章节二

孙少平上这学实在是太艰难了。

Sun Shaoping found this schooling to be incredibly difficult.

像他这样十七、八岁的后生，正是能吃能喝的年龄。可是他每顿饭只能啃两个高粱面馍。

At his age of seventeen or eighteen, he should be bursting with energy. However, he could only chew on two sorghum bread buns for each meal.

以前他听父亲说过，旧社会地主喂牲口都不用高粱——这是一种最没营养的粮食。

He had heard his father mention that in the old society, landlords didn't even feed their livestock with sorghum—it's the least nutritious grain available.

可是就这高粱面他现在也并不充足。按他的饭量，他一顿至少需要四五个这样的黑家伙。

Yet he still didn't have enough of this sorghum flour. Given his appetite, he would need at least four or five of those black buns for a proper meal.

现在这一点吃食只是不至于把人饿死罢了。

Now, this little bit of food was just enough to keep him from starving.

如果整天坐在教室里还勉强能撑得住，可这年头“开门办学”，学生们除过一群一伙东跑西颠学工学农外，在学校里也是半天学习，半天劳动。至于说到学习，其实根本就没有课本，都是地区发的油印教材，课堂上主要是念报纸上的社论。

If he could sit in the classroom all day, he could just about manage, but these days, with schools “opening their doors” to education, students were not only running around learning work and farming outside, but also spent half the day studying and half the day laboring. As for the learning part, there really weren't any textbooks; all they had were mimeographed materials issued by the district, and most of the classroom time was spent reading editorials from newspapers.

开学这些天来，还没正经地上过什么课，全班天天在教室里学习讨论无产阶级专政理论。

In the few days since school started, they hadn't had any proper classes; the whole class was busy discussing the theory of proletarian dictatorship every day.

当然发言的大部分是城里的学生，乡里来的除过个别胆大的外，还没人敢说话。

Of course, most of the speaking was done by students from the city; apart from a few brave souls from the countryside, no one dared to speak up.

每天的劳动可是雷打不动的，从下午两点一直要干到吃晚饭。这一段时间是孙少平最难熬的。

Labor was unyielding and started right after lunch, running until dinnertime. This period was the hardest for Sun Shaoping.

每当他从校门外的坡底下挑一担垃圾土，往学校后面山地里送的时候，只感到两眼冒花，天旋地转，思维完全不存在了，只是吃力而机械地蠕动着两条打颤的腿一步步在山路上爬蜒。

Whenever he had to carry a load of garbage soil from the base of the slope outside the school to the mountainous area behind, he felt his eyes blur, the world spinning around him; his thoughts faded away, and he just mechanically trudged up the mountain road on wobbly legs.

但是对孙少平来说，这些也许都还能忍受。

However, for Sun Shaoping, these difficulties were still bearable.

他现在感到最痛苦的是由于贫困而给自尊心所带来的伤害。

What he felt most painful now was the harm to his self-esteem due to poverty.

他已经十七岁了，胸腔里跳动着一颗敏感而羞怯的心。

At seventeen, he had a sensitive and shy heart beating within him.

他渴望穿一身体面的衣裳站在女同学的面前；他愿自己每天排在买饭的队伍里，也能和别人一样领一份乙菜，并且每顿饭能搭配一个白馍或者黄馍。这不仅是为了嘴馋，而是为了活得尊严。

He longed to stand before his female classmates in a decent outfit; he wished he could line up for food every day just like everyone else to receive a share of vegetables and have a white or yellow bun for each meal. This was not just about satisfying his appetite, but rather about living with dignity.

他并不奢望有城里学生那样优越的条件，只是希望能像大部分乡里来的学生一样就心满意足了。

He did not yearn for the superior conditions enjoyed by city students; he only hoped to be as content as most of the other students from rural areas.

可是这绝对不可能。家里能让他这样一个大后生不挣工分白吃饭，让他到县城来上高中，就实在不容易了。

But that was absolutely impossible. It was already difficult enough for his family to allow him, a big young man, to go to high school without earning work points and eating for free.

大哥当年为了让他和妹妹上学，十三岁高小毕业，连初中也没考，就回家务了农。

His older brother, to ensure that he and his sister could attend school, had to return home to farm after graduating from primary school at thirteen, without even taking the junior high entrance exam.

至于大姐，从小到大连一天书也没有念过。他现在除过深深地感激这些至亲至爱的人们，怎么再能对他们有任何额外的要求呢？

As for his older sister, she had never attended school a single day in her life. Now, besides feeling deep gratitude for these beloved family members, how could he demand anything more from them?

少平知道，家里的光景现在已经临近崩溃。

Shaoping knew that the family's situation was on the brink of collapse.

老祖母年近八十，半瘫在炕上；父母亲也一大把岁数，老胳膊老腿的，挣不了几个工分；妹妹升入了公社初中，吃穿用度都增加了；

His grandmother, nearing eighty, was half-paralyzed on the kang; his parents were getting old too, with sore backs and legs, and could hardly earn any work points; his sister had advanced to the commune's junior high, increasing their expenses;

姐姐又寻了个不务正业的丈夫，一个人拉扯着两个幼小的孩子，吃了上顿没下顿，还要他们家经常接济一点救命的粮食——他父母心疼两个小外孙，还常常把他们接到家里来喂养。

his older sister had married a ne’er-do-well husband, and was now alone raising two small children, struggling to make ends meet, and their family often had to provide them with some life-saving food—his parents, being fond of the two little grandchildren, frequently brought them home to feed.

家里实际上只有大哥一个全劳力——可他也才二十三岁啊！

In reality, there was only his older brother, a full labor force—but he, too, was only twenty-three!

亲爱的大哥从十三岁起就担起了家庭生活的重担；没有他，他们这家人不知还会破落到什么样的境地呢！

His dear older brother had taken on the heavy burden of family responsibilities since he was thirteen; without him, who knew what kind of plight their family would descend into!

按说，这么几口人，父亲和哥哥两个人劳动，生活是应该能够维持的。但这多少年来，庄稼人苦没少受，可年年下来常常两手空空。

Logically speaking, with just a few family members, life should be manageable with both his father and brother working. However, over the years, the farmers had suffered their fair share of hardships, and day after day, year after year, they often ended up empty-handed.

队里穷，家还能不穷吗？再说，父母亲一辈子老实无能，老根子就已经穷到了骨头里。

The village was poor; could the family not be poor? Besides, his parents had spent their entire lives being honest and ineffectual, and their roots were already buried deep in poverty.

年年缺空，一年更比一年穷，而且看来再没有任何好转的指望了……

Year after year, they were in a state of deficiency, becoming poorer every year, and it seemed there was no hope for improvement…

在这样的情况下，他能上到高中，还有什么可说的呢？

In such a situation, what more could he say about being able to attend high school?

话说回来，就是家里有点好吃的，好穿的，也要首先考虑年迈的祖母和年幼的妹妹；更何况还有姐姐的两个嗷嗷待哺的小生命！

To be fair, even if there was something good to eat or wear, the first consideration would have to be for his elderly grandmother and his young sister; much less considering the two small lives of his sister's children who always needed feeding!

他在眼前的环境中是自卑的。虽然他在班上个子最高，但他感觉他比别人都低了一头。

He felt inferior in this environment. Although he was the tallest in the class, he felt he was somehow shorter than everyone else.

而贫困又使他过分地自尊。他常常感到别人在嘲笑他的寒酸，因此对一切家境好的同学内心中有一种变态的对立情绪。

Yet poverty made him excessively proud. He often felt that others mocked his shabby situation, leading him to develop a skewed sense of opposition towards classmates from well-off families.

就说现在吧，他对那个派头十足的班长顾养民，已经产生了一种强烈的反感情绪。

Just now, he had developed a strong aversion to the bold class leader, Gu Yangmin.

每当他看见他站在讲台上，穿戴得时髦笔挺，一边优雅地点名，一边扬起手腕看表的神态时，一种无名的怒火就在胸膛里燃烧起来，压也压不住。

Every time he saw him standing at the podium, dressed stylishly and impeccably, elegantly taking roll while glancing at his watch, an unnamed anger burned inside him that he couldn’t suppress.

点名的时候，点到谁，谁就答个到。有一次点到他的时候，他故意没有吭声。班长瞪了他一眼，又喊了一声他的名字，他还是没有吭声。

During roll call, whoever's name was called would respond. Once, when his name was mentioned, he intentionally remained silent. The class leader shot him a glare and called his name again, but he still did not respond.

如果在初中，这种情况说不定立即就会引起一场暴力性的冲突。

If this had happened back in junior high, it probably would have led to a violent confrontation in no time.

大概因为大家刚升入高中，相互不摸情况，班长对于他这种污辱性的轻蔑，采取了克制的态度，接着去点别人的名了。

Perhaps because everyone had just entered high school and didn't know each other well, the class leader took a restraining attitude after encountering this humiliating contempt and went on to call someone else's name.

点完名散场后，他和他们村的金波一同走出教室。这家伙喜眉笑脸地对他悄悄伸出一个大拇指，说：“好！”

After roll call ended and the students dispersed, he left the classroom with Jin Bo from his village. This fellow, smiling, secretly gave him a thumbs-up and said, "Good!"

“我担心这小子要和我打架。”孙少平事后倒有点后悔他刚才的行为了。

"I’m worried this guy might want to fight me," Sun Shaoping felt a little regretful about his earlier behavior.

“他小子敢！”金波瞪起一双大花眼睛，拳头在空中晃了晃。

"He wouldn’t dare!" Jin Bo exclaimed, his big eyes widening, waving his fist in the air.

金波和他同龄，个子却比他矮一个头。他皮肤白晰，眉目清秀，长得像个女孩子。

Jin Bo was the same age as him but a head shorter. He had fair skin, delicate features, and looked a bit like a girl.

但这人心却生硬，做什么事手脚非常麻利。平静时像个姑娘，动作时如同一只老虎。

But this guy had a tough heart and was very nimble in whatever he did. When calm, he resembled a girl, but in action, he was like a tiger.

金波他父亲是地区运输公司的汽车司机，家庭情况比孙少平要好一些，生活方面在班里算是属于较高层次的。

Jin Bo's father was a driver for the regional transportation company, and his family was somewhat better off than Sun Shaoping's, ranking among the higher tier in the class.

少平和这位“富翁”的关系倒特别要好。他和他从小一块耍大，玩性很投合。以后又一直在一起上学。

Shaoping shared a particularly close relationship with this “wealthy” friend. They had played together since childhood, and their interests matched well. They continued to attend school together over the years.

在村里，金波的父亲在门外工作，他家里少不了有些力气活，也常是少平他父亲或哥哥去帮忙。

In the village, while Jin Bo’s father worked outside, their family often needed help with heavy labor, and it was usually Sun Shaoping’s father or brother who would go to assist.

另外，金波的妹妹也和他妹妹一块上学，两个孩子好得形影不离。至于金波对他的帮助，那就更不用说了。

Additionally, Jin Bo's sister attended school with his sister, and the two children were inseparable. As for Jin Bo’s help, there was even more to say.

他们在公社上初中时，离村十来里路，为了省粮省钱，都是在家里吃饭——晚上回去，第二天早上到校，顺便带着一顿中午饭。每天来回二十里路，与他一块上学的金波和大队书记田福堂的儿子润生都有自行车，只有他是两条腿走路。

During their junior high years at the commune, which was about ten miles from the village, in order to save food and money, they would eat at home—going back in the evening and returning to school the next morning, bringing lunch along. They would walk twenty miles round-trip every day, while Jin Bo and Tian Futang’s son, Run Sheng, rode bicycles, only Shaoping had to walk on foot.

金波就和他共骑一辆车子。两年下来，润生的车子还是新的，金波的车子已经破烂不堪了。他父亲只好又给他买了一辆新的。

Jin Bo would sometimes share his bike with him. After two years, Run Sheng’s bike was still new, while Jin Bo’s bike had already become a wreck. His father had to buy him a new one.

现在到了县城，离家六、七十里路，每星期六回家，他更是离不开金波的自行车了。

Now that they were in the county town, about sixty to seventy miles from home, he relied even more on Jin Bo's bike for the weekly return home.

另外，到这里来以后，金波还好几次给他塞过白面票。

Moreover, after coming here, Jin Bo had given him white flour tickets on several occasions.

不过，他推让着没有要——因为这年头谁的白面票也不宽裕；再说，几个白面馍除顶不了什么事，还会惯坏他的胃口的……

However, he politely refused them—since in these times, everyone’s flour tickets were scarce; besides, a few white buns wouldn’t change much and would spoil his appetite…

唉，尽管上这学是如此艰难，但孙少平内心深处还是有一种说不出的高兴滋味。

Alas, despite how difficult school was, deep down, Sun Shaoping still felt a kind of indescribable joy.

他现在已经从山乡圪里来到了一个大世界。对于一个贫困农民的儿子来说，这本身就是一件多么了不起的事啊！

He had traveled from a remote mountain village to a big world. For the son of a poor farmer, this was an extraordinary feat!

每天，只要学校没什么事，孙少平就一个人出去在城里的各种地方转：大街小巷，城里城外，角角落落，反正没去过的地方都去。

Every day, as long as there was nothing happening at school, Sun Shaoping would wander around various places in the city alone: streets and alleys, inside and outside the city, every nook and cranny, wherever he hadn't been.

除过几个令人敬畏的机关——如县革委会、县武装部和县公安局外，他差不多在许多机关的院子里都转过了——大多是假装上厕所而哄过门房老头进去的。

Apart from a few awe-inspiring institutions—like the County Revolutionary Committee, the County Armed Forces Division, and the County Public Security Bureau—he had practically wandered through the courtyards of many institutions—most of the time, he pretended to go to the restroom to trick the doorman to get inside.

由于人生地不熟，他也不感到这身破衣服在公众场所中的寒酸，自由自在地在这个城市的四面八方逛荡。

Being unfamiliar with the place, he didn’t feel self-conscious about his shabby clothes in public, and he roamed freely around the city in all directions.

他在这其间获得了无数新奇的印象，甚至觉得弥漫在城市上空的炭烟味闻起来都是别具一格的。

In the process, he gained countless novel impressions, even the smoky scent wafting over the city felt unique to him.

当然，许许多多新的所见所识他都还不能全部理解，但所有的一切无疑都在他的精神上产生了影响。

Of course, there were many new sights and experiences he still couldn't fully comprehend, but undoubtedly, all this had an impact on his spirit.

透过城市生活的镜面，他似乎更清楚地看见了他已经生活过十几年的村庄——在那个他所熟悉的古老的世界里，原来许多有意义的东西，现在看起来似乎有点平淡无奇了。

Through the mirror of city life, he seemed to see more clearly the village he had lived in for over ten years—within that familiar old world, many meaningful things now seemed somewhat plain and ordinary.

而那里许多本来重要的事物过去他却并没有留心，现在倒突然如此鲜活地来到了他的心间。

And many things that were originally important in that world, he had not paid much attention to in the past, suddenly came vividly alive in his heart now.

除过这种漫无目的的转悠，他现在还养成了一种看课外书的习惯。这习惯还是在上初中的最后一年开始的。

In addition to wandering aimlessly, he had also developed a habit of reading extracurricular books. This habit started in his last year of junior high.

有一次他去润生家，发现他们家的箱盖上有一本他妈夹鞋样的厚书，名字叫《钢铁是怎样炼成的》。

Once, when he visited Run Sheng's house, he found a thick book on the chest in their home that looked like something his mother would use to press shoes. The title was "How the Steel Was Tempered."

起先他没在意——一本炼钢的书有什么意思呢？他随便翻了翻，又觉得不对劲。

Initially, he didn't pay it much mind—what significance did a book about steel-making hold for him? He flipped through it casually and immediately felt there was something wrong.

明明是一本炼钢的书，可里面却不说炼钢炼铁，说的全是一个叫保尔·柯察金的苏联人的长长短短。

Clearly, it was a book on steel-making, yet it didn't discuss steel or iron; instead, it was all about a Soviet man named Pavel Korchagin.

他突然对这本奇怪的书产生了强烈的好奇心。他想看看这本书倒究是怎么回事。

He suddenly felt an intense curiosity towards this strange book. He wanted to find out what this book was really about.

润生说这书是他姐的——润生他姐在县城教书，很少回家来；这书是润生他妈从城里拿回来夹鞋样的。

Run Sheng said the book belonged to his sister—Run Sheng's sister taught in the county town and seldom returned home; the book was brought back by Run Sheng’s mother from the city.

润生妈同意后，他就拿着这本书匆匆地回到家里，立刻看起来。

After Run Sheng's mother agreed, he hurried home with the book and started reading it immediately.

他一下子就被这书迷住了。记得第二天是星期天，本来往常他都要出山给家里砍一捆柴；可是这天他哪里也没去，一个人躲在村子打麦场的麦秸垛后面，贪婪地赶天黑前看完了这书。

He was completely captivated. He remembered the next day was Sunday. Normally, he would go out into the mountains to gather a bundle of firewood for his family; however, that day he went nowhere. Instead, he hid behind a straw stack in the village’s wheat field, greedily reading the book until before dark.

保尔·柯察金，这个普通外国人的故事，强烈地震撼了他幼小的心灵。

The story of Pavel Korchagin, this ordinary foreigner, profoundly shook his young heart.

天黑严以后，他还没有回家。他一个人呆呆地坐在禾场边上，望着满天的星星，听着小河水朗朗的流水声，陷入了一种说不清楚的思绪之中。

After dark, he still hadn't returned home. He sat dazedly by the wheat field, gazing at the stars in the vast sky while listening to the flowing sound of the stream, immersed in a indistinct train of thoughts.

这思绪是散乱而飘浮的，又是幽深而莫测的。

These thoughts were disjointed and drifting, yet deep and enigmatic.

他突然感觉到，在他们这群山包围的双水村外面，有一个辽阔的大世界。

He suddenly felt that outside their group of mountains surrounding Shuangshui Village lay a vast world.

而更重要的是，他现在朦胧地意识到，不管什么样的人，或者说不管人在什么样的境况下，都可以活得多么好啊！

More importantly, he now vaguely realized that regardless of what kind of person one was, or regardless of the circumstances a person found themselves in, one could live so well!

在那一瞬间，生活的诗情充满了他十六岁的胸膛。

In that moment, the poetic essence of life filled his sixteen-year-old chest.

他的眼前不时浮现出保尔瘦削的脸颊和他生机勃勃的身姿。他那双眼睛并没有失明，永远蓝莹莹地在遥远的地方兄弟般地望着他。

The image of Pavel’s gaunt cheeks and vigorous figure repeatedly surfaced in his mind. Those eyes, which had not gone blind, shone forever blue from a distance, looking at him like a brother.

当然，他也永远不能忘记可爱的富人的女儿冬妮娅。她真好。她曾经那样地热爱穷人的儿子保尔。

Of course, he could never forget the lovely daughter of the rich man, Dunya. She was so wonderful. She had once loved the poor farmer's son Pavel deeply.

少平直到最后也并不恨冬妮娅。他为冬妮娅和保尔的最后分手而热泪盈眶。

Until the very end, Shaoping did not hate Dunya. He was brought to tears by the final parting of Dunya and Pavel.

他想：如果他也遇到一个冬妮娅该多么好啊！

He thought: how wonderful it would be if he also encountered a Dunya!

这一天，他忘了吃饭，也没有听见家人呼叫他的声音。

On that day, he forgot to eat and didn't hear the calls from his family.

他忘记了周围的一切，一直等到回到家里，听见父亲的抱怨声和看见哥哥责备的目光，在锅台上端起一碗冰凉的高粱米稀饭的时候，他才回到了他生活的冷酷现实中……

He forgot everything around him until he returned home and heard his father's complaints and saw his brother's reproachful gaze. When he picked up a bowl of cold sorghum porridge at the stove, he was pulled back into the harsh reality of his life...