读书日特别推荐：“改变美国青少年人生的书籍”[1]

【编者按】古人云，三日不读书，便觉言语无味，面目可憎。假期过到现在，是不是内心有些空虚？本期特刊为您介绍几本“改变美国青少年人生的书籍”，看看哪些文学作品铸就了今天的美国人，或许对我们的人生也会有所启发。

1. Little Women《小妇人》1868年

作者：(美)路易莎·梅·奥尔科特

[梗概]

19世纪，在风景如画的美国新英格兰地区，父亲马奇去了战场，而家里的四个女儿——假小子乔、美丽的梅格、敏感的贝思以及浪漫主义的艾美——正当妙龄。

In picturesque 19th-century New England of the US, the 4 March sisters - tomboyish Jo, beautiful Meg, fragile Beth, and romantic Amy - come of age while their father is off to war.

[简评]

--我这本(《小妇人》)大概已有55年的历史了，我看过至少25遍。这本书讲述了一个家庭在特殊历史时期通过特殊方式生存下来的故事。——读者科里

My copy of this is probably 55 years old - I've probably read it at least 25 times. This is a story of a family that functioned in a particular way in a particular time. - Reader Corrie

--这本书棒极了。每个女孩都能在其中找到自己的影子。——读者玛莎

This book is so great. It has characters every girl could ever relate to. - Reader Martha

[精彩片段]

--"没有礼物圣诞节怎么过？"乔躺在小地毯上咕哝。"贫穷真可怕！"梅格发出一声叹息，低头望着身上的旧衣服。"有些女孩拥有荣华富贵，有些却一无所有，我认为这不公平。"艾美鼻子轻轻一哼，难掩嫉妒之情。"但我们有父母姐妹，"坐在一角的贝思提出抗议。

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. "It's so dreadful to be poor!" sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress. "I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy, with an injured sniff. "We've got Father and Mother, and each other," said Beth contentedly from her corner.

--"是的，乔。快乐的老处女胜过家庭怨妇，也胜过到处搜罗丈夫的不正经女人，"马奇夫人用坚定的口吻说道。

"Right, Jo; better be happy old maids than unhappy wives, or unmaidenly girls, running about to find husbands," said Mrs March decidedly.

2. Harriet the Spy《小间谍哈里特》1964年

作者：(美)路易斯·菲兹修

[梗概]

哈里特·M·韦尔什是个间谍。她在日记里写下她所认识的所有人的所有事，同学、好朋友也不例外。有一天，哈里特把日记弄丢了，日记落在了最不该看到它的人手中。她还没来得及阻止，她的朋友们都读到了那些关于他们每个人的真实的、甚至糟糕的过往。哈里特能否将她的生活拉回正轨并跟朋友们重修于好？

Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down everything she knows about everyone, even her classmates and her best friends. Then Harriet loses track of her notebook, and it ends up in the wrong hands. Before she can stop them, her friends have read the always truthful, sometimes awful things she's written about each of them. Will Harriet find a way to put her life and her friendships back together?

[简评]

--5年级时第一次读到《小间谍哈里特》，就被哈里特爱幻想、善于观察和写作的特质深深吸引。——读者杰米

When I read "Harriet the Spy" in 5th grade, I was taken by Harriet's habit of wandering, observing and writing. - Reader Jamie

--哈里特可以与任何时期最伟大的文学人物媲美——如此的朝气蓬勃，又遭遇了同龄人如此深切的误解和非议。——读者格里芬

She has to rank competitively with the greatest literary characters of all time - so spunky, so misunderstood, so maligned by her peers. - Reader Griffin

[精彩片段]

--哈里特讨厌数学。她身体里的每根骨头都讨厌数学。她花这么多时间讨厌数学以至于没时间学数学。

[Harriet] hated math. She hated math with every bone in her body. She spent so much time hating it that she never had time to do it.

--人有时不得不撒谎。但对自己，一定要永远实话实说。

Sometimes you have to lie. But to yourself you must always tell the truth.

3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy《银河系漫游指南》1979年

作者：(英)道格拉斯·亚当斯

[梗概]

让我们加入本书主人公阿瑟·邓特的银河冒险，看他怎样跟勇敢的小伙伴福特·派法一起进入乱如麻的恐怖世界，引发一场令人捧腹的灾难。邓特被抛出地球之前，刚有一支宇宙施工队将地球消灭掉，准备在原处建一条高速路。

Join the book's hero, Arthur Dent, as he travels the galaxy with his intrepid pal Ford Prefect, getting into horrible messes and wreaking hilarious havoc. Dent is grabbed from Earth moments before a cosmic construction team obliterates the planet to build a freeway.

[简评]

--再没有比这更搞笑的科幻小说了。——亚马逊网站

You'll never read funnier science fiction. – Amazon.com

--我觉得我们在读这本书时得时刻记住，这是一本写于1979年的书。——读者亚历杭德罗

I think that one of the things that one has to keep in mind while reading this book is that it was written in 1979. - Reader Alejandro

[精彩片段]

--"我现在不想死！"他大声喊道。"我的头疼还没好呢！我不想带着头疼上天堂！"

"I don't want to die now!" he yelled. "I've still got a headache! I don't want to go to heaven with a headache!"

--宇宙大总统手中没有实权。他唯一的目标就是把人们的注意力从实权人物那儿转移开。

The President of the Universe holds no real power. His sole purpose is to take attention away from where the power truly exists.

--"6乘以9是多少？""6乘以9，42。""对，就这些了。""我总觉得关于宇宙好像哪里出现了根本性的问题。"

"What do you get if you multiply six by nine?" "Six by nine. 42.""That's it. That's all there is." "I always thought something was fundamentally wrong with the universe."

--人生、宇宙和所有一切的终极奥秘就是——42！

The ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything is...42!

4. Sirena《海妖悲歌》1998年

作者：(美)唐娜·乔·娜波莉

[梗概]

船员们要去参加特洛伊战争，在航行途中遇到用歌声引诱他们的美人鱼赛丽娜和她的姐妹们，船员们应声触礁。只有一个幸存者。赛丽娜违背天后赫拉的旨意，照顾受伤船员，两人因此坠入爱河。菲罗克忒忒斯爱的到底是赛丽娜的歌声，还是她的灵魂？他能否挣脱情网去为荣誉而战？

When mermaid Sirena and her sisters sing their siren songs to the sailors on their way to the Trojan War, the men crash their ships upon the rocks. There is one survivor. Sirena defies the goddess Hera by tending his wounds and soon the two are deeply in love. But does Philoctetes love Sirena's song, or her soul? And will the pull of honor prove stronger than the bond of love?

[简评]

--作者没有刻意迎合年轻读者，而是用最美的笔触纵情描绘出寓意深刻的故事。得出的教训同样令人难忘：不要为任何人改变自己。——读者阿什利

Rather than pandering to younger readers, she poured out a poignant tale with the most beautiful language. The lesson was also unforgettable: Don't change yourself for anyone. - Reader Ashley

--很美的故事，但结局很悲情。推荐给所有年龄段的读者。——读者苏琪

The story is lovely, but the ending is very sad. I recommend it to anyone of any age. - Reader Sookie

[精彩片段]

--我感觉到了星火。它的每一次闪耀都引燃我心中的情殇。

I feel the stars. Each sparkle sets aflame the pain in my heart.

--我渴望歌唱，我告诉自己不可以。但这种渴望难以抗拒。

I want so much to sing, I tell myself no. But it is so hard to keep from singing.

5. The Chocolate War《巧克力战争》1974年

作者：(美)罗伯特·科米尔

[梗概]

杰瑞·雷诺思索着海报上的一行字：我敢不敢撼动这宇宙？在一年一度的校筹款会上，杰瑞拒绝贩卖巧克力的行为也许不算激进，但当他与学校里一个叫"守夜会"的秘密学社为敌时，他的抗争才真正演变成一场全面战争。

Jerry Renault ponders the question on the poster: Do I dare disturb the universe? Refusing to sell chocolates in the annual school fund-raiser may not seem like a radical thing to do. But when Jerry challenges a secret school society called The Vigils, his defiant act turns into an all-out war.

[简评]

--本书有力地说明了，要坚持你所信奉的，即使是一个人在战斗。——读者凯特

It's a powerful lesson about standing by what you believe in, even if you must do so alone. - Reader Kat

--世界是险恶的，你无法改变这个现实。努力反抗才是你最重要的出路。——本书作者罗伯特·科米尔

The world is evil and there's nothing you can do about it. Trying to fight against it is the most important thing you can do. - Robert Cormier, author of this book

[精彩片段]

--他厌恶自己的生活以这种方式继续下去，漫长的还过得去的日日夜夜——不算好，不算坏，不算伟大，不算堕落，不算激动人心，什么都不算。

He hated to think of his own life stretching ahead of him that way, a long succession of days and nights that were fine - not good, not bad, not great, not lousy, not exciting, not anything.

--不在于你的块头有多大，而在于你怎样运用你的身体。

It doesn't matter how big the body, it's what you do with it.

6. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret《上帝，你在吗？是我，玛格丽特》1970年

作者：(美)朱迪·布鲁姆

[梗概]

玛格丽特·西蒙快12岁了，她的家刚从纽约市区搬到郊区。就在她为怎样融入新朋友中而发愁时，她获邀加入一个秘密俱乐部，她于是欣然接受。当俱乐部的女孩们都在谈论男同学、胸罩、初潮等问题时，玛格丽特才发现自己知之甚少。关于成长，玛格丽特有一些疑问，即使是跟朋友也难以启齿。幸运的是，她找到了另外的倾诉对象。

Margaret Simon, almost 12, has just moved from New York City to the suburbs, and she's anxious to fit in with her new friends. When she's asked to join a secret club she jumps at the chance. But when the girls start talking about boys, bras, and getting their first periods, Margaret starts to wonder if she's normal. There are some things about growing up that are hard for her to talk about, even with her friends. Lucky for Margaret, she's got someone else to confide in.

[简评]

这是一本所有女性(无论什么年龄)都该至少读一遍的终极指南。——读者克里斯特尔

This is the ultimate book that every female, whatever her age, should read at least once. – Reader Crystal

[精彩片段]

--我们一定一定一定要增大我们的罩杯。

We must, we must, we must increase our bust.

--上帝，你在吗？是我，玛格丽特。我刚刚跟妈妈说了我想要个胸罩。上帝，请帮忙让我那儿长大吧。你知道我说的是哪儿。

Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. I just told my mother I want a bra. Please help me grow God. You know where.