− the little prince visits the businessman
The fourth planet belonged to a businessman. This man was so much occupied(adj. 已占用的；使用中的；无空闲的) that he did not even raise his head at the little prince’s arrival. (这个人忙得不可开交，小王子到来的时候，甚至连头都没抬一下)
“Good morning,” the little prince said to him. “Your cigarette has gone out.” (小王子善意提醒了一下”你的烟卷灭了…”)
“Three and two make five.(5) Five and seven make twelve.(12) Twelve and three make fifteen.(15) Good morning. Fifteen and seven make twenty−two.(22) Twenty−two and six make twenty−eight.(28) I haven’t time to light it again. (我没有时间再去点着它)Twenty−six and five make thirty−one. (31)Phew!Then that makes five−hundred−and−one−million, six −hundred−twenty−two−thousand, seven− hundred−thirty−one.” (501622731)
(哎哟！一共是5亿162万2731，这里数字换成汉字可能更规范一些，但是阿拉伯数字看起来更直观一些)
“Five hundred million what?” asked the little prince.
“Eh? Are you still there? Five−hundred−and −one million−− I can’t stop…(5亿什么来着，我不能停下来…) I have so much to do! I am concerned with matters of consequence.(我现在很忙，我正在做很正经的事) I don’t amuse myself with balderdash(((口语))胡言乱语,无意义的话 ). (我没有工夫闲聊)Two and five make seven…”
“Five−hundred−and−one million what?” repeated the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question once he had asked it.(小王子还是那个小王子，一旦抛出一个问题，一定会刨根问底下去)
The businessman raised his head.
“During the fifty−four years that I have inhabited this planet, I have been disturbed only three times.(我住在这个星球54年以来，只被打搅过3次) The first time was twenty−two years ago, when some giddy(眩晕的，轻浮的) goose fell from goodness knows where. (第一次是25年前，不知道从哪儿的几只呆头鹅(还有翻译为”金龟子”的)从天而降)He made the most frightful noise that resounded (v.发出巨响)all over the place, and I made four mistakes in my addition.(它发出可怕的噪音，响彻整个星球，害的我算错了4次) The second time, eleven years ago, I was disturbed by an attack of rheumatism(n. 风湿症disease characterized by inflammation of the joints (Medicine)) I don’t get enough exercise. (我风湿病犯了，是因为长时间不锻炼所致)I have no time for loafing(可我这么忙，哪有时间闲逛). The third time−− well, this is it! I was saying, then, five −hundred−and−one millions−−”
“Millions of what?”
The businessman suddenly realized that there was no hope of being left in peace until he answered this question. (这个商人知道不回答这个问题，就别想得到安宁了)
“Millions of those little objects,” he said, “which one sometimes sees in the sky.”
“Flies?”
“Oh, no. Little glittering(闪闪发亮的东西) objects.”
“Bees?”
“Oh, no. Little golden objects that set lazy men to idle dreaming.(哦不不，是那些金黄色的东西叫懒汉们胡思乱想) As for me, I am concerned with matters of consequence. There is no time for idle dreaming in my life.” (我可是正经的人，没时间胡思乱想)(notes:实在忍不住想插一句了，他既然这么忙，还不直接就说是星星，一直让小王子猜ԅ(¯﹃¯ԅ))
“Ah! You mean the stars?”
“Yes, that’s it. The stars.”
“And what do you do with five−hundred millions of stars?”
“Five−hundred−and−one million, six−hundred −twenty−two thousand, seven−hundred− thirty−one. I am concerned with matters of consequence: I am accurate.” (不是5亿颗星星，是501622731颗星星)
“And what do you do with these stars?”
“What do I do with them?”
“Yes.”
“Nothing. I own them.”
“You own the stars?”
“Yes.”
“But I have already seen a king who−−”
“Kings do not own, they reign over. It is a very different matter.” (国王并不占有，他们只是进行”统治”，这不是一码事)
“And what good does it do you to own the stars?” (那占有这些星星又有什么用呢)
“It does me the good of making me rich.” (它们使我变得富有)
“And what good does it do you to be rich?” (富有了又有什么用呢)
“It makes it possible for me to buy more stars, if any are ever discovered.” (富有了就又可以买别的星星了，如果又能新发现别的星星)
“This man,” the little prince said to himself, “reasons a little like my poor tippler…” (这个人脑回路跟那个酒鬼很像)
Nevertheless, he still had some more questions.
“How is it possible for one to own the stars?” (凭什么说这些星星就是你的了呢？)
“To whom do they belong?” the businessman retorted, peevishly(adv. irritably, in a grumpy manner; angrily, in an annoyed manner烦躁的不耐烦的).
“I don’t know. To nobody.”
“Then they belong to me, because I was the first person to think of it.” (他们就是属于我的，因为我是第一个想到这件事的人)
“Is that all that is necessary?”
“Certainly. When you find a diamond that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you discover an island that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you get an idea before any one else, you take out a patent on it: it is yours. So with me: I own the stars, because nobody else before me ever thought of owning them.” (那当然。如果你发现了一颗宝石没有主人的话，那它就是属于你的;如果你发现一处岛屿没有主人，那它就是属于你的;你想到一个主意，你申请一个专利，以后这个主意就是属于你的。既然在我之前不曾有人想要占有这些星星，那这些星星就是属于我的)
“Yes, that is true,” said the little prince. “And what do you do with them?” (这倒也是，那你要这些星星有什么用呢)
“I administer them,” replied the businessman. “I count them and recount them. It is difficult. But I am a man who is naturally interested in matters of consequence.” (我管理他们，一遍一遍的数他们的数目，这很困难的，但我可是个正经人)
The little prince was still not satisfied.
“If I owned a silk scarf,” he said, “I could put it around my neck and take it away with me. If I owned a flower, I could pluck(拔下，摘下) that flower and take it away with me.
But you cannot pluck the stars from heaven…”
“No. But I can put them in the bank.” (但我可以把他们存进银行)
“Whatever does that mean?”
“That means that I write the number of my stars on a little paper. And then I put this paper in a drawer and lock it with a key.”
“And that is all?” (这样就行了吗？)
“That is enough,” said the businessman.
“It is entertaining,” thought the little prince. “It is rather poetic(真好玩，这样倒挺有诗意). But it is of no great consequence.”
On matters of consequence, the little prince had ideas which were very different from those of the grown−ups. (关于正经事的看法，小王子与这些大人们想法大相径庭)
“I myself own a flower,” he continued his conversation with the businessman, “which I water every day. I own three volcanoes, which I clean out every week (for I also clean out the one that is extinct; one never knows). It is of some use to my volcanoes, and it is of some use to my flower, that I own them. (我对这些火山和花有用处)But you are of no use to the stars…” (可你对这些星星没什么用)
The businessman opened his mouth, but he found nothing to say in answer. And the little prince went away. (商人都惊呆了，张口结舌竟无言以对)
“The grown−ups are certainly altogether extraordinary,(不再用odd这个词了)” he said simply, talking to himself as he continued on his journey.
限 时 特 惠： 本站每日持续更新海量各大内部创业教程，一年会员只需98元，全站资源免费下载 点击查看详情
站 长 微 信： lzxmw777
