英语专八翻译练习之探讨死亡

　　原文：

　　世上只有一种愿望可以实现,也仅有一种事物绝对能得到,那便是死亡.但因身处境地的不同,没人能告诉我们是否死得其所.

　　我们不停向着梦想前进,不肯稍作休息,这形成了一幅奇异的画面:不知疲倦,勇于冒险的先锋.的确,我们永远不会达到目标,甚至目的地根本就不存在;即使活上几百年,被赋予神的力量,我们最终也不能接近目标多少.啊辛劳的双手! 啊,不知疲倦的双脚,一直不停地奔走,却不知要到何方.不久,你便会发现,你必须登上某些显著的山头,然而在不远处,在夕阳的照耀下,你会看到黄金国的尖顶.身处于幸福之中,你却没有觉察:旅行远比抵达要充满乐趣;真正的成功就在于奋斗.

　　译文：

　　There is only one wish realisable on the earth; only one thing that can be perfectly attained: Death. And from a variety of circumstances we have no one to tell us whether it be worth attaining.

　　A strange picture we make on our way to our chimaeras, ceaselessly marching, grudging ourselves the time for rest; indefatigable, adventurous pioneers. It is true that we shall never reach the goal; it is even more than probable that there is no such place; and if we lived for centuries and were endowed with the powers of a god, we should find ourselves not much nearer what we wanted at the end. O toiling hands of mortals! O unwearied feet, travelling ye know not whither! Soon, soon, it seems to you, you must come forth on some conspicuous hilltop, and but a little way further, against the setting sun, descry the spires of El Dorado. Little do ye know your own blessednes; for to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour.