今天来聊聊“穷”到底是怎么一回事
读者君，
您好。
我是今天广东英语新闻栏目公众号的撰稿人，同事们都管我叫交哥；我之前也写过几篇文章，分享了我的一些有用没用的翻译经验。有兴趣的读者可以浏览文末的链接。为了怕您阅读的时候觉得闷，我挑了一些自己昨天在华南植物园拍摄的禾花雀照片。这种造型独特的花目前正在花季。这回我想分享一篇我做的一篇翻译习作，还承蒙我们的外专Hazza帮润色了译文。本文作者是一位马来西亚华人，他生动地描述了在马来西亚做穷人的感觉；其实我觉得在哪里做穷人的感觉也是差不多的。这则短文够尖锐，也够押韵，很适合用嘻哈的方式唱出来。
我没有钱
作者：方肯
两年前无聊的下午，我在麦当劳写下长长的心情。
乌烟瘴气的现在，现实压力下人们不会开怀。我在十字路口徘徊，看不见人们有何期待。有钱的人才吃得开，没钱的人名叫失败。这个世界一片阴霾，人对良心不再信赖。什么才是关爱，什么才是慷慨？只有上帝会对你娓娓道来。
拥挤汹涌的人海, 大车可以受到最好的安排，小车只能往最糟的巷里塞。伟大的理想无法存在，赚钱的心思必须抓来。企业家的数字不是几个一百，我的银行存款永远只有一百。什么才是比赛，什么才是气派？崇拜金钱的人最明白。有钱的时候对你说hi，大小康头还叫你快点来。没钱的时候你最好滚开，休想自在的摇摇摆摆。阶级之分没有公开，还没察觉早已被踩。冷眼奚落给我伤害，我的委屈叫不出来。什么才是黑白，什么才是正牌？警察会给公道叫你买。
常常买了几张大彩，偏偏总是不见它开。想想是运气还没来，于是我买了又买，衰了又衰。要看电影我只能选择六块，要去旅行我只能选择古来。物价起飞比我的薪水还快，周末礼拜我的钱包让我发呆。什么才是精彩，什么才是愉快？有钱人的开销要你眼界大开。保佑你的孩子是个天才，不是天才也要懂得发财。求求病痛千万别来，医药费逼你去跳海。爱人不谅解你的钱难来，看着她满足你只有无奈。最新的手机我何时能买？不如想想晚餐有没有在。什么才是轮胎，什么才是门牌？贷款利息是还不完的债。
有钱在手就会作怪，社会问题越来越怪。富裕的代价不只在国外，穷疯了让你看他的变态。经济增长道德沦丧无人理睬，自己走火入魔还要教坏小孩。孩子这个世界最假是爱，只有不断把钱放进口袋。什么才是主宰，什么才是悲哀？无家可归的流浪汉看尽好坏。钱钱钱，我的头抬不起来。为了钱我每天要很早醒来。骗人的乞丐，坏人的耍赖。我要如何实践老师教我的乖？不如快快把我送回石器时代。
I Have No Money
On a boring afternoon in a McDonald’s two years ago, I wrote down the following words to reflect my gloomy mood.
It is an era of darkness. We now rarely smile broadly when pressures build up in the real world. I am now wandering through a busy crossroad and can’t tell whether the people around me have any high aspirations in their hearts. Only rich people are free to do whatever they want, while poor people are known collectively and anonymously as failures. It is such an indifferent world and people refuse to listen to the voice from their conscience. What exactly is love, and what is generosity? I’m afraid only God is kind enough to enlighten you in great detail.
It is hard to stay visible among a huge crowd. A gleaming limousine is guaranteed to enjoy VIP entitlements, while an ordinary-looking car has to travel through the most congested of alleys. It is hard for noble ideals to survive in this material world, and chasing money becomes the one and only thing that really matters. The money mentioned by an entrepreneur is never just a few hundred, yet my bank account is capped exactly at one hundred. What is competition, and what is style? A gold digger knows the answer best. They say “hi” flatteringly when you are rich and even offer you discounts---big or small---to help you waste your money. Yet, you’d better find a place to hide when you are broke, as poor people are supposed to live a humble and invisible life. Class divisions persist but are never talked about openly in public life. Prior to my knowing of this naked truth, I had already taken a nasty blow. Cold shoulders and public ridicule were nothing new to me, and I had nowhere to express my bewilderment and resentment. What is black and white, and what is genuine? Cops still have compelling stories to make you believe that fairness and justice still prevail in this world.
I constantly buy lottery tickets, but each time my luck fails me. I keep telling myself that luck will come eventually. Because of this self-deceiving trick, I end up spending more money waiting for better luck next time. I can only afford a 6-ringgit movie ticket, and Kulai Town in Johor State is the farthest place I can go when talking about taking a holiday. Rampant inflation goes up much faster than my pay increases, and hard-earned money is thrown away during weekends at a speed that is dangerously fast. What is wonderful, and what is pleasant? It is eye opening to see how a man of means throws away his money. You hope and pray that your child will be a real genius; at least he or she must know how to make a fortune. You also pray that you will live a life free of pain and illness, as you will fight like an animal cornered by ever-rising medical costs and be ready to take your life by jumping into the sea. Your lover shows no sympathy for your earning money the hard way, and sooner or later you will find it more and more difficult to satisfy her cravings for money. “When can I afford to buy the newest cell phone?” When asking this silly question, she has no idea that I am embarrassingly short of money to pay for the night’s meal. What are car tires and a house to a man who is unable to make ends meet? It is very likely that the interest for my mortgage will always remain an outstanding debt for me.
People start to behave in a silly way when they are rich, and that is why we have so many grave but insuperable social problems nowadays. Social morality is damaged not only by wealthy people and their extravagance in foreign countries, but also by the bizarre behaviors of poverty-stricken people and their insane cravings for money. It is a world where economic growth and moral depravity co-exist harmoniously. We all suffer from an unknown but incurable disease; yet, we continue to infect our children. I tell you, little children, love is the most deceptive invention of mankind. In the name of love, all you have to do is stuff money into your pocket mechanically. What is domination and what is sadness? A homeless wanderer has the best knowledge of what is good and what is evil. I am not rich, and for that I must hang my head in shame. I get up early every morning to fill my stomach. I come across many nasty people, such as beggars who cheat and bad guys who are shamelessly ready to make a scene to cover their ulterior motives. My teachers simply teach me to become a man with principle, but how can I survive in such a hostile environment? I wish that there could be a time machine and that I could use it to travel back to the Stone Age.
翻译体会：
我大概花了两周的时候做这篇文章的翻译，里面有不少让我在翻译的时候很纠结的字句。这次我不太想过多地探讨翻译技巧，我想讨论常识在翻译校对中的重要性。译者也是自己翻译作品的第一位读者，因此他/她应该用最苛刻的眼光打量自己的翻译作品。举例，在这段文字中提到多次买彩票，结果花了很多冤枉钱。最早的译文是：ending up spending a large amount of money on the lottery tickets；可在校对的时候我就意识到这样说可能有点过了，因为通篇作者都在强调自己是个穷人，说不定有读者就会质疑说“你既然是穷人，哪里来的钱买彩票？”所以，后来改为 spending more money，是淡淡地强调花了更多的钱。我还记得之前翻译过一首歌，其中有句歌词就是“拥抱太阳”，当时也没多想，直接就 embracing the sun；后来校对得时候就觉得有问题了，太阳那么热，这样抱一下还不被汽化？所以后来就修改为 greeting the sun。这样的例子其实还有很多，有些时候问题还出在原文本身，好的译员就应该深思熟虑。
另外，我挺感慨文字其实是有生命力的，就像种子一样，在合适的时候它会自己长出来。这段话我是在 2006年的时候最早看到的，一直躺在我的电脑某个文件夹里，这次机缘巧合又被我翻找了出来并翻译了出来。我也相信也有很多人能欣赏作者的才气。
我自己平时喜欢将自己喜欢的文字翻成英文，不涉及任何金钱，就是心里喜欢；也知道自己的这个译文远远不够完美，就当是一种“简单、朴素、不完美”的努力吧。希望这篇小文能给你带来思考与启发。您的点赞与转发对我们很重要。谢谢您，也祝您每天进步一点点。
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