羅爾德·達(dá)爾 (Roald Dahl,1916~1990)是世界聞名的奇幻文學(xué)大師,20世紀(jì)最重要的兒童文學(xué)家之一。他以與生俱來的幽默、奇特大膽的想象,以及時(shí)時(shí)散發(fā)的溫情,成為最受孩子喜愛的作家之一。
羅爾德·達(dá)爾的作品中多有怪誕情節(jié)和鬧劇風(fēng)格,故事構(gòu)思奇特、想象力豐富,力圖打破現(xiàn)實(shí)和幻想之間的常規(guī)定位。更重要的是,他的作品反映了每個(gè)人兒時(shí)對(duì)成人世界的不解與困惑,可以說是真正站在兒童的角度講故事。他曾兩度摘得愛倫坡文學(xué)獎(jiǎng),并奪得了英國(guó)文學(xué)的最高獎(jiǎng)——惠特布萊德獎(jiǎng)。他的代表作有《查理和巧克力工廠》(Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)、《女巫》(The Witches)和《飛天巨桃歷險(xiǎn)記》(James and the Giant Peach)等,都曾被改編成電影。
《查理和巧克力工廠》于1964年出版,深受孩子們和成年人的喜愛。四十多年來,這本書經(jīng)久不衰,已售出1300萬冊(cè),被翻譯成32種語言,并兩度被改編成電影,受到廣泛好評(píng)。
The house wasn't nearly large enough for so many people, and life was extremely uncomfortable for them all. There were only two rooms in the place altogether and there was only one bed. The bed was given to the four old grandparents because they were so old and tired. They were so tired; they never got out of it.
Grandpa Joe and Grandma Josephine on this side, Grandpa George and Grandma Georgina on this side.
Mr and Mrs Bucket and little Charlie Bucket slept in the other room, upon mattresses1) on the floor.
In the summertime, this wasn't too bad, but in the winter, freezing cold draughts2) blew across the floor all night long, and it was awful.
There wasn't any question of them being able to buy a better house—or even one more bed to sleep in. They were far too poor for that.
Mr Bucket was the only person in the family with a job. He worked in a toothpaste factory, where he sat all day long at a bench and screwed3) the little caps on to the tops of the tubes of toothpaste after the tubes had been filled. But a toothpaste cap-screwer is never paid very much money, and poor Mr Bucket, however hard he worked, and however fast he screwed on the caps, was never able to make enough to buy one half of the things that so large a family needed. There wasn't even enough money to buy proper food for them all. The only meals they could afford were bread and margarine4) for breakfast, boiled potatoes and cabbage for lunch, and cabbage soup for supper. Sundays were a bit better. They all looked forward to Sundays because then, although they had exactly the same, everyone was allowed a second helping.
The Buckets, of course, didn't starve, but every one of them—the two old grandfathers, the two old grandmothers, Charlie's father, Charlie's mother, and especially little Charlie himself—went about5) from morning till night with a horrible empty feeling in their tummies6).
Charlie felt it worst of all. And although his father and mother often went without their own share of lunch or supper so that they could give it to him, it still wasn't nearly enough for a growing boy. He desperately wanted something more filling and satisfying than cabbage and cabbage soup. The one thing he longed for7) more than anything else was...CHOCOLATE.
Walking to school in the mornings, Charlie could see great slabs of chocolate piled up8) high in the shop windows, and he would stop and stare and press his nose against the glass, his mouth watering like mad. Many times a day, he would see other children taking bars of creamy chocolate out of their pockets and munching9) them greedily, and that, of course, was pure torture10).
Only once a year, on his birthday, did Charlie Bucket ever get to taste a bit of chocolate. The whole family saved up their money for that special occasion, and when the great day arrived, Charlie was always presented with one small chocolate bar to eat all by himself. And each time he received it, on those marvelous11) birthday mornings, he would place it carefully in a small wooden box that he owned, and treasure it as though it were a bar of solid gold; and for the next few days, he would allow himself only to look at it, but never to touch it. Then at last, when he could stand it no longer, he would peel12) back a tiny bit of the paper wrapping at one corner to expose a tiny bit of chocolate, and then he would take a tiny nibble13)—just enough to allow the lovely sweet taste to spread out slowly over his tongue. The next day, he would take another tiny nibble, and so on, and so on. And in this way, Charlie would make his six-penny bar of birthday chocolate last him for more than a month.
But I haven't yet told you about the one awful thing that tortured little Charlie, the lover of chocolate, more than anything else. This thing, for him, was far, far worse than seeing slabs of chocolate in the shop windows or watching other children munching bars of creamy chocolate right in front of him. It was the most terrible torturing thing you could imagine, and it was this:
In the town itself, actually within sight of the house in which Charlie lived, there was an ENORMOUS CHOCOLATE FACTORY!
Just imagine that!
And it wasn't simply an ordinary enormous chocolate factory, either. It was the largest and most famous in the whole world! It was WONKA'S FACTORY, owned by a man called Mr Willy Wonka, the greatest inventor and maker of chocolates that there has ever been.
And what a tremendous, marvellous place it was! It had huge iron gates leading into it, and a high wall surrounding it, and smoke belching14) from its chimneys, and strange whizzing15) sounds coming from deep inside it. And outside the walls, for half a mile around in every direction, the air was scented16) with the heavy rich smell of melting chocolate!
Twice a day, on his way to and from school, little Charlie Bucket had to walk right past the gates of the factory. And every time he went by, he would begin to walk very, very slowly, and he would hold his nose high in the air and take long deep sniffs17) of the gorgeous18) chocolatey smell all around him.
Oh, how he loved that smell!
And oh, how he wished he could go inside the factory and see what it was like!
房子太小了,很難住下這么多人,他們都生活得非常不舒服。房子里總共只有兩個(gè)房間和一張床。這張床讓給了祖父母和外祖父母四位老人睡,因?yàn)樗麄兡昙o(jì)太大,又容易累著。他們太容易累著了,所以從來都不下床。
約瑟夫爺爺和約瑟芬奶奶睡在床的這一頭,喬治姥爺和喬治娜姥姥睡在床的那一頭。
巴克特先生、巴克特太太和小查理·巴克特睡在另一個(gè)房間地板的墊子上面。
夏天的時(shí)候這樣住著還能湊合,但是到了冬天,刺骨的寒風(fēng)整夜從地板上吹過,那真是糟透了。
他們根本不可能有能力買一棟好點(diǎn)的房子——甚至連多買一張床來睡覺都不可能。他們真是太窮了!
全家只有巴克特先生一個(gè)人有工作。他在一家牙膏廠里干活,整天坐在長(zhǎng)凳上給灌滿了牙膏的牙膏管旋上小蓋子。但是一個(gè)給牙膏管旋蓋子的工人永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)有很多工錢,可憐的巴克特先生,不管怎樣拼命地工作,不管旋牙膏管蓋子有多快,掙到的錢永遠(yuǎn)都不夠買這么大一家子人日用品的一半。他甚至連給全家買最起碼的食物的錢都不夠。他們的一日三餐只能是早飯吃面包和人造黃油,午飯吃水煮土豆和卷心菜,晚飯吃卷心菜湯。星期日會(huì)稍微好一點(diǎn)兒。他們?nèi)佳郯桶偷嘏沃瞧谌盏絹?,因?yàn)檫@一天他們吃的東西雖然和平日一模一樣,但每人可以吃上兩份。
當(dāng)然,巴克特一家人沒有餓死,但每一個(gè)人——老爺爺和老奶奶、老姥爺和老姥姥、查理的爸爸和查理的媽媽,尤其是小查理自己——從早到晚都有一種肚子空空的可怕感覺。
這種感覺最強(qiáng)烈的是查理。雖然他的爸爸媽媽常常省下自己那份午飯或者晚飯讓給他吃,但對(duì)一個(gè)正在成長(zhǎng)發(fā)育的孩子來說,仍然遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不夠。他非常想吃一些比卷心菜和卷心菜湯更能填飽肚子和更好吃的東西。他最向往的東西就是——巧克力。
每天早晨走在上學(xué)的路上,查理都能看到商店櫥窗里堆得高高的大塊大塊的巧克力,這時(shí)他就會(huì)停下腳步,把鼻子緊貼在櫥窗玻璃上死盯著看,口水流個(gè)不停。一天里有許多次,他眼看著別的孩子從口袋里掏出一塊塊奶油巧克力,吧嗒著嘴貪婪地大吃大嚼,當(dāng)然,這純粹就是一種折磨。
一年當(dāng)中,只有在生日那天,查理·巴克特才能嘗到一點(diǎn)兒巧克力。全家人為了這個(gè)特殊的日子而節(jié)衣縮食。每當(dāng)這個(gè)重大日子來臨時(shí),查理總是會(huì)得到他們送的一小塊巧克力,全歸他一個(gè)人吃。每次在奇妙的生日早晨收到巧克力時(shí),查理總是小心翼翼地把它放進(jìn)自己的一個(gè)小木盒里,就像珍藏其中的是一根金條;在隨后的幾天,他只是讓自己看看,但從來不去碰它。最后,當(dāng)他實(shí)在忍不住了,才在包裝紙的一角剝開一丁點(diǎn)兒,露出一丁點(diǎn)兒巧克力,然后輕輕地咬一丁點(diǎn)兒——只讓那可口的甜味足夠在舌頭上慢慢地散開。第二天他再咬一丁點(diǎn)兒,一天天這樣一丁點(diǎn)兒地接著咬下去。就這樣,一小塊六便士的生日巧克力,查理可以吃上一個(gè)多月。
但是還有一樣可怕的東西我還沒有告訴你,它比任何其他東西更讓這位愛吃巧克力的小查理飽受折磨。對(duì)他來說,這樣?xùn)|西比看見商店櫥窗里的一塊塊巧克力糖,比看到別的孩子在他面前大吃大嚼奶油巧克力更讓他崩潰。它是你所能想象得到的最可怕的折磨人的東西,它就是:
在這鎮(zhèn)上,實(shí)際上就在查理家可以看到的地方,有一家巨大的巧克力工廠!
你就想象一下吧!
而且這也不是一家普通的巧克力大工廠。它是全世界最大最有名的巧克力工廠!它就是旺卡工廠,一個(gè)叫威利·旺卡先生的人開的,威利·旺卡先生是史上最偉大的巧克力發(fā)明家和制造商。
這又是一個(gè)多么巨大、多么奇妙的地方啊!入口處是一扇扇大鐵門,四周高墻環(huán)圍,濃煙從一個(gè)個(gè)煙囪里噴涌而出,工廠深處傳出奇怪的呼呼聲。墻外方圓半英里的每一個(gè)角落的空氣中都彌漫著巧克力融化的濃郁香味!
一天兩次,小查理·巴克特上學(xué)和放學(xué)都必須經(jīng)過這家工廠的大門。每次經(jīng)過時(shí),他都會(huì)走得非常非常慢,把鼻子仰得高高的,吸氣時(shí)又長(zhǎng)又深,使勁嗅著周圍沁人心脾的巧克力香味。
噢,他多么喜歡這香味呀!
噢,他又是多么渴望到這家工廠里面去看看是什么樣子啊!
賞析
《查理和巧克力工廠》講述了一個(gè)名叫查理的小男孩參觀巧克力工廠的神奇經(jīng)歷。這是一個(gè)充滿夢(mèng)幻和驚奇的童話故事,故事里充滿了甜甜的巧克力味一般的溫馨。
查理和他的家人過著貧苦的生活。他非常喜歡吃巧克力,可是他只有在生日那天才有機(jī)會(huì)得到一塊巧克力。查理每天看著自家門前旺卡先生的巨大的巧克力工廠,幻想著有一天能走進(jìn)這家工廠參觀一下。他經(jīng)常纏著祖父母給他講旺卡先生和巧克力工廠的故事。
故事里的旺卡先生是個(gè)了不起的聰明人,擁有世界上最大的巧克力工廠,為印度王子建了一座巧克力宮殿,發(fā)明了兩百多種巧克力,還能做出紫羅蘭香味的果汁軟糖和每吮吸十秒鐘就會(huì)變色的硬糖……更為神奇的是,從來沒有人進(jìn)出過旺卡先生的巧克力工廠,工廠里有很多神秘的工人……
這些都讓查理對(duì)巧克力工廠充滿向往。終于有一天,晚間新聞播放了一則消息:旺卡先生在全球發(fā)放了五張金券,得到金券的幸運(yùn)兒將由他親自陪同參觀巧克力工廠,有機(jī)會(huì)知曉工廠里的一切奧秘。參觀結(jié)束后,他們會(huì)得到一件特殊的禮物:終生享用的巧克力和糖果。
得到金券的前四位幸運(yùn)兒分別是:奧古斯塔斯·格盧普,一個(gè)不愛思考,喜歡暴飲暴食的肥胖男孩;韋魯卡·索爾特,一個(gè)任性的小女孩,一個(gè)要風(fēng)得風(fēng)要雨得雨的“小公主”,她的父親買了成千上萬塊的巧克力來滿足她的愿望;維奧勒·博勒加德,酷愛嚼口香糖的女孩,喜歡用口香糖捉弄?jiǎng)e人;邁克·蒂韋,一個(gè)驕橫的男孩,最喜歡眼睛一眨不眨地盯著游戲機(jī)和電視。
查理非常想要一張金券,可是他只有在生日那天才能享受一塊巧克力,得到金券的幾率太小了。為了這塊巧克力,全家人已經(jīng)餓了兩星期的肚子。幸運(yùn)的是,查理用他在雪地里撿的50便士買了巧克力,意外地得到了最后一張金券,一家人都沉醉在無比的幸福中。
重大的一天到來了,神秘而睿智的旺卡先生將帶領(lǐng)他們參觀巧克力工廠。巧克力工廠神奇而美麗:可愛的山谷,飛瀉的瀑布,奔涌的河流,蔥蘢的灌木和碧綠的草地……而河流是巧克力醬,瀑布是攪拌巧克力的最佳工具,青草是一種新品種薄荷軟糖……河邊還有許多矮人國(guó)來的小矮人——他們鐘愛巧克力豆,是巧克力工廠最神秘的工人。
在巨大的誘惑面前,其他四個(gè)孩子都失去了自制:貪吃的奧古斯塔斯掉進(jìn)了巧克力河,順流而下;在巨大的口香糖機(jī)器前,雖然旺卡先生說了許多禁忌,但鐘愛口香糖的維奧勒迫不及待地吃了還沒調(diào)配好的口香糖,變成了一顆紫色漿果;在果仁車間,任性的韋魯卡不顧旺卡先生的反對(duì),非要得到剝核桃殼的小松鼠,結(jié)果被小松鼠送進(jìn)了垃圾槽;在電視巧克力房,邁克鉆進(jìn)電視變成了信號(hào)微粒,成了一個(gè)小小的侏儒。
生活貧苦的查理沒有那些令人討厭的壞習(xí)慣,他不貪吃、不任性、不驕橫、懂規(guī)矩,也因此經(jīng)受住了參觀途中的一切誘惑和考驗(yàn),成為唯一一個(gè)留下來的人。這時(shí)金券的秘密才揭曉,原來旺卡先生發(fā)放金券是為了在全世界尋找一個(gè)能夠繼承巧克力工廠的孩子。好心而又有頭腦的查理是這天里最讓旺卡先生欣賞的孩子,他被旺卡先生指定為巧克力工廠的代理人,整座巧克力工廠都是屬于他的了!他將要學(xué)習(xí)如何管理巧克力工廠,而他們一家七口人再也不用住在那個(gè)寒冷的小房子里,從此以后,他們可以生活在甜蜜的巧克力工廠了。
故事就這樣美好而充滿人情味地結(jié)束了。整個(gè)故事生動(dòng)有趣,充滿童真和夢(mèng)幻色彩,使讀者仿佛身處甜美的巧克力工廠,跟隨可愛的查理一起經(jīng)歷驚險(xiǎn)而奇妙的旅程,并深切地為故事的完美結(jié)局而興奮。
當(dāng)然,對(duì)查理來說,他的故事才剛剛開始,他在巧克力工廠的“奇遇”改變了自己的命運(yùn),也改變了全家人的生活。而現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中,我們很難預(yù)測(cè)幸福在什么時(shí)候降臨,重要的是我們要時(shí)時(shí)規(guī)范自己的行為,千萬不要讓那些壞習(xí)慣阻礙了我們邁向幸福天堂的腳步。