也因為同樣的原因安琦拉對這次的翻譯品質比較沒有信心,
還是希望如有未盡詳細、不通順或錯誤的地方讓我知道,謝謝!
狼人 Werewolves
New from J.K. Rowling
There are werewolves worldwide and they have traditionally been pariahs in the wizarding communities from which they often spring; witches and wizards who are frequently involved in hunting or studying such creatures are exposed to a higher risk of attack than the average Muggle. In the late nineteenth century the great English authority on werewolves, Professor Marlowe Forfang, undertook the first comprehensive study of their habits. He found that nearly all those he managed to study and question had been wizards before being bitten. He also learned from the werewolves that Muggles ‘taste’ different to wizards and that they are much more likely to die of their wounds, whereas witches and wizards survive to become werewolves.
狼人遍布全球,傳統上是巫師社群裡時常被唾棄、驅逐的一群,而頻繁地在搜尋或研究這個物種的女巫和巫師被襲擊的風險比普通麻瓜還更高。十九世紀晚期,研究狼人的權威人士Marlowe Forfang教授開啟第一個對狼人習性的全面研究。他發現,幾乎所有他設法作研究和詢問的對象在被狼人咬之前都是巫師。他也發現,對狼人而言,麻瓜和巫師『嚐』起來不一樣,麻瓜比較可能因為傷口而死,女巫和巫師則較可能存活下來,變成狼人。
The Ministry of Magic’s policies on werewolves have always been muddled and inefficient. A Werewolf Code of Conduct was developed in 1637, which werewolves were supposed to sign, promising not to attack anyone but to lock themselves up securely every month. Unsurprisingly, nobody signed the Code, as nobody was prepared to walk into the Ministry and admit to being a werewolf, a problem from which the later Werewolf Registry also suffered. For years, this Werewolf Registry, on which every werewolf was supposed to enter their name and personal details, has remained incomplete and unreliable, because so many of the newly-bitten sought to conceal their condition and escape the inevitable shame and exile. Werewolves have been shunted between the Beast and Being divisions of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for years, because nobody could make up their minds whether a werewolf should be classified as human or bestial. At one point, the Werewolf Registry and Werewolf Capture Unit were both in the Beast Division, while at the same time an office for Werewolf Support Services was established in the Being Division. Nobody ever presented themselves for Support Services, for the same reasons that very few ever signed the Registry, and it was eventually closed down.
魔法部對狼人制定的政策一直含糊且效果有限。1637年制定的狼人的行為守則(Werewolf Code of Conduct)規定狼人必須簽名保證不攻擊任何人,還要每月將他們自己牢牢地鎖起來。但不意外的,沒有任何人簽署,畢竟沒人準備好走進魔法部承認自己是個狼人,這也是後來的狼人註冊辦公室(Werewolf Registry)面臨的問題。多年來,雖然狼人註冊辦公室要求每個狼人都必須提供他們的名字和個人資訊,資料也都是不完整又不可靠的,因為被咬到的人都希望能隱瞞這樣的情況及逃離不可避免的恥辱和放逐。狼人種族多年來在『奇獸管控部(Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures)』的『怪獸司(Beast Division)』和『靈性生物司(Being Division)』間擺盪不定,因為沒有人能夠確切決定狼人該被分類為人類或禽獸。狼人註冊辦公室和狼人獵捕局(Werewolf Capture Unit)都隸屬於怪獸司,但同一時間,狼人支援服務處(Werewolf Support Services)卻設立在靈性生物司。從沒有人尋求過支援服務的幫助,這與極少人去註冊名字的原因相同,狼人註冊辦公室最終也關上大門。
To become a werewolf, it is necessary to be bitten by a werewolf in their wolfish form at the time of the full moon. When the werewolf’s saliva mingles with the victim’s blood, contamination will occur.
一定要在滿月的時候被化了身的狼人咬到才可能變成狼人。當狼人的唾液與受害者的血液交融,感染就會發生。
The many Muggle myths and legends surrounding werewolves are, in the main, false, although some contain nuggets of truth. Silver bullets do not kill werewolves, but a mixture of powdered silver and dittany applied to a fresh bite will ‘seal’ the wound and prevent the victim bleeding to death (although tragic tales are told of victims who beg to be allowed to die rather than to live on as werewolves).
很多主題圍繞著狼人的麻瓜神話和傳說主體上是錯誤的,雖然其中仍有幾處事實。銀製子彈無法殺死狼人,但將摻入銀粉的白蘚敷在剛被咬的傷口上可以使之癒合,避免流血至死(這些悲慘的故事都是從那些哀求一死而非以狼人的身分生存下去的人口中得知)。
In the second half of the twentieth century, several potions were devised to soften the effects of lycanthropy. The most successful was the Wolfsbane Potion.
二十世紀下半已研發出一些可以減輕狼化影響的魔藥。最成功的即是縛狼汁。