04-02-04-格列佛游记 [20]
了。起初我还以为是云遮了太阳，但是当我一抬头，令我极为惊讶的是，我看见天空中有一个大岛在我和太阳之间，它正向我移来，上面有人在四处跑动。我挥着手臂，尽可能大声地喊。“救命！救命！”我叫道。“救救我！”
当岛屿在我头上大约100米高时，他们放下一个拴在链条上的坐椅。我坐在上面，被拉上了岛屿。我发现了勒皮他飞岛。
勒皮他人绝对是长相奇怪的人。他们的头总是或者向左或者向右转，他们的眼睛一只朝里一只朝外。他们的主要兴趣是音乐和数学，他们把大部分时间都花在思考数学问题上，以致于他们周围发生的事他们都没注意到。事实上，富有的勒皮他人请了个仆人，职责就是跟着主人到处走。仆人警示他是否要踩进坑里，如果有人跟他说话则提醒他回答。
我被带去见国王，可是我不得不等了至少一个小时，因为他在思考一个很难的数学问题。不过在他完成以后，他对我说话很礼貌，叫他的仆人带我去一个房间。晚餐他们给了我3种肉——一块方形牛肉、一块三角形鸡肉和一块圆形羊肉。甚至面包也是切成了数学形状。晚上一个教师来教我学他们的语言，几天后我就能够跟岛民交谈了。
勒皮他是一个圆形陆地，直径大约8公里，上面建有房屋和其他建筑。勒皮他岛用一个简单的机器移动，通过磁力把岛拉近地面或者是推向高空。这个岛总是慢慢地移动，它只能在一个叫巴尔尼巴比的国土上飞，那是属于勒皮他国王的。
跟勒皮他人谈话很困难，因为他们对除了音乐和数学之外的事没有兴趣。但是他们对地球、太阳和星星的未来很是担忧，经常讨论。在我快要离开勒皮他之前我听到了关于这事的谈话。
“你怎么样，我的朋友？”一个人对另一个问好。
“和预计的差不多。”他回答。
“太阳怎么样，你觉得？”
“我觉得今天早上他看起来有点发烧。如果继续下去，我担心他有朝一日会太烫而毁了自己。”
“我知道，他确实令人担心，地球怎么样？只有30年下一个流星就会掉过来，而上次差点把地球都毁灭了！”
“对，我们知道下一个掉下来的星星几乎肯定会与太阳靠得太近而着火。地球从火中穿过就会立即被摧毁！”
“只有30年！不用等多长时间，对吧？”两个人忧伤地摇着头。
在岛上几个月后，我问我是否可以去拜访我们下面的国土。国王同意了，他命令他的官员把我放到下面的巴尔尼巴比，带我参观都城拉格多。
我在那儿看到的最有意思的地方是大学，那里极为聪明的人才济济一堂，想法也是极为聪明。他们都在努力工作以寻求更好、更快、更廉价、更简便的方法做事或制造东西。他们的主意有从屋顶向下建造房屋，把石头变成软物质、让河流上山坡、把阳光储蓄在瓶子里。他们正在酝酿着的令人惊诧不已的聪明想法我一半也记不住。有一天，他们告诉我，他们将会找到所有这些问题的答案，那时他们的国家将是世界上最美妙的地方。同时，我注意到人们饥饿而可怜，他们的衣眼陈旧，满是破洞，他们的房子建造得很差，快要坍塌。田野里也没有蔬菜或谷物生长。
我访问数学院时，我不理解学生们为什么看起来那么不开心。
“怎么回事，年轻人？”我问其中一个，“你看起来病得利害。”
“是的，先生。”他回答说，“你看，我们只是吃了今天的课程，这令我们感到有点生病似的。”
“吃课程？”我惊讶地重复，“你们为什么那样做？”
“噢，那是我们在这儿学习的方法，先生。”他回答，“我们的教授在纸上写上数学问题和解答，然后我们把纸吃下去。这以后在信息向上进入我们的脑子的过程中，我们只能有3天的面包和水。可是3天不吃多少东西真是可怕，先生，我们经常感到要病倒似的。嗯……对不起，先生！”他从我身边跑了出去。这个高度发达的教学体制似乎效果并不好。
■ 11 Glubbdubdrib and Luggnagg
Although the Laputans were kind to me，I did not want to spend a long time in their country．Therefore，I de-cided to travel from Balnibarbi to the island of Luggnagg，from there to Japan，and then home to England．But before I went to Luggnagg，an official I had met in Lagado persuaded me to visit the small island of Glubbdubdrib．
‘You'll find it a very interesting place，he told me．‘Glubbdubdrib means the island of magicians．All the impor－tant people there are good at magic，you see．The President is the best magician of them all．But I must warn you，he has some very strange servants-they're all ghosts！By using magic he can order the ghost of any dead person to be his ser－vant for twenty-four hours，and the ghost must obey．’
It seemed unbelievable，but it was true．When we arrived on the island，we were invited to the President's palace．His servants certainly looked strange to me there was a smell of death about them．When the President no longer needed them，he waved a hand，and they simply disappeared．
I visited the President every day during my stay，and soon got used to seeing the ghosts．One day the President said，‘Gulliver，would you like to call a ghost？It could be anyone from the beginning of the world up to the present day．You could ask them questions about their lives．And you can be sure they'll tell the truth— ghosts always do．
‘That's very kind of you，sir，I replied，and thought hard for a moment．‘First，I’d like to see Alexander the Great，please．’
The President pointed out of the window．There in a large field was the ghost of Alexander，with his huge army．This famous king lived long ago in Macedonia in northern Greece．His kingdom covered many countries，from Greece to Egypt，from Persia to parts of India．But he died very young，when he was only thirty－three，and no one knew why．The Presi－dent called him into the room．
‘Great King，’I said to him，‘just tell me one thing．Were you murdered，or did you die naturally！’
‘Young man，’he replied，‘nobody murdered me．I drank too much and died of a fever．’
So，in these few words，I had learnt one of the secrets of history！I turned to the President．‘And now，may we see Julius Caesar and Brutus？’
The two Romans took Alexander's place．Brutus，of course，had killed Julius Caesar in Rome on 15th March，44BC—one of the most famous murders in history．It is terrible to die by the hand of a friend．
‘Great Caesar，’I said，‘how do you feel about your mur-derer，Brutus？’
‘Do not call him that，’replied Caesar，‘He is a brave，good man，the best in Rome，and he did the right thing for Rome by killing me
当岛屿在我头上大约100米高时，他们放下一个拴在链条上的坐椅。我坐在上面，被拉上了岛屿。我发现了勒皮他飞岛。
勒皮他人绝对是长相奇怪的人。他们的头总是或者向左或者向右转，他们的眼睛一只朝里一只朝外。他们的主要兴趣是音乐和数学，他们把大部分时间都花在思考数学问题上，以致于他们周围发生的事他们都没注意到。事实上，富有的勒皮他人请了个仆人，职责就是跟着主人到处走。仆人警示他是否要踩进坑里，如果有人跟他说话则提醒他回答。
我被带去见国王，可是我不得不等了至少一个小时，因为他在思考一个很难的数学问题。不过在他完成以后，他对我说话很礼貌，叫他的仆人带我去一个房间。晚餐他们给了我3种肉——一块方形牛肉、一块三角形鸡肉和一块圆形羊肉。甚至面包也是切成了数学形状。晚上一个教师来教我学他们的语言，几天后我就能够跟岛民交谈了。
勒皮他是一个圆形陆地，直径大约8公里，上面建有房屋和其他建筑。勒皮他岛用一个简单的机器移动，通过磁力把岛拉近地面或者是推向高空。这个岛总是慢慢地移动，它只能在一个叫巴尔尼巴比的国土上飞，那是属于勒皮他国王的。
跟勒皮他人谈话很困难，因为他们对除了音乐和数学之外的事没有兴趣。但是他们对地球、太阳和星星的未来很是担忧，经常讨论。在我快要离开勒皮他之前我听到了关于这事的谈话。
“你怎么样，我的朋友？”一个人对另一个问好。
“和预计的差不多。”他回答。
“太阳怎么样，你觉得？”
“我觉得今天早上他看起来有点发烧。如果继续下去，我担心他有朝一日会太烫而毁了自己。”
“我知道，他确实令人担心，地球怎么样？只有30年下一个流星就会掉过来，而上次差点把地球都毁灭了！”
“对，我们知道下一个掉下来的星星几乎肯定会与太阳靠得太近而着火。地球从火中穿过就会立即被摧毁！”
“只有30年！不用等多长时间，对吧？”两个人忧伤地摇着头。
在岛上几个月后，我问我是否可以去拜访我们下面的国土。国王同意了，他命令他的官员把我放到下面的巴尔尼巴比，带我参观都城拉格多。
我在那儿看到的最有意思的地方是大学，那里极为聪明的人才济济一堂，想法也是极为聪明。他们都在努力工作以寻求更好、更快、更廉价、更简便的方法做事或制造东西。他们的主意有从屋顶向下建造房屋，把石头变成软物质、让河流上山坡、把阳光储蓄在瓶子里。他们正在酝酿着的令人惊诧不已的聪明想法我一半也记不住。有一天，他们告诉我，他们将会找到所有这些问题的答案，那时他们的国家将是世界上最美妙的地方。同时，我注意到人们饥饿而可怜，他们的衣眼陈旧，满是破洞，他们的房子建造得很差，快要坍塌。田野里也没有蔬菜或谷物生长。
我访问数学院时，我不理解学生们为什么看起来那么不开心。
“怎么回事，年轻人？”我问其中一个，“你看起来病得利害。”
“是的，先生。”他回答说，“你看，我们只是吃了今天的课程，这令我们感到有点生病似的。”
“吃课程？”我惊讶地重复，“你们为什么那样做？”
“噢，那是我们在这儿学习的方法，先生。”他回答，“我们的教授在纸上写上数学问题和解答，然后我们把纸吃下去。这以后在信息向上进入我们的脑子的过程中，我们只能有3天的面包和水。可是3天不吃多少东西真是可怕，先生，我们经常感到要病倒似的。嗯……对不起，先生！”他从我身边跑了出去。这个高度发达的教学体制似乎效果并不好。
■ 11 Glubbdubdrib and Luggnagg
Although the Laputans were kind to me，I did not want to spend a long time in their country．Therefore，I de-cided to travel from Balnibarbi to the island of Luggnagg，from there to Japan，and then home to England．But before I went to Luggnagg，an official I had met in Lagado persuaded me to visit the small island of Glubbdubdrib．
‘You'll find it a very interesting place，he told me．‘Glubbdubdrib means the island of magicians．All the impor－tant people there are good at magic，you see．The President is the best magician of them all．But I must warn you，he has some very strange servants-they're all ghosts！By using magic he can order the ghost of any dead person to be his ser－vant for twenty-four hours，and the ghost must obey．’
It seemed unbelievable，but it was true．When we arrived on the island，we were invited to the President's palace．His servants certainly looked strange to me there was a smell of death about them．When the President no longer needed them，he waved a hand，and they simply disappeared．
I visited the President every day during my stay，and soon got used to seeing the ghosts．One day the President said，‘Gulliver，would you like to call a ghost？It could be anyone from the beginning of the world up to the present day．You could ask them questions about their lives．And you can be sure they'll tell the truth— ghosts always do．
‘That's very kind of you，sir，I replied，and thought hard for a moment．‘First，I’d like to see Alexander the Great，please．’
The President pointed out of the window．There in a large field was the ghost of Alexander，with his huge army．This famous king lived long ago in Macedonia in northern Greece．His kingdom covered many countries，from Greece to Egypt，from Persia to parts of India．But he died very young，when he was only thirty－three，and no one knew why．The Presi－dent called him into the room．
‘Great King，’I said to him，‘just tell me one thing．Were you murdered，or did you die naturally！’
‘Young man，’he replied，‘nobody murdered me．I drank too much and died of a fever．’
So，in these few words，I had learnt one of the secrets of history！I turned to the President．‘And now，may we see Julius Caesar and Brutus？’
The two Romans took Alexander's place．Brutus，of course，had killed Julius Caesar in Rome on 15th March，44BC—one of the most famous murders in history．It is terrible to die by the hand of a friend．
‘Great Caesar，’I said，‘how do you feel about your mur-derer，Brutus？’
‘Do not call him that，’replied Caesar，‘He is a brave，good man，the best in Rome，and he did the right thing for Rome by killing me