“HERE goes, I’ve done with drinking! Nothing. . . n-o-thing shall tempt me to it. —-
“好了，我戒酒了！没有任何事情…我都不会被诱惑去喝的。” —-

It’s time to take myself in hand; I must buck up and work. . . —-
“是时候自我约束了，我必须振作起来工作…” —-

You’re glad to get your salary, so you must do your work honestly, heartily, conscientiously, regardless of sleep and comfort. —-
“你很高兴拿到薪水，所以你必须诚实、认真、尽心地工作，无论是否舒适和睡眠充足。” —-

Chuck taking it easy. You’ve got into the way of taking a salary for nothing, my boy—that’s not the right thing . —-
“别再懒散下去了，你已经养成只领工资但不工作的习惯了，兄弟，这不对。” —-

. . not the right thing at all. . . .”
“…完全不对…”

After administering to himself several such lectures Podtyagin, the head ticket collector, begins to feel an irresistible impulse to get to work. —-
在给自己进行了几番这样的训导后，头号售票员波蒂亚金开始感到一种无法抗拒的冲动，他想要开始工作了。 —-

It is past one o’clock at night, but in spite of that he wakes the ticket collectors and with them goes up and down the railway carriages, inspecting the tickets.
现在已经过了凌晨一点，尽管如此，他还是叫醒了售票员们，并和他们一起上下铁路车厢，检查车票。

“T-t-t-ickets . . . P-p-p-please!” he keeps shouting, briskly snapping the clippers.
“车…票…请出示！” 他边叫边利落地剪着票。

Sleepy figures, shrouded in the twilight of the railway carriages, start, shake their heads, and produce their tickets.
四处弥漫着铁路车厢微弱的灯光下，昏昏欲睡的身影开始动了动，摇了摇头，然后出示了车票。

“T-t-t-tickets, please!” Podtyagin addresses a second-class passenger, a lean, scraggy-looking man, wrapped up in a fur coat and a rug and surrounded with pillows. —-
“车…票…请出示！”波蒂亚金对一位二等座的乘客说道，这位瘦瘦的男子裹着一件皮大衣，铺着一条毯子，周围还围着枕头。 —-

“Tickets, please!”
“请出示车票！”

The scraggy-looking man makes no reply. He is buried in sleep. —-
这位瘦瘦的男子没有回复，他沉浸在睡梦中。 —-

The head ticket-collector touches him on the shoulder and repeats impatiently: —-
头号售票员轻轻拍了拍他的肩膀，不耐烦地重复道： —-

“T-t-tickets, p-p-please!”
“车…票…请出示！”

The passenger starts, opens his eyes, and gazes in alarm at Podtyagin.
乘客惊醒过来，睁开眼睛，惊恐地盯着波蒂亚金。

“What? . . . Who? . . . Eh?”
“什么？ . . . 谁？ . . . 哎？”

“You’re asked in plain language: t-t-tickets, p-p-please! If you please!”
“你被用简单的语言问：票，票，拿来！如果你愿意！”

“My God!” moans the scraggy-looking man, pulling a woebegone face. “Good Heavens! —-
“天哪！” 这个看上去憔悴的人呻吟着，拉着一张悲伤的脸。“天哪！” —-

I’m suffering from rheumatism. . . . I haven’t slept for three nights! —-
“我得了风湿病. . . . 我已经三个晚上没睡了！ —-

I’ve just taken morphia on purpose to get to sleep, and you . . . with your tickets! —-
“我刚刚故意服用了吗啡来入睡，而你 . . . 为了你的票！ —-

It’s merciless, it’s inhuman! If you knew how hard it is for me to sleep you wouldn’t disturb me for such nonsense. —-
这是无情的，这是不人道的！如果你知道我有多难入睡，你就不会因为这种无聊的事情来打扰我。 —-

. . . It’s cruel, it’s absurd! And what do you want with my ticket! —-
. . . 这太残忍，太荒谬了！你要我的票干嘛！ —-

It’s positively stupid!”
这简直太愚蠢了！”

Podtyagin considers whether to take offence or not—and decides to take offence.
波德亚金在考虑要不要生气，并决定生气

“Don’t shout here! This is not a tavern!”
“别在这里喊！这不是个酒馆！”

“No, in a tavern people are more humane. . .” coughs the passenger. —-
“不，酒馆里人们更人性化. . .” 旅客咳嗽了一声。 —-

“Perhaps you’ll let me go to sleep another time! It’s extraordinary: —-
“也许下次你能让我再睡一会！真是奇怪： —-

I’ve travelled abroad, all over the place, and no one asked for my ticket there, but here you’re at it again and again, as though the devil were after you. . . .”
我到处都旅行过，海外也去过，没有人在那里问过我的票，但是在这里，你们一次又一次地问，就好像魔鬼追着你们一样. . . .”

“Well, you’d better go abroad again since you like it so much.”
“好吧，既然你这么喜欢，你最好再去海外。”

“It’s stupid, sir! Yes! As though it’s not enough killing the passengers with fumes and stuffiness and draughts, they want to strangle us with red tape, too, damn it all! —-
“真愚蠢，先生！是的！好像给乘客们毒气和闷热还有风口子不够，他们还想用繁文缛节勒死我们，该死！” —-

He must have the ticket! My goodness, what zeal! —-
他一定有票！天啊，多么热情！ —-

If it were of any use to the company—but half the passengers are travelling without a ticket!”
如果对公司有用的话——但是一半的乘客都没票！”

“Listen, sir!” cries Podtyagin, flaring up. —-
“听着，先生！”波德丁大声喊道。 —-

“If you don’t leave off shouting and disturbing the public, I shall be obliged to put you out at the next station and to draw up a report on the incident!”
“如果你不停止喊叫，打扰公众秩序，我将被迫在下一站将你赶下车，并以此事件写一份报告！”

“This is revolting!” exclaims “the public,” growing indignant. —-
“太可恶了！”公众愤怒地喊道。 —-

“Persecuting an invalid! Listen, and have some consideration!”
“迫害一个残疾人！听着，要有些体谅！”

“But the gentleman himself was abusive!” says Podtyagin, a little scared. “Very well. . . . —-
“但这位先生自己也很粗鲁！”波德丁有些害怕地说。“好吧…… —-

I won’t take the ticket . . . as you like . . . . —-
我不会拿票…顺你的便… —-

Only, of course, as you know very well, it’s my duty to do so. . . . —-
当然，正如你非常清楚的知道的，这是我的责任… —-

If it were not my duty, then, of course. . . —-
如果这不是我的责任的话，那当然… —-

You can ask the station- master . . . ask anyone you like. . . .”
你可以问车站长…问你喜欢的人…

Podtyagin shrugs his shoulders and walks away from the invalid. —-
波特亚金耸耸肩，离开了那个残疾人… —-

At first he feels aggrieved and somewhat injured, then, after passing through two or three carriages, he begins to feel a certain uneasiness not unlike the pricking of conscience in his ticket-collector’s bosom.
起初他感到委屈和受伤，然后，在穿过两三节车厢后，他开始感到一种与检票员内心的良心责备相似的不安。

“There certainly was no need to wake the invalid,” he thinks, “though it was not my fault. . —-
“完全没有必要叫醒那个残疾人，”他想，“尽管这不是我的错。他们认为我是故意的，空闲的。他们不知道我有责任…” —-

. .They imagine I did it wantonly, idly. They don’t know that I’m bound in duty . . . —-
“如果他们不相信的话，我可以请车站长来解释给他们听。”一个车站。 —-

if they don’t believe it, I can bring the station-master to them.” A station. —-
列车停靠五分钟。在第三声铃之前，波特亚金进入了同一节二等车厢。 —-

The train stops five minutes. Before the third bell, Podtyagin enters the same second-class carriage. —-
他后面跟着一个戴红帽子的站长。 —-

Behind him stalks the station-master in a red cap.
“这位先生在这里，”波特亚金开始道，“声明我无权要求他的车票，并且… 并且对此感到冒犯。我请您，车站长先生，向他解释一下…”

“This gentleman here,” Podtyagin begins, “declares that I have no right to ask for his ticket and . —-
我按照规定还是按自己的心思要求车票？ —-

. . and is offended at it. I ask you, Mr. Station-master, to explain to him. . . . —-
先生，”波特亚金对那个瘦骨伶仃的人说，“先生！ —-

Do I ask for tickets according to regulation or to please myself? —-
请你解释一下给这位先生听，我是怎么要求车票的。” —-

Sir,” Podtyagin addresses the scraggy-looking man, “sir! —-
就请求，让站长来解释给这位先生听。 —-

you can ask the station-master here if you don’t believe me.”
如果你不相信我，你可以在这里问问站长。

The invalid starts as though he had been stung, opens his eyes, and with a woebegone face sinks back in his seat.
病人像被蜇了一样惊起来，睁开眼睛，带着悲痛的表情又倒回了座位上。

“My God! I have taken another powder and only just dozed off when here he is again. —-
“天哪！我刚才吃了一颗药，刚刚打盹一下子，他又出现了。” —-

. . again! I beseech you have some pity on me!”
. . 又来了！求求你对我有点怜悯吧！

“You can ask the station-master . . . whether I have the right to demand your ticket or not.”
“你可以问问站长……我是否有权利要求你的车票。”

“This is insufferable! Take your ticket. . . take it! —-
“太过分了！拿走你的车票吧……拿走吧！” —-

I’ll pay for five extra if you’ll only let me die in peace! —-
“我愿意多付五份钱，只要你让我安心地死去！” —-

Have you never been ill yourself? Heartless people!”
你从未生过病吗？无情的人！

“This is simply persecution!” A gentleman in military uniform grows indignant. “I can see no other explanation of this persistence.”
“这完全是迫害！” 一位穿着军装的绅士愤怒地说道。“我认为别无其他解释。”

“Drop it . . .” says the station-master, frowning and pulling Podtyagin by the sleeve.
“别再说了…” 车站站长皱着眉头，拉着波季亚金的袖子说道。

Podtyagin shrugs his shoulders and slowly walks after the station- master.
波季亚金耸了耸肩，缓慢地跟在站长的后面走去。

“There’s no pleasing them!” he thinks, bewildered. —-
“他们真是没法取悦！” 他困惑地想到。 —-

“It was for his sake I brought the station-master, that he might understand and be pacified, and he . . . swears!”
“为了他的缘故，我带来了站长，以便他能够理解和平静下来，可是他…竟然诅咒了！”

Another station. The train stops ten minutes. —-
又一座车站。列车停留十分钟。 —-

Before the second bell, while Podtyagin is standing at the refreshment bar, drinking seltzer water, two gentlemen go up to him, one in the uniform of an engineer, and the other in a military overcoat.
在第二个铃声响起之前，波季亚金站在饮品吧台前，喝着苏打水，两位绅士走向他，一个穿着工程师制服，另一个穿着军大衣。

“Look here, ticket-collector!” the engineer begins, addressing Podtyagin. —-
“听着，查票员！” 工程师开口对波季亚金说道。 —-

“Your behaviour to that invalid passenger has revolted all who witnessed it. My name is Puzitsky; —-
“你对那位病患乘客的行为引起了所有见证者的反感。我叫普济茨基； —-

I am an engineer, and this gentleman is a colonel. —-
我是一名工程师，而这位绅士则是一位上校。 —-

If you do not apologize to the passenger, we shall make a complaint to the traffic manager, who is a friend of ours.”
如果你不向乘客道歉，我们将向我们的朋友——运输经理投诉。”

“Gentlemen! Why of course I . . . why of course you . . .” Podtyagin is panic-stricken.
“先生们！当然，我…当然你们…” 波季亚金惊慌失措。

“We don’t want explanations. But we warn you, if you don’t apologize, we shall see justice done to him.”
“我们不需要解释。但是我们警告你，如果你不道歉，我们将为他伸张正义。”

“Certainly I . . . I’ll apologize, of course. . . To be sure. . . .”
“当然我…我会道歉，当然…确实…”

Half an hour later, Podtyagin having thought of an apologetic phrase which would satisfy the passenger without lowering his own dignity, walks into the carriage. —-
半小时后，波季亚金想出了一句既能满足乘客又不降低自己尊严的道歉话语，走进了车厢。 —-

“Sir,” he addresses the invalid. “Listen, sir. . . .”
“先生，”他对那个病弱人说。“听着，先生……”

The invalid starts and leaps up: “What?”
病弱人惊慌地跳了起来：“什么？”

“I . . . what was it? . . . You mustn’t be offended. . . .”
“我……是什么来着？……您不要生气……”

“Och! Water . . .” gasps the invalid, clutching at his heart. —-
“哦！……来杯水……”病弱人喘着气，捂住心口。 —-

“I’d just taken a third dose of morphia, dropped asleep, and . . . —-
“我刚刚又服了一剂吗啡，睡着了，然后……” —-

again! Good God! when will this torture cease!”
“又来了！天哪！这折磨什么时候才会结束！”

“I only . . . you must excuse . . .”
“我只是……您请原谅……”

“Oh! . . . Put me out at the next station! —-
“噢！……我下一站下车吧！我受不了了……我……我快死了……” —-

I can’t stand any more . . . . I . . . —-
“这简直是卑鄙和恶心！”愤怒的“公众”们叫道。 —-

I am dying. . . .”
“走开！你会为这种迫害付出代价的。滚开！”

“This is mean, disgusting!” cry the “public,” revolted. —-
波季亚金无奈地挥了挥手，叹了口气，走出了车厢。 —-

“Go away! You shall pay for such persecution. Get away!”
他走到服务员的车厢，坐在桌前，精疲力竭地抱怨道：

Podtyagin waves his hand in despair, sighs, and walks out of the carriage. —-
“我真是够了！这些风言风语真是让人受不了！一点都不容易！” —-

He goes to the attendants’ compartment, sits down at the table, exhausted, and complains:
“先生，我们到站了。”车站长来到波季亚金面前说。波季亚金吓了一跳，怔怔地看着车站长，然后慌忙收拾东西离开了车厢。

“Oh, the public! There’s no satisfying them! It’s no use working and doing one’s best! —-
“喔，这些公众！他们无法满足！努力工作也没用！ —-

One’s driven to drinking and cursing it all . . . . If you do nothing—they’re angry; —-
被逼得要喝酒和咒骂……如果你什么都不做，他们生气； —-

if you begin doing your duty, they’re angry too. —-
如果你开始尽职尽责，他们还是生气。 —-

There’s nothing for it but drink!”
除了喝酒别无他法！”

Podtyagin empties a bottle straight off and thinks no more of work, duty, and honesty!
普德亚金一饮而尽，不再考虑工作、职责和诚实！