《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 50 商队永远只朝着一个方向行进

He thought of the merchant's daughter, and was sure that she had probably married.

后来，他又想起了那个商人的女儿，并确信她已经结婚。

Perhaps to a baker¹, or to another shepherd who could read and could tell her exciting stories—after all, he probably wasn't the only one.

说不定是跟一个面包店店主，或者跟一个也会读书识字和讲神奇故事的牧羊人。毕竟，他不可能是唯一具有这类本事的牧羊人。

But he was excited at his intuitive understanding of the camel driver's comment:

男孩开始为自己的一种预感而惊讶不已：

maybe he was also learning the universal language that deals with the past and the present of all people.

也许他也在学习宇宙语言的历史，宇宙语言能知道每个人的过去与未来。

"Hunches," his mother used to call them.

照他母亲习惯的说法，这就是“预感”。

The boy was beginning to understand that intuition is really a sudden immersion² of the soul into the universal current of life,

男孩明白了，预感就是灵魂飞快地投入生命的洪流当中，

where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it's all written there.

世上所有人的经历都在这洪流中联系在一起。我们因此能无所不知，无所不晓，因为一切均已命中注定。

"Maktub," the boy said, remembering the crystal merchant.

“马克图布。”男孩说，想起了水晶店老板。

The desert was all sand in some stretches, and rocky in others.

沙漠里，有的地方黄沙遍野，有的地方乱石嶙峋。

When the caravan³ was blocked by a boulder⁴, it had to go around it;

如果面前有一块石头，商队绕过去就可以了；

if there was a large rocky area, they had to make a major detour⁵.

如果遇到的是陡哨的山岩，那就得兜上一个大圈子。

If the sand was too fine for the animals' hooves, they sought a way where the sand was more substantial.

如果骆驼感觉沙粒过于细腻，它们就找沙子比较密实的地方通过。

In some places, the ground was covered with the salt of dried-up lakes.

有时，地面上覆盖着一层盐，那地方从前应该是一个湖泊。

The animals balked⁶ at such places, and the camel drivers were forced to dismount and unburden their charges. The drivers carried the freight themselves over such treacherous⁷ footing, and then reloaded the camels.

于是，牲口都不肯往前走。赶驼人便跳下地，把货物背在身上，等通过那段难走的路之后，再把货物放回牲口背上。

If a guide were to fall ill or die, the camel drivers would draw lots and appoint a new one.

如果某个领队病了或是死了，他们就通过抓阄选出一个新领队。

But all this happened for one basic reason: no matter how many detours⁸ and adjustments it made, the caravan moved toward the same compass point.

所有这一切，都是因为无论绕行多少弯路，商队永远只朝着一个方向行进。

Once obstacles were overcome, it returned to its course, sighting on a star that indicated the location of the oasis⁹.

克服所有障碍，循着那颗指示着绿洲方位的星斗前进。

When the people saw that star shining in the morning sky, they knew they were on the right course toward water, palm trees, shelter, and other people.

清晨，当人们望见那颗星星在天空中闪烁的时候，心中明白，它指示的地方，有水源、椰枣树、住所和人们。

It was only the Englishman who was unaware¹⁰ of all this; he was, for the most part, immersed in reading his books.

只有英国人不在意这一切，大部分时间里，他都在埋头读书。

1 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

2 immersion   

n.沉浸；专心

参考例句：

• The dirt on the bottom of the bath didn't encourage total immersion.浴缸底有污垢，不宜全身浸泡于其中。
• The wood had become swollen from prolonged immersion.因长时间浸泡，木头发胀了。

3 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

4 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

5 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

6 balked   

v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑

参考例句：

• He balked in his speech. 他忽然中断讲演。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They balked the robber's plan. 他们使强盗的计划受到挫败。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

8 detours   

绕行的路( detour的名词复数 )； 绕道，兜圈子

参考例句：

• Local wars and bandits often blocked their travel, making countless detours necessary. 内战和盗匪也常阻挡他们前进，迫使他们绕了无数弯路。
• Could it be that all these detours had brought them to Moshi Pass? 难道绕来绕去，绕到磨石口来了吗？ 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

9 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

10 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。