經典科幻文學:《 再見 多謝你們的魚》第3章1
The next two lorries were not driven by Rain Gods, but they did exactly the same thing.
The figure trudged, or rather sloshed, onwards till the hill resumed and the treacherous sheet of water was left behind. After a while the rain began to ease and the moon put in a brief appearance from behind the clouds.
A Renault drove by, and its driver made frantic and complex signals to the trudging figure to indicate that he would have been delighted to give the figure a lift, only he couldn’t this time because he wasn’t going in the direction that the figure wanted to go, whatever direction that might be, and he was sure the figure would understand. He concluded the signalling with a cheery thumbs-up sign, as if to say that he hoped the figure felt really fine about being cold and almost terminally wet, and he would catch him the next time around.
The figure trudged on. A Fiat passed and did exactly the same as the Renault.
A Maxi passed on the other side of the road and flashed its lights at the slowly plodding figure, though whether this was meant to convey a “Hello” or a “Sorry we’re going the other way” or a “Hey look, there’s someone in the rain, what a jerk” was entirely unclear. A green strip across the top of the windscreen indicated that whatever the message was, it came from Steve and Carola.
The storm had now definitely abated, and what thunder there was now grumbled over more distant hills, like a man saying “And another thing…” twenty minutes after admitting he’s lost the argument.
The air was clearer now, the night cold. Sound travelled rather well. The lost figure, shivering desperately, presently reached a junction, where a side road turned off to the left. Opposite the turning stood a signpost which the figure suddenly hurried to and studied with feverish curiosity, only twisting away from it as another car passed suddenly.
And another.
接下來經過的兩輛大卡車並不是由雨神駕駛的，但他們做了完全相同的事。
那個身影艱難地跋涉着，或者應該說是跌撞着，不停前行，直到重新看見山頭，把那攤陰險的水窪甩在了身後。過了一會，雨開始變小了，月亮從雲後暫時露了個臉。
一輛雷諾車開過，它的司機用複雜而狂亂的信號向那個跋涉的身影表明自己其實很願意載他一程，只是此時不行，因爲他跟那個身影所要去的方向不一樣——不管身影事實上要去哪個方向，而且他確信那個身影會明白的。他最後用一個愉快的翹起大拇指的信號終結了這一串“信號傳輸”，就好像是在說：他真的很希望那個身影會因爲自己像個凍得瑟瑟發抖的落水狗而感到心情舒暢，而且下一次他一定會讓那個身影搭便車的。
那個身影繼續跋涉。一輛菲亞特經過，做了和雷諾車完全一樣的事。
一輛馬克西（注）經過路的另一邊，衝那個蹣跚前行的身影閃着大燈，儘管這對於表達“你好”或“很抱歉我們要往另一邊兒開”或“快看！那兒有一個落湯雞，真他媽的蠢”之類的信息是完全沒有什麼幫助的。一條穿過擋風玻璃頂端的綠色橫條指示出，無論車燈想表達的信息是什麼，它都是出自“史蒂夫和卡羅拉”。
暴風雨現在完全平息下來了，原先還在這裏轟鳴的閃電如今已經把陣地轉移到更遠的山頭那邊了，就好像一個傢伙剛纔還在承認自己跟人吵輸了，二十分鐘後又開始提“關於另一件事......”。
空氣現在更加清新，夜開始涼了。這意味着，聲音可以傳遞得更好了。那個迷路的身影在不停地顫抖。他剛剛抵達了一個路口，一條輔路轉向了左邊。在彎道的對面有個路標，那個身影急忙跑上前去用狂熱的好奇心去研究它，直到另一輛車突然駛過才把注意力挪開。
隨後又是一輛車。
