Lesson 41 Illusions of Pastoral Peace 寧靜田園生活的遐想

     The quiet life of the country has never appealed to me. City bornand city bred, I have always regarded the country as something you look atthrough a train window, or something you occasionally visit during the weekend.Most of my friends live in the city, yet they always go into raptures at themere mention of the country. Though they extol the virtues of the peacefullife, only one of them has ever gone to live in the country and he was back intown within six months. Even he still lives under the illusion that countrylife is somehow superior to town life. He is forever talking about the friendlypeople, the clean atmosphere, the closeness to nature and the gentle pace ofliving. Nothing can be compared, he maintains, with the first cock crow, thetwittering of birds at dawn, the sight of the rising sun glinting on the treesand pastures. This idyllic pastoral scene is only part of the picture. Myfriend fails to mention the long and friendless winter evenings in front of theTV ---- virtually the only form of entertainment. He says nothing about thepoor selection of goods in the shops, or about those unfortunate people whohave to travel from the country to the city every day to get to work. Whypeople are prepared to tolerate a four-hour journey each day for the dubiousprivilege of living in the country is beyond me. They could be saved so muchmisery and expense if they chose to live in the city where they rightly belong.

     If you can do without the few pastoral pleasures of the country, youwill find the city can provide you with the best that life can offer. You neverhave to travel miles to see your friends. They invariably live nearby and arealways available for an informal chat or an evening's entertainment. Some of myacquaintances in the country come up to town once or twice a year to visit thetheatre as a special treat. For them this is a major operation which involvesconsiderable planning. As the play draws to its close, they wonder whether theywill ever catch that last train home. The city dweller never experiencesanxieties of this sort. The latest exhibitions, films, or plays are only ashort bus ride away. Shopping, too, is always a pleasure. There is so muchvariety that you never have to make do with second best. Country people runwild when they go shopping in the city and stagger home loaded with as many ofthe exotic items as they can carry. Nor is the city without its moments ofbeauty. There is something comforting about the warm glow shed byadvertisements on cold wet winter nights. Few things could be more impressivethan the peace that descends on deserted city streets at weekends when thethousands that travel to work every day are tucked away in their homes in thecountry. It has always been a mystery to me why city dwellers, who appreciateall these things, obstinately pretend that they would prefer to live in thecountry.

　　寧靜的鄉村生活從來沒有吸引過我。我生在城市，長在城市，總認為鄉村是透過火車車窗看到的那個樣子，或偶爾周末去游玩一下的景象。我的許多朋友都住在城市，但他們只要一提起鄉村，馬上就會變得欣喜若狂。盡管他們都交口稱贊寧靜的鄉村生活的種種優點，但其中只有一人真去農村住過，而且不足6個月就回來了。即使他也仍存有幻覺，好像鄉村生活就是比城市生活優越。他滔滔不絕地大談友好的農民，潔凈的空氣，貼近大自然的環境和悠閑的生活節奏。他堅持認為，凌晨雄雞第一聲啼叫，黎明時分小鳥吱喳歡叫，冉冉升起的朝陽染紅樹木、牧場，此番美景無與倫比。但這種田園詩般的鄉村風光僅僅是一個側面。我的朋友沒有提到在電視機前度過的漫長寂寞的冬夜——電視是唯一的娛樂形式。他也不說商店貨物品種單調，以及那些每天不得不從鄉下趕到城里工作的不幸的人們。人們為什么情愿每天在路上奔波4個小時去換取值得懷疑的鄉間的優點，我是無法理解的。要是他們愿意住在本來屬于他們的城市，則可以讓他們省去諸多不便與節約大量開支。

　　如果你愿舍棄鄉下生活那一點點樂趣的話，那么你會發現城市可以為你提供生活中最美好的東西。你去看朋友根本不用跋涉好幾英里，因為他們都住在附近，你隨時可以同他們聊天或在晚上一起娛樂。我在鄉村有一些熟人，他們每年進城來看一回或幾回戲，并把此看作一種特殊的享受。看戲在他們是件大事，需要精心計劃。當戲快演完時，他們又為是否能趕上末班火車回家而犯愁。這種焦慮，城里人是從未體驗過的。坐公共汽車幾站路，就可看到最新的展覽、電影、戲劇。買東西也是一種樂趣。物品品種繁多，從來不必用二等品來湊合。鄉里人進城采購欣喜若狂，每次回家時都買足了外來商品，直到拿不動方才罷休，連走路都搖搖晃晃的。城市也并非沒有良辰美景。寒冷潮濕的冬夜里，廣告燈箱發出的暖光，會給人某種安慰。周末，當成千上萬進城上班的人回到了他們的鄉間寓所之后，空曠的街市籠罩著一種寧靜的氣氛，沒有什么能比此時的寧靜更令人難忘了。城里人對這一切心里很明白，卻偏要執拗地裝出他們喜歡住在鄉村的樣子，這對我來說一直是個謎。

 

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