻了，我被抛向了空中。
I was stunned for a moment, and then heard the sound of thunder. I was sitting in the rain in some mud next to the machine. “A fine welcome,” I said, “for a man who has travelled thousands of years to be here!”
我一时惊呆了，然后听到雷声。我坐在雨中的一堆烂泥上，时间机器躺在旁边。“对一个穿越了数千年才来到这里的人来说，这欢迎真是别开生面！”我说道。