【国外文学】星际动物园.docx

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1、【国外文学】星际动物园 简介人类是地球这颗行星上最成功的动物。所谓成功，是指在与其他动物的斗争中取得的成功。在争夺食物或土地的问题上，我们人类战无不胜。我们砍伐树木，修建房屋或工厂，自己种植粮食。其他动物不得不去另找其他的地方生活如果它们能找着的话。我们人类战无不胜是因为我们智力发达。我们会思想，会说话，会使用工具，会制造精妙的机器。我们是再聪明不过的动物也许聪明过头了。也许将来的人们会有不同的想法。蜂鸟（简称蜂儿）是一个生活在公元22500年的16岁姑娘，她住在离地球很远很远的一颗行星上。她喜欢漂亮的衣服，喜欢跳舞，还为自己将嫁给谁而忐忑不安。她从来没有见过树。什么动物啊、鸟啊她从来没有见过

2、。当然，她知道什么是动物，因为在往事追忆这本书中有动物的故事。但谁会相信那种老掉牙的故事呢？本书的作者，哈里吉尔伯特，是住在伦敦的一位教师。这是他的第八本书，也是他为学习英语的学生写的第一本 1 You must marry meNothing ever happens on Just Like Homethats the name of the planet I live onI get so bored！But tonight was Remembering Night and thats excitingTheres the big fire where everybody must p

3、ut on something that they love and watch it burnThen theres the dancing round the fireBut what I like best about Remembering Night are the clothesWe usually wear what we like on Just Like Homebut the clothes must have the name of our name-animal on themFor example，I always have the wordHummingbirdon

4、 my clothes，which means my name is HummingbirdHummy for shortNobody knows what a hummingbird looks like，but we know what birds areBirds are animals that flyThe Book of Remembering tells us thatI dont always believe what the Book of Remembering saysNobody knows who you are on Remembering Night becaus

5、e you wear black clothes that cover you from head to foot，and there is no name of your name-animalYou can only see peoples eyes looking out of the eye-holes in the clothesIt was dark outsideThe only light came from the big fireI beld my fathers hand at first and we danced togetherMy mother danced aw

6、ay and I couldnt see herSoon I lost my fatherI didnt know where they wereIt didnt matterI was dancing in the middle of the crowdOur family would meet together in the robot plane afterwardsThere were about a thousand people round the fireToo many people to countNearly everybody on Just Like Home was

7、thereEverybody，on planets all over the Galaxy，was dancing round fires at the same timeWhat a wonderful thing！The last dance beganYou hold hands in a big circle round the fireeverybody togetherYou dance round and round in a circle untilWell，everybody knows what happens in the endI was holding hands w

8、ith someone on my right and someone on my leftWe were all shouting，BURN BURN BURN BURN BURN BURN BURNThe last dance went on for a long timeIn the end somebody fell downHe pulled down the people on both sides of himThen people on both sides of them fell downEverybody was too tired to stay on their fe

9、etPeople fell down all round the circleFallingDyingWe wear black clothes to rememberWe remember the BurningWe remember that we have a Galaxy，but we are aloneWe are empty in our heartsWe are the only living things in the GalaxySadLonely and sadI lay on the ground，very，very tiredI was happy and sad at

10、 the same timeHappy to be with everybody，sad that we were aloneThen the worst thing in my life happenedSomebody came up to me and said，HelloI didnt know who it wasI could only see his eyes shining in the light of the fireBut it was the voice of a man who was much older than meHello？I answeredI didnt

11、 want to talk to himI saw you in the dance，he saidI know youre a young girl because you were dancing like a young girlI think youre seventeen years oldNo，Im only sixteen，I saidWonderfulJust what I want，said the manI will marry youYou must marry meI couldnt believe what he was sayingThis was terrible

12、And very bad luckYes，it was true a woman must marry any man who asks her on Remembering Nightby order of the Star CouncilIm sixteen so Im a woman，not a childI couldnt say no to this manI was sick in my heartMy names Buff，the man saidWhats your name，sweetheart？Er，my names，erCaterpillar，I liedIm usual

13、ly called KateWell，Kate，Buff said，will you marry me？Im sorry，BuffI know Im sixteen and old enough to get married but my parents dont want me to get married yetIm their only daughterBuff laughedIt was a horrible IaughHe enjoyed knowing I didnt want himWhat a monster！Oh，thank Earthandanimals I hadnt t

14、old him my real name！I jumped up suddenly and ran into the crowds of people in the darkI was safeHe couldnt find meI went to our robot plane and sat inside until my parents cameI didnt tell my parents anythingI was afraidThe Star Council said Buff was right and I was wrong，and I didnt know what my p

15、arents would doNext morning I forgot about itHow could Buff find me？There were hundreds of girls on our planetHe didnt know my nameHe had only seen my eyesSuddenly my father came into my roomHummingbird，he said sadlyWhats the matter？I askedWhy are you calling me Hummingbird，not Hummy？Hummingbird，ask

16、 your robot for a wedding dressWhy？Why？But I knew the answerYou will marry a gentleman called BuffaloNo，father，I cantI started cryingI dont want toIm too youngI dont want to leave youI hate him！My father shook his headPlease，Hummy，its only for one yearYou cant be a child foreverLots of girls dont wa

17、nt to get married at firstThe Star Council says we must get married as often as possible and have childrenYou know whyWhy？I spoke like a small childBecause we are lonelyBecause there is nothing in the Galaxy except usYou know all that，HummyThe dressing-robot made me a wedding dresswe have robots for

18、 everything like thatThe dress was white and covered me all over except for my eyesMy father took my armBuff was waiting with my motherI saw his eyes through the eye-holes of his wedding suitThey were small mean eyesHello，Kate，he saidMy father said，Her name is HummingbirdI know，I know，Buff saidHow d

19、id you find me？I asked BuffI had a small camera，he answeredI took a photo of your eyesDid you know that everybodys eyes are different？Nobody has eyes like yoursI turned to my fatherListen to him！Cant you see how horrible he is？Please dont make me marry himMy father didnt say anythingHe couldnt help

20、meYou can say no if a man asks you to marry him on Remembering NightBut you must have a very special reasonA reason that the Star Council will acceptIf you are doing work that is important for the Galaxy，the Council will usually accept that as a good reasonI couldnt think of anything like thatBut it

21、 was something to hope forif I could escapeI was afraidI didnt want to run away and never see my family againSome neighbours arrived，and the wedding began immediatelyBuff stood next to me and held my handHis hand was large and a little wetHow I hated him！My father picked up the Book of RememberingHe

22、 read，In the beginning there were millions of planets in the Galaxy but there was only life on oneThat was the planet EarthPeople and animals lived togetherBut people polluted EarthIt became too hot for animals to liveThey diedAll the animals diedSo people left Earth and never returned to that plane

23、tTheir hearts were empty when they left Earth，empty today，empty foreverBuff was still holding my handMy father spoke againBuffalo，will you take my daughter Hummingbird to be your wife for one year，in the name of Earth and the animals？Buff answered，I willMy father turned to meHummingbird，will you tak

24、e this man Buffalo to be your husband for one year，in the name of Earth and the animals？Thats when I ranI let the wedding dress fall off meI ran fastThey ran afterme but I could run much faster without the wedding dressI got to our robot spaceship，jumped into it and said，Take offWhy are people runni

25、ng towards us？the spaceship askedTake off now！I shoutedIts life or death！The spaceship couldnt argueIt took offJust Like Home was green all overfields of wheat everywhereI was out in space looking back at my planetAll around me were starsThe millions of stars in the Galaxythats where I could hide！ 1

26、 你必须嫁给我“赛家”总是死气沉沉的赛家是我住的行星的名字。我真是烦透了！但今晚是怀旧夜，让人兴奋。点着一堆很大的篝火，每个人都要把一些他们心爱的东西放进火里，看着烧掉。然后，大家围着火起舞。可怀旧夜最让我喜欢的地方是衣服。我们在赛家平常喜欢穿什么都行但衣服得写上我们“名肖”动物的名字。比如，我的衣服上总有“蜂鸟”这个词，指的是我的名字叫蜂鸟简称蜂儿。没人知道蜂鸟长得什么样，可我们知道什么是鸟。鸟是会飞的动物。往事追忆上是这么告诉我们的。我不是太相信往事追忆上说的东西。在怀旧夜没有人会知道你是谁，因为你从头到脚罩着黑衣服，也没有你名肖动物的名字。你只能看见别人的眼睛从衣服的眼洞里往外看。外面很

27、黑。唯一的亮光是那堆大篝火发出的。开始时，我抓着爸爸的手，一起跳舞。我妈妈跳着跳着离我们远了，我看不见她。没多久，爸爸也不见了。我不知道他们去了哪儿。没关系。我在人群当中跳舞。我们家人最后会在智能飞船上会面。大概有上千人围着篝火，人多得数不过来。赛家上几乎所有人都在那儿。银河系每个行星上的所有人都同时在围着篝火跳舞。多么不可思议啊！最后一个舞蹈开始了。大家拉着手，在篝火外面围成一个大圈每个人都拉着手。大家围着圈跳啊跳啊，直到唉，谁都知道最后怎么了。我右边拉着一个人的手，左边拉着一个人的手。我们都喊着：“烧啊、烧啊、烧啊、烧”最后一个舞跳了好久。最后有人倒下了。他把他两边的人也拽倒了。然后他们两

28、侧的人也都倒了。大家都累得站不住了。一圈人都倒下了。崩溃了，沉寂了。我们穿着黑衣服是为了怀念。我们纪念“大火灾”。我们记得我们有一个银河系，但我们是孤独的。我们心里空荡荡的。我们是银河系里唯一的生物。伤感。孤独而伤感。我躺在地上，精疲力竭。一时间我又高兴又难过。我高兴和大家在一起，我难过因为我们孤独。然后我一生最糟糕的事发生了。有个人走到我面前说道：“你好。”我不知道是谁。我只能看到他的眼睛在火光下闪光。但那是一个比我大好多的男人的声音。“你好？”我答道。我不想和他说话。“我看见你跳舞了，”他说，“我知道你是个年轻的姑娘，因为你的舞姿像个年轻姑娘。我猜你有十七岁了。”“不，我才十六，”我说。“

29、太好了。正合我意，”这个男人说，“我要娶你。你必须嫁给我。”我简直无法相信他在说什么。这太可怕了。真是倒霉透顶。是的，在怀旧夜，女人必须嫁给向她求婚的男人，这是真的是星际理事会定下的规矩。我已十六岁，是女人，不是孩子了。我不能拒绝这个男人。我心里一阵恶心。“我叫牛子，”这男人说。“你叫什么，亲爱的？”“呃，我叫，呃毛虫，”我骗他道，“他们都叫我虫子。”“好，虫子，”牛子说，“你肯嫁给我吗？”“对不起，牛子。我知道我已十六，到了可以结婚的年龄，但我父母还不想让我结婚。他们只有我这一个女儿。”牛子大笑起来。笑得好可怕。知道我不喜欢他，他很开心。真是个混蛋！噢，感谢地球及其动物我没告诉他我的真名！我

30、突然跳起来，跑进黑暗中的人群。我安全了。他找不着我。我回到我们的智能飞船上，坐在里面直到我父母回来。我什么也没对父母说。我害怕。星际理事会说牛子是对的，我是错的，我不知道我父母会怎么做。第二天上午我就把这事儿忘了。牛子怎么能找得到我？我们的行星上有好几百个姑娘。他不知道我的名字。他只看见了我的眼睛。忽然，我爸爸进了我的房间。“蜂鸟，”他满面愁容地说道。“怎么啦？”我问，“您为什么叫我蜂鸟，不叫蜂儿？”“蜂鸟，让你的机器人给你一套婚纱。”“为什么？为什么？”但我知道是怎么回事儿了。“你要嫁给一个叫水牛的男人。”“不，爸爸，我不能。”我哭了起来。“我不要嫁人。我太小了。我不想离开您。我讨厌他！”爸

31、爸摇了摇头。“好了，蜂儿，不过是一年的功夫。你不能总是个孩子。好多姑娘开始都不想嫁人。星际理事会说我们必须尽量频繁地结婚，然后生孩子。你知道原因。”“为什么？”我孩子似地说道。“因为我们孤独。因为除了我们，银河系就没有其他东西了。这些你都知道的，蜂儿。”机器人裁缝给我做了一套婚纱我们做什么都有机器人。婚纱是白的，除了眼睛，把我全罩住了。爸爸挽着我的胳膊。牛子和我妈妈在一起等着。我通过他结婚礼服的眼洞看见了他的眼睛。一双刻薄的小眼睛。“你好，虫子，”他说。我爸爸说道：“她的名字叫蜂鸟。”“我知道，我知道，”牛子说。“你怎么找到我的？”我问牛子。“我有个小照相机，”他回答，“我给你的眼睛照了张像。

32、难道你不知道每个人的眼睛都不同吗？没有人长着和你一样的眼睛。”我转向爸爸：“听他说的话！您难道看不出他有多坏吗？求您别让我嫁给他。”我爸爸没说话。他帮不了我。怀旧夜里，男人向你求婚你可以拒绝。但你要有非同寻常的理由，一个星际理事会能接受的理由。如果你正在为银河系做重要的工作，理事会一般会认为这是可以接受的正当理由。我想不出任何这种理由。可这只能是痴心妄想我要是能逃跑该多好。我害怕。我不愿逃跑，不愿将来永远见不到我的家人。几个邻居到了，于是婚礼马上开始。牛子站在我身边，抓着我的手。他的手很大，有点湿。我恨死他了！爸爸拿起往事追忆。他读道：“开始的时候，银河系有数以百万计的行星，但只有一颗行星上有

33、生命，那就是地球。人类和动物生活在一起。但人类污染了地球。它变得太热了，动物无法生存。它们死了。所有的动物都死了。所以，人类离开了地球，再也没有回到那颗行星。他们离开地球的时候，心里空荡荡的，今天仍是空荡荡的，永远空荡荡的”牛子还抓着我的手。爸爸又说话了：“水牛，以地球和动物的名义，你愿意娶我的女儿让她做你一年妻子吗？”牛子答道：“我愿意。”我爸爸转向我：“蜂鸟，以地球和动物的名义，你愿意嫁给水牛让他做你一年的丈夫吗？”就在这时候我跑开了。我把婚纱扯了下来。我跑得很快。他们追我，但我没穿婚纱，跑得比他们快得多。我跑上我们的智能飞船，跳了上去，说道：“起飞。”“为什么人们朝我们跑？”飞船问道。“

34、马上起飞！”我叫道。“生死攸关！”飞船不会争辩。起飞了。赛家整个都是绿的到处都是麦田。我在太空中回头看着我的行星。我的周围都是星星。银河系的数百万颗星星那正是我的藏身之地！ 2 A spaceship made of plasticI couldnt believe what Id doneId run awayme！Im not very brave and I love my parents very muchI never thought I could ever disobey themI was afraidAnd I felt sad for my parentsPoor moth

35、er and father！But I had to live my own lifeI couldnt get married to a horrible old man like Buffalo！I knew they would follow me quickly so I told the spaceship to take me to a very quiet part of the Galaxy，a long way from any planets with people onThe spaceship wentHow can a spaceship travel across

36、the Galaxy in no time at all？Well，I learnt the answer to that in schoolThere are a lot of little black holes in spaceThey are about as big as a potatoA spaceship goes into one black hole and comes out of another black hole on the other side of the GalaxyDont ask me how a big thing like a spaceship c

37、an go into a thing as small as a potatoI was probably asleep when the robot teacher told me the answer to that！Nobody could find me nowI was in the middle of the Galaxy in empty spaceThere were stars above my head，stars below my feet，starson my left hand，stars on my right handStrangeI knew all these

38、 stars were a long，long way away but they didnt look far awayThey looked very close；I wanted to reach out my hand and touch themAnd the silenceSo very，very， very quietThe Book of Remembering says how I felt：Their hearts were emptyMy heart was emptyI saw millions of stars but there was no life in the

39、 Galaxy except us humansWell，there are potatoes and wheat and rice but you cant talk to vegetablesWe are aloneThe Book of Remembering says we did itWe polluted Earth and so killed all the animals We ran away from Earth and were still runningThat was twenty thousand years ago and we still cant forget

40、The Book of Remembering gives names for thousands of animalsFantastic！Could there really be thousands of animals？The idea of animals is so strangeWhat did they look like？The Book of Remembering has no pictures， but says there are birds that fly，and fish that swimThere are animals with no legs，and an

41、imals with lots of legsugh！What a horrible idea！Can anybody believe stories like that？And now I was running away tooPerhaps I was wrong to run awaySuddenly the spaceship wentPING！Yes，what is it？I askedThere is something near usOh！I saidI thought we were a long way from anything out hereTake me close

42、rWe moved closer，but I couldnt see anythingThen one star disappeared，then another star，and anotherIt was too dark to see what the thing wasIt was just a big black shape between me and the starsIt was probably just a big old rock，which had broken off a moon or a planetWell，perhaps it contained gold o

43、r somethingThen I could show the Star Council I was doing important workPerhaps that would be a good reason not to marry BuffI said，Find out what it is made ofThe spaceship shot a laser at the thing and said，It is not naturalIt may be a spaceship，although it is moving too slowly to arrive at a starI

44、t is made of plasticA spaceship made of plastic？ You cant make spaceships out of plastic！And spaceships dont travel slowlyI was a little afraid，but this was something really important；nobody could make me get married after I had discovered something as strange as thisI was afraid but also excitedMos

45、t girls just get married once a year and have another babyThats enough excitement for themNot me！I was going to visit this spaceship and meetthe people inside itShow me this plastic spaceship，I saidMy spaceship shone out lightThe thing was big，big，BIGWho would build a spaceship so big？ The plastic was full of holes and the spaceship looked old and deadWould anybody be left alive inside？ I didnt think soThe spaceship was round like a ballIt turned slowly，which made things inside just heavy enough to stay on the groundI saw a door on it and said，Land thereMy spaceship landed