故都的秋
Autumn in Peiping
郁达夫 By :Yu Dafu

秋天，无论在什么地方的秋天，总是好的 [1]；可是啊，北国的秋，却特别地来得清，来得静，来得悲凉。我的不远千里 [2]，要从杭州赶上青岛，更要从青岛赶上北平来的理由，也不过想饱尝一尝这“秋”，这故都的秋味。
Autumn, wherever it is, always has something to recommend itself. In North China, however, it is particularly limpid, serene and melancholy. To enjoy its atmosphere to the full in the onetime capital, I have, therefore, made light of travelling a long distance from Hangzhou to Qingdao, and thence to Peiping.

[1] “总是好的”不宜按字面直译。现译为 always has something to recommend itself，其中 to have…to recommend…作“有……可取之处”解。
[2] “不远千里，要从杭州赶上青岛……”译为 have made light of travelling a long distance from Hangzhou to Qingdao…，其中 to make light of 是成语，作“对……不在乎”解。

江南，秋当然也是有的，但草木凋得慢，空气来得润，天的颜色显得淡，并且又时常多雨而少风；一个人夹在苏州上海杭州，或厦门香港广州的市民中间，浑浑沌沌地过去，只能感到一点点清凉，秋的味，秋的色，秋的意境与姿态，总看不饱，尝不透，赏玩不到十足 [3]。秋并不是名花，也并不是美酒，那一种半开，半醉的状态，在领略秋的过程上，是不合适的。
There is of course autumn in the South too, but over there plants wither slowly, the air is moist, the sky pallid, and it is more often rainy than windy. While muddling along all by myself among the urban dwellers of Suzhou, Shanghai, Xiamen, Hong Kong or Guangzhou, I feel nothing but a little chill in the air, without ever relishing to my heart's content the flavour, colour, mood and style of the season. Unlike famous flowers which are most attractive when half opening, good wine which is most tempting when one is half drunk, autumn, however, is best appreciated in its entirety.

[3] “总看不饱，尝不透，赏玩不到十足”不宜逐字直译。译文 without ever relishing to my heart's content…中用 relishing to my heart's content 概括原文中的“看……饱”、“尝……透”、“赏玩……” 等。

[4] “每年到了秋天，总要想起陶然亭的芦花……”译为 the arrival of each autumn will put me in mind of Peiping's Tao Ran Ting with its reed catkins…，其中 to put one in mind of…是成语，作“使 人想起……”解。译文中的 Peiping's 是添加成分，以便国外读者理解句中所列各景点的所在地是 北平。

从槐树叶底，朝东细数着一丝一丝漏下来的日光，或在破壁腰中，静对着像喇叭似的牵牛花（朝荣）的蓝朵，自然而然地也能感觉到十分的秋意。说到牵牛花，我以为以蓝色或白色者为佳， 紫黑色次之，淡红色最下。最好，还要在牵牛花底教长着几根疏疏落落的尖细且长的秋草，使作陪衬。
Saunter eastward under locust trees to closely observe streaks of sunlight filtering through their foliage, or quietly watch the trumpet-shaped blue flowers of morning glories climbing half way up a dilapidated wall, and an intense feeling of autumn will of itself well up inside you. As to morning glories, I like their blue or white flowers best, dark purple ones second best, and pink ones third best. It will be most desirable to have them set off by some tall thin grass planted underneath here and there.

北国的槐树，也是一种能使人联想起秋来的点缀。像花而又不是花的那一种落蕊，早晨起来，会铺得满地。脚踏上去，声音也没有，气味也没有，只能感出一点点极微细极柔软的触觉。
Locust trees in the North, as a decorative embellishment of nature, also associate us with autumn. On getting up early in the morning, you will find the ground strewn all over with flower-like pistils fallen from locust trees. Quiet and smell-less, they feel tiny and soft underfoot.

扫街在树影下一阵扫后，灰土上留下来的一条条扫帚的丝纹，看起来既觉得细腻，又觉得清闲 [5]，潜意识下并且还觉得有点儿落寞，古人所说的梧桐一叶而天下知秋的遥想，大约也就在这些深沉的地方。
After a street cleaner has done the sweeping under the shade of the trees, you will discover countless lines left by his broom in the dust, which look so fine and quiet that somehow a feeling of forlornness will begin to creep up on you. The same depth of implication is found in the ancient saying that a single fallen leaf from the wutong tree is more than enough to inform the world of autumn's presence.

[5] “既觉得细腻，又觉得清闲”中的“清闲”意同“幽静”，故译为 quiet。

秋蝉的衰弱的残声，更是北国的特产；因为北平处处全长着树，屋子又低，所以无论在什么地方，都听得见它们的啼唱。在南方是非要上郊外或山上去才听得到的。这秋蝉的嘶叫，在北平可和蟋蟀耗子一样，简直像是家家户户都养在家里的家虫 [6]。
The sporadic feeble chirping of cicadas is especially characteristic of autumn in the North. Due to the abundance of trees and the low altitude of dwellings in Peiping, cicadas are audible in every nook and cranny of the city. In the South, however, one cannot hear them unless in suburbs or hills. Because of their ubiquitous shrill noise, these insects in Peiping seem to be living off every household like crickets or mice.

[6] “可和蟋蟀耗子一样，简直像是家家户户都养在家里的家虫”译为 seem to be living off every household like crickets or mice，其中 to live off (= to live on)中成语，作“靠……生活”解，用以表 达“养在……的家虫”。