主题：『网友原创』翻译的艺术

原文：
On growing old gracefully
This desire to grow old and in any case to appear old is understandable when one understands the premium generally placed upon old age in China. In the first place, it is a privilege of the old people to talk, while the young must listen and hold their tongue. “A young man is supposed to have ears and no mouth,” as a Chinese saying goes. Men of twenty are supposed to listen when men of forty are talking. As the desire to talk and to be listened to is almost universal, it is evident that the further along one gets in years, the better chance he has to talk and to be listened to when he goes about in society. It is a game of life in which no one is favored, for everyone has a chance of becoming old in his time. Thus a father lecturing his son is obliged to stop suddenly and change his demeanor the moment the grandmother opens her mouth. Of course he wishes to be in the grandmother’s place. And it is quite fair, for what right have the young to open their mouth when the old men can say, “I have crossed more bridges than you have crossed streets!” What right have the young got to talk?

译文：
乐享余年
我们如了解中国人之如何珍视老年，便能明了为什么中国人都喜欢倚老卖老，自认为老。第一，照中国人的礼貌，只有长者有发言的权利，年轻的人只许静听。所以中国有“少年用耳不用口”那句老话。凡有年龄较高的人在座时，年轻的人只需洗耳恭听。世人大都欢喜发言而受人听，因此，在中国必须到相当的年龄才有发言权利这件事，便使人期望早些达到老年，以便无论到什么地方都可以多说几句话。这种生活程序之中，人人须循序而进，每个人都有同等达到老年的机会，而没有一个人能躐等超前。因此，当一个父亲教训他的儿子时，如若祖母走来插口，那做父亲的便须停口，谨敬恭听。这时他当然很羡慕那祖母的地位。年老的人能说？“我所走过的桥比你所走过的街还要多几条。”因此，以经验而言，年轻的人在长者之前，没有发言的权利，自只能洗耳恭听，这是很公允的。

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