小王子 第31期:获取专利证

 Nevertheless, he still had some more questions.

可是他又提了一些问题：

How is it possible for one to own the stars?

你怎么能占有星星呢？

"To whom do they belong?" the businessman retorted¹, peevishly².

“那么你说星星是谁的呀？”实业家不高兴地顶了小王子一句。

I don't know. To nobody.

我不知道，不属于任何人。

Then they belong to me, because I was the first person to think of it.

那么，它们就是我的，因为是我第一个想到了这件事情的。

Is that all that is necessary?

这就行了吗？

Certainly. When you find a diamond that belongs to nobody, it is yours.

那当然。如果你发现了一颗没有主人的钻石，那么这颗钻石就是属于你的。

When you discover an island that belongs to nobody, it is yours.

当你发现一个岛是没有主的，那么这个岛就是你的。

When you get an idea before any one else, you take out a patent on it: it is yours.

当你首先想出了一个办法，你就去领一个专利证，这个办法就是属于你的。

So with me:I own the stars, because nobody else before me ever thought of owning them."

既然在我之前不曾有任何人想到要占有这些星星，那我就占有这些星星。

"Yes, that is true," said the little prince. "And what do you do with them?"

“这倒也是。可是你用它们来干什么？”小王子说。

"I administer³ them," replied the businessman.

我经营管理这些星星。

I count them and recount them. It is diffcult.

我一遍又一遍地计算它们的数目。这是一件困难的事。

But I am a man who is naturally interested in matters of consequence.

但我是一个严肃认真的人！

1 retorted   

反驳( retort的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She retorted upon me, saying I was to blame. 她反驳我，说我才应该受责备。
• She retorted upon him, saying he was to blame. 她反驳他，说他不好。

2 peevishly   

adv．暴躁地

参考例句：

• Paul looked through his green glasses peevishly when the other speaker brought down the house with applause. 当另一个演说者赢得了满座喝彩声时，保罗心里又嫉妒又气恼。
• "I've been sick, I told you," he said, peevishly, almost resenting her excessive pity. “我生了一场病，我告诉过你了，"他没好气地说，对她的过分怜悯几乎产生了怨恨。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

3 administer   

v.施行，实施，掌管，料理···的事务，给予

参考例句：

• It takes brains to administer upon a large corporation.管理一家大公司需要智慧。
• They had the right to administer their own internal affairs.他们有权料理自己的事务。