在长沙的日子/DaysInChangSha(二)
“我开始注意报纸上的广告。那时候，办了许多学校，通过报纸广告找来的新生。我并没有一定的标准来判断学校的优劣，对自己究竟想要做什么也没有明确主见。一则警察学堂的广告，引起我的注意，于是去报名投考。但在考试以前，我看到一所制造肥皂的学校的广告，不收学费，提供食宿，还答应给写津贴。这则广告很吸引人，鼓舞人。它说制造肥皂对社会大有好处，可以福国利民，我改变了投考警校的念头，决定却做一个肥皂制造家。我在这里也交了1元钱的报名费。”
“I began to read advertisements in the papers. Many schools werethen being opened and used this medium to attract new students. Ihad no special standard for judging schools; I did not know exactlywhat I wanted to do. An advertisement for a police school caught myeye and I registered for entrance to it. Before I was examined,however, I read an advertisement of asoap-making school. No tuition was required,board was furnished and a small salary was promised. It was anattractive and inspiring advertisement. It told of the great socialbenefits of soap making, how it would enrich the country and enrichthe people. I changed my mind about the police school and decidedto become a soap maker. I paid my dollar registration fee herealso.”
“这时候，我又一个朋友成为了政法学生，他劝我进他的学校。我也读到了这所政法学堂的娓娓动听的广告，它许下种种好听的诺言，答应在3年内教完全部法律课程，并且保证期满之后马上可以当官。我的那位朋友不断向我称赞这个学校，最后我写信给家里，把广告上所答应的一切诺言描述了一番。我向法政学堂交了1元钱的报名费，等候父母的回信。”
“Meanwhile a friend of mine had become a law student and heurged me to enter his school. I also read an alluring advetisementof this law school, which promised many wonderful things. Itpromised to teach studens all about law in three years andguaranteed that at the end of htis preiod they would instantlybecome mandarins. My friend kept praising the school to me, untilfinally I wrote to my family, repeated all the promises of theadvertisement, and asked them to send me tuition money. I painted abright picture for them of my future as a jurist and mandarin. ThenI paid a dollar to register in the law school and waited to hearfrom my parents. ”
“命运再一次插手进来，这一次采用的形式是一则商业学堂的广告。另外一位朋友劝告我，说国家现在处于经济战争之中，当前最需要的人才是能建设国家经济的经济学家，它的议论打动了我，我又向这个商业中学付了1元钱的广告。有一天我读到一则把一所公立高级商业学校说的天花乱坠的广告。它是政府办的，设有很多课程，而且我听说它的教员都是非常有才能的人。我决定最好能在那里学成一个商业专家，就付了1元提名，然后把我的决定写信告诉父亲。他听了很高兴，我父亲很容易理解善于经商的好处。我进了这个学校，但是只住了1个月。”
“Fate again intervened in the form of an advertisement for acommercial school. Another friend counseled me that the country wasin economic war, and that what was most needed were economists whocould build up the nation's economy. His argument prevailed and Ispent another dollar to register in this commercial middle school.I actually enrolled there and was accepted. Meanwhile, however, Icontinued to read advertisements, and one day I read one describingthe charms of a higher commercial public school. It was operated byteh government, it offered a wide curriculum, and I heard that itsinstructors were very able men. I decided it would be better tobecome a commercial expert there, paid my dollar and registered,then wrote my father of my decision. He was pleased. My fatherreadily appreciated the advantages of commercial cleverness. Ientered this school and remained ——for one month.”
“我发现在这所新学校上学的困难时大多数课程都用英语讲授。我和其他学生一样，不懂得什么英语，说实在的，除了字母就不知道什么了，另外一个困难是学校没有英语教师，这种情况使我感到很讨厌，所以到月底就退学了，继续留心报上的广告。”
“The trouble with my new school. I discovered, was that most ofthe courses were taught in English, and, in common with otherstudents, I knew little English; indeed, scarcely more than thealphabet. An additional handicap was that the school provided noEnglish teacher. Disgusted with this situation, I withdrew from theinstitution at the end of themonth and continued my perusal of theadvertisements.”
“我下一个尝试上学的地方是省立第一中学。我花1块钱报了名，参加了入学考试，发榜时名列第一，这个学校很大，有许多学生，毕业生也不少。那里的一个国文教员对我帮助很大，他因为我有文学爱好而愿意接近我，这位教员借给我一部《御批通鉴辑览》，其中有乾隆的上谕和御批。”
“My next scholastic adventure was in the First Provincial MiddleSchool. I registered for a dollar, took the entrance examination,and passed at the head of the list of candidates. It was a bigschool, with mangy students, and its graduates were numerous. AChinese teacher there helped me very much; he was attracted to mebecause of my literary tendency. This teacher lent me a book calledthe Yu-pi-Tung-chien, which contained imperial edicts and critiquesby Ch'ien Lung.”
“大致就在这个时候，长沙的一个政府火药库发生爆炸，引起大火。我们学生却感到很有趣，成吨的签单炮弹爆炸着，火药燃烧成为一片烈焰，比起放爆竹要好看的多了。过了一个月左右，谭延闿被袁世凯赶走，袁世凯控制了民国的政局，开始筹备登基。”
“About this time a government magazine exploded in Changsha.There was a huge fire, and we students found it very omterestomg.Tons of bullets and shells exploded, and gunpowder made an intenseblaze. It was better than firecrackers. About a month later T'anYen-k'ai was driven out by Yuan Shi-k'ai, who now had control ofthe political machinery of the Republic. T'ang Hsiang-ming replacedT'an Yen-k'ai and he set about making arrangements for Yuan'senthronement. ”
“我不喜欢第一中学，它的课程有限，校规也是人反感，我读了《御批通鉴辑览》以后，得出结论，还不如自学更好。我在校6个月就退学了，定了一个自修计划，每天到湖南省立图书馆去看书，我非常认真地执行，持之以恒。我这样度过了半年的时间，我认为对我非常有价值，每天早晨图书馆一开门我就进去，中午只停下来买两块米糕吃，这就是我的每天的午饭，我天天在图书馆读到关门才出来。”
“I did not like the First Middle School. Its curriculum waslimited and its regulations were objectinable. After readingYupiTungchien I had also come to the conclusion that it would bebetter for me to read and study alone. After six months I left theschool and arranged a schedule of education of my own, whichconsisted of reading every day in the Hunan Provincial Library. Iwas very regular and conscientious about it, and the half-year Ispent inthis way I consider to have been extremely valuable to me.I went to the library in the morning when it opened. At noon Ipaused only long enough to buy and eat two ricecakes, which were my daily lunch. I stayed in the library everyday reading until it closed.”
“在这段自修期间，我读了许多的书，学习了世界地理和世界历史，我在那里第一次看到一幅世界地图，怀着很大的兴趣研究了它。我读了亚当·斯密的《国富论》，达尔文的《物种起源》和约翰穆勒的一部关于伦理学的书。我读了卢梭的著作，斯宾塞的《逻辑》和孟德斯鸠写的一本关于法律的书。我在认真研究读俄、美、英、法等国历史地理的同时，也阅读诗歌、小说和古希腊的故事。”
“During this period of self-education I read many books, studiedworld geography and world history. There for the first time I sawand studied with great interest a map of the world. I read AdamSmith's The Wealth of Nations, and Darwin's Origin of Species, anda book on ethics by John Stuart Mill. I read the works of Rousseau,Spencer's Logic, and a book on law written by Montesquieu. I mixedpoetry and romances, and the tales of ancient Greece, with seriousstudy of history and geography of Russia, America, England, France,and other countries.”
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