記憶傳授人

洛伊絲·洛利（Lois Lowry）是美國著名的兒童文學作家，曾兩獲美國紐伯瑞兒童文學金牌獎，其寫作主題探討了許多復雜的內容，題材多樣，包括種族歧視、不治之癥、謀殺等。洛利的代表作包括《數星星》（Number the Stars）、《阿納斯塔西亞·克魯布尼克》（Anastasia Krupnik）、《信天翁格林尼》（Gooney Bird Greene）等。

《記憶傳授人》是洛伊絲·洛利的代表作之一，獲得了1994年的美國紐伯瑞兒童文學金牌獎?！队洃泜魇谌恕肥且槐究苹眯≌f，故事背景設置在未來的一個社區，在那里人們過著貌似安居樂業、衣食無憂的生活?？墒请S著故事的發展，你會慢慢發現這個看似人間樂園的世界沒有記憶、感情、顏色、音樂……人們更沒有選擇的權力。這個世界過去所有的記憶全在一個人身上，那就是記憶接受人，而本書的主人公喬納斯便是在十二歲時被選為了記憶接受人，通過接受過去的記憶，他漸漸發現支撐這個社會的不過是謊言，人們也在這樣的環境下變得越來越冷漠，越來越殘酷。于是他決定要改變一切……本期節選了此書的精彩部分—— 喬納斯第一次接受記憶傳承訓練，也第一次感受到現在與過去的不同之處。

Jonas felt nothing unusual at first. He felt only the light touch of the old man’s hands on his back.

He tried to relax， to breathe evenly. The room was absolutely silent， and for a moment Jonas feared that he might 1）disgrace himself now， on the first day of his training， by falling asleep. Then he shivered. He realized that the touch of the hands felt， suddenly， cold. At the same instant， breathing in， he felt the air change， and his very breath was cold. He licked his lips， and in doing so， his tongue touched the suddenly chilled air.

It was very 2）startling； but he was not at all frightened， now. He was filled with energy， and he breathed again， feeling the sharp intake of frigid air. Now， too， he could feel cold air swirling around his entire body.

The touch of the man’s hands seemed to have disappeared.

Now he became aware of an entirely new sensation： 3）pinpricks？ No， because they were soft and without pain. Tiny， cold， featherlike feelings peppered his body and face. He put out his tongue again， and caught one of the dots of cold upon it. It disappeared from his awareness instantly； but he caught another， and another. The sensation made him smile.

And he could see， though his eyes were closed. He could see a bright， whirling torrent of crystals in the air around him， and he could see them gather on the backs of his hands， like cold fur.

His breath was visible.

Beyond， through the swirl of what he now， somehow， 4）perceived was the thing the old man had spoken of—snow—he could look out and down a great distance. He was up high someplace. The ground was thick with the furry snow， but he sat slightly above it on a hard， flat object. Sled， he knew abruptly. And the sled itself seemed to be poised at the top of a long， extended mound that rose from the very land where he was. Even as he thought the word “mound，” his new consciousness told him “hill”.

Then the sled， with Jonas himself upon it， began to move through the snowfall， and he understood instantly that now he was going downhill. No voice made an explanation. The experience explained itself to him.

Comprehending all of those things as he sped downward， he was free to enjoy the breathless 5）glee that overwhelmed him： the speed， the clear cold air， the total silence， the feeling of balance and excitement and peace.

Then， as the angle of incline lessened， as the mound—the hill—flattened， nearing the bottom， the sled’s forward motion slowed. The snow was piled now around it， and he pushed with his body， moving it forward， not wanting the 6）exhilarating ride to end.

Finally the obstruction of the piled snow was too much for the thin runners of the sled， and he came to a stop. 7）Tentatively he opened his eyes—not his snow–hill–sled eyes， for they had been open throughout the strange ride. He opened his ordinary eyes， and saw that he was still on the bed， that he had not moved at all.

The old man， still beside the bed， was watching him.“How do you feel？” he asked.

Jonas sat up and tried to answer honestly. “Surprised，” he said， after a moment.

“Why don’t we have snow， and sleds， and hills.” he asked. “And when did we， in the past？ Did my parents have sleds when they were young？ Did you？”

The old man shrugged and gave a short laugh. “No，” he told Jonas. “It’s a very distant memory. That’s why it was so exhausting—I had to tug it forward from many generations back. It was given to me when I was a new Receiver， and the previous Receiver had to pull it through a long time period， too.”

“But what happened to those things？ Snow， and the rest of it？”

“Climate Control. Snow made growing food difficult， limited the agricultural periods. And unpredictable weather made transportation almost impossible at times. It wasn’t a practical thing， so it became obsolete when we went to Sameness.”

“And hills， too，” he added. “They made conveyance of goods 8）unwieldy. Trucks； buses. Slowed them down. So—” He waved his hand， as if a gesture had caused hills to disappear. “Sameness，” he concluded.

Jonas frowned. “I wish we had those things， still. Just now and then.”

The old man smiled. “So do I” he said. “But that choice is not ours.”

“Lie quietly now. Since we’ve entered into the topic of climate， let me give you something else. And this time I’m not going to tell you the name of it， because I want to test the receiving. You should be able to perceive the name without being told.”

Without being instructed， Jonas closed his eyes again. He felt the hands on his back again. He waited.

Now it came more quickly， the feelings. This time the hands didn’t become cold， but instead began to feel warm on his body. They moistened a little. The warmth spread， extending across his shoulders， up his neck， onto the side of his face. He could feel it through his clothed parts， too： a pleasant， all-over sensation； and when he licked his lips this time， the air was hot and heavy.

He didn’t move. There was no sled. His posture didn’t change. He was simply alone someplace， outdoors， lying down， and the warmth came from far above. It was not as exciting as the ride through the snowy air； but it was pleasurable and comforting.

Suddenly he perceived the word for it： sunshine. He perceived that it came from the sky.

Then it ended.

“Sunshine，” he said aloud， opening his eyes.

“Good. You did get the word. That makes my job easier. Not so much explaining.”

“And it came from the sky.”

“That’s right，” the old man said. “Just the way it used to. Before Sameness. Before Climate Control，” Jonas added.

The man laughed. “You receive well， and learn quickly. I’m very pleased with you. That’s enough for today， I think. We’re off to a good start.”

There was a question bothering Jonas. “Sir，” he said，“The Chief Elder told me—she told everyone—and you told me， too， that it would be painful. So I was a little scared. But it didn’t hurt at all. I really enjoyed it.” He looked quizzically at the old man.

The man sighed. “I started you with memories of pleasure. My previous failure gave me the wisdom to do that.” He took a few deep breaths. “Jonas，” he said， “it will be painful. But it need not be painful yet.”

“I’m brave. I really am.” Jonas sat up a little straighter. The old man looked at him for a moment. He smiled. “I can see that，” he said. “Well， since you asked the question—I think I have enough energy for one more 9）transmission.

“Lie down once more. This will be the last today.”

Jonas obeyed cheerfully. He closed his eyes， waiting， and felt the hands again； then he felt the warmth again， the sunshine again， coming from the sky of this other consciousness that was so new to him. This time， as he lay basking in the wonderful warmth， he felt the passage of time. His real self was aware that it was only a minute or two； but his other， memory-receiving self felt hours pass in the sun. His skin began to sting. Restlessly he moved one arm， bending it， and felt a sharp pain in the crease of his inner arm at the elbow.

“Ouch，” he said loudly， and shifted on the bed.

He knew there was a word， but the pain kept him from grasping it.

Then it ended. He opened his eyes， wincing with discomfort. “It hurt，” he told the man， “and I couldn’t get the word for it.”

“It was sunburn，” the old man told him.

“It hurt a lot，” Jonas said， “but I’m glad you gave it to me. It was interesting. And now I understand better， what it meant， that there would be pain.”

The man didn’t respond. He sat silently for a second. Finally he said， “Get up， now. It’s time for you to go home.”

They both walked to the center of the room. Jonas put his tunic back on. “Goodbye， sir，” he said. “Thank you for my first day.” The old man nodded to him. He looked drained， and a little sad.

“Sir？” Jonas said shyly.

“Yes？ Do you have a question？”

“It’s just that I don’t know your name. I thought you were The Receiver， but you say that now I’m The Receiver. So I don’t know what to call you.”

The man had sat back down in the comfortable upholstered chair. He moved his shoulders around as if to ease away an aching sensation. He seemed terribly weary.

“Call me The Giver，” he told Jonas.

起初，喬納斯并沒有什么特別的感覺。他只感覺到老人輕輕地觸摸他的背。

他盡量放松身體，平緩呼吸。整個房間都靜悄悄的，有一瞬間，喬納斯害怕自己會在受訓的第一天就出丑，害怕自己會睡過去。然后他打了個哆嗦。他發現背上的手突然變冷了。與此同時，他感到吸入的空氣發生了變化，他吸入的那口氣也是冷的。