特别广播英语第 391 课：The Catcher in the Rye 麦田守望者-2

Holden Caulfield, the central character in “The Catcher in the Rye”, has been compared with Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain's naive adolescent runaway in the novel of the same name. 《麦田守望者》的中心人物霍尔顿，时常被拿来与哈克贝利·费恩──马克吐温的同名小说（中译本为《哈可贝利·费恩历险记》）中那名天真无邪的少年脱缰之马做比较。

Both boys are trying to make sense of the world while seeking stability and independence. 两个男孩都在寻求安定和独立的过程中，试着弄懂人世的意义。

At the beginning of “The Catcher in the Rye”, Holden has just been kicked out of yet another boarding school. 在《麦田捕手》故事开始时，霍尔顿又一次被一所寄宿学校开除。

Having a few days to kill before returning home for the Christmas break, he hops on a train to New York. 还得熬上几天才能回家过圣诞假期，于是他跳上了一辆开往纽约的火车。

There he spends his time wandering aimlessly from one brief encounter6 to another, getting progressively more disgusted with what he calls the phoniness of the adult world. 在纽约，他终日漫无目的地闲逛，在经历了一次又一次短暂的邂逅和遭遇之后，他对被他称为“虚假”的成人世界越来越反感。

Holden craves the innocence and simplicity of childhood, while at the same time doing a number of “adult” things such as trying to get a drink in a bar and meeting with a prostitute. 霍尔顿渴望孩提时代的天真和单纯，同时他却又做着许多“大人”才做的事，譬如试图在酒吧里喝酒，还到过妓院。

Eventually, with the help of his younger sister, he comes to the realization that children cannot be protected forever from the imperfections of the adult world. 最后，在妹妹的帮助下，他终于明白了：孩子不可能总受到保护，而远离不完美的成人世界。

This is not achieved, however, without Holden first driving himself to the brink of insanity. 然而，要不是霍尔顿先把自己推向疯狂的边缘，他也不可能会有这种认识。

Like “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn”, “The Catcher in the Rye” is a coming-of-age novel. 《麦田守望者》跟《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》一样，都是成长纪事小说。

It is written in the language of its time, yet covers issues that are still relevant to young people today. 尽管它是按当时的语言写成的，却仍然包含了许多与现在的年轻人相关的问题。

It is likely to retain its status as a thought-provoking, if somewhat depressing, read for quite some time. 这本书虽然有点压抑，但作为一本发人深省的读物，它势必在相当长的一段时间里保持其地位。