英語美文閱讀：我鐘愛的水果

　　摘要:我們年復一年地吃著柑橘生活，這就是對它有力的辯護。事實上，是柑橘誠實的品格吸引了我們。假如它要開始腐敗的話——因為我們之中的優(yōu)秀者有時也會腐敗的——它是從外表而不是從內里開始的。

　　My Favorite Fruit 我鐘愛的水果

　　By Alan Alexander Milne

　　In the first place it is a perennial—if not in actual fact, at least in the greengrocer's shop. On the days when dessert is a name given to a handful of chocolates and a little preserved ginger, when macedoine de fruits is the title bestowed on two prunes and a piece of rhubarbs, then the orange, however sour, comes nobly to the rescue; and on those other days of plenty when cherries and strawberries and raspberries, and gooseberries riot together upon the table, the orange, sweeter than ever, is still there to hold its own. Bread and butter, beef and mutton, eggs and bacon, are not more necessary to an order existence than the orange.

　　首先，柑橘常年都有——即使不是在樹上，至少是在水果店里。有的時候，只用幾塊巧克力和一點蜜餞生姜充當餐后的甜點，兩塊李子干加一片大黃便被冠以蔬果什錦美名時，這是仍帶酸味的柑橘便前來慷慨救駕;其他時候，水果豐盈，櫻桃、草莓、木莓、醋栗在餐桌上相互爭艷時，此時比往日更加甜美的柑橘依然能堅守自己的崗位。對于人們的日常生活，面包和黃油、牛肉和羊肉、雞蛋和咸肉，都未必像柑橘那樣不可或缺。

　　It is well that the commonest fruit should be also the best. Of the virtues of the orange I have not room fully to speak. It has properties of health giving, as that it cures influenza and establishes the complexion. It is clean, for whoever handles it on its way to your table, but handles its outer covering, its top coat, which is left in the hall. It is round, and forms an excellent substitute with the young for a cricket ball. The pip can be flicked at your enemies, and quite a small piece of peel makes a slide for an old gentleman.

　　很幸運，這種最普遍的水果恰恰是最好的水果。論其優(yōu)點，難盡其詳。柑橘有益于健康，比如，可以治療流感，滋養(yǎng)皮膚。柑橘清潔干凈，不管是誰把它端上桌子，也只觸到它的表皮，亦即它的外衣，吃完后橘皮便被留在餐廳里。柑橘是圓的，給孩子當板球玩是再好不過了。柑橘核可用來彈射你的敵人，一小片橘皮也能讓一個老者滑個趔趄。

　　But all this would count nothing had not the orange such delightful qualities of the taste. I dare not let myself go upon this subject. I am a slave to its sweetness. I grudge every marriage in that it means a fresh supply of orange blossom, the promise of so much golden fruit cut short. However, the world must go on....

　　但是，如若不是柑橘的味道甜美可口，上述的一切便都不足取。我真不敢縱談柑橘的美味。我為它的美味所傾倒。每當有人結婚我便心生怨意，因為那就意味著一束鮮橘花——未來金黃果實的夭折。然而，人類總得繼續(xù)繁衍。

　　With the orange we do live year in and year out. That speaks well for the orange. The fact is that there is an honesty about the orange which appeals to all of us. If it is going to be bad—for the best of us are bad sometimes—it begins to be bad from the outside, not from the inside. How many a pear which presents a blooming face to the world is rotten at the core. How many an innocent-looking apple is harboring a worm in the bud. But the orange had no secret faults. Its outside is a mirror of its inside, and if you are quick you can tell the shop men so before he slips it into the bag.

　　我們年復一年地吃著柑橘生活，這就是對它有力的辯護。事實上，是柑橘誠實的品格吸引了我們。假如它要開始腐敗的話——因為我們之中的優(yōu)秀者有時也會腐敗的——它是從外表而不是從內里開始的。有多少梨子在向世人展示其鮮嫩的容光時，內里已經腐爛。有多少看上去純美無瑕的蘋果，剛剛發(fā)芽就已經包藏蛀蟲。而柑橘從不隱藏瑕疵。它的外表是它內心的鏡子，那么，如果你反應快，不等售貨員把它丟進紙袋兒，你就能告訴他這是一個壞橘子。