摩托车穿过春天的荒野（1）

摩托车实在是个好东西，因为它比我们的双腿强大。

Motorcycles are really a great thing because they are stronger than our legs.

在这片荒茫茫的大地上，它轻易地就能把我们带向双脚无力抵及的地方。

On this vast land, they can easily take us to places our feet cannot reach.

当然了，坐摩托车时间长了同样很累人的，不比徒步轻松。尤其一些时候，一骑就是五六个小时，等到了地方，都坐成罗圈腿了。

Of course, sitting on a motorcycle for a long time can also be tiring, not easier than walking. Especially at times when you've been riding for five or six hours, by the time you get there, your legs feel all twisted.

我家这个摩托车呢，又是台小油箱小型号的，动不动就三个人同时压在上面，车不舒服，人也舒服不到哪儿去。

As for my family's motorcycle, it’s a small model with a tiny fuel tank. Often, we have three people on it at the same time, making it uncomfortable for both the bike and the riders.

其他嘛，就没有什么不满意的了。

Other than that, there’s really nothing else to complain about.

我非常想学骑摩托车，但又怕摔跤。

I really want to learn how to ride a motorcycle, but I'm afraid of falling.

记得小时候，平衡感几乎等于没有，秋千都不敢荡。光学骑自行车就学了三年，光学推自行车就学了半年……

I remember when I was a child, I had almost no sense of balance; I was afraid to even swing on a swing. I spent three years just trying to learn how to ride a bicycle and another six months just learning to push one…

总之我想，自己恐怕是一辈子都不敢奢望能拿这种机器怎么样了。

In short, I think I probably won’t ever dare to dream of being able to handle such a machine.

但是还是喜欢摩托，常常想象自己也能在风里雨里呼啸而过……

But I still love motorcycles, often imagining myself roaring through the wind and rain…

好像我正是凭借这样一个工具，更清晰更敏锐地出现在了世上。

It seems like I can appear in this world more clearly and sharply with such a tool.

要不然的话……唉，其实，受到能力的限制也未尝是什么坏事。

Otherwise… well, actually, being limited by one’s abilities isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

但是，既然已经有摩托车了，就只说摩托车的事吧！

However, since we already have a motorcycle, let’s just talk about motorcycles!

——当我站在大地上，用手一指：我要去向那里！于是我就去了。

—When I stand on the ground and point my hand: I want to go there! And so I went.

又为突然发现这世上可能真的再没什么做不到的事情而隐隐不安——好像我们正在凭借着摩托车，迫不及待地、极其方便地、迅速而彻底地永远离开了什么……

And then I felt a vague unease as I suddenly realized that there might really be nothing in this world we cannot achieve—like we’re using the motorcycle to eagerly, conveniently, quickly, and completely leave something behind forever…

但是又想到，到了今天，这已是我们无法避免、无法拒绝的现实了吧？

But then I thought, by now, this is a reality we can’t avoid or refuse, right?

呃，也未尝是件坏事吧？哎——当我站在大地上，用手一指：我要去向那里！

Uh, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, is it? Sigh—when I stand on the ground and point my hand: I want to go there!

尤其当我们把家从北部山区搬到阿克哈拉村后，摩托车就更加重要了。

Especially after we moved from the northern mountains to Akhalla Village, motorcycles became even more important.

阿克哈拉位于南面乌伦古河一带的戈壁滩上，离县城两百多公里。

Akhalla is located on the Gobi near the southern Urenkho River, over two hundred kilometers away from the county town.

要是坐汽车的话，冬天去县城一趟得花五十块钱呢，就算五十块钱，还不一定有得坐。

If we took a car, a trip to the county town in winter would cost fifty yuan; and even with fifty yuan, there was no guarantee we’d get a seat.

当时这个村子还没有开通正式的线路车。只有一些私人的黑车在跑运营，大都是那种带后厢的八座老吉普，一天顶多只有一两辆。

At the time, this village didn’t have official bus services yet. Only a few private "black cars" operated, mostly old eight-seater Jeeps with trunks, and there were usually only one or two per day.

每天天还没亮，司机就从村这头到那头挨家挨户接人，往往还没有走到我们家，人就坐满了。

Every morning before dawn, the driver would go from one end of the village to the other, picking people up, often before getting to our house, the car would already be full.

或者是临时有什么急事，但人家的车还没载满人，死活是不走，停在村口一等就是一两天，急死你也没办法。

Or there might be some urgent business, but even if they hadn’t picked up enough people yet, the driver would stubbornly refuse to leave, waiting at the village entrance for one or two days, leaving you utterly helpless.

而摩托车多方便呀，想什么时候出发就什么时候出发。

But motorcycles are so convenient; you can set off whenever you want.

而且，骑摩托车去县上的话，来回的汽油费也就十几块钱，省了八九十块钱呢！

Plus, if we ride the motorcycle to the county, the round-trip fuel cost is only a dozen yuan, saving us eighty or ninety yuan!

要是两个人去县上的话，能省一百六；要是三个人去的话，能省二百五。啧！而且，还不用晕车了。

If two people go to the county, we save one hundred sixty; if three go, we save two hundred fifty. Wow! Plus, we don’t have to deal with motion sickness.

不过，话又说回来。戈壁滩上风大，路也不好走，加之为了省油，摩托车速度控制得较慢。

However, speaking of that, the Gobi has strong winds, and the roads are rough, so the motorcycle speed is kept slow to save fuel.

于是出一趟门总得吹四五个小时的风。可真够受的。

Hence, every trip means enduring four to five hours of wind. It's quite a test.

虽然我妈给我弄了个头盔，可那玩意儿沉甸甸的，扣在脑袋上，压得人头晕眼花，根本没法戴。

Although my mother got me a helmet, it was heavy and pressing on my head, making me dizzy; I couldn't wear it properly.

只好挂在脖子上，任它垂在后脑勺那儿。可风一吹，头盔兜着满满的风使劲往后拽，拽得头盔带子紧紧勒着脖子。

I had to hang it around my neck, letting it dangle against the back of my head. But when the wind blew, the helmet would catch the air forcefully, pulling it backward and tightening the straps painfully around my neck.

勒得人头晕眼花，还吐着半截舌头。没一会儿，门牙就给吹得冰凉干涩。

That pressure made me dizzy, and I felt like half my tongue was stuck out. After a while, my front teeth felt icy and dry.

我只好把这玩艺儿解下来抱在怀里。可这样一来，我和前面开车的我叔之间就被隔出了好大的空隙，风嗖嗖往那儿灌。

I had no choice but to take the thing off and hug it. But then, a big gap opened up between me and my uncle driving in front, letting the wind rush in.

虽然身上穿得里三层外三层，但没一会儿还是被风吹透了，敞怀一般，肚皮凉幽幽的。

Though I was wrapped up in multiple layers of clothing, it didn’t take long for the wind to seep through, leaving my belly feeling cool and exposed.

尽管戴着手套，抱头盔的手指头还是很快就又冷又硬，伸都伸不直。

Even with gloves on, my fingers hugging the helmet quickly turned cold and stiff, and I couldn’t extend them at all.

哎，也不能戴，也不能不戴。连放都没地方放，这是个小摩托车，后面已经载了不少行李了……真是拿这个东西一点办法也没有。

Sigh, I couldn’t wear it, but I couldn’t not wear it either. There was nowhere to put it down; it’s a small motorcycle, and the back was already piled high with luggage… I really had no solution for this helmet.

我们走的路是戈壁滩上的土路（——真丢人，我叔既没执照也没牌照，不敢骑上公路……），与其说是路，不如说是一条细而微弱的路的痕迹，在野地中颠簸起伏。

The road we were traveling on was a dirt path in the Gobi (—really embarrassing, my uncle has neither a license nor a registration plate, so he didn't dare to ride on the road…), rather than a road, it felt more like a faint trace of a path, bumping and rolling through the wilderness.

这条路似乎已经被废弃了，我们在这样的路上走过好几个小时都很难遇见另一辆车。大地辽远，动荡不已。天空更为广阔——整个世界，天空占四分之三，大地占四分之一。

This path seemed to have been abandoned; it was hard to encounter another vehicle even after several hours of travel. The land was vast and ever-changing. The sky was even more expansive—covering three-quarters of the whole world, while the land accounted for only one-quarter.

眼前世界通达无碍。在我们的视野里，有三股旋风。

The world before us was unobstructed. In our line of sight, there were three whirlwinds.

其中位于我们的正前方的那一股最高最粗，足足二三十米。左右倾斜摇晃着，柱子一般抵在天地之间。

The one directly in front of us was the largest and thickest, at least twenty to thirty meters tall, swaying and tilting, like a pillar standing between heaven and earth.

在我们的左边有两股，位于大约一公里外一片雪白的、寸草不生的盐碱滩上方。

To our left were two more, located about a kilometer away above a white, barren saline-alkali flat.

因此，那两股风柱也是雪白的。而天空那么蓝……这是五月的晚春。

Thus, those two columns of wind were also white. And the sky was so blue… It was late spring in May.

但在冬季长达半年的北方大陆，这样的时节不过只是初春而已。

But in the northern continent where winter lasts for half a year, this season only feels like early spring.

草色遥看近却无，我们脚边的大地粗糙而黯淡。但在远方一直到天边的地方，已经很有青色原野的情景了。

The grass appeared distant and yet was non-existent up close; the ground beneath our feet was rough and dull. But far away into the horizon, there were already scenes of green fields.

大地上雪白的盐碱滩左一个右一个，连绵不断地分布着，草色就团团簇簇围拥着它们，白白绿绿，斑斓而开阔。

On the ground, the white saline-alkali flats were interspersed, with the grass clustered around them, white and green, colorful and vast.

后来我看到左面的那两股雪白的旋风渐渐地合为了一股，而我们道路正前方不远处的那一股正在渐渐远去，渐渐熄灭。

Later, I saw the two white whirlwinds to the left gradually merging into one, while the one in front of us was gradually moving away and fading out.

我们的摩托车在大地上从北到南奔驰，风在大地上由西向东吹。我的头发也随风笔直横飞。

Our motorcycle sped across the land from north to south, as the wind blew across the ground from west to east. My hair flew out stiffly along with the wind.

风强有力地“压”在脸上，我想我的右脸已经被压得很紧很硬了。

The wind pressed powerfully against my face; I thought my right cheek was already pressed tightly and stiff.

若这时身边带着一块大头巾就好了，像维族女人一样从头蒙到脚，一定刀枪不入。

If only I had a big scarf at this moment, covering me from head to toe like a Uyghur woman, I would be impervious to danger.

于是我只好又把头盔顶在头上挡风。但是不一会儿，呼吸不畅，憋气得很。

So, I had to put the helmet on my head to block the wind. But after a while, I couldn’t breathe properly and felt suffocated.

只好再取下来，但是一取下来，立刻就对比出了戴上的好处。于是又抖抖索索地重新戴上。立刻又呼吸不畅……

I had no choice but to take it off, but as soon as I took it off, I immediately realized the benefits of wearing it. So, I fumbled to put it back on. Immediately, I was back to struggling to breathe…

不愧是自己家店里出售的便宜货，这个破头盔的塑料挡风镜早就给风沙打磨花了，透过它看到的世界肮脏又朦胧，视力所及之处一塌糊涂，久了就恶心头晕。

It’s no wonder it's a cheap product sold in our own store; the plastic visor of this broken helmet has long been worn down by the wind and sand, making the world seen through it dirty and foggy, everything a mess, quickly leading to nausea and dizziness.

只好闭上眼睛……而且它实在太重了！不知道是真的很重，还是由于自己的知觉长久敏感地作用于那一处而异样地感觉到“重”，反正就重得压得我一路上都驼着背。

I had to close my eyes… And it was really too heavy! I wasn’t sure if it was actually heavy or if my long sensitivity to the pressure in that spot made it feel "heavy," regardless, it weighed down on me so much that I slouched all the way.

那样的风！从极远的天边长长地奔腾而来，满天满地地呜鸣。

What a wind! It came rushing from the far distant horizon, howling across the sky and earth.

与这种巨大的、强有力的声音相比，我个人的话语声简直成了某种“气息”般的事物了。

Compared to this enormous, powerful sound, my personal voice felt almost like some kind of "breath."

哪怕是大声喊出的话，简直跟梦里说的话一般微弱而不确切。

Even shouting out loud felt weak and uncertain, like speaking in a dream.

风大得呀，使得我在这一路上根本不可能维持较为平和一些的表情。

The wind was so strong that I simply couldn’t maintain a more peaceful expression on this journey.

真的，有好几次，突然反应过来自己此时此刻正眉头紧皱、龇牙咧嘴。

In fact, several times, I suddenly realized that I was frowning, baring my teeth.