新视野大学英语第三版第三册课文翻译(8)

当然，我们也并不是假装旅行没有缺点，或是说我们忍受飞行时差综合反应只是为了消遣。在卢浮宫我们迷路十个小时，那不是因为我们喜欢迷路。我们站在马丘比丘古城遗址顶端俯瞰的风景可能也并不能弥补我们丢失行李的麻烦。（通常，我在假期结束后还需要一个休假。）我们旅行是因为我们需要旅行，因为距离与差异是创造力的秘密基石。我们回家后，家还是那个家，但是我们的思维已经有所改变，而这就可以改变一切。

课文B

Traveling solo - A blessing overall! 独自旅行——总体来说是好事

So you're ready to travel. Pick a place, any place. Let's say you've always wanted to go to China. You've seen pictures of the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square. You've always been fascinated with Chinese aesthetics and culture, with red, fragrant temples and venerable statues. You have a chunk of money saved and extra vacation time earned. Now is the time to go!

现在你准备去旅行，挑一个地方，任何地方都可以。比如你一直想去中国，你已经看过了长城、紫禁城、天安门广场的照片。你一直被中国的美学艺术和文化所深深吸引，那里有香烟缭绕的红色寺庙，有庄严的塑像。你早就省下了一笔钱，挤出了点时间，现在，该出发了！

But maybe you haven't traveled much. You've never been to an exotic place where you can't speak the language or read the signs. A place where you'll have to do all the research for yourself, find hotels, get yourself around, buy locomotive or bus tickets, order your own food. You must figure all of this out while looking at the unfamiliar notation which you see wherever you look or go.

但也许你以前旅行不多。你从来没去过异国他乡，你不会讲当地语言，也看不懂任何标志。在这里，你得亲自研究所有的事情，自己找旅店，自己到处逛，自己买火车票或汽车票，自己点餐。所有这一切，无论你身处何处，你都得盯着那些不熟悉的符号自己搞定。

So now you're ready to realize your dream to explore China, and find, for yourself, the soul of the country. Unfortunately, right from the onset, none of your friends share that dream. Your sister is pregnant and can't travel. Your best friend just got a new job and can't take time off. So what do you do? You could ask everyone you know - friends, acquaintances, co-workers. You could join a tour. Or, you could go alone.

所以，现在你整装待发，去实现探索中国的梦想，亲自去发现这个国家的灵魂所在。但是不幸的是，刚一开始就没有朋友分享你的梦想。你姐姐怀孕了，不能去旅行；你最好的朋友刚刚找到新工作，没办法休假。你该怎么办呢？你可能会询问认识的每一个人——朋友，熟人，同事。你可以参团旅游。或者，你也可以自己一个人去。

To travel alone is a difficult decision for anyone, though especially for women. For me, it came naturally. I made that trip to China, and then zigzagged on a multinational excursion through Indonesia, Thailand, England and France.

对于任何人来说，独自旅行都是一个艰难的决定。对女性来说尤其如此。而对我而言，这个决定却再自然不过。我先去了中国，然后再辗转到了印度尼西亚、泰国、英国和法国，经历了一次多国之旅。

But the reactions I've gotten, from people I know, fellow travelers, and especially, from the natives of the countries I've visited, showed me that solo traveling is strange, and even considered inconceivable or reckless by many people. People ask me if the isolation makes me sad or even if I'm more susceptible to violent or dangerous situations.

但是，我从认识的人、旅友，尤其是所到国家的居民的反应中得知，很多人觉得独自旅行很怪异，甚至会觉得不可思议和欠考虑。人们问我单独一人会不会觉得难过，甚至问我是不是更容易遭遇暴力或者危险情况。

This has been sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse. I remember searching desperately for accommodations in Taiwan. The university listed in my booklet no longer had dormitories for travelers, and I was lucky when the desk clerk called a young woman out of a nearby office. As it turned out, she was offering to let me stay at her flat and even had a friend come show me around the city the next day.

单独旅行有时是件好事，有时则不然。我想起曾经有一次在台湾绝望地寻找住处的经历。我的手册上列出的大学已经没有宿舍提供给旅游者了。幸运的是，接待人员从旁边办公室叫出一个年轻女孩儿。结果，这个女孩儿让我在她的公寓住了一晚，甚至第二天还让她的一个朋友带我在这座城市转了转。

Also in Taiwan, I met two girls who smuggled me into their hotel room, gave me one of the beds (they shared the other), and took me to a feast with their tour group. When they heard my next stop was their hometown, they arranged for a bilingual friend to pick me up at the train station.

还是在台湾，我遇见两个女孩儿。她们偷偷地把我带进旅店的房间，让我睡其中的一张床（她们俩挤另一张床），还带我和她们的旅行团一起吃了顿丰盛的饭。当她们听说我下一站要去她们的家乡时，又安排了一个会说两种语言的朋友到火车站接我。

But there has also been the downside of those not-so-pleasant experiences. In Indonesia, a cute boy gave me a ride on his motorbike, and thought that gave him license to grope me illicitly. Many times in Indonesia, boys menaced me, assuming I was willing to pay for their company. In Japan, I was picked up by a young man who refused to drop me at my Youth Hostel; he insisted I stay with his friends. The friends turned out to be four girls; I was safe, but one snored like a lawnmower, and it took me two days to escape.

当然也有一些不太愉快的负面经历。在印度尼西亚，一个长相可爱的男孩儿让我搭乘了他的摩托车，认为这样他就可以非礼我。在那里，常常有一些男孩儿威胁我，认为我同意付钱让他们陪游。在日本，一个年轻男人让我搭车，却拒绝让我在青年旅馆下车，他坚持让我和他的朋友们呆在一起。结果我发现，他的朋友是四个女孩儿。我很安全，但是其中一个人打呼噜就像割草机一样。我花了两天时间才逃走。

I've been irritated and perplexed many times - not speaking a language, not understanding or being understood. Once, in Italy, a hotel clerk tried to overcharge me and only gave up after 10 minutes of arguing. Another time in China, a taxi driver insisted I pay more, and I was rescued by the doorman of a fancy hotel.