叁

　　宝玉看罢，因笑道：“这个妹妹我曾见过的。”贾母笑道：“可又是胡说，你又何曾见过她?”宝玉笑道：“虽然未曾见过她，然我看着面善，心里就算是旧相识，今日只作远别重逢，亦未为不可。”

　　译文：

　　"I've met this cousin before,"he declared at the end of his scrutiny.

　　"You're talking nonsense again," said his grandmother, laughing.

　　"How could you possibly have met her?"

　　"Well, even if I haven't, her face looks familiar. I feel we're old friends meeting again after a long separation."(杨戴)

　　Having completed his survey, Bao-yu gave a laugh. 'I have seen this cousin before.'

　　'Nonsense!' said Grandmother Jia. 'How could you possibly have done?'

　　'Well, perhaps not,' said Bao-yu, 'but her face seems so familiar that I have the impression of meeting her again after a long separation.’(霍克斯)

　　解析：

　　说完了黛玉，再来说说宝玉。他素来是家里的掌珠，被一群人捧在手心里长大的，自是有什么说什么，也不管是不是浑话。他觉得似曾相识，也不藏着掖着了，直接宣之于口。此处，也算借宝玉的口说出了两人的心里话，是为心有灵犀，正式拉开了俩人爱情的大幕。

　　胡说都是nonsense，久别重逢都是meeting again after a long separation，细节处理不相同。

　　值得一提的是“看”这个词的选择，杨戴用了scrutiny，霍克斯用了survey，两个词都偏学术气息，不够日常。两者之间，英大倾向于scrutiny，表示“审视，打量”。

　　除了以上的叙述，这一段最精彩的就是对宝玉和黛玉两人外貌和服饰的描述，而这些古代特有的服饰也向来是译者最头疼的地方。需要注意的是，原书的这一章中有两段对宝玉的描述，换装前后各一次，而《朗读者》中是节选，只出现了换装后的一段。就把两段一起放上来，来看看两位大家是如何描述这位浊世佳公子的吧。

　　肆

　　换装前：

　　戴着束发嵌宝紫金冠，齐眉勒着二龙戏珠金抹额，一件二色金百蝶穿花大红箭袖，束着五彩丝攒花结长穗宫绦，外罩石青起花八团倭缎排穗褂，登着青缎粉底小朝靴。面若中秋之月，色如春晓之花，鬓若刀裁，眉如墨画，鼻如悬胆，睛若秋波，虽怒时而似笑，即瞋视而有情。项上金螭缨络，又有一根五色丝绦，系着一块美玉。

　　译文：

　　His face was as radiant as the mid-autumn moon, his complexion fresh as spring flowers at dawn. The hair above his temples was as sharply outlined as if cut with a knife. His eyebrows were as black as if painted with ink, his cheeks as red as peach-blossom, his eyes bright as autumn ripples. Even when angry he seemed to smile, and there was warmth in his glance even when he frowned.(杨戴)

　　As to his person, he had:

　　a face like the moon of Mid-Autumn,

　　a complexion like flowers at dawn,

　　a hairline straight as a knife-cut,

　　eyebrows that might have been painted by an artist's brush,

　　a shapely nose, and eyes clear as limpid pools,

　　that even in anger seemed to smile,

　　and, as they glared, beamed tenderness the while.(霍克斯)

　　换装后：

　　头上周围一转的短发，都结成小辫，红丝结束，身上穿着银红撒花半旧大袄，仍旧戴着项圈，宝玉，寄名锁，护身符等物，锦边弹墨袜，厚底大红鞋，越显得面如敷粉，唇若施脂，转盼多情，语言常笑，天然一段风骚，全在眉梢，平生万种情思，悉堆眼角。看其外貌最是极好，却难知其底细。

　　译文：

　　His face looked as fair as if powdered, his lips red as rouge. His glance was full of affection, his speech interspersed with smiles. But his natural charm appeared most in his brows, for his eyes sparkled with a world of feeling. (杨戴)

　　The cheeks might have been brushed with powder and the lips touched with rouge, so bright was their natural colour.

　　His glance was soulful,

　　yet from his lips the laughter often leaped;

　　a world of charm upon that brow was heaped;

　　a world of feeling from those dark eyes peeped.(霍克斯)