'I gave every part of my youth
我青春的每一寸时光
to do a job and to go through a savage war.'
都献给了一场野蛮的战争
'It was a different war from year to year
这场战争持续了很多年
and one's reactions were completely different.
并且每个人对它态度都不尽相同
The intensity changed so much that
这场战争强度变化十分剧烈
anybody who'd been out in 1914
倘若一名军人1914年退伍回家
and went home, then came back in 1917,
1917年又重新回到战场
wouldn't recognise it as the same war.'
他完全认不出来这是同一场战争
'I could only say one thing: I wouldn't have missed it.
我只说一件事 我绝不会错过它的
It was terrible at times, but I wouldn't have missed it.'
有时它的确很可怕 但是我绝不会错过
'Oh, yes, if I could have my time again,
没错 要是可以重新来过
I'd go through it all over again
我会选择重新经历一遍
because I enjoyed the service life.'
因为我很享受服役的日子
'I could only say that I have never been so excited in my life.
我想说我这辈子从来没有那么兴奋过
This was like a boy going to the play for the first time.'
感觉就像是一个男孩第一次玩游戏一样
'I never realised there was anything unusual about it.
我从没觉得这有什么不正常的
There was a job to be done and you just got on and did it.'
有一项工作需要人去做 你就去了
'We were all instilled with that idea
我们被灌输的思想就是
that this was war and that we'd got to kill the Germans
这是场战争 我们必须杀死德国人
and this was how we looked at the thing.'
我们就是这样看待这件事的
'I don't regret having experienced it.
我不曾后悔有这样的经历
I wish I hadn't, but I don't regret it,
我希望我没经历过 但是我并不后悔
because I'm safe. '
因为我很安全
'There were good times and bad times in France,
在法国的时候 有好时光也有不好的时光
but you took the rough with the smooth.'
但是你要不以物喜 不以己悲
'I was twice wounded and gassed, but it just didn't worry me.
我有两次负伤和中毒气 但是我并不担心
I just made the best of it.'
我只能尽力做到最好
'Just took it in its stride, like everybody else.
像其他人一样 从容面对
We were glad to be in it and we expected it to be rough,
我们很高兴能参与其中 都以为会很艰难
and it was rough, but we didn't complain.'
也的确很艰难 但是没有人抱怨
'There was no real excitement about it.
没什么真正值得兴奋的
You'd seen death so many times,
在看过了无数的尸体
you'd seen wounded so many times,
见过无数的伤员之后
blood didn't excite you.
血并不会让你感到兴奋
We were professionals and,
我们是专业的
to us, it was just a job of work.'
对我们而言这只是一份工作而已
'It would be a fallacy to say that one enjoyed it,
要说有人享受战争 这是不对的
but one got afterwards a nice, warm inner feeling
但在那之后会有种美好温暖的内心感受
that one had been of some use.'
这对我是十分受益的
'It didn't affect me very much,
它对我的影响并不是很大
because I wasn't sufficiently up in the ways of the world.
因为我当时还涉世未深
I was only a kid, like other blokes there.
我还是个孩子 像那的很多小伙子一样
It was more like a great, big game to be enjoyed,
除了真切的炮声和其他类似的东西
apart from the actual shelling and all that sort of thing.'
它更像是一场令人享受的宏伟比赛
'It made me a man, yes, it did.
它让我成了一个真正的男人 是的
I don't think I should have ever been the man I am
我想如果当时我没有参军的话
if it hadn't been for having to serve.'
我不会成为现在这样的人
'You'd learn to look after yourself
你必须要学会照顾你自己
whereas, in your civilian life, your mother did all the chores.
在家里 妈妈会帮你做所有的家务
You've got to learn how to cook
在这里 你不得不学习做饭
for yourself, darn your own socks,
学习补袜子
sew on your own buttons and all the things like that.'
还要为自己补纽扣等等这类事情
'It was just a day's work.
仅仅一天之后
I knew that I was not alone.
我就知道我并不孤单
I knew that I wasn't fighting the war by myself
我明白了我并不是一个人在打仗
and that what happened to other people might happen to me.'
还有其他人的遭遇同样会发生在我的身上
'I had no regrets at all but, you see,
我并不后悔 但是你看
I had no wife, no girl, no nothing.
我没有妻子 没有女儿 什么都没有
No regrets and no horrors...
没有遗憾 没有畏惧
...because, if you survive that,
因为如果你能熬过战争
you can survive anything.'
就没有什么熬不过去的了
'We were aware there was sort of
我们知道英德之间
a nasty feeling between England and Germany,
有一点相互讨厌的感觉
as we knew of the Kaiser's ambition to expand his empire
正如我们熟知的凯撒大帝扩张领土的野心
and all that sort of thing.'
还有诸如此类的史实
'During that summer,
那个夏天
there was a lot of talk about trouble going on in the Balkans,
很多人讨论巴尔干半岛上不断上演的冲突
but we were a long way from the Balkans
但是我们距离巴尔干半岛很遥远
and it didn't worry us at all.'
我们一点也不担心
'It was that Serbia business, wasn't it?
这是塞尔维亚自己的事 不是吗
Serbia, when that chap was shot.'
塞尔维亚 那个家伙被枪杀的时候
'I was paying attention to politics
我当时很关心政治
and I realised there was going to be
我意识到英德之间
trouble between England and Germany.'
将会出现大的矛盾
'Well, it was a lovely August 4th morning.'
那是8月4日一个令人愉悦的早晨
'We were all seated round the table
我们所有人都围坐在桌旁
and we were starting the rugby football
开始了和德国队的
dinner with the German team.
橄榄球晚宴
There was a German here and next to him was an Englishman,
一个德国人 旁边一个英国人
and next to him was a German, and so on and so on.
再旁边又是德国人 这样一直往后排
And a runner arrived into the middle of this dinner
晚宴中间 有一个人跑了进来
with extraordinary news of outbreak of war.'
宣布了战争爆发了这一爆炸性新闻
'There was a big placard: "War declared on Germany."'
当时有一个大标语"向德意志宣战"
'We didn't know what we ought to do,
我们当时并不知道该怎么做
whether we ought to seize a knife off the table
是该从桌子上抄起一把刀
and plunge it into the German or what,
插到德国人身上还是怎么
but after a little bit of discussion
但是经过一个小小的讨论
we decided that, as far as we were concerned,
我们决定 对我们而言
the war was going to start tomorrow, and the party proceeded.'
战争明天开始 派对继续进行
'I'm proud of being a Britisher.
我为自己身为英国人而自豪
I mean, I think we're as good a country as any in the world
我觉得英国是世界上最好的国家
and you've got to be prepared to fight for that.'
你必须要准备好为她而战
'There's no doubt about it, in the First World War,
毫无疑问 对于第一次世界大战
we prepared for war.'
我们做好了准备
The Empire was strong. We weren't afraid of anyone.'
大英帝国势不可挡 我们不惧任何敌人
'Everybody bought little buttons and waved flags and sang songs.
所有人都买小徽章 挥舞小旗子 唱着歌
There was no feeling of despair about it at all.'
当时完全没有绝望的气氛
'England couldn't possibly lose,
英国绝不可能会输
no matter how many Germans pushed
无论德国人让多少
how many Englishmen into the Channel,
英国人葬身海峡之中
