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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
Chapter Eleven
AFTER the scene in the Fertilizing1 Room, all upper-caste London was wild to see this delicious creature who had fallen on his knees before the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning-or rather the ex-Director, for the poor man had resigned immediately afterwards and never set foot inside the Centre again-had flopped2 down and called him (the joke was almost too good to be true!) "my father." Linda, on the contrary, cut no ice; nobody had the smallest desire to see Linda. To say one was a mother-that was past a joke: it was an obscenity. Moreover, she wasn't a real savage3, had been hatched out of a bottle and conditioned like any one else: so couldn't have really quaint4 ideas. Final-ly-and this was by far the strongest reason for people's not wanting to see poor Linda-there was her appearance. Fat; having lost her youth; with bad teeth, and a blotched complexion5, and that figure (Fordl)-you simply couldn't look at her without feeling sick, yes, positively7 sick.
So the best people were quite determined8 not to see Linda. And Linda, for her part, had no desire to see them. The return to civilization was for her the return to soma, was the possibility of lying in bed and taking holiday after holiday, without ever having to come back to a headache or a fit of vomiting9, without ever being made to feel as you always felt after peyotl, as though you'd done something so shamefully10 anti-social that you could never hold up your head again. Soma played none of these unpleasant tricks. The holiday it gave was perfect and, if the morning after was disagreeable, it was so, not intrinsically, but only by comparison with the joys of the holiday. The remedy was to make the holiday continuous. Greedily she clamoured for ever larger, ever more frequent doses. Dr. Shaw at first demurred11; then let her have what she wanted. She took as much as twenty grammes a day.
"Which will finish her off in a month or two," the doctor confided12 to Bernard. "One day the respiratory centre will be paralyzed. No more breathing. Finished. And a good thing too. If we could rejuvenate13, of course it would be different. But we can't."
Surprisingly, as every one thought (for on soma-holiday Linda was most conveniently out of the way), John raised objections.
"But aren't you shortening her life by giving her so much?"
"In one sense, yes," Dr. Shaw admitted. "But in another we're actually lengthening14 it." The young man stared, uncomprehending. "Soma may make you lose a few years in time," the doctor went on. "But think of the enormous, immeasurable durations it can give you out of time. Every soma-holiday is a bit of what our ancestors used to call eternity15."
John began to understand. "Eternity was in our lips and eyes," he murmured.
"Eh?"
"Nothing."
"Of course," Dr. Shaw went on, "you can't allow people to go popping off into eternity if they've got any serious work to do. But as she hasn't got any serious work ..."
"All the same," John persisted, "I don't believe it's right."
The doctor shrugged16 his shoulders. "Well, of course, if you prefer to have her screaming mad all the time ..."
In the end John was forced to give in. Linda got her soma. Thenceforward she remained in her little room on the thirty-seventh floor of Bernard's apartment house, in bed, with the radio and television al- ways on, and the patchouli tap just dripping, and the soma tablets within reach of her hand-there she remained; and yet wasn't there at all, was all the time away, infinitely17 far away, on holiday; on holiday in some other world, where the music of the radio was a labyrinth18 of sonorous19 colours, a sliding, palpitating labyrinth, that led (by what beautifully inevitable20 windings) to a bright centre of absolute conviction; where the dancing images of the television box were the performers in some indescribably delicious all-singing feely; where the dripping patchouli was more than scent-was the sun, was a million saxophones, was Pope making love, only much more so, incomparably more, and without end.
"No, we can't rejuvenate. But I'm very glad," Dr. Shaw had concluded, "to have had this opportunity to see an example of senility in a human being. Thank you so much for calling me in." He shook Bernard warmly by the hand.
It was John, then, they were all after. And as it was only through Bernard, his accredited21 guardian22, that John could be seen, Bernard now found himself, for the first time in his life, treated not merely normally, but as a person of outstanding importance. There was no more talk of the alcohol in his blood-surrogate, no gibes23 at his personal appearance. Henry Foster went out of his way to be friendly; Benito Hoover made him a present of six packets of sex-hormone chewing-gum; the Assistant Predestinator came out and cadged24 almost abjectly25 for an invitation to one of Bernard's evening parties. As for the women, Bernard had only to hint at the possibility of an invitation, and he could have whichever of them he liked.
"Bernard's asked me to meet the Savage next Wednesday," Fanny announced triumphantly26.
"I'm so glad," said Lenina. "And now you must admit that you were wrong about Bernard. Don't you think he's really rather sweet?"
Fanny nodded. "And I must say," she said, "I was quite agreeably surprised."
The Chief Bottler, the Director of Predestination, three Deputy Assistant Fertilizer-Generals, the Professor of Feelies in the College of Emotional Engineering, the Dean of the Westminster Community Singery, the Supervisor27 of Bokanovskification-the list of Bernard's notabilities was interminable.
"And I had six girls last week," he confided to Helmholtz Watson. "One on Monday, two on Tuesday, two more on Friday, and one on Saturday. And if I'd had the time or the inclination28, there were at least a dozen more who were only too anxious ..."
Helmholtz listened to his boastings in a silence so gloomily disapproving29 that Bernard was offended.
"You're envious," he said.
Helmholtz shook his head. "I'm rather sad, that's all," he answered.
Bernard went off in a huff. Never, he told himself, never would he speak to Helmholtz again.
The days passed. Success went fizzily to Bernard's head, and in the process completely reconciled him (as any good intoxicant should do) to a world which, up till then, he had found very unsatisfactory. In so far as it recognized him as important, the order of things was good. But, reconciled by his success, he yet refused to forego the privilege of criticizing this order. For the act of criticizing heightened his sense of importance, made him feel larger. Moreover, he did genuinely believe that there were things to criticize. (At the same time, he genuinely liked being a success and having all the girls he wanted.) Before those who now, for the sake of the Savage, paid their court to him, Bernard would parade a carping unorthodoxy. He was politely listened to. But behind his back people shook their heads. "That young man will come to a bad end," they said, prophesying30 the more confidently in that they themselves would in due course personally see to it that the end was bad. "He won't find another Savage to help him out a second time," they said. Meanwhile, however, there was the first Savage; they were polite. And because they were polite, Bernard felt positively gigantic-gigantic and at the same time light with elation31, lighter32 than air.
Like a pearl in the sky, high, high above them, the Weather Department's captive balloon shone rosily34 in the sunshine.
"... the said Savage," so ran Bernard's instructions, "to be shown civilized35 life in all its aspects. ..."
He was being shown a bird's-eye view of it at present, a bird's-eye view from the platform of the Charing-T Tower. The Station Master and the Resident Meteorologist were acting36 as guides. But it was Bernard who did most of the talking. Intoxicated37, he was behaving as though, at the very least, he were a visiting World Controller. Lighter than air.
The Bombay Green Rocket dropped out of the sky. The passengers alighted. Eight identical Dravidian twins in khaki looked out of the eight portholes of the cabin-the stewards38.
"Twelve hundred and fifty kilometres an hour," said the Station Master impressively. "What do you think of that, Mr. Savage?"
John thought it very nice. "Still," he said, "Ariel could put a girdle round the earth in forty minutes."
"The Savage," wrote Bernard in his report to Mustapha Mond, "shows surprisingly little astonishment39 at, or awe40 of, civilized inventions. This is partly due, no doubt, to the fact that he has heard them talked about by the woman Linda, his m ."
(Mustapha Mond frowned. "Does the fool think I'm too squeamish to see the word written out at full length?")
"Partly on his interest being focussed on what he calls 'the soul,' which he persists in regarding as an entity41 independent of the physical environment, whereas, as I tried to point out to him ..."
The Controller skipped the next sentences and was just about to turn the page in search of something more interestingly concrete, when his eye was caught by a series of quite extraordinary phrases. " ... though I must admit," he read, "that I agree with the Savage in finding civilized infantility too easy or, as he puts it, not expensive enough; and I would like to take this opportunity of drawing your fordship's attention to ..."
Mustapha Mond's anger gave place almost at once to mirth. The idea of this creature solemnly lecturing him-fr/'m-about the social order was really too grotesque42. The man must have gone mad. "I ought to give him a lesson," he said to himself; then threw back his head and laughed aloud. For the moment, at any rate, the lesson would not be given.
It was a small factory of lighting-sets for helicopters, a branch of the Electrical Equipment Corporation. They were met on the roof itself (for that circular letter of recommendation from the Controller was magical in its effects) by the Chief Technician and the Human Element Manager. They walked downstairs into the factory.
"Each process," explained the Human Element Manager, "is carried out, so far as possible, by a single Bokanovsky Group."
And, in effect, eighty-three almost noseless black brachycephalic Deltas44 were cold-pressing. The fifty-six four-spindle chucking and turning machines were being manipulated by fifty-six aquiline45 and ginger46 Gammas. One hundred and seven heat-conditioned Epsilon Senegalese were working in the foundry. Thirty-three Delta43 females, long-headed, sandy, with narrow pelvises, and all within 20 millimetres of 1 metre 69 centimetres tall, were cutting screws. In the assembling room, the dynamos were being put together by two sets of Gamma-Plus dwarfs47. The two low work-tables faced one another; between them crawled the conveyor with its load of separate parts; forty-seven blonde heads were confronted by forty-seven brown ones. Forty-seven snubs by forty-seven hooks; forty-seven receding48 by forty-seven prognathous chins. The completed mechanisms49 were inspected by eighteen identical curly auburn girls in Gamma green, packed in crates50 by thirty-four short-legged, left-handed male Delta-Minuses, and loaded into the waiting trucks and lorries by sixty-three blue-eyed, flaxen and freckled51 Epsilon Semi-Morons.
"O brave new world ..." By some malice52 of his memory the Savage found himself repeating Miranda's words. "O brave new world that has such people in it."
"And I assure you," the Human Element Manager concluded, as they left the factory, "we hardly ever have any trouble with our workers. We always find ..."
But the Savage had suddenly broken away from his companions and was violently retching, behind a clump53 of laurels54, as though the solid earth had been a helicopter in an air pocket.
"The Savage," wrote Bernard, "refuses to take soma, and seems much distressed55 because of the woman Linda, his m , remains56 permanently57 on holiday. It is worthy58 of note that, in spite of his m 's senility and the extreme repulsiveness59 of her appearance, the Savage frequently goes to see her and appears to be much attached to her-an interesting example of the way in which early conditioning can be made to modify and even run counter to natural impulses (in this case, the impulse to recoil60 from an unpleasant object)."
At Eton they alighted on the roof of Upper School. On the opposite side of School Yard, the fifty-two stories of Lupton's Tower gleamed white in the sunshine. College on their left and, on their right, the School Community Singery reared their venerable piles of ferro-concrete and vita-glass. In the centre of the quadrangle stood the quaint old chrome-steel statue of Our Ford6.
Dr. Gaffney, the Provost, and Miss Keate, the Head Mistress, received them as they stepped out of the plane.
"Do you have many twins here?" the Savage asked rather apprehensively61, as they set out on their tour of inspection62.
"Oh, no," the Provost answered. "Eton is reserved exclusively for upper-caste boys and girls. One egg, one adult. It makes education more difficult of course. But as they'll be called upon to take responsibilities and deal with unexpected emergencies, it can't be helped." He sighed.
Bernard, meanwhile, had taken a strong fancy to Miss Keate. "If you're free any Monday, Wednesday, or Friday evening," he was saying. Jerking his thumb towards the Savage, "He's curious, you know," Bernard added. "Quaint."
Miss Keate smiled (and her smile was really charming, he thought); said Thank you; would be delighted to come to one of his parties. The Provost opened a door.
Five minutes in that Alpha Double Plus classroom left John a trifle bewildered.
"What is elementary relativity?" he whispered to Bernard. Bernard tried to explain, then thought better of it and suggested that they should go to some other classroom.
From behind a door in the corridor leading to the Beta-Minus geography room, a ringing soprano voice called, "One, two, three, four," and then, with a weary impatience63, "As you were."
"Malthusian Drill," explained the Head Mistress. "Most of our girls are freemartins, of course. I'm a freemartin myself." She smiled at Bernard. "But we have about eight hundred unsterilized ones who need constant drilling."
In the Beta-Minus geography room John learnt that "a savage reservation is a place which, owing to unfavourable climatic or geological conditions, or poverty of natural resources, has not been worth the expense of civilizing64." A click; the room was darkened; and suddenly, on the screen above the Master's head, there were the Penitentes of Acoma prostrating65 themselves before Our Lady, and wailing67 as John had heard them wail66, confessing their sins before Jesus on the Cross, before the eagle image of Pookong. The young Etonians fairly shouted with laughter. Still wailing, the Penitentes rose to their feet, stripped off their upper garments and, with knotted whips, began to beat themselves, blow after blow. Redoubled, the laughter drowned even the amplified68 record of their groans69.
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1
fertilizing
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| v.施肥( fertilize的现在分词 ) | |
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flopped
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| v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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vomiting
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| 吐 | |
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shamefully
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| 可耻地； 丢脸地； 不体面地； 羞耻地 | |
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demurred
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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rejuvenate
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| v.(使)返老还童；(使)恢复活力 | |
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lengthening
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长 | |
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eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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sonorous
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| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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accredited
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| adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于 | |
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guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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gibes
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| vi.嘲笑，嘲弄（gibe的第三人称单数形式） | |
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cadged
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| v.乞讨，乞得，索取( cadge的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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abjectly
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| 凄惨地； 绝望地； 糟透地； 悲惨地 | |
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triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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supervisor
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| n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师 | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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disapproving
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| adj.不满的，反对的v.不赞成( disapprove的现在分词 ) | |
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prophesying
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的现在分词 ) | |
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elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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rosily
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| adv.带玫瑰色地，乐观地 | |
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civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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38
stewards
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| （轮船、飞机等的）乘务员( steward的名词复数 )； （俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的）管理员； （大型活动的）组织者； （私人家中的）管家 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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41
entity
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| n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物 | |
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42
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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43
delta
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| n.（流的）角洲 | |
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deltas
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| 希腊字母表中第四个字母( delta的名词复数 )； （河口的）三角洲 | |
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45
aquiline
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| adj.钩状的，鹰的 | |
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46
ginger
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| n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气 | |
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47
dwarfs
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| n.侏儒，矮子（dwarf的复数形式）vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的第三人称单数形式） | |
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48
receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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49
mechanisms
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| n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用 | |
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crates
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| n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱 | |
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51
freckled
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| adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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laurels
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| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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56
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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repulsiveness
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60
recoil
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| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
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apprehensively
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| adv.担心地 | |
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62
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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63
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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64
civilizing
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| v.使文明，使开化( civilize的现在分词 ) | |
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prostrating
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的现在分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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66
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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68
amplified
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| 放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述 | |
参考例句： |
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groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
参考例句： |
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