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NnediOkorafor_2017G-_想象未来非洲的科幻小说_
What if an African girl from a traditional family in a part of future Africa is accepted into the finest university in the galaxy , planets away? 如果一个来自传统家庭的非洲女孩, 作为非洲的未来的一部分 被一所公认为银河系最好的大学录取了？ 在几个星球之外？
What if:如果…怎么办? traditional:传统的,惯例的, galaxy:n.银河;[天]星系;银河系;一群显赫的人;
What if she decides to go? 如果她决定去怎么办？
This is an excerpt from my "Binti" novella trilogy : 这是我从“Binti”中篇小说三部曲的摘录:
excerpt:n.摘录,引用;vt.引用,摘录;vi.摘录,引用; novella:n.中篇小说;短篇故事; trilogy:n.三部曲;三部剧;
I powered up the transporter and said a silent prayer. 我打开运输机,默默地祈祷。
transporter:n.运输机;输送者;
I had no idea what I was going to do if it didn't work. 如果它不好使了, 我不知道该怎么办
My transporter was cheap, so even a droplet of moisture or, more likely, a grain of sand, would cause it to short. 我的运输机很便宜, 因此,即使是一小滴的水分, 或更可能,一粒沙子, 会使它出毛病。
droplet:n.小滴,微滴; moisture:n.水分;湿度;潮湿;降雨量; grain:n.粮食; v.把…作成细粒;
It was faulty , and most of the time I had to restart it over and over before it worked. 它是故障的,而且大部分时间 我不得不一遍又一遍地重启 才能启动。
faulty:adj.有错误的;有缺点的; over and over:反复;再三;
'"Please not now, please not now," I thought. “请不要是现在,请不要是现在,”我想。
The transporter shivered in the sand and I held my breath. 运输机颤抖着扎进了沙子, 我不由得屏住呼吸
shivered:n.颤抖,战栗;碎片;vi.颤抖;哆嗦;打碎;vt.颤抖;打碎;
Tiny, flat and black as a prayer stone, it buzzed softly and then slowly rose from the sand. 黑色的飞船又小又平像是块幸运石 它轻轻地嗡嗡作声, 又缓缓从沙堆中升空
buzzed:v.发出嗡嗡声;发出蜂鸣声;充满兴奋(或活动等);(buzz的过去分词和过去式) softly:adv.温柔地;柔和地;柔软地;静静地;
Finally , it produced the baggage-lifting force. 最后,它产生了提升行李的力。
Finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地;
I grinned . 我如释重负地咧嘴一笑。
grinned:vi.露齿而笑(grin的过去分词);
Now I could make it to the shuttle on time. 现在我可以让飞船按时到达了
shuttle:n.穿梭班机、公共汽车;梭;梭子;v.频繁往来;往返运送
I swiped otjize from my forehead with my index finger and knelt down, then I touched the finger to the sand, grounding the sweet-smelling red clay into it. 我用食指把 otjize 从我的额头拂下,跪下, 然后我把手指碰在沙子上, 把香的红色泥土接进去。
swiped:v.挥拳打;挥起(物体)击打;偷窃;刷(磁卡);(swipe的过去分词和过去式) forehead:n.前额; index finger:n.食指; knelt:v.跪下(kneel的过去式); sweet-smelling:n.芳香的; clay:n.黏土;陶土;
'"Thank you," I whispered. “谢谢你,”我低声说。
It was a half-mile walk along the dark desert road. 沿着漆黑的沙漠路走了半英里。
half-mile:半英里;半英里赛跑;
With the transporter working I would make it there on time. 既然运输机能使了, 我会准时赶到那里的。
Straightening up, I paused and shut my eyes. 直起身来,我停顿了一下, 闭上了眼睛。
Straightening:v.(使)变直,变正;挺直,端正(身体)(straighten的现在分词)
Now, the weight of my entire life was pressing on my shoulders. 现在,我的整个生命的重量 压在我的肩膀上。
I was defying the most traditional part of myself for the first time in my entire life. 我第一次挑战自己最传统的部分, 在我的一生中。
defying:反抗;
I was leaving in the dead of night, and they had no clue . 我在深夜离开,他们毫不知情。
clue:n.提示;迹象;(纵横填字谜、游戏或问题的)提示词语;v.提示;为…提供线索;
My nine siblings , all older than me except for my younger sister and brother, would never see this coming. 我的九个兄弟姐妹都比我大, 除了我的妹妹和弟弟, 从来没想到这会发生。
siblings:n.兄;弟;姐;妹;(sibling的复数)
My parents would never imagine I'd do such a thing in a million years. 我父母永远都不会想到我会干这种事。
By the time they all realized what I'd done and where I was going, 当他们都意识到我做了什么 和我要去哪里的时候,
I'd have left the planet. 我已经离开这个星球了。
In my absence , my parents would growl to each other that I was never to set foot in their home again. 在我不在的时候, 我的父母会互相咆哮。 我再也不会踏进他们的家了。
absence:n.没有;缺乏;缺席;不注意; growl:vi.咆哮着说;vt.咆哮;(雷电,炮等)轰鸣;n.咆哮声;吠声;不平; set foot in:v.踏进;进入;涉足于;
My four aunties and two uncles who lived down the road would shout and gossip amongst themselves about how I had scandalized the entire bloodline . 我的四个阿姨和两位叔叔住在同一条路上 总是相互大喊大叫着 我如何使整个家族蒙羞。
aunties:n.舅妈,伯母;阿姨; down the road:只要沿着这条路;将来;在路上; gossip:n.流言蜚语;闲聊;喜欢传播流言蜚语的人;v.传播流言蜚语;说三道四; amongst:prep.在…之中;在…当中(等于among); scandalized:vt.使震惊;诽谤;使愤慨; bloodline:n.世系;血统;(动物的)种系;
I was going to be a pariah . 我将会成为一个贱民。
pariah:n.贱民(印度的最下阶级);
'"Go," I softly whispered to the transporter, stamping my foot. “走吧,”我轻声对运输机说, 跺着我的脚。
The thin metal rings I wore around each ankle jingled noisily , but I stamped my foot again. 我穿的薄金属环围绕每个踝叮当响, 但我又跺脚了。
jingled:adj.喝醉的;v.发出丁当声(jingle的过去分词); noisily:adv.吵闹地,喧闹地;
Once on, the transporter worked best when I didn't touch it. 一旦启动,运输机在我不碰它时工作得最好。
'"Go," I said again, sweat forming on my brow . “走,”我又说,汗水在我的额头上形成。
brow:n.额头;山脊;坡顶;
When nothing moved, 什么都没有动,
I chanced giving the two large suitcases sitting atop the force field a shove . 我碰巧把两个大箱子放在原力场顶上。
suitcases:n.(旅行用的)手提箱;(suitcase的复数) atop:prep.在…的顶上;adv.在顶上; shove:v.猛推;乱挤;推撞;乱放;n.猛推;
They moved smoothly , and I breathed another sigh of relief . 它们走得很顺利,我又松了一口气。
smoothly:adv.平稳地,平滑地;流畅地,流利地; relief:n.救济;减轻,解除;安慰;浮雕;
At least some luck was on my side. 至少我还有点运气。
So, in a distant future part of Africa, 所以,在遥远的未来非洲的一部分,
distant:adj.遥远的;远处的;久远的;
Binti is a mathematical genius of the Himba ethnic group. 宾蒂是辛巴族的数学天才。
mathematical:adj.数学的,数学上的;精确的; genius:n.天才;天资;才能,本领; ethnic:adj.种族的;人种的;
She's been accepted into a university on another planet, and she's decided to go. 她被另一个行星的一所大学录取了, 而且她决定去。
Carrying the blood of her people in her veins , adorned with the teachings , ways, even the land on her very skin, 携带着她的族人的血脉, 她的皮肤装饰着教导,道路,甚至大地,
veins:n.[解剖]静脉(vein的复数); v.使有脉络; adorned:被修饰的; teachings:n.教导;教义;学说;(teaching的复数)
Binti leaves the earth. Binti 离开地球。
As the story progresses, she becomes not other, but more. 随着故事的进行,她不再是另一个人, 而是更多。
This idea of leaving but bringing and then becoming more is at one of the hearts of Afrofuturism, or you can simply call it a different type of science fiction . 离开但带来并变得更多的想法 在一个未来派主义的心里, 或者你可以简单地称之为 另一种科幻小说。
science fiction:科幻小说;
I can best explain the difference between classic science fiction and Afrofuturism if I used the octopus analogy . 我可以很好地解释经典的科幻小说 和未来派主义之间的差异 如果我用章鱼做比喻。
classic:n.名著;优秀的典范;adj.最优秀的;第一流的;有代表性的;典型的; octopus:n.章鱼; analogy:n.类比;类推;类似;
Like humans, octopuses are some of the most intelligent creatures on earth. 像人类, 章鱼是地球上最聪明的动物之一。
octopuses:章鱼(octopus的名词复数); intelligent:adj.有才智的;悟性强的;聪明的;有智力的 creatures:n.生物;动物;(具有某种特征的)人(creature的复数)
However, octopus intelligence evolved from a different evolutionary line, separate from that of human beings, so the foundation is different. 然而,章鱼的智能是从不同的进化路线 进化而来的, 与人类没有关系, 所以从基础上就不同。
intelligence:n.智力;智慧;才智;(尤指关于敌国的)情报; evolved:v.(使)逐渐形成;进化;进化形成;(evolve的过去分词和过去式) evolutionary:adj.进化的;发展的;渐进的; foundation:n.基础;地基;基金会;根据;创立;
The same can be said about the foundations of various forms of science fiction. 各种科幻小说的基础也可以这么说。
foundations:n.基础;地基;基金会;粉底;(foundations是foundation的复数)
So much of science fiction speculates about technologies , societies, social issues , what's beyond our planet, what's within our planet. 科幻小说中有那么多推测 关于技术、社会和社会问题, 在我们的星球之外有什么, 我们的星球里有什么。
speculates:v.思索;设想;投机;(speculates是speculate的第三人称单数); technologies:n.技术;科技(technology的复数); issues:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;(issue的第三人称单数和复数)
Science fiction is one of the greatest and most effective forms of political writing. 科幻小说是政治写作中 最伟大和最有效的形式之一
effective:adj.有效的,起作用的;实际的,实在的;给人深刻印象;
It's all about the question, "What if?" 全是关于这个问题的:“如果呢？”
Still, not all science fiction has the same ancestral bloodline, that line being Western-rooted science fiction, which is mostly white and male. 不过,并不是所有的科幻小说都有相同的来路, 这条线是西方科幻小说, 大部分是白人和男性。
ancestral:adj.祖先的;祖传的;
We're talking Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne, 我们在谈论艾萨克·阿西莫夫, 儒勒·凡尔纳,
H.G. Wells, George Orwell, Robert Heinlein, etc. H.G. 威尔斯,乔治·奥威尔, 罗伯特·海因莱因等。
So what if a Nigerian-American wrote science fiction? 如果一个尼日利亚美国人写科幻小说怎么办？
Growing up, I didn't read much science fiction. 在成长过程中,我没有读过很多科幻小说。
I couldn't relate to these stories preoccupied with xenophobia , colonization and seeing aliens as others. 我无法理解这些故事, 全神贯注它们充斥着排外主义、殖民主义 和外星人。
preoccupied:adj.心事重重; v.使日夜思考; (preoccupy的过去分词和过去式) xenophobia:n.仇外;对外国人的畏惧和憎恨; colonization:n.殖民;殖民地化;
And I saw no reflection of anyone who looked like me in those narratives . 在那些叙述中,没有任何像我的人。
reflection:n.反映;沉思;映像;深思; narratives:n.叙述,故事;叙述的手法(narrative复数);
In the "Binti" novella trilogy, 在“宾蒂”中篇小说三部曲,
Binti leaves the planet to seek education from extraterrestrials . Binti 离开地球去寻求外星人的教育。
seek:v.寻求;寻找;谋求; extraterrestrials:外星人(extraterrestrial的复数);
She goes out as she is, looking the way she looks, carrying her cultures, being who she is. 她就这样出去了, 她的外貌就是那样, 承载她的文化, 做她自己。
I was inspired to write this story not because I was following a line of classic space opera narratives, but because of blood that runs deep, family, cultural conflict and the need to see an African girl leave the planet on her own terms. 我被启发写这个故事。 并不是因为 我遵循了一系列经典的太空歌剧叙事, 而是因为血脉的牵绊那样深, 家庭、文化冲突 我需要看到一个非洲女孩 按照自己的方式离开这个星球。
inspired:adj.受到启发的; v.鼓舞; (inspire的过去分词和过去式) opera:n.歌剧;歌剧院;歌剧艺术;歌剧剧本; cultural:adj.与文化有关的;文化的;与艺术、文学、音乐等有关的; conflict:n.冲突;矛盾;争执;抵触;v.抵触;
My science fiction had different ancestors, 我的科幻小说有不同的祖先,
African ones. 非洲的。
So I'm Nigerian-American. 所以我是尼日利亚裔美国人。
I was born to two Nigerian immigrant parents and raised in the United States, one of the birthplaces of classic science fiction. 我出生于两个尼日利亚移民父母。 并在美国长大, 一个经典的科幻小说的发源地。
immigrant:n.(外来)移民;外侨;adj.侨民的; United:adj.联合的; v.联合,团结; (unite的过去分词和过去式) birthplaces:n.出生地;发源地;
However, it was my Nigerian heritage that led me to write science fiction. 然而,正是我的尼日利亚传统 让我写了科幻小说。
heritage:n.遗产;传统;继承物;继承权;
Specifically I cite those family trips to Nigeria in the late '90s. 具体来说,我引用了90年代末 去尼日利亚的家庭旅行。
Specifically:adv.特别地;明确地; cite:v.引用;援引;引述;提及(原因);n.引文;
I'd been taking trips back to Nigeria with my family since I was very young. 从很小的时候起, 我就和家人一起回尼日利亚旅行了。
These early trips inspired me. 这些早期的旅行启发了我。
Hence the first story that I ever even wrote took place in Nigeria. 因此,我曾经写过的第一个故事 发生在尼日利亚。
Hence:adv.因此;今后;
I wrote mainly magical realism and fantasy inspired by my love of Igbo and other West African traditional cosmologies and spiritualities . 我写的主要是魔幻现实主义和幻想。 灵感来自我对依博族的热爱 和其他西非传统的宇宙论和灵性。
mainly:adv.大多;大部分;主要地;首要地; realism:n.现实主义;实在论;现实主义的态度和行为; fantasy:n.幻想; adj.虚幻的; v.空想; cosmologies:用法,发音,音标,搭配,同义词,反义词和例句等在线英语服务。; spiritualities:n.精神(性); (spirituality的复数);
However, in the late '90s, 然而,在90年代后期,
I started noticing the role of technology in Nigeria: cable TV and cell phones in the village, 419 scammers occupying the cybercafes, the small generator connected to my cousin's desktop computer because the power was always going on and off. 我开始注意到技术在尼日利亚的作用: 村里的有线电视和手机, 419 骗子占领网吧, 小发电机连接到我表弟的台式电脑 因为电力总是时好时坏。
technology:n.技术;工艺;术语; cable:n.电缆; v.打电报; (用锚链,缆索等)系住; scammers:n.调情的人;骗子; occupying:v.占用;使用;居住;占领;占据;(occupy的现在分词) generator:n.发电机;发生器;电力公司; desktop computer:n.台式机;台式电脑;
And my Americanness othered me enough to be intrigued by these things that most Nigerians saw as normal. 我的美国差异使我对这些大多数尼日利亚人 看起来很正常的事感到好奇,这让我烦恼。
intrigued:adj.感兴趣的; v.密谋; (intrigue的过去式和过去分词)
My intrigue eventually gave birth to stories. 我的兴趣最终产生了故事。
eventually:adv.最后,终于;
I started opening strange doors. 我开始打开陌生的门。
What if aliens came to Lagos, Nigeria? 如果外星人来到尼日利亚的拉各斯 会发生什么呢？
This is an excerpt from my novel, " Lagoon ." 这是我的小说《Lagoon》的节选:
Lagoon:n.[地理][水文]泻湖;环礁湖;咸水湖;
Everybody saw it, all over the world. 每个人都看到了, 全世界。
That was a real introduction to the great mess happening in Lagos, 这是对拉各斯发生的大混乱的一个真正的介绍,
mess:n.混乱;餐厅;杂乱;肮脏;v.使不整洁;弄脏;弄乱;随地便溺;
Nigeria, West Africa, Africa, here. 尼日利亚,西非,非洲,这里。
Because so many people in Lagos had portable , chargeable , glowing , vibrating , chirping , tweeting , communicating, connected devices , practically everything was recorded and posted online in some way, somehow , quickly. 因为在拉各斯 有这么多人有手提式的,收费的, 发光的,振动,啁啾,嗡嗡, 沟通的连接设备, 几乎所有的东西都以某种方式 记录和发布在网上, 迅速地, 用各种方式.
portable:adj.便携式的;手提的;轻便的;n.便携机;(尤指)手提电脑; chargeable:adj.应支付的;可以控诉的;可充电的;应课税的; glowing:adj.灼热的;热情洋溢的;鲜艳的;v.发光;容光焕发;发热;(glow的现在分词) vibrating:v.(使)振动,颤动,摆动(vibrate的现在分词) chirping:v.吱喳叫;唧唧叫;轻松愉快地讲(话);(chirp的现在分词) tweeting:吱吱地叫(小鸟鸣叫);在社交网站Twitter上发微博(tweet的现在分词); devices:n.[机][计]设备;[机]装置;[电子]器件(device的复数); practically:adv.实际地;几乎;事实上; somehow:adv.以某种方法;莫名其妙地;
The modern human world is connected like a spider 's web. 现代人的世界就像蜘蛛网一样相连。
spider:n.蜘蛛;
The world was watching. 全世界都在观望。
It watched in fascinated horror for information, but mostly for entertainment. 它惊恐地注视着。 为了信息, 但主要是为了娱乐。
horror:n.恐惧;厌恶;震惊;对某事物的强烈畏惧(或憎恨);
Footage of what was happening dominated every international news source , video-sharing website, social network, circle, pyramid and trapezoid . 所发生的一切都是国际新闻来源的素材, 视频共享网站,社交网络, 圆形,金字塔和梯形。
Footage:n.英尺长度;连续镜头;以尺计算长度; dominated:v.支配;控制;左右;影响;(dominate的过去式和过去分词) source:n.来源;水源;原始资料; trapezoid:n.[数]梯形;[数]不规则四边形;adj.梯形的;[数]不规则四边形的;
But the story goes deeper. 但故事更深入。
It is in the mud, the dirt , the earth, in the fond memory of the soily cosmos . 它在泥里, 污垢里, 土壤里, 在沾泥的宇宙的美好的记忆。
dirt:n.污垢;尘土;下流话; cosmos:n.宇宙;和谐;秩序;大波斯菊;
It is in the always mingling past, present and future. 它总是将过去、现在和将来交织在一起。
mingling:v.(使)与…结合;相交往,混杂其中;(mingle的现在分词)
It is in the water. 它在水里。
It is in the powerful spirits and ancestors who dwelled in Lagos. 它是在强大的灵魂和祖先居住在拉各斯。
dwelled:vi.居住;存在于;细想某事;
It is in the hearts and minds of the people of Lagos. 它在拉各斯人民的心中。
Change begets change. 变化引起的变化。
begets:vt.产生;招致;引起;当…的父亲;
The alien Ayodele knew it. 外星人 ayodele 知道。
All her people know it. 她身边所有人都知道。
So, this is a voice of Udide, the supreme spider artist, who is older than dirt and lives in the dirt beneath the city of Lagos, listening and commenting and weaving the story of extraterrestrials coming to Lagos. 这是Udide的声音, 它是最棒的蜘蛛艺术家, 比泥土还老 住在拉各斯城下面的泥土里, 倾听和评论 织来拉各斯的外星人的故事。
supreme:adj.最高的;至高的;最重要的;n.至高;霸权; beneath:prep.在…之下;adv.在下方; weaving:v.编,织;(用…)编成;编造(故事等);(weave的现在分词)
In the end, the great spider who was the size of a house and responsible for weaving the past, present and future decides to come forth and be a part of the story. 最后,一只大得像一个大房子的蜘蛛 负责编织过去、现在和未来 决定出来,成为故事的一部分。
responsible:adj.负责的,可靠的;有责任的;
Like Udide, the spider artist, 像 Udide 一样,蜘蛛艺术家,
African science fiction's blood runs deep and it's old, and it's ready to come forth, and when it does, imagine the new technologies, ideas and sociopolitical changes it'll inspire. 非洲科幻小说的血脉很深远羁绊着 它是古老的, 它已经准备好了, 而当它出来的时候, 想象它会激发怎么样的新的技术、 理念和社会政治的变化。
sociopolitical:adj.社会政治的;
For Africans, homegrown science fiction can be a will to power. 对非洲人来说, 国产科幻小说是一种权力意志。
homegrown:adj.国产的;自家种植的;
What if? 如果？
It's a powerful question. 这是个强有力的问题。
Thank you. 谢谢您。
(Applause) （掌声）