V.S. Naipaul’sBanquet Speech after His Award

V.S. Naipaul’s
Banquet Speech after His Award

Your majesties¹, your royal Highnesses, honoured 1)laureates, ladies and gentlemen:

One of the things that happen to people who get the Nobel Prize, is that they also get a lot of media attention. Many interviews, too many, so many that I begin to feel now that I’ve lost the capacity for 2)spontaneous thought. I need the questions and since there not going to be any questions now, I thought I would begin the two minute speech which is meant to be light, like the old fashion 3)comedian², the man you know to whom things happened on the way to the studio.

Well then. Something happened to me, on the way to 4)Stockholm The strap³ of my wristwatch broke, and for some 5)surreal moments I found myself looking at my watch on the floor of the plane. This is no metaphor⁴, here is the strapless watch. What did it mean? What was the awful symbolism? The fact that all through, this grand Nobel week, I was to be without my watch. The great Caesar landing in Egypt fell flat on his face in the wet shore - you can imagine the 6)consternation⁵ of his officers, until the great and resourceful man shouted, Africa I’ve got you! Some centuries later, the Emperor Julian, training one morning with his soldiers, lost the wicker part of his shield, he was left holding only the grip or the handle. How terrible for everybody until the Emperor shouted, what I have I hold!

Not having the resourcefulness of these great men, I could find no words to make the bad symbolism good, until tonight, when I understood, that time was to stop for me, during this Nobel week, and that when it began again it will be truly new. Now my strapless watch, 7)benign⁶ again, tells me without threat, that my time is running out, my two minutes are up.

注释:
1) laureate [5lC:riit] n. 戴桂冠的人，（有杰出成就的）获奖者
2) spontaneous [spCn5teinjEs] 自发的，自然产生的
3) comedian [kE5mi:diEn] n. 喜剧演员
4) Stockholm [5stCkhEum] n. 斯德哥尔摩（瑞典首都）
5) surreal [sE5ri:l] a.不真实的，离奇的
6) consternation [7kCnstE(:)5neiFEn] n.恐怖，惊惶失措
7) benign [bi5nain] a. 良好的，仁慈的

维·苏·奈保尔
获诺贝尔奖后的晚宴讲话

国王、王后陛下，诸位殿下，尊敬的诺贝尔奖得主们，女士们、先生们：
诺贝尔奖的获得者总会遇到这样的情况：招来了媒体的广泛注意。多不胜数的采访，多得应接不暇，多得让我开始觉得自己已经丧失了自发思考的能力了。我渴望有人提问，而因为此刻将不会有任何提问，我想我应该开始我的两分钟演讲--这演讲会是轻松活泼的，就如老牌的喜剧演员，笑话就发生在他去演播室的路上。
好， 那就开始吧。在来斯德哥尔摩的路上发生了一件事：我的手表表带断了。于是，有好几个离奇的时刻，我发现自己凝视着躺在飞机地板上的手表。这并不是比喻，没有表带的手表就在这里。这是什么意思呢？其骇人的象征意义又是什么呢？结果是，整个隆重的诺贝尔周，我都没有带手表了。伟大的恺撒大帝登陆埃及时脸朝地直挺挺地跌倒在潮湿的海滩上--你可以想象得到他手下的官兵是怎样的惊惶失措--直至后来这个充满雄韬伟略的男子大声呼喊：“非洲，我把你弄到手了！”几个世纪以后，尤里安大帝在一天早上练兵时，盾牌的柳织部分掉了，只剩下把手或者说手柄拿在手上，当时所有人都觉得多么的可怕啊，然而大帝最后高声呼喊：“我拥有的，我都抓住了！”
    我没有这些大人物的足智多谋，因而我一直找不出化不祥之兆为喜讯的言词，直到今晚，我恍然大悟：这个诺贝尔周，留给我的时间即将告终，而当它又再开始的时候，那将是崭新的一页了。此刻，我的无带之表恢复正常了，它告诉我，没有带着凶兆，我的时间正匆匆流尽--我的两分钟完了。

 

1 majesties   

n.雄伟( majesty的名词复数 )；庄严；陛下；王权

参考例句：

• Their Majesties will open the new bridge today. 国王和王后陛下今天将为新桥落成剪彩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He beseeched me to entreat your Majesties to hear and see the matter. 他拜托我一定请陛下二位也来看戏。 来自辞典例句

2 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

3 strap   

n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎

参考例句：

• She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
• The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。

4 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

5 consternation   

n.大为吃惊，惊骇

参考例句：

• He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害，感到非常震惊。
• Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。

6 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。