The Condemned Cells
死囚牢房 · Paragraph 1
It was in Burma, a sodden morning of the rains.
那是在缅甸，一个被雨水浸透的清晨。
We were waiting outside the condemned cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages.
我们正在死囚牢房外等候；那是一排棚屋，正面装着双层铁栏，像一个个小动物笼。
Each cell measured about ten feet by ten and was quite bare within except for a plank bed and a pot for drinking water.
每间牢房大约十英尺见方，里面空空荡荡，除了一张木板床和一个饮水罐，什么也没有。
In some of them brown silent men were squatting at the inner bars, with their blankets draped round them.
有些牢房里，棕色皮肤、沉默不语的男人裹着毯子，蹲在里面的铁栏旁。
These were the condemned men, due to be hanged within the next week or two.
这些就是死囚，将在未来一两个星期内被处以绞刑。
How does the comparison with “small animal cages” shape the reader's first view of the prison?
把牢房比作“小动物笼”，如何塑造读者对监狱的第一印象？
What details make the condemned men present and visible even though they do not speak?
死囚虽然没有说话，哪些细节仍使他们具体地呈现在读者面前？
When can a necessary social label begin to hide the person behind it?
一个必要的社会标签，会在什么时候开始遮蔽标签背后的具体的人？
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The March to the Gallows
走向绞刑架 · Paragraphs 2–7
One prisoner had been brought out of his cell.
一名囚犯已经被带出了牢房。
He was a Hindu, a puny wisp of a man, with a shaven head and vague liquid eyes.
他是个印度教徒，身材瘦小得像一缕轻烟，剃着光头，眼神朦胧而湿润。
Six tall Indian warders were guarding him and getting him ready for the gallows.
六名高大的印度看守守着他，为他上绞刑架做准备。
Two of them stood by with rifles and fixed bayonets, while the others handcuffed him, passed a chain through his handcuffs and fixed it to their belts, and lashed his arms tightly to his sides.
其中两人拿着上了刺刀的步枪站在一旁，其余人给他戴上手铐，把一条链子穿过手铐并系在自己的腰带上，又把他的双臂紧紧捆在身体两侧。
They crowded very close about him, with their hands always on him in a careful, caressing grip, as though all the while feeling him to make sure he was there.
他们紧紧围在他身旁，双手始终以一种小心而近乎爱抚的方式抓着他，仿佛一直在摸索确认他确实还在那里。
But he stood quite unresisting, yielding his arms limply to the ropes, as though he hardly noticed what was happening.
可他完全没有反抗，只是软弱无力地任由双臂被绳索束缚，仿佛几乎没有注意到正在发生什么。
Eight o'clock struck and a bugle call floated from the distant barracks.
八点钟声响起，远处营房传来的军号声在空中飘荡。
The superintendent of the jail, who was standing apart from the rest of us, moodily prodding the gravel with his stick, raised his head at the sound.
监狱长独自站在离我们稍远的地方，闷闷不乐地用手杖戳着碎石；听见号声，他抬起头来。
"For God's sake hurry up, Francis," he said irritably.
“看在上帝的份上，快点吧，弗朗西斯，”他烦躁地说。
"The man ought to have been dead by this time.
“这个人到现在本来早该死了。
Aren't you ready yet?"
你们还没准备好吗？”
Francis, the head jailer, a fat Dravidian in a white drill suit and gold spectacles, waved his black hand.
典狱官弗朗西斯是个肥胖的达罗毗荼人，穿着白色卡其布制服，戴着金边眼镜；他挥了挥黝黑的手。
"Yes sir, yes sir," he bubbled.
“是的，长官，是的，长官，”他连声说道。
"All is satisfactorily prepared.
“一切都已妥善准备。
The hangman is waiting.
刽子手正在等候。
We shall proceed."
我们马上开始。”
"Well, quick march, then.
“好吧，那就快步走。
The prisoners can't get their breakfast till this job's over."
这件差事不结束，囚犯们就吃不上早饭。”
We set out for the gallows.
我们出发前往绞刑架。
Two warders marched on either side of the prisoner, with their rifles at the slope; two others marched close against him, gripping him by arm and shoulder, as though at once pushing and supporting him.
两名看守斜背步枪，分列死囚两侧；另外两人紧贴着他行进，抓住他的手臂和肩膀，仿佛一边推着他，一边又支撑着他。
The rest of us, magistrates and the like, followed behind.
其余的人——治安法官之类——跟在后面。
It was about forty yards to the gallows.
到绞刑架大约有四十码。
I watched the bare brown back of the prisoner marching in front of me.
我望着走在我前面的死囚那裸露而棕色的后背。
He walked clumsily with his bound arms, but quite steadily.
他的双臂被捆着，走路显得笨拙，却相当平稳。
At each step his muscles slid neatly into place, the lock of hair on his scalp danced up and down, his feet printed themselves on the wet gravel.
每走一步，他的肌肉都准确地滑回各自的位置，头顶的一绺头发上下跳动，双脚在湿漉漉的碎石路上留下脚印。
And once, in spite of the men who gripped him by each shoulder, he stepped slightly aside to avoid a puddle on the path.
有一次，尽管两名看守分别抓着他的肩膀，他还是稍稍向旁边迈了一步，避开路上的一个水坑。
What contrast does Orwell create between the warders' treatment of the prisoner and the prisoner's own behavior?
奥威尔如何在看守对待死囚的方式与死囚自身的表现之间制造对比？
Why is the prisoner's step around the puddle more powerful than a general statement about his humanity?
为什么死囚绕开水坑的动作，比笼统陈述“他也是人”更有力量？
Why can a small ordinary action change how we see a person more deeply than a formal description?
为什么一个普通的小动作，有时比正式描述更能深刻改变我们对一个人的看法？
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The Puddle Realization
水坑带来的领悟 · Paragraph 8
It is curious, but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man.
说来奇怪，直到那一刻，我才第一次真正明白，毁掉一个健康而有意识的人意味着什么。
When I saw the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle I saw the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide.
当我看见死囚侧身避开水坑时，我看见了其中的谜，也看见了在人生命正值旺盛时将其截断那种难以言说的错误。
This man was not dying, he was alive just as we are alive.
这个人并不是正在死去；他像我们一样活着。
All the organs of his body were working — bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming — all toiling away in solemn foolery.
他身体的所有器官都在工作——肠道消化食物，皮肤自我更新，指甲生长，组织形成——一切都在庄严而荒谬地忙碌。
His nails would still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to live.
当他站在活板上，甚至当他从空中坠落、生命只剩十分之一秒时，他的指甲仍会继续生长。
His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the gray walls, and his brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned — reasoned even about puddles.
他的眼睛看见黄色的碎石和灰色的墙，他的大脑仍在记忆、预见和推理——甚至还在思考水坑。
He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world; and in two minutes, with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone — one mind less, one world less.
他和我们是一群同行的人，共同看见、听见、感受并理解同一个世界；可两分钟之后，随着突然的一声断裂，我们中将有一个人消失——少一个心灵，少一个世界。
How does the list of bodily processes challenge the idea that the prisoner is already as good as dead?
对身体运作过程的列举，如何挑战“死囚已经等同于死人”的想法？
What does “one mind less, one world less” add to the narrator's argument?
“少一个心灵，少一个世界”给叙述者的思考增加了什么含义？
Is seeing another person's humanity enough if our behavior toward that person does not change?
如果我们对一个人的行为并未改变，仅仅看见对方的人性是否足够？
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The Execution
处决时刻 · Paragraphs 9–14
The gallows stood in a small yard.
绞刑架立在一个小院子里。
The hangman, a gray-haired convict in the white uniform of the prison, was waiting beside his machine.
刽子手是个灰头发的囚犯，穿着监狱的白色制服，正在自己的机器旁等候。
He greeted us with a servile crouch as we entered.
我们走进去时，他卑躬屈膝地蹲身向我们致意。
At a word from Francis the two warders, gripping the prisoner more closely than ever, half led half pushed him to the gallows and helped him clumsily up the ladder.
弗朗西斯一声令下，两名看守比之前抓得更紧，半拉半推地把死囚送到绞刑架前，又笨手笨脚地帮他爬上梯子。
Then the hangman climbed up and fixed the rope around the prisoner's neck.
随后刽子手爬上去，把绳索套在死囚的脖子上。
We stood waiting, five yards away.
我们站在五码外等候。
The warders had formed a rough circle round the gallows.
看守们在绞刑架周围围成一个不规则的圆圈。
And then, when the noose was fixed, the prisoner began crying out to his god.
接着，绞索固定好以后，死囚开始呼喊他的神。
It was a high, reiterated cry of "Ram! Ram! Ram! Ram!" not urgent and fearful like a prayer or a cry for help, but steady, rhythmical, almost like the tolling of a bell.
那是一种高亢而重复的呼喊：“Ram！Ram！Ram！Ram！”它不像祈祷或求救那样急迫恐惧，而是稳定、有节奏，几乎像钟声一样一下一下敲响。
The hangman climbed down and stood ready, holding the lever.
刽子手爬下来，手握操纵杆，站在那里准备执行。
Minutes seemed to pass.
仿佛几分钟过去了。
The steady crying from the prisoner went on and on, "Ram! Ram! Ram!" never faltering for an instant.
死囚那稳定的呼喊一直持续着：“Ram！Ram！Ram！”一刻也没有停顿。
The superintendent, his head on his chest, was slowly poking the ground with his stick; perhaps he was counting the cries, allowing the prisoner a fixed number — fifty, perhaps, or a hundred.
监狱长低着头，下巴贴在胸前，慢慢用手杖戳着地面；也许他在数死囚呼喊的次数，允许他喊满一个固定数字——也许五十次，也许一百次。
Everyone had changed color.
每个人的脸色都变了。
The Indians had gone gray like bad coffee, and one or two of the bayonets were wavering.
印度人的脸灰得像劣质咖啡，有一两把刺刀也在发抖。
Suddenly the superintendent made up his mind.
突然，监狱长下定了决心。
Throwing up his head he made a swift motion with his stick.
他猛地抬起头，用手杖迅速做了一个动作。
"Chalo!" he shouted almost fiercely.
“动手！”他几乎凶狠地喊道。
There was a clanking noise, and then dead silence.
先是一阵金属撞击声，随后便是死一般的寂静。
The prisoner had vanished, and the rope was twisting on itself.
死囚消失了，只剩绳索自行扭转。
We went round the gallows to inspect the prisoner's body.
我们绕到绞刑架后面检查死囚的尸体。
He was dangling with his toes pointing straight downward.
他悬挂在那里，脚趾笔直向下。
Very slowly revolving, as dead as a stone.
身体极其缓慢地旋转着，像石头一样死寂。
The superintendent reached out with his stick and poked the bare brown body; it oscillated slightly.
监狱长伸出手杖戳了戳那具裸露而棕色的身体；尸体轻轻摇晃起来。
"He's all right," said the superintendent.
“他没问题了，”监狱长说。
He backed out from under the gallows, and blew out a deep breath.
他从绞刑架下面退出来，长长地吐了一口气。
The moody look had gone out of his face quite suddenly.
他脸上那种阴郁的神情突然完全消失了。
He glanced at his wrist watch.
他瞥了一眼腕表。
"Eight minutes past eight.
“八点零八分。
Well, that's all for this morning, thank God."
好了，今天早上就这些，谢天谢地。”
How does the repeated cry of “Ram” affect the officials and the pace of the scene?
反复的“Ram”呼喊如何影响官员们以及现场的叙事节奏？
What does the superintendent's rapid change of mood after death reveal?
死囚死亡后，监狱长的情绪迅速变化，这揭示了什么？
Why do people sometimes want an uncomfortable situation to end more than they want to understand it?
为什么人有时更希望一个令人不适的情境赶快结束，而不是尝试理解它？
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Relief, Laughter, and Distance
轻松、笑声与疏离 · Paragraphs 15–22
The warders unfixed bayonets and marched away.
看守们卸下刺刀，列队离开。
We walked out of the gallows yard, past the condemned cells with their waiting prisoners, into the big central yard of the prison.
我们走出绞刑院，经过关着等待处决者的死囚牢房，来到监狱中央的大院。
The convicts were already receiving their breakfast.
囚犯们已经开始领取早餐。
They squatted in long rows, each man holding a tin pannikin, while two warders with buckets march round ladling out rice; it seemed quite a homely, jolly scene, after the hanging.
他们蹲成长长几排，每人手里拿着一个铁皮饭碗，两名看守提着桶来回走动，给他们舀米饭；绞刑之后，这景象竟显得颇有家庭气息，甚至有些欢乐。
An enormous relief had come upon us now that the job was done.
既然差事已经完成，我们顿时感到一种巨大的轻松。
One felt an impulse to sing, to break into a run, to snigger.
人会产生一种冲动，想唱歌，想拔腿奔跑，想偷偷发笑。
All at once everyone began chattering gaily.
突然之间，所有人都兴高采烈地聊了起来。
The Eurasian boy walking beside me nodded toward the way we had come, with a knowing smile, "Do you know sir, our friend (he meant the dead man) when he heard his appeal had been dismissed, he pissed on the floor of his cell.
走在我身旁的欧亚混血青年会意地笑着，朝我们来时的方向点点头：“您知道吗，先生，我们那位朋友——我是说那个死人——听到上诉被驳回时，吓得尿在牢房地板上。
From fright.
是吓的。
Kindly take one of my cigarettes, sir.
先生，请抽我一支烟吧。
Do you not admire my new silver case, sir?
先生，您不觉得我的新银烟盒很漂亮吗？
Classy European style."
时髦的欧洲风格。”
Several people laughed — at what, nobody seemed certain.
几个人笑了起来——究竟在笑什么，似乎谁也说不清。
Francis was walking by the superintendent, talking garrulously, "Well, sir, all has passed off with the utmost satisfactoriness.
弗朗西斯走在监狱长身边，喋喋不休地说：“长官，一切都进行得再满意不过。
It was all finished — flick!
整个过程一下就结束了——啪！
Like that.
就是这样。
It is not always so — oah no!
可并非每次都这样——哦，不是！
I have known cases where the doctor was obliged to go beneath the gallows and pull the prisoner's legs to ensure decease.
我见过这样的情况：医生不得不钻到绞刑架下面，拉住囚犯的双腿，确保他彻底死亡。
Most disagreeable."
真是非常令人不快。”
"Wriggling about, eh?
“扭来扭去，是吗？
That's bad," said the superintendent.
那可糟糕，”监狱长说。
"Ach, sir, it is worse when they become refractory!
“哎呀，长官，他们要是反抗起来，那才更糟！
One man, I recall, clung to the bars of his cage when we went to take him out.
我记得有个人，我们去把他带出来时，他死死抱住牢笼的铁栏。
You will scarcely credit, sir, that it took six warders to dislodge him, three pulling at each leg."
您几乎不会相信，长官，我们用了六名看守才把他拖下来，每条腿都有三个人拉。”
I found that I was laughing quite loudly.
我发现自己竟然笑得很大声。
Everyone was laughing.
所有人都在笑。
Even the superintendent grinned in a tolerant way.
甚至监狱长也宽容似的咧嘴笑了。
"You'd better all come and have a drink," he said quite genially.
“你们最好都过来喝一杯，”他十分和气地说。
"I've got a bottle of whiskey in the car.
“我车里有一瓶威士忌。
We could do with it."
我们正需要喝点。”
We went through the big double gates of the prison into the road.
我们穿过监狱的两扇大门，来到路上。
"Pulling at his legs!" exclaimed a Burmese magistrate suddenly, and burst into a loud chuckling.
“拉他的腿！”一名缅甸治安法官突然叫道，随即放声大笑起来。
We all began laughing again.
我们所有人又一次笑了起来。
At that moment Francis' anecdote seemed extraordinarily funny.
在那一刻，弗朗西斯的故事似乎格外好笑。
We all had a drink together, native and European alike, quite amicably.
不论本地人还是欧洲人，我们都十分友好地一起喝了酒。
The dead man was a hundred yards away.
那个死人就在一百码之外。
Why is the group's laughter disturbing even if it is partly a release of tension?
即使笑声部分来自压力释放，为什么它仍然令人不安？
What is the effect of the final sentence, “The dead man was a hundred yards away”?
结尾“那个死人就在一百码之外”产生了怎样的效果？
How do groups help individuals avoid feelings they would find difficult to face alone?
群体如何帮助个人逃避那些独自一人时很难面对的感受？
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Central Issue · 核心议题
Move from what happened to what the text asks us to notice.
The essay's central conflict is between living human particularity and an institution that treats death as routine work. The prisoner's body, perception, memory, and ordinary choices remain active until the final moment, yet the officials speak and move as if they were completing an administrative task.
文章的核心冲突，是具体而鲜活的人与把死亡当作日常工作的制度之间的冲突。直到最后一刻，死囚的身体、感知、记忆和普通选择仍在活动；然而，官员们的语言和行动却仿佛只是在完成一项行政任务。
The puddle changes the narrator's perception because it makes the prisoner's agency unmistakable. He is not merely a condemned category; he is a conscious person responding to the same world as everyone around him. The insight exposes the moral cost hidden by labels and procedures.
水坑改变了叙述者的认知，因为这个动作使死囚的行动主体性变得无法忽视。他不只是“被判死刑者”这一类别，而是一个与周围人共同回应同一世界的有意识的人。这一领悟揭开了标签和程序所遮蔽的道德代价。
The ending turns attention toward the witnesses. Their relief, jokes, laughter, cigarettes, and drink may be cruel, but they may also work as psychological defenses against guilt and tension. Orwell leaves readers with the gap between recognizing another person's humanity and allowing that recognition to change one's conduct.
结尾把注意力转向旁观者。他们如释重负，讲笑话、大笑、抽烟、喝酒；这些行为固然显得残酷，也可能是用来逃避内疚和紧张的心理防御。奥威尔最终让读者面对一个距离：看见他人的人性，并不等于会让这种认识真正改变自己的行为。
What turns moral awareness into responsible action, and what keeps people from making that transition?
什么能让道德觉察转化为负责任的行动？又是什么阻碍人们完成这种转变？
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