Account of My Travels游歷記述

By Washington Irving

I was always fond of visiting new scenes, and observing strangecharacters and manners. Even when a mere child I began my travels, andmade many tours of discovery into foreign parts and unknown regions ofmy native city, to the frequent alarm of my parents, and the emolumentof the town-crier. As I grew into boyhood, I extended the range ofmy observations. My holiday afternoons were spent in rambles about thesurrounding country. I made myself familiar with all its places famousin history or fable. I knew every spot where a murder or robbery hadbeen committed, or a ghost seen. I visited the neighboring villages,and added greatly to my stock of knowledge, by noting their habits andcustoms, and conversing with their sages and great men. I evenjourneyed one long summer’s day to the summit of the most distanthill, whence I stretched my eye over many a mile of terra incognita,and was astonished to find how vast a globe I inhabited.

我總喜愛游覽新奇美景，觀賞奇風異俗。幼年之時，我便四處漫游，走過不少地方，深入故土的窮鄉僻壤，作一番探索。為此，父母常感驚恐，不過公告傳報員 [1]卻受益不少。及至少年，觀察范圍更趨廣泛。每逢假日下午，我便暢游四周。由此，歷史上或傳說中的著名地方，我無不知曉。哪里有過兇殺搶劫，哪里出現過幽靈，我均能一一告知。我去鄰近的村莊，觀察其風俗習慣，與賢明之士和不凡人物交談，從而知識大增。在一個漫長的夏日，我甚至遠走他鄉，爬上一座高山，極目遠眺，凝視尚未去過的陌生地帶。目睹我所居住的地球廣闊無垠，我驚嘆不已。

This rambling propensity strengthened with my years. Books ofvoyages and travels became my passion, and in devouring theircontents, I neglected the regular exercises of the school. Howwistfully would I wander about the pier-heads in fine weather, andwatch the parting ships, bound to distant climes- with what longingeyes would I gaze after their lessening sails, and waft myself inimagination to the ends of the earth!

我年歲愈增，愈加喜歡漫游。種種游記書籍，令我愛不釋手，讀得廢寢忘食，以致把學校日常功課忽略。我多么渴望在風和日麗之際，漫步碼頭，看只只船兒遠去。我心馳神往，凝視它們愈來愈小的風帆，想象中隨之漂向天涯海角。