翻譯較難的是文化背景（1）：Another Part of the Wood

翻譯較難的是文化背景（1）：Another Part of the Wood by Kenneth Clark, p.85

今晨翻到這小段。送SU朋友參考。

The news of this success was greeted at Winchester rather as the baptism of the penguins was accepted in heaven, in Anatole France’s book. My housemaster was almost indignant, but consoled himself by thinking that Oxford was capable of anything.

Another Part of the Wood by Kenneth Clark, p.85

內容是傳主在Winchester”學校” (College)時，水準”了了”，可是竟然考上牛津大學的獎學金，讓許多師長驚訝…….。我覺得它的翻譯，可能是挑戰，因為這要了解英國著名私立住宿學校（如Winchester和 Eaton）制的許多事情，譬如說，文中的 housemaster，辭典上或說：house・master　舎［寮］監.。然而，這牽涉到他們寄宿學校的組成。 譬如說 ，housemaster的無比權威地位，他們在社會中的地位，可能遠勝於著名大學中的院長。譬如說，近日過世的名人Jazz legend Lyttelton dies at 86，某訃聞這樣寫：He was the unlikeliest of jazzmen. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he was schooled at Eton and commissioned in the Grenadier Guards. 他父親就是Eaton的一 housemaster。）

文中指的法朗士（這姓名的翻譯，中文界因歷史原因，只好將錯就錯）的書，乃是名著(企鵝島}( Penguin Island, L'Île des Pingouins)。約40年前 ，hc在台中讀過商務出版的大陸（黎烈文）翻譯本。不過，內容已不復記憶。借助現在網路資訊，我們可以了解(企鵝島}因為送諸企鵝上天國的是近視眼，經常出錯：Morals, customs and laws are satirised within the context of the fictional land of Penguinia, where the animals were baptised erroneously by the myopic Abbot Maël.

現在比較難理解的剩下My housemaster was almost indignant, but consoled himself by thinking that Oxford was capable of anything.