[6-24]摩洛哥奇遇记 是婚礼还是骗局(上)
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]Two men on the train invited me to their sister’s wedding, but they didn’t look at all likebrothers.[/p][/font][font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]火车上认识的两个人邀请我参加他们妹妹的婚礼，但是他们完全不像是兄弟俩。[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]Tall, fair-skinned Achmed and short, swarthy, moustachioed Mustafa entered my cabin midwaybetween Marrakech and Fez. “A thousand welcomes to Morocco,” they said, putting their handsover their hearts.[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]又高又白的艾哈迈德(Achmed)和又矮又黑、还留着小胡子的穆斯塔法(Mustafa)半路走进了我从马拉喀什(Marrakech)到非斯(Fez)的车厢。“非常欢迎到摩洛哥，”他们说，并将他们的手放在心口。[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]I gave them a noncommittal nod, [b]wary[/b] of yet another scam, having spent most of my time inMarrakech fleeing from touts, tour guides and con artists. Lacking contacts, a guidebook ormuch cash, I was [b]essentially[/b] a refugee in this land, [b]dependent[/b] on the good will of people Ididn’t know.[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]我礼貌性地点了点头，谨防这又是一场骗局，因为在马拉喀什的大部分时间我都疲于应付各种兜售、导游和骗子。不善交际、也没有旅游指南或很多现金，我基本是这片土地上的一个流浪汉，依赖于我不认识的那些人们的善意。[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]The duo asked why I was visiting Morocco. I was too [b]embarrassed[/b] to say it was actually just acheap side trip from my stay in Spain. I didn’t want to admit I chose Marrakech because of aCrosby, Stills & Nash song and that I was travelling to Fez because of the funny hats.[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]那对兄弟问我为什么要来摩洛哥。我尴尬不已，不好意思说这只是我在西班牙逗留期间的一次穷游而已。我不想承认我选择马拉喀什只是因为美国民谣合唱团体“Crosby, Stills & Nash”的一首歌，而我到非斯旅行则是因为滑稽帽子。[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]So I made up a story with the old clichés, telling them I had always wanted to visit the land ofthe Arabian Nights, snake charmers and [b]exotic[/b] desert adventures.[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]因此我编造了一个陈腔滥调故事，告诉他们我一直都想拜访天方夜谭之地、弄蛇人和异国沙漠之旅。[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]They laughed.[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]他们大笑。[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“Well, perhaps those tales have some truths. But if you want to see the real Morocco, you mustcome to our sister’s wedding tonight,” Achmed said.[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“好吧，或许这些故事不无道理。但是如果你想见识真正的摩洛哥，你一定要来参加今晚我妹妹的婚礼。”艾哈迈德说，[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“Really?” I said, slowly looking them up and down. “I’m supposed to believe you two are actuallybrothers?”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“真的吗？”我说，一边上下细细打量着他们。“我应该相信你们是真的两兄弟吗？”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“We have different mothers. Our father has three wives, you see. And 15 children! What do youthink about that?”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“我们是同父异母的兄弟。我们的父亲有三个妻子，你看。还有15个孩子！你觉得呢？”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“Your father must be a very [b]energetic[/b] man.”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“你们的父亲一定精力充沛。”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“Oh yes! He once played for our national football team. But nowadays, we usually only take onewife here in Morocco. It is too expensive to support all those women.”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“当然！他曾经入选过我们国家的足球队。但是现在，在摩洛哥，我们通常都只娶一个妻子。要养活这些女人可是太贵了。”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“Plus it’s less trouble with one – you don’t have to worry about the other wives ganging up onyou.” They laughed.[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“而且一个妻子也会少很多麻烦——你不用担心其他妻子联合起来对付你。”他们大笑。[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“You will see all this and so much more at the wedding.”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“在婚礼你不仅能见到这些，还有更多其他方面。”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“You will come, yes?”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“你会来的，对吗？”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]They both looked at me intently, awaiting my reply. The [b]rhythmic[/b] “ca-chunk, ca-chunk” of thetrain filled an [b]awkward[/b] moment of [b]silence[/b].[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]他们俩认真地看着我，等待回应。在这略显尴尬的沉默时刻，只有火车发出有节奏的“咔嗒、咔嗒”声。[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]I tried to find a face-saving excuse.[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]我试图找到一个不太丢面子的借口。[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“But I’m just backpacking here,” I said, gesturing to my dirty bag on the [b]luggage[/b] rack. “I don’thave anything to wear to a wedding.”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“但是我只是在这里自助旅行，”我说，用手指着行李架上的脏袋子。“我并没有参加婚礼可穿的衣服。”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]They smiled at each other. Achmed said, “Oh, not to worry at all! Of course, we will help youbuy a [b]genuine[/b] Morocco djellaba robe at the market!”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]他们相视一笑。艾哈迈德说：“完全不用担心！我们当然会帮你到市场买一件正宗的摩洛哥长袍！”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]Mustafa then asked me if I had a hotel already. “No? Of course we will find you a good hotel inFez, very safe, very clean and very, very good price!”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]穆斯塔法然后问我有没有预订酒店。“没有？我们当然也会帮你在非斯找一家好酒店，非常安全、非常干净而且价格非常实惠！”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]Ok, I thought, this was the old “help for a [b]commission[/b]” scam. They’d lead me to a hotel andmarket and get a cut of my purchases. Still doubting the wedding story, I shrugged andagreed, figuring it would be a small price to pay for [b]temporary[/b] guides.[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]好吧，我想，这就是古老的“助人为钱”骗局。他们会把我带到一家酒店和市场，然后从我购买的东西里得到回扣。对婚礼的故事将信将疑，我耸了耸肩表示同意，心想在临时导游上也花不了太多钱。[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]But when we arrived at Fez, Achmed grabbed me just before we exited the rail station. “I willsay goodbye for a moment. You will meet me at the end of the [b]block[/b], by the cafe, in a few[b]minutes[/b]. It wouldn’t look good if we walked out of the station together.”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]但是当我们到达非斯时，艾哈迈德在我们要走出火车站时抓住了我。“我要离开一会了。几分钟后我们在街区的尽头见面，咖啡馆旁边。如果我们一起走出火车站的话，会不太好看。”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“What, why not?”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“什么，为什么不好看？”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“People in Fez are funny. Don’t worry. No problem.”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]“非斯的人们很有趣。不用担心。没问题的。”[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]Confused, I walked to the end of the [b]block[/b] by the cafe and waited. A few [b]minutes[/b] later,Achmed emerged, leading me to a [b]dingy[/b] nearby hotel where he negotiated a rate and had mestore my backpack.[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]带着疑惑，我走到了街区尽头的咖啡馆等待。几分钟后，艾哈迈德出现了，带我到了附近的一家有些昏暗的酒店，他跟老板商量好价格后就帮我存放背包。[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]We then went me to Fez’s Old Town market, where shouting merchants stood behind stonecounters covered with kaleidoscopic arrays of shimmering cloth. He asked me to choose myfavourite robe and secretly [b]signal[/b] it to him so he could haggle for the best price.[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]然后我们去了非斯的老城市场，在那里叫卖的商贩站在石头柜台后，上面盖着闪闪发光、五彩斑斓的桌布。他让我挑选最喜欢的长袍然后悄悄向他示意，然后他去向老板讨价还价。[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]I selected a long white robe with an embroidered [b]collar[/b] and a silvery hue, with a pocket on oneside and a slit cut in the other. The shop owner declared that such a fine robe could not be soldfor less than the absolute final and rock bottom price of 550 dirham – double the price of myhotel room.[/p][/font]
[font=verdana,][p=30, 2, left]我选了一件带有刺绣衣领的银白色长袍，一侧有一个口袋，另一侧则是一条狭缝。店主表示这么好的一条长袍，最低价至少550迪拉姆——是我酒店房间价格的两倍。[/p][/font]
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