It was morning, and the new sun sparkled gold across the ripples1 of a gentle sea.
早晨,初升的太阳照耀着恬静的海面,荡漾的微波闪着金光。
A mile from shore a fishing boat chummed the water and the word for Breakfast Flock flashed through the air, till a crowd of a thousand seagulls came to dodge4 and fight for bits of food. It was another busy day beginning.
离岸一英里的海上,一只渔船随波逐浪地前进,这是吃早饭的信号,近千只海鸥飞来,相互追逐着争食吃。又一个忙碌的日子开始了。
But way off alone, out by himself beyond boat and shore, Jonathan Livingston Seagull was practicing. A hundred feet in the sky he lowered his webbed feet, lifted his beak5, and strained to old a painful hard twisting curve through his wings. The curve meant that he would fly slowly, and now he slowed until the wind was a whisper in his face, until the ocean stood still beneath him. He narrowed his eyes in fierce concentration, held his breath, forced one... single... more... inch... of... curve... Then his featliers ruffled7, he stalled and fell.
但在远离渔船和海岸的地方,海鸥乔纳森·利文斯顿独自在练习飞行。在百英尺的上空,他伸下两只带蹼的脚,仰起嘴,使劲儿弯着翅膀。翅膀一弯,就可以放慢速度。而现在,他越飞越慢了,慢得几乎听不到耳边的风声,慢得连脚下的大海也仿佛静止不动了。他眯起眼睛,集中精力,屏住呼吸,使劲儿想再……弯……那么一英寸……然后,他浑身的羽毛直坚,失去平衡,摔了下来。
Seagulls, as you know, never falter8, never stall. To stall in the air is for them disgrace and it is dishonor.
要知道,海鸥飞行时决不摇晃,决不失去平衡。在空中失去平衡,对海鸥来说是丢脸的事,是极不光彩的事。
But Jonathan Livingston Seagull, unashamed, stretching his wings again in that trembling hard curve - slowing, slowing, and stalling once more - was no ordinary bird.
但是乔纳森并不觉得丢脸,他再一次展开双翅,依旧颤抖着使劲弯曲——一点、一点地放慢速度,又一次失去平衡一一他不是只平凡的鸟。
Most gulls2 don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight - how to get from shore to food and back again. For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull3, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight. More than anything else. Jonathan Livingston Seagull loved to fly.
大多数海鸥只求学会最简单的飞行本领一一如何从岸上飞出去觅食,再飞回来。对他们来说,重要的不是飞行,而是觅食。但对这只海鸥来说,重要的不是吃而是飞。乔纳森喜爱飞行胜于一切。
This kind of thinking, he found, is not the way to make one’s self popular with other birds. Even his parents were dismayed as Jonathan spent whole days alone, making hundreds of low-level glides10, experimenting.
他发现,像他这样的想法,在同类中是吃不开的。他那么整天独自练习,成百次地作低飞滑翔,连他的双亲都替他担心呢。
He didn’t know why, for instance, but when he flew at altitudes less than half his wingspan above the water, he could stay in the air longer, with less effort. His glides ended not with the usual feet-down splash into the sea, but with a long flat wake as he touched the surface with his feet tightly streamlined against his body. When he began sliding in to feet-up landings on the beach, then pacing the length of his slide in the sand, his parents were very much dismayed indeed.
他自己也不知道是什么原故,只要他保持离水面不到半翅的高度作低空飞行,他就能在空中停留较久,费劲较小。他滑翔下来并不像一般鸟儿那样伸下双足溅落海中，而是蜷起双足紧贴着身体掠过海面,在水面留下长长一道波纹。他蜷起双足在沙滩上滑翔着陆,然后步测着沙滩上滑翔的距离,他的父母见了,着实为他担忧。
“Why, Jon, why?” his mother asked. “Why is it so hard to be like the rest of the flock, Jon? Why can’t you leave low flying to the pelicans11, the albatross? Why don’t you eat? Son, you’re bone and feathers!”
"怎么啦,乔?怎么啦?"他妈妈问。"难道学其他海鸥的样儿这么难,乔?低飞是鹈鹕和信天翁的事,你学这干什么?你干吗不吃点儿?孩子,你都瘦得皮包骨头了!"
“I don’t mind being bone and feathers mom. I just want to know what I can do in the air and what I can’t, that’s all. I just want to know.”
"我倒不在乎瘦得皮包骨头,妈妈。我只是想知道我在空中能够做什么,不能够做什么。"
“See here Jonathan “ said his father not unkindly. “Winter isn’t far away. Boats will be few and the surface fish will be swimming deep. If you must study, then study food, and how to get it. This flying business is all very well, but you can’t eat a glide9, you know. Don’t you forget that the reason you fly is to eat.”
"你瞧,乔纳森,"他父亲温和地说,"冬天快到了,船只就要少了,海面上的鱼也要钻到海底去了。你要是一定要学习，那就学学怎么觅食吧。飞行当然好，可你总不能拿滑翔当饭吃啊。别忘了，你飞行的目的就是为了吃。”
Jonathan nodded obediently. For the next few days he tried to behave like the other gulls; he really tried, screeching12 and fighting with the flock around the piers13 and fishing boats, diving on scraps14 of fish and bread. But he couldn’t make it work.
乔纳森顺从地点点头。以后几天，他试着学其他海鸥的样儿；他作了认真的尝试，与鸥群一道围绕着码头和渔船嘎嘎叫着争食吃，扎到海里抢点儿面包片和烂鱼。但这样做他受不了。
It’s all so pointless, he thought, deliberately15 dropping a hard-won anchovy16 to a hungry old gull chasing him. I could be spending all this time learning to fly. There’s so much to learn!
“这样太没意思了，”他心里想，一边故意把好不容易弄到的一条鲤鱼丢给一只追逐他的饥饿的老海鸥。“我可以把所有这些时间都用来学飞行。要学的东西太多啦！”
It wasn’t long before Jonathan Gull was off by himself again, far out at sea, hungry, happy, learning.
不久，乔纳森又独自一个出去了。他飞到海上远处，饿着肚子学习，很是快乐。
The subject was speed, and in a week’s practice he learned more about speed than the fastest gull alive.
课目是速度。经过一周的练习，他学到的有关速度的知识，超过了任何一只活着的飞得最快的海鸥。
From a thousand feet, flapping his wings as hard as he could, he pushed over into a blazing steep dive toward the waves, and learned why seagulls don’t make blazing steep power-dives. In just six seconds he was moving seventy miles per hour, the speed at which one’s wing goes unstable17 on the upstroke.
从一千英尺高空，他使劲地拍着翅膀，朝着海浪垂直疾降，于是他懂得了海鸥不作垂直疾降的道理。在六秒钟内，他以每小时七十英里的速度运动。在这样的速度下，翅膀向上一举，就会失去平衡。
Time after time it happened. Careful as he was, working at the very peak of his ability, he lost control at high speed.
这种情况反复出现。不管他多么当心，施展出了全副本领，但速度一快，就要失去控制。
Climb to a thousand feet. Full power straight ahead first, then push over, flapping, to a vertical18 dive. Then, every time, his left wing stalled on an upstroke, he’d roll violently left, stall his right wing recovering, and flick19 like fire into a wild tumbling spin to the right.
飞到一千英尺高空。他先是全速前进．然后一转身，拍着翅膀，垂直疾降。可每次都一样，只要一举翅膀，左翼总要失去平衡，他于是猛地向左翻转，刚恢复平衡，右翼又失去控制，于是他像火花似地向右一闪，乱转着直栽下来。
He couldn’t be careful enough on that upstroke. Ten times he tried, and all ten times, as he passed through seventy miles per hour, he burst into a churning mass of feathers, out of control, crashing down into the water.
举翅真是个难题，他怎么当心都不行。他试十次,十次都一样，速度一达到每小时七十英里，他就失去控制，成了毛茸茸的一团，乱转着直栽下来，掉进水里。
The key, he thought at last, dripping wet, must be to hold the wings still at high speeds - to flap up to fifty and then hold the wings still.
他身上湿漉漉的直淌水，最后终于领悟到，关键在于高速飞行时一定要让翅膀静止不动——鼓翼飞到时速五十英里，然后稳住翅膀不动。
From two thousand feet he tried again, rolling into his dive, beak straight down, wings full out and stable from the moment he passed fifty miles per hour. It took tremendous strength, but it worked. In ten seconds he had blurred20 through ninety miles per hour. Jonathan had set a world speed record for seagulls!
他从两千英尺高空再试一次。时速一达到五十英里，他就翻转身俯冲下来，嘴朝下，双翅完全展开，一动不动。这样做非常吃力，但很成功。十秒钟内，他达到了时速九十英里。乔纳森创造了海鸥飞行的世界纪录！
But victory was short-lived. The instant he began his pullout, the instant he changed the angle of his wings, he snapped into that same terrible uncontrolled disaster, and at ninety miles per hour it hit him like dynamite21. Jonathan Seagull exploded in midair and smashed down into a brickhard sea.
但胜利是短暂的。他刚要改变飞行姿势，更换翅膀的角度，又突然控制失灵，一败涂地。在一小时九十英里的快速下，就像挨了炸药一样，乔纳森在半空中爆炸了,一头撞入砖样硬的海里。
When he came to, it was well after dark, and he floated in moonlight on the surface of the ocean. His wings were ragged22 bars of lead, but the weight of failure was even heavier on his back. He wished, feebly, that the weight could be just enough to drug him gently down to the bottom, and end it all.
等他苏醒过来，已经是黑夜了。他在月光下的海面上漂浮。他的翅膀重得像粗糙的铅条，但失败的重量压在他 背上比铅还要重。他起了一线微弱的希望：但愿这重压能把他渐渐拖入海底，了结一切。
As he sank low in the water, a strange hollow voice sounded within him. There’s no way around it. I am a seagull. I am limited by my nature. If I were meant to learn so much about flying, I’d have charts for brains. If I were meant to fly at speed, I’d have a falcon’s short wings, and live on mice instead of fish. My father was right. I must forget this foolishness. I must fly home to the Flock and be content as I am, as a poor limited seagull.
他在水里往下沉的当地，心中忽然响起一个奇怪的空洞声音。没有别的出路。我是海鸥。我受到天生条件的局限。如果老天真要我懂得飞行的奥妙，那我就该有航海图一样的头脑；如果真要我快速飞行，我就该有猎鹰的短翅，而且不吃鱼光吃老鼠。我父亲说的对。我不该再干这种蠢事。我应该飞回到鸥群里去，安安分分做一只可怜的、天赋有限的海鸥。
The voice faded, and Jonathan agreed. The place for a seagull at night is on shore, and from this moment forth23, he vowed24, he would be a normal gull. It would make everyone happier.
声音消失了，乔纳森也屈服了。海鸥夜间是应该呆在岸上的。他发誓，今后他要做一只平凡的海鸥。这样会使大家都高兴。
He pushed wearily away from the dark water and flew toward the land, grateful for what he had learned about work- saving low-altitude flying.
他疲倦地从黑暗的水面起飞，向陆地进发，心想：幸亏我学会了省力的低空飞行。
But no, he thought. I am done with the way I was, I am done with everything I learned. I am a seagull like every other seagull, and I will fly like one. So he climbed painfully to a hundred feet and flapped his wings harder, pressing for shore.
不成，他又想。我要和过去一刀两断，我要和自己学会的东西一刀两断。我只是一只像其他海鸥一样的海鸥，我要像他们那样飞行。于是他吃力地升到一百英尺高空，更使劲地拍着翅膀，朝岸上飞去。
He felt better for his decision to be just another one of the Flock. There would be no ties now to the force that had driven him to learn, there would be no more challenge and no more failure. And it was pretty, just to stop thinking, and fly through the dark, toward the lights above the beach.
他下定决心要做鸥群里的另一只海鸥之后，心里觉得好过了一些。今后，那股驱使他去学习的力量和他没有关系了，今后，不会有什么挑战，也不会有什么失败了。一切都很美好，只要停止胡思乱想，穿越黑暗，朝着海滩上的亮处飞去，就可以了。
Dark! The hollow voice cracked in alarm. Seagulls never fly in the dark!
黑暗!那个空洞的声音又惊呼起来。海鸥从来不在黑暗中飞行！
Jonathan was not alert to listen. It’s pretty, he thought. The moon and the lights twinkling on the water, throwing out little beacon-trails through the night, and all so peaceful and still...
乔纳森并不注意听。一切都那么好，他心里想。月光和灯光在海而闪亮，向黑夜散发出一串莹光，四周是这样安宁、恬静……
Get down! Seagulls never fly in the dark! If you were meant to fly in the dark, you’d have the eyes of an owl6! You’d have charts for brains! You’d have a falcon’s short wings!
下来!海鸥从来不在黑夜飞行！如果要你在黑夜飞行，你就该长一双猫头鹰的眼睛！你就该有航海图一样的头脑！你就该有猎鹰的短翅！
There in the night, a hundred feet in the air, Jonathan Livingston Seagull - blinked. His pain, his resolutions, vanished.
在一百英尺高空的黑夜里，海鸥乔纳森眨巴着眼睛。他的痛苦、他的决心，一下子消失了。
Short wings. A falcon’s short wings!
一对短翅。一对猎鹰的短翅！
That’s the answer! What a fool I’ve been! All I need is a tiny little wing, all I need is to fold most of my wings and fly on just the tips alone! Short wings!
这就是答案！我真是个傻瓜！我缺的就是一对短小的翅膀，我该做的就是尽可能收拢双翅，只用翼梢飞行！这不就是短翅吗！
He climbed two thousand feet above the black sea, and without a moment for thought of failure and death, he brought his forewings tightly in to his body, left only the narrow swept daggers25 of his wingtips extended into the wind, and fell into a vertical dive.
他从漆黑的海面跃升两千英尺，根本没考虑到失败和死亡。他把前翅紧贴身体，只让翼梢上狭窄的、流线形的尖端迎着风，跟着就垂直俯冲。
The wind was a monster roar at his head. Seventy miles per hour, ninety, a hundred and twenty and faster still. The wing-strain now at a hundred and forty miles per hour wasn’t nearly as hard as it had been before at seventy, and with the faintest twist of his wingtips he eased out of the dive and shot above the waves, a gray cannonball under the moon.
风像猛兽似地在他耳边怒吼。时速七十英里、九十英里、一百二十英里，越飞越快。到了时速一百四十英里，翅膀的紧张程度反倒不像七十英里时那样大了。他稍微弯曲一下翼梢，就轻而易举地改变了俯冲姿势，疾如闪电般地掠过海浪，在月光下，活像一颗灰色的炮弹。
He closed his eyes to slits26 against the wind and rejoiced. A hundred forty miles per hour! And under control! If I dive from five thousand feet instead of two thousand, I wonder how fast..
他迎着风把眼睛眯成两道细缝，内心充满了欢乐，时速一百四十英里！还能控制住！如果我不是从两千英尺，而是从五千英尺的高空往下俯冲，真不知有多快哩……
His vows27 of a moment before were forgotten, swept away in that great swift wind. Yet he felt guiltless, breaking the promises he had made himself. Such promises are only for the gulls that accept the ordinary. One who has touched excellence28 in his learning has no need of that kind of promise.
刚刚发过的誓已经忘掉了，已被那阵疾风吹得无影无踪了。然而他并不因背弃了自己的誓言而感到内疚。只有那种没出息的海鸥才恪守那样的誓言。一个学习成绩超等的海鸥可不守那样的誓言。
By sunup, Jonathan Gull was practicing again. From five thousand feet the fishing boats were specks29 in the flat blue water, Breakfast Flock was a faint cloud of dust motes30, circling.
拂晓时分，海鸥乔纳森又在练习了。从五千英尺高空俯瞰，平静的蓝色海面上的渔船成了一个个小点。进早餐的鸥群像是一团稀薄的尘土，在慢慢地浮动。
He was alive, trembling ever so slightly with delight, proud that his fear was under control. Then without ceremony he hugged in his forewings, extended his short, angled wingtips, and plunged31 direcfly toward the sea. By the time he passed four thousand feet he had reached terminal velocity32, the wind was a solid beating wall of sound against which he could move no faster. He was flying now straight down, at two hundred fourteen miles per hour. He swallowed, knowing that if his wings unfolded at that speed he’d be blown into a million tiny shreds33 of seagull. But the speed was power, and the speed was joy, and the speed was pure beauty.
他还活着!他高兴得微微有点颤抖，也因自己能够抑制内心的恐惧而感到自豪。跟着，他毫不犹豫地紧收前翼，展开短短的。弯成角度的翼梢，径直向海面扑去。他穿越四千英尺的高度时，已经达到极速，呼啸着的海风就像一堵坚实的墙，拦在前面，使他无法以更快的速度前进。他现在是笔直地往下飞，时速二百一十四英里。他咽了口唾沫，心里明白，要是在这样的速度下展开翅膀，就会粉身碎骨。但速度就是力量，速度就是欢乐，速度就是纯净的美。
He began his pullout at a thousand feet, wingtips thudding and blurring34 in that gigantic wind, the boat and the crowd of gulls tilting35 and growing meteor-fast, directly in his path.
他在一千英尺的高度改变飞行姿势。翼梢在狂风中噼啪直响，轮廓都模糊了；海鸥群斜着在他身旁掠过，疾如流星迸射。
He couldn’t stop; he didn’t know yet even how to turn at that speed.
他没法停住；他还不知道在这样的速度下如何转弯。
Collision would be instant death.
撞上什么马上就是死。
And so he shut his eyes.
他闭上眼睛。
It happened that morning, then, just after sunrise, that Jonathan Livingston Seagull fired directly through the center of Breakfast Flock, ticking off two hundred twelve miles per hour, eyes closed, in a great roaring shriek36 of wind and feathers.
这样，在那天早晨，就在日出后不久，海鸥乔纳森闭着眼睛，以每小时二百一十二英里的高速纪录，闪电似地在进早餐的鸥群中穿过，耳边只听得呼呼的风响和群鸥的尖叫声。
The Gull of Fortune smiled upon him this once, and no one was killed.
命运之神在朝他微笑，总算没有谁死于非命。
By the time he had pulled his beak straight up into the sky he was still scorching37 along at a hundred and sixty miles per hour. When he had slowed to twenty and stretched his wings again at last, the boat was a crumb38 on the sea, four thousand feet below.
等到他抬起嘴来朝向天空时，他仍旧以时速一百六十英里的高速前进。后来他把速度一直放慢到二十英里，最后展开双翅，四千英尺下面的渔船已经变成漂在海面上的一粒面包屑了。
His thought was triumph. Terminal velocity! A seagull at two hundred fourteen miles per hour! It was a breakthrough, the greatest single moment in the history of the Flock, and in that moment a new age opened for Jonathan Gull. Flying out to his lonely practice area, folding his wings for a dive from eight thousand feet, he set himself at once to discover how to turn.
他想的是胜利。达到了最高速度！一只海鸥达到了时速二百一十四英里！真是个突破，这是海鸥史册上最伟大的时刻，这一时刻为乔纳森开创了一个新时代。飞他到单独进行训练的地区，夹起翅膀，从八千英尺的高空向下俯冲，揣摩着怎样转弯。
A single wingtip feather, he found, moved a fraction of an inch, gives a smooth sweeping39 curve at tremendous speed. Before he learned this, however, he found that moving more than one feather at that speed will spin you like a rifle ball... and Jonathan had flown the first aerobatics of any seagull on earth.
他发现，把翼消的一根羽毛转动那么一丝丝，就可以在高速下平平稳稳地来个急转弯。他在学到这一点之前，还发现在那样的速度下，只要转动一两根羽毛就可以像陀螺似地旋转……于是乔纳森成了世界上第一只做特技动作的海鸥。
He spared no time that day for talk with other gulls, but flew on past sunset. He discovered the loop, the slow roll, the point roll, the inverted40 spin, the gull bunt, the pinwheel.
这一天，他无暇与其他海鸥攀谈，只是不停地飞，直到黄昏。他学会了翻斤斗、横滚、定点翻滚、倒转、定点回旋飞行等各种飞行特技。
乔纳森回到海滩上鸥群之中时，已是深夜。他感到头昏眼花，疲惫不堪。但他兴高采烈。
When Jonathan Seagull joined the Flock on the beach, it was full night. He was dizzy and terribly tired. Yet in delight he flew a loop to landing, with a snap roll just before touchdown. When they hear of it, he thought, of the Breakthrough, they’ll be wild with joy. How much more there is now to living! Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there’s a reason to life! We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free! We can learn to fly!
一个斤斗翻下来，即将着陆时还来了个快滚。他想，海鸥们得知他打破了飞行纪录，一定会欣喜若狂动。生活现在变得多么有意义啊！除了单调地围绕着渔船盘旋外，生活还有其他目的！我们能够摆脱愚昧，我们能够使自己成为有才能、有智慧、有技巧的生灵。我们能够获得自由！我们能够学会飞行！
The years ahead hummed and glowed with promise.
未来的岁月充满着希望。
The gulls were flocked into the Council Gathering41 when he landed, and apparently42 had been so flocked for some time. They were, in fact, waiting.
乔纳森着陆时，鸥群正聚在一起开会。看来他们已经集合好久了。实际上他们是在等他。
“Jonathan Livingston Seagull! Stand to Center!” The Elder’s words sounded in a voice of highest ceremony. Stand to Center meant only great shame or great honor. Stand to Center for Honor was the way the gulls’ foremost leaders were marked. Of course, he thought, the Breakfast Flock this morning; they saw the Breakthrough! But I want no honors. I have no wish to be leader. I want only to share what I’ve found, to show those horizons out ahead for us all.
“乔纳森·利文斯顿！站到中间去！”长者发话了，声音极其严肃。站到中间，要不是极大的羞耻，就是极大的光荣。海鸥的几个最高领袖就享有站在中央的荣誉。当然啦，他心想，今天早晨早餐时，他们都看见我打破了飞行纪录！但我不需要荣誉，我不想当领袖。我只想让大家共享我学习到的东西，向大家展示美好的前景。
He stepped forward.
他走上前去。
“Jonathan Livingston Seagull,” said the Elder, “Stand to Center for Shame in the sight of your fellow gulls!”
“乔纳森·利文斯顿，”长者说，“为你的耻辱，站到中间去，让大家看看！”
It felt like being hit with a board. His knees went weak, his feathers sagged43, there was roaring in his ears.
“乔纳森·利文斯顿，”长者说，“为你的耻辱，站到中间去，让大家看看！”
Centered for shame? Impossible! The Breakthrough! They can’t understand! They’re wrong, they’re wrong!
这真是当头一棒！他双膝发软，浑身羽毛搭拉下来，耳朵里一阵轰响。站到中间受辱？不可能!打破纪录啦！他们不明白！他们错了；错了！
“... for his reckless irresponsibility “ the solemn voice intoned, “violating the dignity and tradition of the Gull Family...”
“……他太轻率，太不负责任，”那个庄严的声音在继续说，“冒犯了海鸥家族的尊严和传统…，”
To be centered for shame meant that he would be cast out of gull society, banished44 to a solitary45 life on the Far Cliffs.
站到中间受辱，就是说他将被赶出海鸥世界，放逐到“远崖”，去过孤独的生活。
“... one day Jonathan Livingston Seagull, you shall learn that irresponsibility does not pay. Life is the unknown and the unknowable, except that we are put into this world to eat, to stay alive as long as we possibly can.”
“…海鸥乔纳森·利文斯顿，总有一天，你会懂得不负责任是不行的。生命是莫测的，是不可知的。我们来到这个世界，就是为了吃，为了活下去，尽可能多活些日子。”
A seagull never speaks back to the Council Flock, but it was Jonathan’s voice raised. “Irresponsibility? My brothers!” he cried. “Who is more responsible than a gull who finds and follows a meaning, a higher purpose for life? For a thousand years we have scrabbled after fish heads, but now we have a reason to live - to learn, to discover, to be free! Give me one chance, let me show you what I’ve found...”
海鸥从来不对全体会议反驳，但是乔纳森却大声抗议了。“不负责任？同胞们！”他嚷道，“一只海鸥能发现生活的意义，能找到更崇高的生活目的，你们还能说他不负责任吗？一千年来，我们总是眼睛盯着烂鱼头，可是现在我们有了生活的目的——学习，进行发明创造，取得自由！给我最后一次机会，让我告诉你们我学到了什么……”
The Flock might as well have been stone.
整个鸥群像是一块石头．
“The Brotherhood46 is broken,” the gulls intoned together, and with one accord they solemnly closed their ears and turned their backs upon him.
“开除他，”海鸥们异口同声地叫着，一同庄严地转过身去，对他不瞅不睬。
Jonathan Seagull spent the rest of his days alone, but he flew way out beyond the Far Cliffs. His one sorrow was not solitude47, it was that other gulls refused to believe the glory of flight that awaited them; they refused to open their eyes and see. He learned more each day. He learned that a streamlined high-speed dive could bring him to find the rare and tasty fish that schooled ten feet below the surface of the ocean: he no longer needed fishing boats and stale bread for survival. He learned to sleep in the air, setting a course at night across the offshore48 wind, covering a hundred miles from sunset to sunrise. With the same inner control, he flew through heavy sea-fogs and climbed above them into dazzling clear skies... in the very times when every other gull stood on the ground, knowing nothing but mist and rain. He learned to ride the high winds far inland, to dine there on delicate insects.
乔纳森飞到远崖的尽头，独自度过了以后的几天。使他痛苦的倒不是孤独，而是其他海鸥不肯相信飞行的光荣在等待他们。他们不肯好好地听一听，看一看。他每天学到更多的东西。他发现，流线型高速疾降，可以找到在海面十英尺以下游来游去的稀有的美味鱼群。这样他就不需要靠渔船和陈面包过活了。他学会在空中睡觉，乘着从海岸上吹来的风，作夜间飞行，从日出到日落飞行一百英里。他以同样的内在控制力，穿越海上的浓雾。冲向云霄，进入光辉耀眼的 晴空而在同一时刻，其他海鸥却都站在地上，只看到雾和雨。他学会乘着狂风深入内陆，以味美的昆虫为食。
What he had once hoped for the Flock, he now gained for himself alone; he learned to fly, and was not sorry for the price that he had paid. Jonathan Seagull discovered that boredom49 and fear and anger are the reasons that a gull’s life is so short, and with these gone from his thought, he lived a long fine life indeed.
本来他希望鸥群共享的一切，现在他只好单独享受了。他学习飞行，丝毫不为自己付出的巨大代价感到惋惜。乔纳森发现，烦躁、恐惧和愤怒是使海鸥们短命的原因，一旦把这些从思想中驱走，就能真正活得长，活得好。
They came in the evening, then, and found Jonathan gliding50 peaceful and alone through his beloved sky. The two gulls that appeared at his wings were pure as starlight, and the glow from them was gentle and friendly in the high night air. But most lovely of all was the skill with which they flew, their wingtips moving a precise and constant inch from his own.
他们是在黄昏时分来到的，看见乔纳森正安安静静地独自在他热爱的天空中滑翔。他们在乔纳森两侧出现，是两只羽翼像星光一样灿烂的海鸥，从他们身上发出的光辉在高高的夜空中显得十分柔和、亲切。但是最可爱的还是他们的飞行技术，他们的翼梢始终极精确地与乔纳森的翼梢保持着一英寸距离。
Without a word, Jonathan put them to his test, a test that no gull had ever passed. He twisted his wings, slowed to a single mile per hour above stall. The two radiant birds slowed with him, smoothly51, locked in position. They knew about slow flying.
乔纳森不动声色地考了他们一下。从来没有一只海鸥考及格过。他弯曲双翅，速度慢到每小时一英里，只差一点就要失去平衡。这两只晶莹的鸟儿与他一同放慢速度，飞得很平稳，始终保持着原来的位置。他们懂得如何慢飞。
He folded his wings, rolled and dropped in a dive to a hundred ninety miles per hour. They dropped with him, streaking52 down in flawless formation.
紧翅膀，翻滚着，以一百九十英里的时速疾降。他们紧跟着他下降，没有改变一点点队形。
At last he turned that speed straight up into a long vertical slow-roll. They rolled with him, smiling.
最后他改变速度，来一个长时间的垂直慢滚。他们跟着他滚，脸上露出笑容。
He recovered to level flight and was quiet for a time before he spoke53. “Very well,” he said, “who are you?”
他恢复水平飞行，沉默片刻后才开口。“很好，”他说，“你们是谁？”
“We’re from your Flock, Jonathan. We are your brothers.” The words were strong and calm. “We’ve come to take you higher, to take you home.”
“我们来自你的鸥群，乔纳森。我们是你的兄弟”这些话说得既平静又有力。“我们要带你到更高的地方去，带你回家。”
“Home I have none. Flock I have none. I am Outcast. And we fly now at the peak of the Great Mountain Wind. Beyond a few hundred feet, I can lift this old body no higher.”
“家，我没有家。我也没有群，我是个弃儿，我们现在是在大山风之顶飞行。我这身老骨头只能再飞几百英尺，就不能飞得更高了……”
“But you can Jonathan. For you have learned. One school is finished, and the time has come for another to begin.”
“乔纳森，你能飞得更高，你已经进行了学习。一个阶段学完了，现在该开始另一阶段了。”
As it had shined across him all his life, so understanding lighted that moment for Jonathan Seagull. They were right. He could fly higher, and it was time to go home.
一生照耀着乔纳森的智慧之光，这时马上放出光芒。他们说得对，他能够飞得更高，现在是回家的时候了。
He gave one last look across the sky, across that magnificent silver land where he had learned so much.
他朝天空望了最后一眼，在这个壮丽的银色世界里，他学到了多少东西啊。
“I’m ready “ he said at last.
“我准备好了。”他终于说。
And Jonathan Livingston Seagull rose with the two starbright gulls to disappear into a perfect dark sky.
于是乔纳森·利文斯顿与这两只晶莹的海鸥一同上升，消失在另一个漆黑的天空里。
收听单词发音 |
1
ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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gulls
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| n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 ) | |
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gull
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| n.鸥；受骗的人；v.欺诈 | |
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dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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falter
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| vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚 | |
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glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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glides
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| n.滑行( glide的名词复数 )；滑音；音渡；过渡音v.滑动( glide的第三人称单数 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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pelicans
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| n.鹈鹕( pelican的名词复数 ) | |
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screeching
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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piers
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| n.水上平台( pier的名词复数 )；（常设有娱乐场所的）突堤；柱子；墙墩 | |
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scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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anchovy
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| n.凤尾鱼 | |
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unstable
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| adj.不稳定的，易变的 | |
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vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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flick
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| n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动 | |
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blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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dynamite
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| n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破) | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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daggers
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| 匕首，短剑( dagger的名词复数 ) | |
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slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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specks
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| n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 ) | |
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motes
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| n.尘埃( mote的名词复数 )；斑点 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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velocity
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| n.速度，速率 | |
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shreds
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| v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件） | |
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blurring
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| n.模糊，斑点甚多，（图像的）混乱v.（使）变模糊( blur的现在分词 )；（使）难以区分 | |
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tilting
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| 倾斜，倾卸 | |
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shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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scorching
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| adj. 灼热的 | |
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crumb
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| n.饼屑，面包屑，小量 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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inverted
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| adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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sagged
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| 下垂的 | |
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banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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offshore
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| adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面 | |
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boredom
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| n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊 | |
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gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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51
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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52
streaking
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| n.裸奔（指在公共场所裸体飞跑）v.快速移动( streak的现在分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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53
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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