Unit 3 My Father,Doc.Pat1我的父亲帕特先生

2021年1月22日发(作者：容肇新)
第三单元


我的父亲，
“帕特医生”

[1]In
American
literature,
very
little
has
ever
been
written
about
the
black
middle
class,
particularly the Southern black middle class, which, when I was growing up, contained some of
the most complex and colorful characters in American life.
[1]
在美国文学中，有关黑人中产阶级，尤其是南方黑人中 产阶级的作品很少。其实在我成
长的过程中，这一阶层中出现过一些美国生活中最复杂和最具吸引力的人 物。

[2]Among them, I believe, was my father, a madly brilliant free spirit who entered college at 16
and medical school at 18, and did not quit until he had received three medical degrees. But when I
knew
him
he
was
only
a
dentist
(a
black
medical
doctor
had
already
established
a
successful
practice
in
our
town)
and
a
pharmacist
who
concocted
exotic
but
practical
remedies,
his
best-
known remedy
being
Dr.
pat’s
Log
Cabin
Cough
Syru
p,
a
dark
brown
liquid
with
a
sweet
taste and powerful kick that was guaranteed to root out the most stubborn colds and that sold like
wildfire. [2]
我深信，我的父亲就是其中之一。他是位极有才华、思想开放的人物，
16
岁进了大学
,18
岁读医学院，一直到获得三个学位，才离开学校。不过当我懂事时，他仅仅是 位牙医（当时
我们镇上已有一位黑人医生开业，
事业很成功）
，
兼任药剂师，
配制一些奇特而有效的药水，
最著名的是
“帕特医生的小木屋咳嗽糖浆”
。< br>这是一种棕黑色，
有甜味，
刺激性很强的药水，
它保证能根除最顽固的伤风咳嗽 ，销售得很快。


[3]In addition to being a man of medicine, he was a master showman. Every Sunday afternoon he
would fill the family car with cardboard cases of his Log Cabin Cough Syrup and visit four or five
churches,
where
he
was
always
called
upon
“to
render
a
few
remarks”,
which
he
began
by
complimenting the “sisters” on their fine appearance and the “brothers” for having the foresight
and wisdom to choose such bewitching creatures. When the congregation grew still, his face grew
serious,
and
he
proclaimed
in
ringing
tones
that
“Negroes
should
always
scratch
each
other’s
backs, so we can
all live on Easy Street!”

[3]
除了是一名医务人员，他还是一名出色的表演家 。每个星期日下午，他就把装满“小木
屋咳嗽糖浆”的纸板箱子塞进家里的汽车，前往四、五个教堂。在 那些地方，他总会被请求
“讲几句话”
，于是开始恭维“姐妹们”的漂亮外貌及“兄弟们”有远 见和卓识来选择如此
有魅力的人间尤物。
当教徒们安静下来时，
他的脸神严肃起来，< br>以响亮的声音宣讲
“黑人们
应该永远互相帮助，这样我们才能都过得舒服。
”< br>

[4]The churches were mainly wood-gray structures on the edge of cotton field beside small bleak
cemeteries, and during my father’s “remarks”, white
-uniformed ushers passed out pink and green
circulars that contained his photograph, a list of his medical degrees, and an aphorism or two (“a
bird in th
e hand
is worth two in the bush ”). Another circular was white and also contained his
photograph and poem “lift every voice and sing”, but no mention of James Weldon Johnson as the
author.
[4]
教堂的主体是灰色的，位于棉花田边上，紧靠着萧瑟的坟地。在父亲“演讲”时，一律< br>身穿白制服的工作人员散发着红、
禄色的传阅材料，
上面印有他的照片，
所获医 学学位的一
览表及一两条格言（
“双鸟在林不如一鸟在手”
）
。另一宣传材料 是白色的，上面也有他的照
片，还有一首诗歌“人人引吭高歌”
，不过没提到它的作者是詹姆斯
.
威尔顿
.
约翰逊。

[5]In his “remarks” he recited his own poetry
, as well as that of Shakespeare and Milton, to make

the
point
that
blacks should
love
and
support
each
other,
especially
their
professional
men.
To