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维·苏·奈保尔是当代最有成就的英国移民作家之一，他的《米格尔街》《河湾》《岛上的旗帜》等作品曾获得毛姆奖、布克奖等众多英国重要文学奖项，1990年，他被英国女王授封为骑士。他的作品将虚构的小说、真实的叙述、自传性文字完美融合。他是一位幽默、了解生活的诗人。他与拉什迪、石黑一雄并称“英国文坛移民三雄”。英国大评论家普里切特曾经称他为“在世的英语作家中的佼佼者”。迄今，他已经出版了25部作品，获得了各类文学奖。早在20年前,他就被视为诺贝尔文学奖的有力竞争者，所以他得奖应该说是众望所归。
Our majesties, your royal highnesses,honoredlaureates, ladies and gentlemen.
One of the things that happens to people who get the Nobel Prize, is that they also get a lot of media attention: Many interviews, too many, so many that I began to feel now that I’ve lost the capacity1 for spontaneous2 thought. I need the questions and since there are not going to be questions now, I thought I would begin the two-minute speech, which is meant to be light, like the old fashion comedian, the man you knowsomething happened to on the way to the studio.
Well then. Something happened to me on the way to Stockholm. The strap3 of my wristwatch broke, and for some surreal4 moments I found myself looking at my watch on the floor of the plane. This is no metaphor5, here is the strapless watch. What did it mean? What was the awful symbolism? The fact that all through this grand Nobel week, I was to be without my watch. The great Caesar landing in Egypt fell flat on his face in the wet shore. You can imagine the consternation6 of his officers, till the great and resourceful man shouted, “Africa, I’ve got you!” Some centuries later, the Emperor Julian, training one morning with his soldiers, lost the wicker7 part of his shield8, and he was left holding only the grip or the handle. How terrible for everybody till the Emperor shouted, “What I have, I hold! ”
Not having the resourcefulness of these great men, I could find no words to make the bad symbolism good, until tonight, when I understood, that time was to stop for me, during this Nobel week, and that when it began again it will be truly new. Now my strapless watch begins again, telling me without threat—that my time is running out, my two minutes are up.
国王王后陛下、诸位殿下、尊敬的诺贝尔奖得主们、女士们、先生们:
诺贝尔奖的获得者总会遇到这样的情况: 招来了媒体的广泛注意。数不胜数的采访，多得应接不暇，多得开始让我觉得已经丧失了自发思考的能力，我渴望有人提问。因为此刻将不会有任何我的问题了，我想我应该开始我的两分钟演讲——这演讲会是轻松活泼的，就像你知道的老牌喜剧演员，笑话就发生在他去演播室的路上。
好，那就开始吧。在来斯德哥尔摩的路上发生了一件事: 我的手表带断了。于是，有好几个离奇的时刻，我发现自己凝视着躺在飞机地板上的手表。这并不是比喻，没有表带的手表就在这里。这是什么意思呢?其骇人的象征意义又是什么呢?结果是，整个隆重的诺贝尔周，我将不能带手表了。伟大的凯撒大帝登陆埃及时，脸朝下直挺挺地跌倒在潮湿的海滩上。你可以想象他手下的官兵是怎样的惊慌失措——直到这个富有雄韬伟略的男子大声呼喊:“非洲，我把你弄到手了! ”几个世纪后，朱利安大帝在一天早上练兵时，盾牌的柳织部分掉了，只剩下把手或者说手柄握在手上，当时所有人都觉得这是多么的可怕啊，然而大帝最后高声呼喊道:“我拥有的，我都抓住了!”
我没有这些大人物的足智多谋，因而我一直找不出化不祥之兆为喜讯的言词，直到今晚，我恍然大悟:这个诺贝尔周，留给我的时间即将告终，而当它再次开始的时候，那将是崭新的一页了。此刻，我的无带之表恢复正常了，它不带凶兆地告诉我，我的时间正匆匆流尽。我的两分钟完了。
梓桐摘自 Crazy English
Our majesties, your royal highnesses,honoredlaureates, ladies and gentlemen.
One of the things that happens to people who get the Nobel Prize, is that they also get a lot of media attention: Many interviews, too many, so many that I began to feel now that I’ve lost the capacity1 for spontaneous2 thought. I need the questions and since there are not going to be questions now, I thought I would begin the two-minute speech, which is meant to be light, like the old fashion comedian, the man you knowsomething happened to on the way to the studio.
Well then. Something happened to me on the way to Stockholm. The strap3 of my wristwatch broke, and for some surreal4 moments I found myself looking at my watch on the floor of the plane. This is no metaphor5, here is the strapless watch. What did it mean? What was the awful symbolism? The fact that all through this grand Nobel week, I was to be without my watch. The great Caesar landing in Egypt fell flat on his face in the wet shore. You can imagine the consternation6 of his officers, till the great and resourceful man shouted, “Africa, I’ve got you!” Some centuries later, the Emperor Julian, training one morning with his soldiers, lost the wicker7 part of his shield8, and he was left holding only the grip or the handle. How terrible for everybody till the Emperor shouted, “What I have, I hold! ”
Not having the resourcefulness of these great men, I could find no words to make the bad symbolism good, until tonight, when I understood, that time was to stop for me, during this Nobel week, and that when it began again it will be truly new. Now my strapless watch begins again, telling me without threat—that my time is running out, my two minutes are up.
国王王后陛下、诸位殿下、尊敬的诺贝尔奖得主们、女士们、先生们:
诺贝尔奖的获得者总会遇到这样的情况: 招来了媒体的广泛注意。数不胜数的采访，多得应接不暇，多得开始让我觉得已经丧失了自发思考的能力，我渴望有人提问。因为此刻将不会有任何我的问题了，我想我应该开始我的两分钟演讲——这演讲会是轻松活泼的，就像你知道的老牌喜剧演员，笑话就发生在他去演播室的路上。
好，那就开始吧。在来斯德哥尔摩的路上发生了一件事: 我的手表带断了。于是，有好几个离奇的时刻，我发现自己凝视着躺在飞机地板上的手表。这并不是比喻，没有表带的手表就在这里。这是什么意思呢?其骇人的象征意义又是什么呢?结果是，整个隆重的诺贝尔周，我将不能带手表了。伟大的凯撒大帝登陆埃及时，脸朝下直挺挺地跌倒在潮湿的海滩上。你可以想象他手下的官兵是怎样的惊慌失措——直到这个富有雄韬伟略的男子大声呼喊:“非洲，我把你弄到手了! ”几个世纪后，朱利安大帝在一天早上练兵时，盾牌的柳织部分掉了，只剩下把手或者说手柄握在手上，当时所有人都觉得这是多么的可怕啊，然而大帝最后高声呼喊道:“我拥有的，我都抓住了!”
我没有这些大人物的足智多谋，因而我一直找不出化不祥之兆为喜讯的言词，直到今晚，我恍然大悟:这个诺贝尔周，留给我的时间即将告终，而当它再次开始的时候，那将是崭新的一页了。此刻，我的无带之表恢复正常了，它不带凶兆地告诉我，我的时间正匆匆流尽。我的两分钟完了。
梓桐摘自 Crazy English