? ? ?A rather colourful member of the family was uncle Max, the?younger brother of my uncle Daniel. He was a tall, broad-shouldered?man?with handsome features. Being a sleeping partner in his brother's?firm, he didn't do any work himself and led the life of a playboy. He?had great charm and many mistresses. He used to get up late in the?morning, spend a long time dressing and after lunch went out to play?bridge, visit his many friends, and attend dinner parties. He usually?ended the day in a fashionable nightclub. He took an amused, if somewhat?detached, interest in me and was always very kind.

【馬克斯姑父是我們家一個(gè)相當(dāng)有趣的成員，他是我姑父丹尼爾的弟弟。他身材高大，肩膀?qū)掗?，相貌英俊。作為他哥哥公司的合伙人，他自己什么工作也不做，過著花花公子的生活。他很有魅力，情婦也很多。他經(jīng)常早上起床很晚，花很長時(shí)間穿衣服，午飯后出去打橋牌，拜訪他的許多朋友，參加晚宴。他通常在時(shí)髦的夜總會(huì)結(jié)束一天的生活。他對(duì)我很感興趣，雖然多少有些疏遠(yuǎn)，但他總是很和藹可親?！?/p>

? ? ?Although we were all related to each other, one way or another, all?the inhabitants of the large house had different nationalities. The?Curiel family, having originally come from Tuscany, my uncle and?aunt had Italian nationality. Uncle Max however, for some reason or?other, had an Egyptian passport. My aunt Marie had retained her?Turkish nationality. My cousin Raoul was French, but his brother?Henri, about whom more later, out of solidarity with the Egyptian?masses had opted for Egyptian nationality. I was a British subject.

【雖然我們彼此之間都有這樣或那樣的關(guān)系，但這所大房子里的居民都是不同的民族。庫列爾家族最初來自托斯卡納，我的姑父和姑姑有意大利國籍。同時(shí)，由于某種原因，馬克斯姑父有埃及護(hù)照。我的姑姑瑪麗保留了她的土耳其國籍。我的堂兄拉烏爾是法國人，但他的弟弟亨利(后來更多人提到亨利)出于與埃及民眾的團(tuán)結(jié)，選擇了埃及國籍。我是英國的國籍?！?/p>

? ? ?My uncle and aunt began by sending me to a French school so that I?would learn to speak French fluently as soon as possible. In the years?before the war French was the language used by educated people of?the many national communities in the Middle East. They had?intended to send me to the French Jesuit College in Cairo, where their?two sons had been educated, but here I felt I had to put my foot?down. I had been brought up in the Protestant tradition and the?thought of going to a Catholic school and one run by Jesuits to boot,?frankly shocked me. I told my aunt that my Dutch family would be?very worried if they knew I was going to a Catholic school. She at once?saw the point and decided to send me to the French Lycee, a secular?establishment, instead. It had a very good reputation and ran special?classes to teach French to the sons of well-to-do Egyptians. The year I?spent at that school was not a very happy one, though I did learn to?speak French pretty well. My class mates were mostly Egyptian, the?spoilt sons of rich parents and several years older than myself. Outside?the classroom they spoke Arabic with each other, a language I did not?know at that time, so I had little contact with them. I made only one?friend there and he was a Copt.

【我的姑父和姑姑一開始把我送到一所法語學(xué)校，以便我能盡快學(xué)會(huì)流利地說法語。在戰(zhàn)爭前的幾年里，法語是中東許多國家受過教育的人使用的語言。他們本來打算把我送到位于開羅的法國耶穌會(huì)學(xué)院，他們的兩個(gè)兒子就是在那里接受教育的，但在這里，我覺得我必須堅(jiān)定自己的立場。我是在新教傳統(tǒng)中長大的，一想到要上天主教學(xué)校，還有一所由耶穌會(huì)教士開辦的學(xué)校，坦率地說，我就感到驚訝。我告訴姑姑，如果我的荷蘭家人知道我要去一所天主教學(xué)校，他們會(huì)非常擔(dān)心的。她立刻理解了，并決定把我送到法國中學(xué)，一個(gè)世俗的學(xué)校。它名聲很好，專門為富裕的埃及人的兒子開設(shè)法語課程。我在那所學(xué)校度過的一年不是很快樂，盡管我確實(shí)學(xué)會(huì)了說一口很好的法語。我的同班同學(xué)大多是埃及人，他們都是富家子弟，比我大好幾歲。在教室外，他們用阿拉伯語互相交流，這是一種我當(dāng)時(shí)不懂的語言，所以我很少和他們接觸。我在那里只交了一個(gè)朋友，他是科普特人。】

? ? ?I have often wondered what would have happened if I had not?objected and had gone to the Jesuit College. I might well have ended?up a Jesuit father myself.

【我經(jīng)常想，如果我沒有反對(duì)，去了耶穌會(huì)學(xué)院，會(huì)發(fā)生什么。我自己可能會(huì)成為一個(gè)神父?！?/p>

? ? ?My aunts and uncle were very kind to me and did everything they?could to make me feel at home. Very soon I developed a great liking?for my uncle and he for me. I started to accompany him on his walks?or on visits to various Egyptian ministries where he frequently had?appointments. From time to time he would take me with him to his?office where I would sit in his room and listen to what was being?transacted. He had given up all hope by that time that his sons, who?both had strong left-wing views, would take over the family firm and I?had a feeling that he began to look on me as a possible successor.?I doubt whether I would have been suitable material. I had never felt?attracted to business and had not felt in the least sorry that my father's?firm had gone bankrupt. Be that as it may, violent upheavals were?soon to occur which put an end to any such plans.

【我的姑姑和姑父對(duì)我很好，他們盡一切可能讓我有家的感覺。很快我就喜歡上了姑父，他也喜歡上了我。我開始陪他散步，或去埃及的各個(gè)部門訪問，在那里他經(jīng)常有任命。他有時(shí)會(huì)帶我去他的辦公室，我坐在他的房間里，聽他談生意。到時(shí)候，他的兩個(gè)兒子將接管家族企業(yè)，他們都有強(qiáng)烈的左翼思想，姑父已經(jīng)不對(duì)他們有所期待了。我感覺到，他開始把我看作是一個(gè)可能的繼承人。我懷疑自己是否是合適的人選。我從來沒有對(duì)商業(yè)感興趣過，也從來沒有對(duì)父親公司的破產(chǎn)感到過絲毫的遺憾。盡管如此，不久就會(huì)發(fā)生劇烈的動(dòng)亂，使任何這樣的計(jì)劃都化為泡影?！?/p>

? ? ?My uncle and aunt, in order to escape the heat of the Egyptian?summer, every year spent a few months in Europe, mostly in France,?where they had many relatives. I was given the choice of accompanying?them or spending my school holidays in Holland. Without hesitation?I opted for the latter. Although I was happy in Cairo, I missed my?Dutch family very much and counted the days to the start of the?summer holidays. On a small calendar over my bed I struck off the?days as they passed.

【我的姑父和姑姑為了躲避埃及夏天的炎熱，每年都要在歐洲呆幾個(gè)月，主要是在法國，在那里他們有很多親戚。我可以選擇陪他們?nèi)?，或者去荷蘭度假。我毫不猶豫地選擇了后者。雖然我在開羅過得很開心，但我非常想念我的荷蘭家人，我會(huì)數(shù)著暑假開始的日子。我在床頭的小日歷上記下每天的日子。】

? ? ?A friend of ours in Rotterdam was a shipping agent and he secured?a passage for me as a passenger on a Norwegian freighter, which?plied regularly between Antwerp and Piraeus, calling at various?Mediterranean ports. When, early in June, I climbed up the?companion ladder of the SS Bruse Jarl as she lay at anchor off the?Greek port of Patras an unforgettable period in my boyhood years?began. For the next month I led the kind of life most boys at the age of?fourteen dream of. At first I was simply a passenger, but gradually I?became involved in the ship's life and by the end of the voyage I had?become almost a full-blown member of the crew. I would regularly?take my turn at the wheel and in between help with the chipping and?painting or, if it was foggy, go up aloft in the crow's nest as a look-out.

【我們在鹿特丹的一位朋友是一位貨運(yùn)代理，他安排我成為了一艘挪威貨輪的乘客，這艘貨輪定期往返于安特衛(wèi)普和比雷埃夫斯之間，停靠地中海的各個(gè)港口。六月初，當(dāng)布魯斯·賈爾號(hào)停泊在希臘佩特拉斯港外時(shí)，我爬上舷梯，童年時(shí)代一段難忘的時(shí)光便開始了。在接下來的一個(gè)月里，我過著大多數(shù)14歲男孩夢寐以求的生活。一開始我只是一名乘客，但漸漸地我融入了這艘船的生活，到航行結(jié)束時(shí)，我?guī)缀跻呀?jīng)成為一名成熟的船員。我會(huì)定期輪流駕駛，在此期間，我還會(huì)幫忙清理碎片和油漆，如果有霧的話，我還會(huì)到高空的觀景臺(tái)上去望風(fēng)。】

? ? ?The last port of call before Antwerp was London and so for the first?time in my life I was to set foot on the land to which by nationality?I belonged and for which the precepts of my father had filled me with?deep respect and admiration. As we proceeded up the Channel a feeling?of mounting excitement, as if before some great event, began?to get hold of me, heightened by the general air of anticipation and?bustle usual on board a ship approaching a big port after some time at?sea. It was a beautiful summer morning with a slight haze when I got?my first glimpse of England, the low shore line and white and black?lighthouse of Dungeness where we picked up the pilot. I looked at him?with interest for he seemed to me a rather special person, the first?Englishman I saw who actually lived in England. Late that afternoon a?small tug pulled us through the locks into East India Dock. As soon as?the ship was tied up and the gangway had been lowered, I stepped?ashore. As I was familiar with the atmosphere of Rotterdam, its?dockland areas, its working-class houses, its pubs, warehouses,?railway lines, disreputable cafes and seamen's clubs, my first walk in?London along the Commercial Road brought nothing new except that?everything seemed just that little bit grimier and shabbier than in my?home town. What struck me most was the people. Did these often?undersized, sharp featured, agile and wiry men belong to the same?nation as those tall, good-looking, languid young officers I had seen?playing polo at the Gezira Sporting Club? I had not then heard of?Disraeli's two nations, but this was exactly the impression I got on that?first visit. It was as if two nations inhabited England, different?not only in habits, language and culture, but even in physical?appearance.

【安特衛(wèi)普之前的最后一個(gè)?？扛凼莻惗?，因此，我一生中第一次踏上了這片土地，因?yàn)槲业膰菍儆谶@塊土地的，我父親的訓(xùn)誡使我對(duì)這塊土地充滿了深深的敬意和欽佩。我們沿著英吉利海峽向前駛?cè)?，一種越來越激動(dòng)的感覺開始攫住了我，仿佛即將發(fā)生什么大事似的。當(dāng)一艘船在海上航行了一段時(shí)間后，駛近一個(gè)大港口時(shí)，船上通常會(huì)有一種期待和忙碌的氣氛，這種氣氛使我的心情變得更加激動(dòng)。那是一個(gè)美麗的夏日早晨，我第一次看到了英國，我看到了低處的海岸線和鄧杰內(nèi)斯黑白相間的燈塔，我們在那里找到了飛行員。我饒有興趣地看著他，因?yàn)閷?duì)我來說，他似乎是一個(gè)相當(dāng)特殊的人，是我見到的第一個(gè)真正生活在英國的英國人。那天下午晚些時(shí)候，一艘小拖船把我們拉過船閘，駛進(jìn)了東印度碼頭。船一系好，跳板放下，我就上岸了。是我熟悉的鹿特丹的環(huán)境，熟悉的鹿特丹的碼頭區(qū)，熟悉的鹿特丹工人階級(jí)的房屋，熟悉的鹿特丹的酒吧、倉庫、鐵路、聲名狼藉的咖啡館和海員俱樂部。我第一次沿著倫敦商業(yè)路漫步，除了覺得這里的一切都比我的家鄉(xiāng)更骯臟、更破舊之外，并沒有什么新鮮的東西。給我印象最深的是這里的人民。這些身材矮小、眉清眼秀、身手敏捷、瘦削結(jié)實(shí)的男人，是不是和我在杰濟(jì)拉體育俱樂部見到的那些身材高大、相貌英俊、無精打采的年輕軍官們屬于同一個(gè)國家呢?當(dāng)時(shí)我還沒有聽說過迪斯雷利的兩個(gè)國家，但這正是我第一次訪問時(shí)的印象。就好像居住在英國的是兩個(gè)民族，他們不僅在習(xí)慣、語言和文化上不同，甚至在外表上也不同?！?/p>